As the pendulum swings...
I don't know how things look in your corner of the bubble, but here, orphans are very "in" right now.
Growing up in the church and in a Christian school, I was not aware that we had orphans here. Like, in America. In the late 20th century. Just didn't know. Orphans lived in orphanages with crazy ladies who made them scrub the floors until they shyyyyned like the top of the Chrysler Building, not in East Ft. Lauderdale.
I also didn't know anything about Africa. Well, I remember seeing pictures of malnourished people in Ethiopia, but I certainly didn't know that Jesus wanted me to do anything about it.
Didn't really know that I should care about homeless people either. Unless I was telling them about Jesus. And it would be nice if I told them about Jesus while handing them a sandwich.
No, when I was growing up in the church, I was made to understand that Jesus was the answer. We even sang a song about it! Join in if you know it! Jesus is the answer...for the world today...above Him there's no other...Jesus is the way...
Well, now I hang out with a whole bunch of Jesus people, and this new group of hip, cool Jesus people are all about orphans. And Africa. And homeless people. Helping homeless orphans in Africa is pretty much the mission of almost every Jesus following person I know down here.
And that's awesome. I get it. But I don't have access to homeless orphans in Africa, outside of the one we sponsor through Compassion. We don't feel called (yet) to foster parenting, so we're kind of limited in our care of orphans here, too.
What I do have access to is a ministry that works to empower student leaders to start and lead Christian clubs on their public school campuses, opening up opportunities to share the Gospel in their schools.
(crickets...)
It makes me sad to report that the large majority of fellow Jesus followers my age tend to blow that off, as if it's not an important ministry. So much so that I even hesitate to ask for support from them. As I spend hours working on the upcoming dinner auction, even I find myself questioning whether it's an actual Jesus-mission, since it's not meeting a physical need. We're not feeding homeless people or housing orphans or stopping the AIDS pandemic in Africa.
But over these last couple of weeks, as I've poured quite a bit of time and energy into this organization I have been reminded that Jesus really is the answer. That HE alone can change the world - and that maybe, by introducing a generation of middle and high school students to the life changing Gospel, we CAN prevent a generation of orphans, stop the spread of AIDS and bring the Kingdom to earth, as it is in Heaven.
And so, for now, that's where the pendulum is hanging for me. If you think about it, pray for the ministry on Friday, as we host our 5th Annual Dinner Auction and Golf Tournament!
Growing up in the church and in a Christian school, I was not aware that we had orphans here. Like, in America. In the late 20th century. Just didn't know. Orphans lived in orphanages with crazy ladies who made them scrub the floors until they shyyyyned like the top of the Chrysler Building, not in East Ft. Lauderdale.
I also didn't know anything about Africa. Well, I remember seeing pictures of malnourished people in Ethiopia, but I certainly didn't know that Jesus wanted me to do anything about it.
Didn't really know that I should care about homeless people either. Unless I was telling them about Jesus. And it would be nice if I told them about Jesus while handing them a sandwich.
No, when I was growing up in the church, I was made to understand that Jesus was the answer. We even sang a song about it! Join in if you know it! Jesus is the answer...for the world today...above Him there's no other...Jesus is the way...
Well, now I hang out with a whole bunch of Jesus people, and this new group of hip, cool Jesus people are all about orphans. And Africa. And homeless people. Helping homeless orphans in Africa is pretty much the mission of almost every Jesus following person I know down here.
And that's awesome. I get it. But I don't have access to homeless orphans in Africa, outside of the one we sponsor through Compassion. We don't feel called (yet) to foster parenting, so we're kind of limited in our care of orphans here, too.
What I do have access to is a ministry that works to empower student leaders to start and lead Christian clubs on their public school campuses, opening up opportunities to share the Gospel in their schools.
(crickets...)
It makes me sad to report that the large majority of fellow Jesus followers my age tend to blow that off, as if it's not an important ministry. So much so that I even hesitate to ask for support from them. As I spend hours working on the upcoming dinner auction, even I find myself questioning whether it's an actual Jesus-mission, since it's not meeting a physical need. We're not feeding homeless people or housing orphans or stopping the AIDS pandemic in Africa.
But over these last couple of weeks, as I've poured quite a bit of time and energy into this organization I have been reminded that Jesus really is the answer. That HE alone can change the world - and that maybe, by introducing a generation of middle and high school students to the life changing Gospel, we CAN prevent a generation of orphans, stop the spread of AIDS and bring the Kingdom to earth, as it is in Heaven.
And so, for now, that's where the pendulum is hanging for me. If you think about it, pray for the ministry on Friday, as we host our 5th Annual Dinner Auction and Golf Tournament!
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Also...I've been putting off reading the India posts today, too. Because I know how God used the DR trip to change my heart, and I'm a little bit scared about how much more I can change...without doing something about it. Ya know?