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No More Tears...

Have you ever done something stupid in the name of curiosity?  Recently I was borrowing a shower at a friend's house that has small children and my attention was grabbed by the new Johnson's Baby Shampoo packaging.  For some reason I zeroed in on the "No More Tears" label and almost without thinking, I set forth to see if it really was "as gentle to eyes as pure water". 

I got my hair good and wet, lathered up nice and thick, and then, without much further thought, opened my eyes and let the foam run right down into them.

Fortunately, the labeling on the bottle was as accurate as could be.  As crazy as it sounds, the shampoo cause no noticable irritation to my eyes.  Satisfied that my hypothesis was now proven however, I began to ponder what I later realized was the real lesson from this little experiment...

Are we, as those who label themselves "Christians", as forthright in our own labeling?  Can others count on us to be as gentle and tender as the One whose name we so proudly bear?  Please, share your thoughts with me!

And, by the way, feel free to try this on your own.  That fresh baby smell alone is worth it.  =)

Creation Care: A Compassion and Social Justice Question

Christianity Today recently published an article about Flourish 09 - a conference centered on Evangelical Christianity's response to Creation Care, or in simple terms, environmental responsibility.  The key point that I appreciated was the shift of the focus from one of political agenda and rhetoric to one that is (or should be) much more realistic and critical for the church to understand:  human interest.  Flourish posed the issue of care for God's creation as one that holds both compassion and social justice issues for Christians.  Kinda brings it home a bit more doesn't it?  (Read the full article here)

Couple great excerpts from the article:

• What emerged from Pritchard's keynote talk was not a passion for the environment so much as a passion for people, their health and well-being, and particularly for social justice. "If our abuse of the environment raises, for example, the rate of debilitating asthma attacks, then it is a compassion issue for the church." (Rusty Pritchard, Co-Founder of Flourish)

• South Atlanta pastor Leroy Barber spoke of how his church worked to "green my 'hood." His parishioners live with all the unsightly and unsanitary things other Atlanta neighborhoods avoid: chemical plants, an auto impound lot from another municipality, a landfill, poor public transportation. He described his church's efforts to improve the lives of their neighbors through economic development, health and nutrition programs, and even pedestrian safety campaigns. "That's good news for the poor," he said.

• The dominant spiritual message was the need for neighbor love and the social justice activity neighbor love entails.

• A number of social justice ministries were represented at the conference. The most popular booth belonged to Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, (a Share5 Partner ministry!) with its slogan--"Drink Coffee. Do Good."--and its endless urns of really good joe. The ministry helps Rwandan genocide survivors to form coffee-growing co-ops, then helps them speed their best beans to market where they command top prices. These co-op farmers typically increase their revenues by a factor of 4.5, exceeding the prices paid in fair-trade programs. Land of a Thousand Hills markets their product to and through churches.

            (all excerpts pulled directly from the Christianity Today article...)

It is great to hear that there is a movement of compassion finding its way into all corners of Chrisitanity today.  If not compassionate, what are we when it comes to our daily lives?  If we lack compassion, can we really call ourselves Christ-like?

At the Heart of a Movement...

Tonight as I caught up on some blog reading two of the people I follow posted something that while great each in their own right were like peanut butter and chocolate... better together.  As such, I present them to you here in combined form.  First, Carlos Whittaker posted a great video on 7 Tips to Starting a Movement.  Using this great video as an illustration, Carlos points out the following:

1. One man can start a movement.
2. A movement need not be started by the most skilled member of the movement.
3. When beginning your movement and you look around and no one else is joining the dance, just keep dancing.
4. When the one guy who joins your movement slowly fades away, keep going.
5. Before you know it, the people joining your movement won’t even know you started it.
6. When your movement takes a life of it’s own, just let go. There will be no stopping it.
7. The very people who are staring at you like your nuts as you movement alone, will be the very same people dancing the hardest in the end.

The very next blog I read was from my friend, photographer Daley Hake.  Daley's blog entries are typically photos with an artistic eye.  Today was different.  Today he opted instead for a thousand words.  Today he gave his heart in narrative form about something he is passionate about... seeing justice happen for 12 teenage girls entrapped is sexual exploitation in Honduras.  He implored his readers to take up the cause, to begin a movement.  (Read the full article here) 

He asked people to stop sitting on the grass on the sideline watching the dance and to begin dancing.

Way to go Daley.  We're in.  Thanks for showing us how to dance. 

What will your response be?

Compassion, Sacrifice, Passion, Teamwork, Leadership - they are the things movements are made of.  Start one or join one, but don't just stand around and watch everyone else dance!

Billy Graham turning 90

While at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta this past week, the Reverend Billy Graham received the 2008 Catalyst Lifetime Achievement Award.  His son Franklin received it for him, and asked a special request. His father is turning 90 on November 7th.  He asked that if you or someone you know was introduced to Jesus Christ through the ministry of Dr. Graham, that you please go to http://billygraham90.org and leave him a birthday message.

I know that my mother was a part of a Billy Graham crusade when she was just a young lady.  She has shared the story with me many times.  Mom- this one is for you.  It’s your chance to thank him for the invitation so many years ago while blessing him on his 90th birthday.

As for me, Mr. Graham, thank you for changing one woman who birthed one boy who heard the story who is now doing his part to see your legacy continue.  May God bless you as you have blessed this world with His message.  You are a great example of what it means to share your life with others.

The Suspense of Waiting

Lately we seem to be learning a lesson in patience.  On one hand, we WANTED to get rolling over a month ago.  On the other, we would never have been ready, and so to speak, nobody would have been ready for us!  In short, we were ahead of ourselves.

We are waiting to find out how a funding request is going to turn out.  We are waiting for a response to our proposal for sponsorship, donation, or consideration on an RV from the dealership.  We are waiting for outstanding invoices from our consulting work to be paid.  We are waiting to find out if some investments we made are going to prove valuable or not.  We are waiting for an offer on our house, or the right rental scenario.  In short, we are waiting, and waiting is frustrating.

But waiting does one thing (at least) that is good.  It tests you.  It tests your resolve.  It tests your ability to not outreach your means, and it seems to be good for keeping you out of trouble.  Jesus was good at waiting.  He didn't rush, and He didn't get ahead of the plan.  He even taught his disciples to wait as one of his last instructions to them.  He told them to go to a room in a specific city and WAIT.  He said when they did, they would receive power.  A couple days later His reasoning became apparent, and the result rocked the world. 

So I guess waiting is OK...  I'm going to go wait now.  =)

Share5.org is here!

The new Share5.org website is finally live.  After a significant amount of time planning and what was really a quite rapid development process by our friends at Element74, you can now see it all at Share5.org!  With dtails on Special Sharing Stories and Featured Projects, this new site gives you all the details on the Share5 project by World Wins International.