Piper on Spurgeon and Surviving Ministry

As is so often the case, I have come across an article that I wish I had written.  Setting my envy aside, I am extremely thankful to John Piper for this tremendous article that takes an honest look at the life of the minister and how the minister faces struggles and survives.  If you are a minister sooner or later you will go through a difficult time and you will be glad that you have read this.  If you aren't a minister, I encourage you to read this too.  It may help you to understand the heart of the ministers who serve you.

Here is the article by John Piper: Charles Spurgeon; Preaching Through Adversity.

May we all rest in the sovereignty of God.

In His grace, for His glory.

A Birthday, a Time of Solitude, and a Special Olympian

I've mentioned before that my birthday is right around the corner. Most every year my parents will send me some money for this grandest of occasions. Usually, I end up spending the money on something extremely exciting like groceries or gas. This year I have made a huge decision. I'm going to spend that money on something that I truly want - solitude. I have always valued the spiritual discipline of solitude. Taking time to be completely alone with God. Time to be away from the TV, the xbox, the mp3 player, and even the cell phone. Time to be still. Time to meditate on Scripture and time to talk with no one but God. For me, finding time of such solitude has always been best served by taking my tent and going camping. It has been over a year since I have taken such time and am starting to feel the effects. I am in need of really reconnecting with the Lord. Many my find that last statement a bit odd for a minister to make. However, I suppose there is an occupational hazard to being a preacher in which you spend so much time with and doing the things of God that you miss God. It's not much different than a married couple who spend much time together maintaining the house, scheduling the calendar, caring for their children and yet spend little time actually being together, caring for their marriage. So this is my plan, to take the time (as soon as the weather cooperates) to go camping and to reconnect with the Lord.

There is one problem with my plan. Camping will only account for a fraction of my birthday money. So what else should I do? Many thoughts have come to mind. I thought of buying some music or a couple of books. I even thought of buying a video game. Not because I really play many video games but more so because my son would think I'm really cool. But none of this really seemed all that interesting. None of it seemed to be something that would have anything more than a fleeting impact. That's when I remembered that I could use this money to bring great joy to a special girl named Emilda.

Emilda is a young girl who is a sponsored child through Compassion International. She lives in the Philippines and she is mentally disabled. Emilda is also FAST. She can run and has ran her way into the Special Olympics. In order to compete in the Olympics, Emilda will need to raise nearly $20,000 dollars. Obviously, this is a virtual impossibility for a family that earns no more than $7.00 a week. You can read more of this family's story here: The Making of a Special Olympics Champion. I'd like to ask that you consider helping this special young girl achieve her dream. Help to show her family that despite their circumstances that there are people who will lift them up, give them hope, and love them in the name of Christ.

Emilda with her medals.

Compassion has set up a special fund to send Emilda to the Olympics. You can donate here: Help Send Emilda to the Special Olympics.

Thank you to all who give. Thanks to my parents for their gift to me that allows me to have time to restore my soul as well as to bless another in need.

In His grace, for His glory.

An Open Letter to Our Denominational Leaders

To the leaders of our State and National Conventions:

We need your help.  I, like hundreds of other pastors, am the pastor of a small church that is struggling and quite possibly dying.  I don't want it to die and I do all that I know to do to keep it going.  I go to the seminars and conferences that give glory to the wonderful churches that are growing, are missional, are simple, transformational, focused, and relevant.  I listened to speeches and sermons that instruct me on how my church needs to be like one of these churches.  I read the material on your latest evangelistic strategy that is going to revolutionize my church.  Guess what, it's all garbage.

It's not that I don't believe in the latest Stetzer or Rainer research.  It's not that I don't see value in what you are espousing.  It's not that I don't believe that you haven't spent hours and untold amounts of money coming up with the latest evangelism strategy.  It's that for all the rhetoric, for all the discipleship seminars and training sessions I've been to no one from a leadership position has been able to answer my one question:  If I do what you are suggesting I'll be out of a job, then what?

Honestly, I often leave your meetings feeling as though we struggling, small church pastors (who are the majority in your denomination) are the second class citizens who weren't smart enough or spiritual enough to be David Platt (no offense to David).  I often leave such meetings thinking that I have one of two choices: implement what is being discussed and cause chaos at my church or simply leave my church and start a new one.  Which by the way, there does seem to be a growing tendency toward, if you aren't planting a church then you aren't really doing anything.

I guess that is my biggest problem.  This feeling that because we happen to be in a situation where there aren't hundreds of people being baptized then the only logical conclusion is that we, as the pastors, aren't doing something right.  And perhaps we aren't.  Perhaps all the small, struggling church pastors should just leave their churches to go start new churches.  Perhaps we should be pushing our churches harder to change their centuries old ways and be "culturally relevant."  Perhaps there is much to do and much that can be done.  Perhaps.  Perhaps we small, struggling church pastors would like to believe that are denominational leaders are as interested in helping these pastors fulfill their calling, to which they are faithfully serving, as they are in telling us everything that is wrong with our churches. 

Consider these pastors as men on the frontline of a war and it's trench warfare.  It's hard, it's cold, it's dirty and it's dangerous.  What we would like to know is that the generals aren't going to send down a order that says, "Hey guys, here is a new program with flashy door hangers, power-point ready sermons, and even a meditative cd of worship music.  Now let's go baptize some folks and be sure to record them in your annual church profile!"  What we would like instead is for the generals to say, "We know what is wrong.  We know that you know what is wrong.  Let's work together to fix it and if it can't be fixed then know troops that you won't be left here in the trenches to die."

I don't think I need to give you the stats but I will:

80 percent of pastors say they have insufficient time with spouse and that ministry has a negative effect on their family. 40 percent report a serious conflict with a parishioner once a month. 33 percent say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family. 75 percent report they've had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. 58 percent of pastors indicate that their spouse needs to work either part time or full time to supplement the family income. 56 percent of pastors' wives say they have no close friends. 45 percent of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and family is physical, emotional, mental and spiritual burnout. 21 percent of pastors' wives want more privacy. Pastors who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35 percent more likely to be terminated. 40 percent of pastors considered leaving the pastorate in the past three months.Source: "Pastors At Greater Risk" by H.B London Jr. and Neil Wiseman, Regal Books, 2003

Leaders, we are tired, burning out, and could use a helping hand from you.  Stop telling us what is wrong all the time.  We get it.  We know the troubles our churches face.  We are there.  All we want to know is will you be there with us?

In His grace, for His glory,

Pastor John Raymer, small church pastor

A Birthday, Lent, Reflections, Resolutions, and a Hiking Stick?

There are times in a person's life when they are given the opportunity to reflect on their lives.  Some of those times are moments of circumstance such as a crisis of health or finances.  Then there are moments of arbitrary dates on the calendar.  Those moments such as New Year's Day, your anniversary, and of course, the birthday.  My birthday is just a few weeks away and it just so happens to be the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.  I've already been thinking about Lent.  Last year I attempted to read a book of the Bible everyday for Lent (and failed).  So I've been considering what I might do this year.  Then, with the realization of my birthday being around the same time, it has me truly in one of those reflective moods. 

Reflection allows us a time to experience the joy of good moments such as your wedding day or the day you met your adopted child.  However, reflection can also bring the disappointment of moments missed and dreams forgotten.  Reflection, if you will allow it, can also cause one to make resolutions.  Now I'm not talking about those New Year's resolutions that you know even as you make it you have no intention of keeping. I'm talking about resolutions that say, "As I reflect on my life now, here is what I'd like to resolve to change, to focus on, to have my life be about."

Of course, there is no guarantee that such reflection with resolution will actually result in any change.  Then again, making no decision to change and taking no action will most assuredly result in failure.  I think it needs to be made clear here that I'm not simply looking at getting in a little more exercise or eating better.  I'm looking at fundamental change.  The kind of change that only comes when one fully submits to God.  The kind of change from being merely a "good" person to being completely devoted to the Lord.

The question is, what will that look like?  In some manner that will look the same for everyone in that the fruit of the Spirit is always the fruit of the Spirit.  In another manner being totally devoted to the Lord will look different for everyone.  Obviously total devotion to the Lord will be lived out differently for a 78 year old woman in an assisted living facility versus a 20 year old college student living in a dorm.  So for me, a nearly 38 year old man, living in a home with a wife and 5 kids, what will complete devotion and obedience to the Lord look like?  This is the question I've been reflecting on lately.

I also realize that in considering such questions I'm obviously looking at practical results. For example devotion to Christ will lead to a greater amount of time studying His Word.  However, I'm not merely looking for a list of accomplishments.  It is true enough that such outward changes would take place if one is committed to following Christ.  Nevertheless, what I'm most interested in is not so much the doing of "christian" things as I am interested in being and in having the character of Christ.  To do this I believe that I'll need to learn more of what it is to simply abide in Christ.  Interestingly though I believe that to more fully abide in Christ I'll have to more fully invest myself in the disciplines of the faith such as meditating on God's Word, prayer, solitude, worship, service, etc. In some ways this may seem to be counterintuitive.  On one hand, I'm trying to simply be in Christ but on the other hand I have to do the things which place me in the center of where Christ is.  It may also seem that I'm trying to dwell in the very center of God's grace by forcing  myself into His grace by performing certain actions.  What we have to understand is that grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning (thank you Dallas Willard for this knowledge).  For example, I can decide that it would be beneficial to read more Scripture in order to abide more in Christ and to experience more of His grace.  Even so, the very act of spending more time in Scripture does not earn me more grace.  His grace to me is still His gift.  Furthermore, it takes God's grace acting through us to even allow us to have the desire to be with Christ as well as to have the ability to act in obedience to doing those things which Scripture instructs us to do.  This in turn help us to be in the place where God's grace can be most effective in us. 

In short, as I sit here these past few days in this reflective mood I am reflecting on my life as a follower of Christ.  In many ways I've been a pretty "good" Christian.  In so many ways I know that I've barely scratched the surface of what in means to follow Christ.  To use a biblical metaphor:  if a follower of Christ is one who picks up his cross to follow Christ, then I have been carrying around a hiking stick.  Oh, it's useful.  It's help keep me steady and on the right path but it is nothing that would cost me my life.

Someone to Teach Me

I just finished watching the first part of a documentary that has atheists discussing why they are atheists.  In the first interview with an atheist philosopher something struck me as an odd contradiction in his own thought.  He first mentioned that people do not need a god in order to have an idea of a moral absolute because moral absolutes are just that, absolute, and that they are "just known."  Furthermore, as people who have knowledge of the moral absolutes, we generally follow those moral absolutes.  In other words, people are generally good and do good.

He continued making the argument that there is no god because the very abundance of evil makes God an impossibility.  This does raise a legitimate question of why there is evil if God is all-powerful and all-good?  A question which I believe Scripture answers but that this philosopher believes Scripture doesn't answer.  On that point (for now) I'll simply agree to disagree with him.

However, I do believe that he has committed an error in his own reasoning. I wonder, if people are generally good, then why is there an abundance of evil?  Shouldn't there be less evil by the very nature of the fact that everyone has a clear understanding of the moral absolutes?  Now he does contend that not everyone does have a clear understanding of the moral absolutes for we are after all, "just human."  But then, would that mean that there is something fundamentally wrong with us?  That in fact we do not "just know" what the moral absolutes are?  Does not the very fact that we do not "just know" what the moral absolutes are, that we are indeed "just humans" who fail at those moral absolutes, suggest that there is a standard of rightness that we are to live toward and that somehow we need a teacher who is not "just human" to teach us those moral absolutes?  For if the teachers are all "just human" then how can we be sure that they teach us correctly?  It seems to me that at some point, if we are to recognize that we do not "just know" moral absolutes, then we are going to need someone to show us both in word and in deed just what a fully moral, dare I say, righteous life is.

The Idolatry of Heavenly Comfort

Whenever I'm asked to speak at a funeral I will at some point read the following Scripture:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, 

and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of

heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice 

from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, 

and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, 

neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, 

for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:1-4 ESV)

Now I have always read this passage for a couple of reasons.  First, I had always heard it read at funerals and it seemed that it was sort of expected.  Secondly, I read it because of the comfort that people receive.  I believe that this verse and for that matter all of Revelation was written in part to give Christians comfort in the glory to come.  However, I believe that the comfort one receives often comes from a misguided focus on the text.

I read this Scripture at funerals because the grieving family is comforted by the thought that every tear is wiped away, that death will be no more, that there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain.  All of this is true and again, I believe it is there to bring us comfort.  There is comfort in knowing that one day all the pain will be gone.

However, I must admit that I have mishandled this Scripture.  The fact is that I have used this Scripture to point people to the idea that there will be no more tears.  The text though is not about this.  The text is about why there is no more pain and suffering.  The text is about, "He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."

If one continues on in the reading, the text moves forward giving a grand description of the new Jerusalem.  Everything is amazing.  The city is of pure gold with jasper walls adorned with all kinds of precious jewels.  Then one comes to the heart of the message:

"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, 

and his servants will worship him." (Revelation 22:3 ESV)

When we read this text we may find comfort in the knowledge that there will be no more pain or sorrow; we may be in awe of the wonder of the new Jerusalem but we have to recognize that the text is pointing us to dwell with and to worship the Lord.  It is true that there are no more tears but that is because we are now fully with the Lord.  He is the reason for the pain being gone.  He is the reason for the mourning to cease.  He is the reason for the curse to be no longer.  He is the reason.  To focus on the results of His presence is to make those results our longing.  We long for no more tears and no more pain.  If this though is our longing then this is what our hearts desire and we have made an idol out of the comfort, out of the no more tears and no more pain.

When we read this text it should point us to Jesus and the glory of the Lord.  We can be thankful for all the joy that will come but our desire and longing should not be for no more tears but for the worship and glory of our Lord.  When we long for Heaven it should be because there we are fully with Jesus and we are gathered together to worship Him.  May we desire to be in His presence.  May we desire His glory above all.

Do We Need Another Story about Starving Children and Poverty?

I must admit that as important as I believe it is for all of us to be involved in the fight against poverty there are times where I just don't want to see another story, magazine, blog post, facebook status, or tweet dealing with this issue.  I admit that constantly hearing about it is a drag.  I mean I get it.  Poverty is a huge problem.  To that end I sponsor a child with Compassion International (compassion.com) and serve as a Compassion Advocate.  I've adopted 3 children from Ethiopia.  I serve as an associate for America World Adoption (awaa.org) and regularly speak on adoption and orphan care.  I regularly address the issue in sermons. I work to constantly remind people that this issue is not going away and yet it is important for us to continue to work to end it.  Nevertheless, there are times when I simply want to say that enough is enough and I'd like to hear some good news for a change.  Really, I just want to get lost for a while in mind-numbing nothingness.  I want to pretend for a minute that all is right with the world and whatever is not right is simply not my responsibility.

Then my 9 year old son who lived the first 7 years of his life in Ethiopia reminded me why we have to continue to tell the stories and to continue to inform ourselves on the issue of poverty and the many evils that accompany it.  The other night at dinner he mentioned that he "needed" an ipod.  When asked why he "needed" an ipod he said because "everyone has one."  Fortunately, I had just received in the mail Compassion International's kids' magazine Explore in the mail.  In this month's issue there was a page that had pictures of 4 different "houses" from around the world.  3 of these houses were what we Americans may consider to be shacks made of mud, cardboard, and scraps of metal and plywood.  Then there was one traditional American home.  I used this too illustrate to Feromsa, who has apparently forgotten his life in Ethiopia, that not everyone had such an American home and that they certainly did not have an ipod.  Many of them did not even have food.

Now then, if someone who lived in the struggles of poverty can after just a couple of years in America forget those struggles, then how much more are we who have been blessed to always live here likely to forget unless we are constantly reminded?

Still waiting...

Waiting…oh, the horror.

I hate waiting. Waiting for news – good or bad. Waiting for things to get fixed. Waiting for things to get done. Waiting for the people in front of you to check out. Waiting for a light to turn green. Waiting for the dog to do its business. Waiting, waiting, waiting.


Waiting is something that we tend to do a lot of and yet it is nearly viewed as a sin in our culture. After all, waiting is synonymous with doing nothing. In our culture we value success and success requires that you do something. In our culture we value getting things done, accomplishing tasks, building, growing, inventing, making more and earning more. We don't honor Edison because he waited for a light bulb to turn on. We honor Edison because he made a light bulb. Waiting, just sitting and waiting is considered wasted time. Time in which nothing is getting accomplished.


Of course maybe we just don't understand waiting. Maybe it is in the waiting that things really are accomplished. At least this should be true for a follower of Christ. If we understand waiting as the time in which we are abiding in Christ; the time in which we are in the court of the King; the time when we are at the feet of the Master, then truly nothing greater can be accomplished than being with the Father.


We should also acknowledge that waiting is a struggle because it is in waiting that we feel most out of control. Let's face it, the reason you are waiting is because you cannot speed up whatever it is that you are waiting on. Waiting for something means that something is out of your hands. But isn't this precisely the best place to be – out of control? More precisely to be in God's control. This is what it means to believe in Christ, isn't it? To trust in His sovereignty and to have our lives in His hands.


Perhaps the reason I hate waiting is that too much of the time I am waiting alone. Instead of abiding in Him I am abiding in my own mind, my own desires, and my own strength. Perhaps the reason I hate waiting is because in doing so I have nothing to "show" anyone of what is being accomplished. Then again nothing could be better than to show a life of one who is waiting in the arms of the Father, desiring to know Him, and to delight in His glory.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 ESV)

"For a day in your courts is better
        than a thousand elsewhere.
    I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
        than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
(Psalm 84:10 ESV)

Spell Check Theology

Last night I was working on a paper that I needed to write.  As I was finishing it up I decided to add at the end the simple sentence, "To God be the glory."  I then proceeded to do the obligatory spell and grammar check.  There were several errors and the last item that was highlighted was this sentence, "To God be the glory."  The program was suggesting that I check the verb-subject agreement.  What I found interesting was the suggestion that was given for what I should change in my sentence.  It suggested: 

"God is the glory." 

Who knew that Microsoft Office Word was able to check biblical doctrine? 

Top 10 Most-Searched Bible Verses: What’s Missing?

This is an interesting article on the ten most-searched Bible Verses. Be sure to read to the end of the article (it's not real long) to read what the author says is missing from the list. It is a glaring omission.

Top 10 Most-Searched Bible Verses: What's Missing?

Who Believes This?

Urgent Message

I would like to encourage everyone to take a moment to write to your congressional representatives to express your concern for Asia Bibi.  Asia is a Christian woman, wife, and mother of 2 girls who has been sentenced to death by hanging in Pakistan for the charge of blasphemy against Muhammad.  You can read more about her story and view a news report video at this link: Mother Condemned to Death.

Let me encourage you to hand write to your representatives.  Email is great but I have recently learned that our representatives are more apt to actually see your letter if you have taken the time to hand write it and mail it in.  If you do not know where to write you can use this link to find your representatives:  Contact Congress.

When you write ask that they will put public pressure on the Pakistani government to intervene and to set Asia free.  Ask that they make a public stand for the freedom of worship and freedom of speech.  Ask them to use their influence to have the world community to be involved in this tragic situation. 

Finally and most importantly, keep Asia and all persecuted believers in your prayers.

Rich Mullins (Live) - Calling Out Your Name

I used my $10.00 pastor appreciation gift from Lifeway Stores today to buy a Rich Mullins cd/dvd. As I was watching it I had a thought: Sometimes God is not the shelter from the storm, sometimes God is the storm and we just need to let go and be blown away.

Stating it another way...

Picking up on my the theme of my last post I'd like to state things in a different way.  Imagine that you and your family decided that it would be wise to build on to the house.  The new space will be nice for visiting relatives and friends.  You have been setting aside extra money for over a year to pay for the home renovations.  Just as you are ready to hire a contractor you get terrible news that your child has a serious medical condition.  If surgery is not performed soon your child will die.  The medical cost will wipe out your savings and possibly more.  Would you continue the house renovations or save your child?

Now perhaps that seems like a ridiculous question because only the most callous, hard-hearted individual would chose not to save their child.  So then what does that say about the church that invest millions in gyms, education buildings, conferences, conventions, coffee houses, and untold numbers of fellowships and social gatherings while 30,000 children are dying today for lack of basic necessities?

Just who is responsible?

I heard a political candidate the other night state that if elected it would be his responsibility to provide shelter, food, and clothing. The only problem with this statement is that such responsibilities are not outlined in the Constitution (just to make sure I actually read the thing). There is no mention in the Constitution of the government providing shelter, food, or clothing.

So then just who is responsible? Well, some may say that it is the individual's responsibility to work and provide for themselves. We may say that it is the responsibility of the parents to provide such things for their children. We would be correct in these assertions. Never the less, we must also recognize that there are many who even with the best intentions and efforts cannot adequately provide even these basic necessities of life.

So then, who is responsible to assist those with shelter, food, and clothing? Again, these items are not mentioned in the Constitution. However, these are mentioned in such places as Deuteronomy 15, Isaiah 58, Matthew 25, and James 2. It is right to say that it is not the government's job to care for our neighbors. It is also right to say that it is the job of the Church. How can we claim to be the Church of Christ, the one who came to preach good news to the poor, when we spend untold millions on our own comforts? At what point does the Church recognize that millions spent on gymnasiums, grand fountains, coffee shops, and "Christian" teddy bears is an abomination as nearly 30,000 children die today because of a lack of basic food, shelter, and medical care? Of course, we justify the spending of these millions because we say that such things help us to attract and win loss souls? I just have one question then: If spending money on such things is helping us to win loss souls, then why is the church in North America on the decline?

Reaching the World One Coloring Book at a Time

I received an email today from my father.  He had recently been on a mission trip to Brazil with Christian Missions Unlimited.  He takes a week every year to go there and help build a church.  A couple of years ago I started sending with him coloring books that I'd put together using coloring pages I found online.  When the books are put together they tell the story of Christ in Portuguese (the language they speak in Brazil). 

In the email Dad sent he had attached a couple of pictures from his most recent trip.  In one of the pictures it shows the line of kids standing outside the new church building waiting to receive the coloring books.  Tears came to my eyes as I realized that each kid was not just getting some coloring book but that they were getting a book that told the Gospel.  There is always in me a deep desire for world missions.  And admittedly there is always a deep frustration that I can't go more often.  Yet, here with a simple coloring book I was able to participate in the mission work being done thousands of miles away, in a different country and in a different language.

To be honest, I put those coloring books together just because I thought it would be something nice to do.  I know the children who are ministered to on these mission trips have nothing and that they appreciate something as simple as homemade coloring books.  However, seeing the picture of the kids lined up to receive this coloring book changes things.  I know that as they look through it they will read about the Christ who died for them and lives again.  Now I find myself praying for these kids.  Now, I'm connected to a group of kids who I have only seen in a photograph.  Now, I need to make some more coloring books.

The Hardness of Our Hearts

The documentary Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State shows various interviews with people who are associated with the death camps and with World War II.  Some of the interviews were with the Nazi SS guards who actually ran the camps.  I was particularly disturbed to hear some of the SS guards who, even as they acknowledged their part in the atrocities that took place at the camp, seemed to express no remorse.  Many of those interviewed spoke of what they did as just being part of the events that were going on.  It was much like listening to someone recount their days at college some 40 years ago.  Whatever "mischief" took place, well, that's just what happens in college.  It seemed to be a kind of "boys will be boys" mentality.  One guard even chuckled as he recounted stealing the valuables of the Jewish people who were being sent into the gas chambers.  

I wondered as these men talked, if there callous attitude even some 50 years later, was true to who these men are.  I wondered, had they really not learned anything in the 50 years since this war ended?  Had they not realized what an horrendous violation of human dignity the holocaust was?  Or perhaps their callousness was merely a coping mechanism?  Perhaps it had become easier to have a cavalier attitude about the whole thing then it was to honestly face what they had been a part of? 

I also wondered, to what degree do we become cold and indifferent to the suffering around us?  To what degree do we "cope" with the suffering by becoming as callous as these men appeared to be?  Even as I believe that most of us find it disgusting that a man would laugh about stealing from Jews going to a gas chamber, I also have to wonder if we  often harden our hearts to those who are suffering in our world because the reality of facing the truth is more then we can bear.  

But let us be clear, that what we cannot bear is not the truth of people suffering for we all live with the knowledge that people suffer.  We know (and if you didn't know this you do now) that nearly 30,000 children die each DAY from preventable causes. Yet what we, if we are honest, cannot bear is our unwillingness to do something about it.  You see, our hearts grow hard toward the suffering of others because we are protecting ourselves and what we our protecting ourselves from is the knowledge that we could do something.  And when we don't, we know it is wrong and it is selfish and no one what's to be thought of as being wrong and selfish.  So we dismiss the suffering.  We dismiss the idea that we can do something about it.  We say the problems are too big and perhaps too far away.  We put it aside and perhaps even promise that we will somehow get involved later.  

So let me say this: Don't let your heart be hardened.  You can do something.  Yes it may hurt.  You may have to sacrifice.  You may not be able to change the world for everyone, but you can change the world for at least someone. Open your heart.

Prayer without Work

To Be Human

I recently saw a documentary titled Kicking It about a soccer tournament in which all of the participants were homeless men.  The organizers of the tournament called the Homeless World Cup had an idea to use the game of soccer to change the lives of the men.  To be honest as I watched the film I kept thinking to myself, "Sure, the men seem to enjoy the game but come on, they are homeless.  What they need is what anyone in such a situation needs: food, shelter, clothing, etc."  I thought this because this is what one who is in poverty need.  Someone in the grips of poverty needs food, not a game.

As the film progress it followed several men who were playing in the tournament.  There were men from Ireland, Afghanistan, Kenya, America, Russian, and some 40 other countries.  One of the men from the Russia team would routinely say, "We must win."  His demeanor was of great determination.  His, "We must win" was always said not so much with a drive for the glory of victory but with the voice of a man in desperation to save his life.  It was as if his life literally depended upon his team winning a simple soccer tournament that most of the world knew nothing about.

So what exactly was it?  Why was it so important to win this soccer tournament?  In the words of the man, "If we win, then we will be human."  You see poverty isn't just about the lack of food, clothing, or shelter.  What poverty ultimately does is strip someone of their belief that they are human.  They are stripped of that because that is how they are most often treated by others.  They are treated, viewed, and often ignored as something less than worthy of our attention; something less than human.

    The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
        but the rich has many friends.
     Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
        but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
                                                 (Proverbs 14:20-21 ESV)