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This is what I dealt with over the past weekend …
Outside my front door
And in the driveway …
Then this morning, I find a card in my camera. I couldn’t remember what was on it. When I brought up the photos, I found these little gems from a hike back in September.
No matter how much I prefer one over the other God is there in every scene.
*The title for this post came from the Charlie Hall song Scenes.
Yesterday, I posted about serving sacrificially at Passion 2010.
But I couldn’t get a nagging thought out of my head.
“You call that sacrifice?”
In the context of a conference or event, it was. In the context of a broken and hurting world that needs people willing to give up everything to answer the call to seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless and plead the widow’s cause (Isaiah 1:17 ESV), it doesn’t even come close.
What is sacrifice?
• A woman with a master’s degree in education who took that degree to India to teach English to elementary students there. With the exception of one brief visit, she has not been back to the United States since 1966.
• Bible translators facing all sorts of spiritual warfare as they work to bring the Scripture to people around the world in their heart language. Sickness, sudden illnesses, equipment failures, transportation issues and official resistance are just some of the trials they face but they labor on.
• World class neurosurgeons who dropped everything — including scheduled surgeries — to go to Haiti after the earthquake.
• A doctor who has served Haiti for 33 years goes back to the hospital he helped develop to treat people streaming out of Port au Prince — all while battling cancer.
That’s just the beginning. That’s what came to mind. That doesn’t count the military and their families, emergency services personnel, missionaries around the world … you get the picture.
Your turn. Tell me stories of sacrificial serving …
Passion was different this year.
I have volunteered before at Passion 2006, Passion 2007, and Passion Atlanta. All three times were busy, exhausting and fulfilling. The perk of serving as I did in those events was that I never missed a general session, had the chance to browse the Go Center, eat lunch with (or at least near) the students, hang out at late nights and actually go somewhere to grab some dinner. Granted, it was often a quick run, but at least there was time to do it. You can read more about the experiences by clicking on the Passion tag at the bottom of the post. I wrote a lot. Links would be cumbersome.
In short, I was able to serve and experience quite a bit of Passion.
What I am about to say next isn’t a slam on volunteers who served on other teams. They worked incredibly hard. One of my roommates, for example, was on the intercessory prayer team. She was coming and going all hours of the day and night to be part of the group that was praying over Passion 24/7. The other was in the worship art center every time it was open and often was the last one out at night.
What I am about to say isn’t an attempt to bring attention to my own service. It’s more about me and my expectations.
This year I learned about serving sacrificially.
If you bought a cup of coffee at the Gobena stand, there was a good chance I was at least working there if I wasn’t actually the one who handed you the cup of coffee. The volunteers who worked the stand were often there at 8 a.m. to catch students and volunteers heading out to community groups or to their posts in the arena. They left at or near midnight when the coffee ran out for the night or the Go Center closed, whichever came first. We were open at lunch and straight through dinner. We had huge crowds in the afternoon and as people passed through the Go Center to head into the general sessions in the GWCC. Dinner was whatever was left in the Lenny’s box from the lunch you didn’t finish.
And that was just us volunteers. Steve and Danae, the couple behind Gobena, were there even earlier most days getting coffee ready for the volunteer headquarters and the hospitality rooms.
I never saw an entire general session. Missed Hillsong United altogether. Fell asleep during Francis Chan’s talk. Took a nap on one of the couches in the Go Center using a pillow that who knows who might have touched it or sat on it or … I’d rather not let my mind go too far on that count.
I’m sure there are other volunteers who could say the exact same thing.
Passion, for me, was different this year. I couldn’t tell you what anyone sang in the general sessions, but I can tell you that a student from Alabama (Roll Tide!) was a regular at Gobena and was crazy surprised when I told him so. I guess he didn’t think I’d remember in that crowd.
I don’t know what Beth Moore told the young women who saw her breakout session, but I can tell you about the two students who walked up to Gobena discussing the differences between Calvinism and Arminism and rewarded me with a fist bump when I first giggled a bit then told them it was ironic to be discussing such a topic immediately following John Piper’s message.
I haven’t the slightest clue what the Hillsong or Crowder set lists were for the late nights, but I can tell you about a group leader who bought two coffees then handed one back to me when she found out I didn’t even have time to get one for myself that morning.
Passion was different this year.
And, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Last fall, I volunteered to co-lead a denominational mission trip to Haiti. It’s through a long-standing program we have called Advancing Christ Through Service (ACTS). Teams of 14-24-year-olds under the direction of two leaders go to partner ministries or to our denomination’s missions in the United States or abroad to serve in a variety of ways. It can be medical missions, community outreach, children’s ministry, light construction, etc.
I gave the leaders of our denomination a week or so to catch up to all the news coming out of Haiti from our various churches and ministries there before I sent this short e-mail:
So … this probably goes without saying, but I wanted you to know that if the ACTS team still goes to Haiti, I’m still in. More than ever …
I received a thorough response that said, in short, that the trip’s focus may change, but it will go unless security deteriorates to the point that it is determined to be unsafe. The web site for the ACTS teams recently updated our trip profile with this:
In light of recent events, the exact plans for this trip has yet to be determined. Currently, this team will be addressing needs, under the direction of Steve Mossburg, of earthquake victims. The team possibly will also spend time at Borel working at the community center. This team will have a number of opportunities to partner in different ministries: medical mission, children’s ministry and light construction are all possibilities for the week. Team members will be able to learn about the Haitian culture firsthand. We need team members who are flexible and willing to serve in many different capacities.
All of that brings me to two things:
- My February challenge
- The February header
Looking at the challenge first, this month is going to be Haiti-focused. I don’t want to go there clueless as to the history and culture. I want to be able to serve the people in the best possible way. Of course, there’s a pile of housekeeping stuff I need to take care of as well. So, here’s a rough list (subject to addition and subtraction as needed):
- Learn basic Creole phrases
- Get passport
- Research what vaccinations are needed
- Set appointment for vaccinations
- Read the progress of my youth ministry friends as they go to Haiti Feb. 11-17. You can read more about that here in Tim’s post and follow them at their Facebook page, Twitter list or dedicated Twitter account.
- Learn about the history of our missions in Haiti and current needs, challenges, programs and personnel.
- Read at least one quality book on the history of Haiti. Any recommendations?
- Read Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle
- Figure out what sort of camera equipment might be the best to take along.
- Find out if my cell phone will work in Haiti … provided communications towers are functional.
Anything else you would recommend? I’d especially love input on what to read, how to learn Creole and … well … just tips and advice.
The February header corresponds with the challenge. It is an aerial photo taken by the United Nations a few days after the earthquake. The original photo used in the header can be found here. Here’s the official attribution link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unitednationsdevelopmentprogramme/ / CC BY 2.0
One last request. Even as I write today Haiti has dropped off the trending topics on Twitter. It’s been relegated to the inside pages of the newspaper. The stories rank somewhere in the middle of the nightly network newscasts. Please don’t forget the people of Haiti. Keep praying for them. Give to those who can directly help them. If it’s possible for you, go to help them yourself …
January’s over and with it my first challenge of 2010.
To recap, I decided this year to issue myself a series of monthly challenges rather than set New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for January was to see how far I could read through/listen through the Bible during the month.
To accomplish this, I set up the “Historical” reading plan on YouVersion and customized the dates to begin January 1 and end January 31. It was pretty intimidating to look over the resulting daily readings and see that there were 66 or more chapters to read on some days!
By the numbers, I read/listened to 32.9 percent of the Bible. That translates to 390 chapters from the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings and Isaiah.
Some bullet points about what I learned:
- Listening to the Bible in the car isn’t an effective learning strategy for me. My mind wanders far too easily for that.
- Immersing yourself in the Bible in such large chunks is a double-edged sword (no pun intended). Reading large portions at a time helps to define patterns, but it’s almost too much to handle.
- Strange, but true intangible side effect. As the month moved on, I found it increasingly more difficult to function without music. I had been listening to the Bible on CD every time I was in the car, but that meant that I only listened to music while I was at work. I eventually gave up listening in the car because the lack of my morning sing-along/worship session in the happy confines of my (non-recalled) Corolla began to have an effect on my overall mood.
- It doesn’t matter if you listen to it or if you read it, the genealogies and other lists in the Pentateuch are rough going.
So, in the end, I would have to say I had mixed results with the January challenge
It will be a day late, but tomorrow I will be posting the February 2010 challenge.
My education started with Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Kermit and Mr. Hooper when Sesame Street debuted a few months after I was born. I read Little Golden Books (anyone remember those?) before I started Kindergarten and continue to this day to read whatever I can get my hands on.
Newspapers became a daily habit fairly early on as did the evening news. That much I can safely say is my Dad’s fault. The man reads two newspapers everyday and four on Sunday. If he finishes those, he’ll go out and get another. Then came the Internet with its e-mail, blogs, Google Reader, Facebook and Twitter. Now I’ve added interaction to the information. People I’ve never met in person but with whom I have something in common are sharing links, news stories, articles and just plain silly stuff. So I got a smartphone. The rationalization was that I can keep my crazy schedule organized with it. Bonus? I could access everything at anytime. That’s like giving an arsonist a can of gasoline, a pack of matches and directions to an abandoned barn full of dry hay. The healthy desire to know what was happening in the world, to be an educated citizen and to be relevant became an obsession not just to know something but also the compulsion to know it immediately. I loved learning news from Twitter long before the news networks picked it up. It wasn’t enough to watch the wall-to-wall coverage on the cable networks. I had to set up RSS feeds that would tell me when the New York Times published an article on the subject. I was an information junkie with access to the world in the palm of my hand. That’s not a good recipe. You realize that when you’re simultaneously cooking and checking your Twitter timeline. Or when you have a project due, but suddenly realize that an hour has gone by while you read blog post after blog post from your Google Reader and now your head is so filled with every one else’s thoughts that there’s no room for your own to take shape. Or when you check to see if your message alert light is blinking when you stop at a red light. Recently, the trackball on my BlackBerry broke. Thankfully, it’s still under warranty. Tonight I found myself at the store with a decision to make. The trackball couldn’t be fixed. I could get a replacement BlackBerry or replace it with a non-smartphone for a small fee that will easily be recouped when I don’t have to pay for BlackBerry service. I went with the non-smartphone. I’m taking my life back from the Internet small step by small step. It’s time to see what’s in the world beyond the screen …A couple of years ago, someone posted something somewhere that turned me on to the amazing music of Patty Griffin. On the day we honor Martin Luther King Jr., I thought it only appropriate to post her song inspired by his final speech. Watch a portion of the speech below
The next day an assassin’s bullet made the eerily prophetic words of his speech true.
Below is a YouTube video that combines photos of the civil rights struggle with Patty’s Griffin’s beautiful song, Up to the Mountain. Watch. Remember. Let it continue to inform your sense of justice …
This Sunday as you worship, please take a few moments for silent prayer on behalf of Haiti and the devastating loss the country has endured. Pray for the massive rescue and relief effort. Remember those Haitians in the USA, Canada, throughout the Caribbean, and in Haiti who mourn the loss of their loved ones who are missing or confirmed dead. Haitian officials reported today that 40,000 have been buried in mass graves thus far.Please announce a time of prayer and fasting for Haiti on Monday. Feel free to adapt that to your local setting. Some type of fasting seems appropriate to remind us (at least briefly) what most Haitians experience on a daily basis, even more so now.
I invite you to set an alarm on your phone, spread the word and join me in this daily moment of prayer for Haiti.
I must swallow my pride.
Forget what I believe I deserve.
And get over myself.
Resist the world’s freedoms.
Embrace God’s parameters.
Allow myself to be accountable and restricted.
Choose to go without every little thing I want.
Strengthen my character.
Determine where I am incorrect.
Humble myself.
Stop manipulating God’s way to look like my preferences
and choose His plan – His way -
for every detail.- from Flashbang by Mark Steele
Thoughts?
