Churckles the re-run

Back by popular demand (or just because I like this one), from November

Sue and I were headed out to do some grocery shopping when my cell phone rang. Since it was raining and dark, Sue took the call. It was our mechanic. Sue chuckled as he said, "well, first the good news." After saying they got the Volvo running he went on to say that it is on its last legs. Now this is very understandable. The car is 22 years old with over 315,000 miles on it. Of course it's got to break down. At some point you know that the next punch may keep it on the mat. Permanently. But hey, it's a Volvo! These things run forever, don't they?

Like a vet who tells you it is time to consider putting Spike to sleep, our mechanic said he would give us an extra of the part needed for it to limp through life. But for how long it would run he would not even venture a guess. We need to figure out if we can get by with our Volvo out to pasture.

What has me chuckling is that our freezer died at the end of last week. At only 15 years of age, it was in the prime of freezer-life when its compressor gave way (maybe we kept too many high fat foods in it?). Unlike Spike my fictional dog, whom I might bury in the back yard if he died, we really don't have space to bury the freezer. So it sits in our basement with the door slightly open, kind of like a CSI morgue scene. Fortunately no bugs have begun work decomposing the freezer. That would be creepy.

Now if that were all that is going on, I probably would not be writing this. But on top of a dead car and a dead freezer we have been hit by unforseen financial pressures and a family squabble on the eve of dealing with an aging parent. It's enough to make a grown man cry, or maybe chuckle. This is crazy! What the heck is going on?

As we returned from the store I had my first case of the "chuckles" I said to Sue, "We must be doing something right." You see, either it's a coincidental run of bad fortune or there's more-than-meets-the-eye involved here. I vote for the later. Personally I don't like hard times, but theologically I know God uses them to shape us into the image of Christ. Like a hammer and anvil in the hands of an iron-smith, God uses the "rock & a hard place" times to mold us.

That's why James wrote:

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

Maybe that's where the chuckles came from? Maybe the spirit was helping me to know that this is an opportunity for joy? Yes I know that sounds saddistic, but when you know there is a purpose in the struggle and that something good will ultimately come of it, there's hope. And where there's hope, laughter is not far behind, and at the strangest of times!

God Pleasing Faith

"Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6)

I was thinking about what it might be like to stand before God, waiting before his searching, all-knowing eyes for his comments about the life I lived. To hear him say "Well, done! I am pleased" would be incredible. I think at that point all the hardship and difficulty will have clearly been worth it. The stress, the weariness and the cares will slide from my shoulders and such a sense of well-being and satisfaction will fill my soul that I will feel content and yet want to burst, all at the same time.

Take a moment and ponder this. Does it seem to you that there is too much for you to handle? Where do you feel it in your body? Tight shoulders, a tense neck, a headache? Be aware of your body and then quietly imagine that the Lord says to you, "Well done! I'm pleased!" What happens to that stress? Perhaps this little exercise can give you a taste of what's to come and the encouragement to stay the course.

Remember, you are in His grip!

Questions

Questions can be such useful things, especially when they are used to strengthen one's relationship with Jesus Christ. In Romans 8:31-39 Paul uses five questions to assure believers of God's love for them.

Questions

New Orleans Update

This is from TouchGlobal's email update.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

My name is William Midwood, but I like to be called Billy. I am from Palmer, Massachusetts and a member of Faith Baptist Church with my wife Amie, and three sons Allen, Jonathan, and Sammy. My oldest son, Allen (16), came with me to Trinity. We were invited to New Orleans by my brother Scotty. He is a member of Faith Community Bible Church in Louden, New Hampshire. When Scotty asked Allen to accompany him, I was excited but could hardly afford the trip. Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ a man offered to sponsor Allen's trip. A couple days later, Scotty called and asked if I wanted to go also. I was excited, but politely declined again because of finances. Later, Scotty called and said the same man was lead to sponsor me as well. I am one to do silly things, but saying no to God when He obviously wanted me in New Orleans was not one of them.

Today my life was changed, and I pray that it was changed forever. This morning, instead of going with Scotty, I decided to go on a gutting crew to some houses in the Lower Ninth Ward. We made our way to the home of Mrs. Gladys Simmons. Although I had spent the previous day in Sleidel, I did not know what absolute destruction looked like or that it even had a face. The town was flat with streets laid out in perfectly efficient square grids. The blocks could have been numbered in the thousands. Each block consisted of perfectly efficient square parcels of land with small houses on concrete slabs. A great many slabs were no longer occupied by houses.

Following the writing on the streets and the cardboard street signs, we made our way to Mrs. Gladys' house. Initially, we were dumbfounded because the address to which her house was assigned was occupied only by a concrete slab. The house that once resided upon it, gone. On the next corner I saw a man looking at us curiously. I tromped down the road to ask him if he could help us. His name was John Mullins, and he knew where to find Gladys' house. He said it was across the street from his house, and that we were on the wrong street. He told us that he knew Gladys and had known her and her eight sisters for many years.

After finding the correct house, we made a quick survey. It was small and just one floor. There were bars on all the windows and a gate across the front door. Although it wasn't funny, I joked that this was the most run down gated community I had ever seen. I suggested that the best way to access it was from the front picture window. Pastor Owens and I pulled the bars from the window and proceeded to remove the windows with much malice.

At this time a couple of thoughts came to me. The first was a feeling of intrusion and finality. Knowing just the little bit that John related gave me the uneasy feeling that I shouldn't have been there. When I stepped through the window it would be into someone else's world. At first it pained me to think that so many years had to end now, today with my crew gutting a house so the state could raise it.

The other thought was a logical reply from the Holy Spirit to my humanistic thoughts. He reminded me that my redemption was not bought with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This took on new meaning just before I stepped through the window.

Stepping through the window, I grabbed the curtain and tore it down. Light shown through the mud covered windows for the first time in almost eighteen months. The sight was eerie. The furniture was scattered all over the living room, apparently because it floated there on the currents of the water. The ceiling had collapsed and covered everything in broken mildewed sheetrock. The only thing I could smell was rot and must. I walked to the couch, picking up the end and pushing it with help through the hole that had once been the front window. We picked up everything and threw it out the front window. We were very careful however to try to salvage anything possible.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I retreated the house and walked across to John's house. I wanted to know if he could contact Gladys. I was desperate to see if there was just one thing that she would want recovered. A short time later, John told me that she had mentioned maybe there would be some jewelry in the closet. I continued to gut the front room when a team member came out of the kitchen and handed me a small jewelry box. I opened it to find a couple of ring boxes and two small prescription bottles. I opened the prescription bottles first and found what I thought was junk - a couple of heart shaped charms and a set of rusty earrings. The ring boxes were mildewed closed so I used a knife edge to pry them open. In one box was a silver ring with a large Topaz stone. The other had either a white gold or silver ring with a large diamond. I was thrilled and so were the others. I carried the box to John and handed it to him. He opened the case with the diamond ring and sa id "I believe that there is Gladys' momma's ring."

That is where my journal ended for the day. We didn't finish gutting the house but needed one more day to finish. I thought I had helped score a bit of victory for someone that had lost everything.

Later, I volunteered to get food at Wally World for the next day's lunches. I was overjoyed at what I felt the Lord had done to bless me when I was working to try and bless others. I wondered at the time if Gladys was going to be as excited. As I went through the check out aisle, I felt lead to ask the lady if Wally World gave discounts to Katrina relief workers. She asked the manager who promptly said "no." Feeling awkward because I was sure the Lord would grant His people a discount while they did His handiwork; I decide to tell the lady what we as a group from Trinity were doing. After I told her about Trinity Church and what God did that afternoon, she started to cry and reached in her purse and pulled out a check. I apologized, told her that I had money, and that I was thankful but she didn't need to pay for our stuff. She looked at me and said, "Last summer Trinity Church came and fixed my house and they wouldn't let me buy them so much as a nail !"

What else is there to say? God has promised that His Word will not come back void. It didn't, and I heard it loud and clear. God's Word said a few things to me those two days. First it reminded me that the whole duty of man is to take care of the fatherless and the widows in their affliction (James 1:27), secondly it reminded me that I needed to search for treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20) because that treasure can never be hidden in a prescription bottle in a closet, and finally it taught me that I really need to get out of my comfort zone to fully serve Christ (Matthew 19:16-26).

I have been to many places and have seen many things, but nothing could have prepared me for the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. I don't know if Gladys' house is still standing. I don't know if Gladys will ever return to the square concrete pad on the little parcel of land on the efficient grid of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, but I will.

VOLUNTEER UPDATE

In late 2006, we asked many of you to join us in praying Matthew 9:38...asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest field. God has answered our prayers in abundance, and we are making preparations for more than 1,000 volunteers in the month of March alone. God knew we would need more staff to manage the increased number of volunteers. So we prayed again. God provided Jared and Pam Wold from MN; Nick Doneff, a contractor from MN; Matt, a young man from NE; and Gene Johnson, the retired cowboy missionary from MT, all to help us fill in our staff needs. He also knew that we would need additional tools to help the workers, so He moved in the hearts of a couple from IL to donate another small pick-up truck, a ladder lift, and money for tools. We are still short some items (see our current needs list at http://www.efca.org/katrina/supplies), but we know that God will provide exactly what we need just when needed.

Praise God and keep praying. There are many families we are committing work to, and we'll need an ongoing stream of laborers to minister to these families and their neighbors. Many of these new projects are in Central City in support of Castle Rock's goal of placing 30 families in 30 homes. We are planning for ministry through 2008, so please keep us in mind as you make future ministry and vacation plans.

We appreciate your prayers!
Mark Lewis, director
EFCA Crisis Response

Just Show Up

A year or two ago I watched the movie "Hardball" with Keanu Reeves. In the movie he plays the part of a gambling addict who gets into trouble with his bookies and needs to pay several thousand dollars in gambling losses quickly. He turns to an old friend who has done well in the business world and his friend offers to pay him $500 per week in exchange for him coaching a youth baseball team in the projects of Chicago. Keanu's character doesn't like the idea of coaching ghetto kids, but neither does his friend, whose company wants him to give back to the community when he would rather be off living the good life. Because Keanu is desperate, he takes the job. An improbable first step towards responsible living.

As the movie progresses it goes through a number of expected twists and turns, but the theme can be stated from one scene. Keanu wants out of the deal and doesn't show up one day. His friend gets called on the carpet for the "no show" and chews Keanu out, telling him he needs to show up or he won't get paid. At the end of the scene he says something fairly simple to Keanu: "90% of life is just showing up." As the film continues you see the truth behind the statement play out. Especially as Keanu deals with kids who haven't had an adult who would simply be there for them.

"90% of life is just showing up" is not an exciting, inspiring kind of pep-talk. But it's true. In fact, I would guess that it's a maxim for living life. This came home to me recently when I was taking an avalanche class for ski patrol. After fitting six hours of class time into my schedule, the field portion was to happen on a day that, from my perspective, was not beneficial. I had a number of things demanding my mental energy and the thought of making a special trip three hours one way for another six hours of work in the snow just did not appeal to me. But if I did not finish up now I would need to go through it again next year. As I weighed my options and their likely impact, I thought of how often I had to implore my children when they were young to "just do it, you'll be glad you did". And as I thought of that I knew I needed to take my own advice. I needed to "just show up". Naturally the day went well, I learned several things that made the written exam easier, and I had some fun (imagine that). Simply because I showed up.

In a small group I'm a part of we are taking a brief look at spiritual disciplines and a question has been put forth, "what discipline(s) are you currently practicing?" Of course the usual ones are stated as examples, such as prayer, study, fasting, solitude and so forth. But as I thought about it I realized that for the past several weeks the discipline I've been working on might be called the "just-show-up discipline".

Let me explain. I have dealt with a variety of extended family problems lately and my relational energy has not been exactly zippy, shall we say? So there have been mornings when I sit with the Lord and, in all honesty say, "Lord, I don't have much to offer other than to just show up." I'm not dodging our time, wanting to keep it short or trying to hide from him. I simply feel drained. And so I sit and offer that to him. Because that is what I have to offer. As little as it is.

Yet during those times I've sensed the Lord's reassurance that it's enough. That he will meet me where I am. And he has. It's not that I come away with great and inspiring insights into the scripture. Or have one of those amazing times of worship. But even so, there's a sense that I'm connecting with the Lord in a very real manner. A connection that lets me know he has me. That he will sustain me. That somehow, by just showing up, his Spirit is slowly shaping the image of Christ in me.

How could that be? One of the character traits that reflects Jesus Christ is faithfulness. According to Miriam-Webster.com faithfulness has a number of synonyms: loyal, constant, staunch, steadfast and resolute being five that it notes. With these synonyms there's a sense of hanging in there, or "stick-to-it-tive-ness" as my high school coach used to say. In other words, a great deal of faithfulness develops by just showing up.

Personally I would prefer something more exciting. Something that would cause others to say "cool!" But faithfulness is foundation work, which means digging through the dirt and the rocks, sometimes in a tedious manner, in order to have something solid for my life to rest on. When it is all done, hopefully, the Lord will say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant". Which means he will have noted that in my life, I showed up.

God at Work

There are times in life when we wonder what God is up to. Here, in Romans 8, Paul assures us that God is always at work for our good.

God at Work

Amazing Grace--the Movie

Did you know the hymn, "Amazing Grace" was written by an ex-slave trader in the 1700's? John Newton made his living kidnapping and then selling Africans during the height of the British slave trade. Then things changed.

A major storm at sea left Newton thinking that perhaps there is a God and in the course of time he came to know Jesus Christ. It changed him. He became a pastor, a hymn writer and a staunch opponent of human trafficking. Newton became an ally of William Wilberforce, a young man who had been elected to Parliment. Wilberforce fought against staggering odds and in 1807, after more than 40 years of standing against slavery, Parliment outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire.

2007 marks two hundred years since Parliment acted, but unfortunately slavery and human trafficking continues. The followers of Jesus Christ need to speak up on behalf of those enslaved. We will participate in "Amazing Grace Sunday" this week, along with thousands of others, to raise awareness and to petition our government to greater diligence.

Next week the movie about Newton and Wilberforce, "Amazing Grace" will be released. The nearest theater is Spokane, unfortunately, but it will be worth the trip. Take some friends and be inspired.

For more information check out Amazing Grace

Pray for Steve & Lisa

Steve & Lisa Nelson were sent out from Cornerstone to help serve with TouchGlobal in New Orleans. Here's an update from them sent out February 7, 2007.

Greetings to those of you shivering in the frigid north lands!

The forecast for today is 70 and sunny! While Lisa and I have appreciated the milder winters here in Louisiana my blood has definitely thinned and those 30 degree Louisiana mornings feel like -5 back in Washington. Life here has been good the last couple weeks. Lisa continues here internship part time and is currently working by herself without oversight, and has enjoyed a little autonomy. I have continued to oversee the tool shed and have been enjoying the interaction with the short term volunteers.

In addition to working in the tool shed I have begun working more in the office calling homeowners with open work orders and asking if they are still in need of assistance. Talking with people still needing help has really renewed my motivation for why God has us here. Many people are still have not been able to repair their homes, but many have no resources to complete construction. The government assistance (known as Road Home, or LRA) has been very slow in coming and lots of homeowners had no insurance and are still waiting.

March is gearing up to be a crazy month. Two of the four weeks are scheduled to have nearly 250 volunteers coming down. This makes for a real busy month, but it's pretty encouraging to see that many people still being called down here by God even after the effects of the Hurricane have virtually disappeared from news coverage. Work has shifted dramatically from gutting (we are down to a dozen jobs or so) to primarily reconstruction.

Keep us in your prayers, all of us here on long term staff need direction for the present, and as many of us get ready to make plans for the future we could use guidance. Also, prayer for the month of March and a successful month would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support!


Steve & Lisa Nelson

What's Your Value?

The world tells us that beauty, wealth and performance are what gives a person value, but is that true from God's perspective? Sue Swanson shares what the Bible teaches, and why, when we go with what God says, it's to go Against the Current

Books vs. Experience

The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences.

Saint Augustine

God on a Mission

Excerpt from Christianity Today

Christopher J. H. Wright

Perhaps what we most need to learn, since we so easily forget it, is that mission is and always has been God's before it becomes ours. The whole Bible presents a God of missional activity, from his purposeful, goal-oriented act of Creation to the completion of his cosmic mission in the redemption of the whole of Creation--a new heaven and new earth. The Bible also presents to us humanity with a mission (to rule and care for the earth); Israel with a mission (to be the agent of God's blessing to all nations); Jesus with a mission (to embody and fulfill the mission of Israel, bringing blessing to the nations through bearing our sin on the Cross and anticipating the new Creation in his Resurrection); and the church with a mission (to participate with God in the ingathering of the nations in fulfillment of Old Testament Scriptures).

But behind all this stands God with a mission (the redemption of his whole Creation from the wreckage of human and satanic evil). The mission of God is what fills the Bible from the brokenness of the nations in Genesis 11 to the healing of the nations in Revelation 21-22. So any mission activity to which we are called must be seen as humble participation in this vast sweep of the historical mission of God. All mission or missions that we initiate, or into which we invest our vocation, gifts, and energies, flow from the prior mission of God. God is on mission, and we, in that wonderful phrase of Paul, are "co-workers with God."

This God-centered refocusing of mission turns inside-out our obsession with mission plans, agendas, goals, strategies, and grand schemes.
We ask, "Where does God fit into the story of my life?" when the real question is, "Where does my little life fit into the great story of God's mission?"
We want to be driven by a purpose tailored for our individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole of creation.
We wrestle to "make the Gospel relevant to the world." But God is about the mission of transforming the world to fit the shape of the Gospel.
We argue about what can legitimately be included in the mission God expects from the church, when we should ask what kind of church God expects for his mission in all its comprehensive fullness.
I may wonder what kind of misson God has for me, when I should ask what kind of me God wants for his mission.
We invite God's blessing on our human-centered mission strategies, but the only concept of mission into which God fits is the one of which he is the beginning and the end.

Most of all, we need to go back to the Cross and relearn its comprehensive glory. For if we persist in a narrow, individualistic view of the Cross as a personal exit stategy to heaven, we fall short of its biblical connection to the mission purpose of God for the whole of creation (Col. 1:20) and thereby lose the Cross-centerd core of holistic mission.
It is vital that we see the Cross as central to every aspect of holistic, biblical mission--that is, of all we do in the name of the crucified and risen Jesus. It is a mistake, in my view, to think that while our evangelism must be centered on the Cross (as of course it has to be), our social engagement has some other theological foundation or justification.

The Cross must be as central to our social engagement as it is to our evangelism. There is no other power, no other resource, no other name through which we can offer the whole gospel to the whole person and the whole world than Jesus Christ crucified and risen.

(Taken from "An Upside-Down World" by Christopher J. H. Wright, Christianity Today January 2007, p. 45-46. All italics his)

No Gift Too Small

Here's something that I found insightful and encouraging. I trust you will too.

by Mary Ellen Rothrock

Comparisons are all too human.

As a high school student taking private violin lessons, I compared myself with my violin teacher's young prodigy. Each week, the teacher smiled with mild approval at my performance of an etude, and wrote out my assignment for the following week. Then, a 12-year-old boy entered the room for his lesson.

With admiration and a sense of torture, I lowered myself into an armchair to listen as the dark-haired boy performed. He was preparing for a debut recital of works written for virtuosi.

As the full chords of Bach's difficult Chaconne flowed rapturously from his violin, I thought, No matter how many years I study, I will never be able to play like him. My gift is too small. I don't deserve to be heard.

A Willingness to Try
Despising my gift for being comparatively small, I avoided playing my violin in worship services at my church for many years. Then I met Helen, a Christian and fellow violinist, who made me examine my attitude. Helen was one of two violinists in her church. I knew that the other violinist, Agnes, was excellent.

But Helen had no problem with that. "Agnes embodies what violin playing should be. She is faultless. But my gift has a place, too. I play in the evening service while I let Agnes's wonderful gift shine in the morning service."

Yes, I pondered. The important thing isn't who has the greater gift, but that each gift has its place. I began to seek opportunities to play during worship services in the summer, when the choir was on vacation and special music was needed. Several church members told me the Holy Spirit blessed them as I played. I grew more confident as I realized God was enabling me to use a gift he had given me.

Now that I was aware of the importance of "giving what you have to God," I began to notice other church members who shrank from serving because they, too, sensed that their gifts paled by comparison. When our church split, however, and about 50 members left, the tragedy had an unexpected upside.

The ones who fled our church vacated leadership positions on committees, teaching positions in the Sunday school program, and slots in the music ministry. Those remaining had a choice: they could continue to hide their gifts and let the church collapse. Or they could put their gifts to use.

As Jean, a young pianist said, "I never expected to play in the morning worship service, but when Renee left, someone had to do it." The need was so great Jean offered to be Sunday school superintendent as well, discovering she had teaching and administrative gifts.

When many of those who had left eventually returned, the church was enriched because so many members had begun using their gifts.

Musical and Tone Deaf
God doesn't want me to compare my gift with that of another Christian; he wants me to be faithful over what he's given me, no matter how small (Luke 16:10; Matt. 25:14-29; 1 Cor. 4:2). As the apostle Paul said of some of the Corinthians, "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise" (2 Cor. 10:12).

The folly of comparisons becomes more apparent when we realize that no two Christians have the exact same combination of gifts. When I complimented Kathy for her excellence in playing bells in church and leading the children's bell choir, her reply surprised me. "You know, I'm tone deaf," she said with a grin. "I can't even hum a tune."

As I questioned her further, I realized she was serious. Although an exact sense of pitch is needed to play the violin, in playing bells, rhythm and dexterity are more important. Kathy and I would be fools to compare each other musically.

Given her weak sense of pitch, Kathy's gift in music might be judged as inferior by some. But Kathy astounds our congregation by performing solos on a whole line of bells, managing complicated tunes and harmonies by herself without losing rhythm once. And her gift is one among many—such as working well with children and leading groups.

God's Grand Design
My gifts sometimes strike me as small. Yet, in God's grand scheme—through the equipping of the Holy Spirit, and in the providence of God—smaller gifts may become highly significant. Only God knows the final effect of each of our contributions.

Through the prophet Zechariah, the Holy Spirit reminds us not to despise "small things." In spite of formidable opposition to the rebuilding of the temple, Zerubbabel's small beginning in laying its foundation had a great ending: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. Who despises the day of small things?" (Zech. 4:9–10a).

We can be thankful for all the gifts God generously distributes throughout the church. We can trust that, when his grand design is unveiled, we will be surprised at the impact of smaller gifts. Our only responsibility is to be faithful with what he has given us—however great or small.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader). July/August 1998, Vol. 36, No. 4, Page 51.

Vernette's Story

From being bused to school in southern California for integration, to a dire diagnosis in Alaska during the 8 month of pregnancy, to a difficult period in Santa Rosa and finally Pullman, Vernette Doty has a simple message with profound implications. Listen and be encouraged!

Vernette's Story

Congo Thoughts

In talking with Kevin Komplein about the possible vision trip to the Congo, he recommended I read "Against all Hope: Hope for Africa" It is filled with information and I thought I would pass some of it on to you as we pray about the trip.

Here are some clips:

Africa is home to over 874 million people, or about 14% of the world population. Think about this for a moment. 14% of the world's population lives on more than 22% of its total land area The combined population of China, India, Europe, Argentian, New Zealand and the U.S. is approximately 3.3 billion people or 54% of the world population. If this other 54% of the world's population inhabit land that is equal to the land mass of Africa, what does that tell you about the African continent?

Africa is the world's richest continent (emphasis theirs) in terms of natural resources.

It has been said that Zambia, Zimbabwe, and The Democratic Republic of Congo have the agricultural potential to feed the entire continent.

The Democratic Republic of Congo contains 90% of the world's cobalt, and 85% of its platinum. Sierra Leone has the world's largest supply of titanium. African mines produce most of the world's diamonds, three-quarters of the world's gold, and a fifth of the world's copper. The largest known repository of Columbite-tantalite, [used in circuit boards, cell phones, computers...] is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Yet "despite these countless blessings and riches [outlined in the booklet], Africa remains undeniably the most poverty-stricken and broken continent on the planet."

On the Human Development Index developed by the U.N. to measure "quality of life" the Congo ranks 168 out 174.

On the Corruption Perception Index Finland was best at 9.7 while the Congo came in tied at 114 with 2.3

In 2005 a "Least Livable Countries" list put the Congo at #11.

(By Darrow Miller with Scoot Allen, copyright Disciple Nations Alliance)

These are just a few indicators of the great need and the great potential that Africa has. One of the main points of the booklet is that many people in Africa have professed Christ, but have not understood the need to be transformed by Him. Jesus Christ and the Gospel is "fire insurance", not Lord over all of life (political, social, economic, justice etc...).

What is cool for me to see, is that the Evangelical Free Church of the Congo has grown to 867 churches and they are asking for help in training pastors (to help transform the people) as well as help with the other needs (AIDS, orphans, medical, agricultural...). So they recognize the need for transformation and wholistic ministry and are inviting the Evangelical Free Church of America to help. Are we to be a part of that?

There is a sense among us at Cornerstone that God is in this. If so, the next step is for me and perhaps one or two others to go on a two week vision trip in July. After that we would debrief with the body here and seek to discern how the Lord would have us be involved in the Congo, if at all. So, at the last church meeting, we decided to ask God to make it clear if I am to participate on the vision trip in July. We said we would pray daily until February 11, when we will meet to discuss what we as a body sense God is saying to us.

Even if you were unable to attend the meeting, please join us in asking God to confirm to us over the next 10 days what He desires... and then keep your eyes and ears open for what He might do!

In His Grip!

Nils

For more information see the links section at the upper left for World Vision information. Also, Elim E. Free Church is part of the July vision trip and their CongoBlog is very good. Check it out.