Dear Pastors,
Last month I commented on
the media’s reaction to the
ability of the Amish to forgive
the man who opened fire on their
little girls in a Pennsylvania
school house. The reaction of
the Amish came to me as a breath
of fresh air, whereas the Foley
scandal covered in the same
newscasts made me ill. I shared
some of these feelings with my
daughter, who sent me an article
from the most recent newsletter
put out by the law school she
attends. The article’s title:
“Pennsylvania school shooting:
Can the Amish teach lawyers a
lesson?”
The article begins, “A recent
San Diego Union-Tribune
political cartoon depicted an
Amish man, with bowed heard, at
the reigns of a horse-drawn
carriage. The cartoon asked,
‘What is it about the Amish that
seems particularly foreign to
our modern world? a) They don’t
use electricity. b) They don’t
drive cars. c) They have
forgiven their attacker.’” The
author continues with his own
reflections: “What caught my eye
was that many Amish, at the same
time they were grieving and
burying their community’s
children, attended the gunman’s
funeral as well. People can
ridicule the Amish, and
certainly the Amish, like anyone
else and most certainly myself,
do not manifest perfection, but
their presence at the funeral of
the man who murdered their
children left me wondering,
inter alia, that if a choice had
to be made, is the world a
better place with the Amish, or
with law schools and lawyers?”
What’s my point? 1.
Christ-like character always
trumps everything else. One only
has to ask Ted Haggart. He will
not be remembered as the pastor
of a 14,000 member congregation
or the president of the NEA as
much as for his lies and immoral
conduct. 2. The way we impact
society is through Christ-like
living. What our society could
not get their heads around is
that these seemingly simple
folks forgave the man who shot
their daughters.
Churches send missionaries
into the world first of all not
to plant churches, feed the
poor, or even win the lost, but
to “be Christ” in the places
where they go, both near and
far. Tim Dearborn says it best,
“It is not the church of God
that has a mission in the world,
but the God of mission who has a
church in the world.”
That distinction makes all
the difference. It took the
faithfulness of the Amish and a
newsletter article written by a
law student to remind me of the
power of living in obedience to
Christ. -
Dave
Sunday, Nov. 12th
is the International Day
of Pray for the
Persecuted Church.
The International Day of
Prayer for the
Persecuted Church (IDOP)
is a global day of
intercession for
persecuted Christians
worldwide. Its primary
focus is the work of
intercessory prayer and
citizen action on behalf
of persecuted
communities of the
Christian faith. Also
encouraged is prayer for
the souls of the
oppressors, the nations
that promote
persecution, and those
who ignore it.
Invite your
congregation, Sunday
school classes, and
small groups to join
Christians in over 130
countries who will
remember and pray for
their persecuted
brothers and sisters
this coming Sunday. To
learn more about IDOP
visit
www.persecutedchurch.org
and
www.odusa.org/IDOPinfo
2006
Persecution World Watch
List Top Ten
(source:
OpenDoors)
1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Somalia
5. Maldives
6. Bhutan
7. Vietnam
8. Yemen
9. Laos
10. China
GIVING
OPPORTUNITY: SRI LANKA
JAFFNA RELIEF
Sri Lanka's Jaffna
peninsula is a
humanitarian catastrophe
waiting to happen. There
are over 600,000 people
in this northern part of
Sri Lanka who have been
cut off from the rest of
the country since
August, when fighting
between the Tamil Tigers
and government forces
shut down the A9
highway, which is the
only land route that
links Jaffna to the rest
of the island nation.
The people there are in
a desperate situation.
They live under a
strictly enforced curfew
and electricity, food,
cash, and transportation
are very limited. Due to
the inability to bring
in goods to sell,
traders have been very
badly affected. Due to a
total ban on fishing,
the fisher folk have
become destitute. Due to
restrictions imposed by
the Sri Lankan
government, farming in
that region has also
virtually ceased.
The Alliance
Development Trust (ADT),
the relief arm of the
National Christian
Evangelical Alliance of
Sri Lanka (NCEASL), is
mobilized to provide
supplies to families in
Jaffna by partnering
with the network of
pastors and churches in
the region. ADT has
already been able to
support over 3,000
families with essential
food supplies, but they
are in need of
additional funds in
order to continue to
expand their efforts.
Jaffna has 188,266
families, and only
53,615 of them are
receiving any kind of
food rations from the
government.
ADT and NCEASL will
only be able to help
additional families as
funds are made
available. Each $10
contribution will enable
ADT to support a family
in Jaffna with one
week's food provisions.
WorldVenture has created
a special project
account for this
purpose. If you would
like to partner with ADT
and NCEASL in providing
aid to desperate
families in Jaffna,
please send
contributions to
WorldVenture with a note
indicating Project
#6441-902 SL Jaffna
Relief.
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Too Small To Ignore: Why
Children are the Next Big
Thing
By Wess Stafford with
Dean Merrill
2005 WaterBrook Press
(Reviewed by David Korb)
In Too Small to Ignore,
Dr. Wess Stafford, president
of Compassion International,
argues that while the
children in our world are so
easily ignored, they are
vitally important for the
future. Stafford issues the
challenge to “make children
a priority in every area of
life.” He suggests that to
do this requires a major
paradigm shift in our focus
and ministry.
Dr. Stafford grew up as
the son of missionaries in a
tiny village in the Ivory
Coast and weaves stories
from that childhood
throughout the book. Drawing
upon his extensive
experience as an advocate
for the world’s children and
as a spokesperson for those
who cannot speak for
themselves, Stafford
presents the plight of
children in today’s world
with compelling tenderness,
urgency, and hope. One
reviewer summarizes
Stafford’s plea this way:
“There are strategic,
persuasive reasons—beyond
love and kindness—to invest
in children. Today they may
snuggle into your lap, if
you let them. But tomorrow
you may not have access to
them in the corridors of
power they might occupy. Now
is the time to shape the
future.”
Stafford writes, “It
begins now, here, and with
you! It begins with the very
next child God brings across
your path. Every child you
encounter is a divine
appointment. With each one
you have the power and
opportunity to build the
child up or tear the child
down.”
If children are on your
heart, this book is a must
read. I suggest that after
you read this book, you
consider giving it as a gift
to a friend or family
member. I have already
ordered a copy for each of
my grown children!
The Speed of Trust: The One
Thing That Changes
Everything
by Stephen M. R. Covey with
Rebecca R. Merrill
2006 Free Press (Reviewed by
David Korb)
If the author’s name
sounds familiar, it’s
because he is the son of the
Stephen R. Covey who
introduced us to “The 7
Habits of Highly Effective
People” back in 1990. Now,
in this volume, the junior
Stephen “uncovers the
overlooked and
underestimated power of
trust.”
Covey writes, “There is
one thing that is common to
every individual,
relationship, team, family,
organization, nation,
economy, and civilization
throughout the world—one
thing which, if removed,
will destroy the most
powerful government, the
most successful business,
the most thriving economy,
the most influential
leadership, the greatest
friendship, the strongest
character, the deepest
love…the one thing is
trust.”
According to Covey, on
one end of the spectrum the
absence of trust breeds
dysfunctionality, angry
confrontations, or bitter
withdrawals. On the other
end of the spectrum, the
presence of trust engenders
cooperation within close and
vibrant relationships.
The word “speed” in the
title is key to this book.
Covey contends that “nothing
is as fast as the speed of
trust,” meaning that trust
can be quickly lost and also
quickly gained. He discusses
what he calls the “5 Waves
of Trust,” a model derived
from “the 'ripple effect'
metaphor that graphically
illustrates the
interdependent nature of
trust and how it flows from
the inside out.” Starting at
the center, the five waves
are self trust, relational
trust, organizational trust,
market trust, and societal
trust. Covey states that it
is the credibility we
cultivate in the first
wave—self trust—that
“enables us to establish and
sustain trust at all
levels.” The 4 cores of
credibility are integrity,
intent, capabilities, and
results.
Having established his
framework, Covey walks the
reader through an in-depth
discussion of each “wave of
trust.” The book is
primarily concerned with
business, so much of the
material points toward a
business application, but at
times it also points toward
the church and to
relationships within and
outside the family.
As I read this book, I
found myself continually
wishing I had a fellow
reader with whom to discuss
what I had just read. For
instance, as part of the
second wave—relational
trust—Covey suggests that
relational trust is all
about consistently
exhibiting 13 behaviors.
These include Talk Straight,
Demonstrate Respect, Create
Transparency, Right Wrongs,
and so forth.
This is a good book. It
will force you to think
through the role of trust in
your life and in your
relationships with others,
drawing you back to many
wonderful Biblical
principles.
Introducing Christian
Doctrine by Millard
J. Erickson
Second edition 2001 Baker
Academic (Reviewed by David
Korb)
Millard Erickson’s hefty
Christian Theology
is used in many seminaries
and colleges as a textbook.
If you are familiar with
Erickson, you may know that
he tends to cover various
theological positions in a
fair and honest way.
Well, Introducing
Christian Doctrine is a
“briefer” version of
Erickson’s larger work.
Honestly, I started to read
through Christian
Theology and just did
not make it. I then opted
for Christian Doctrine.
I am now half way through
this volume and am greatly
enjoying this refresher
course in doctrine and
theology. I highly recommend
both works, but would
suggest that you start with
Christian Doctrine
and then go to Christian
Theology for those cases
where you desire greater
detail.
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