Haiti trip video slide show

Thoughts from Haiti

The drive from the Port-au-prince airport to Gonaives is a little more than 100 miles.  You can see a lot from your seat in the festively painted “Let’s Go Missionaries” bus.  Masses of people fill the streets and markets of each town we pass through.  Goats, pigs, and dogs wander about freely, scavenging what they can.  Large trucks, busses, and SUVs dominate the narrow roads, making their intention known with loud horns directed at the wall of people bustling about on foot and motorbikes.  Traffic laws and signs are apparently a luxury this government cannot afford.  As I peer out my window into a world very foreign to my own, I’m struck by the poverty and chaos openly on display.  What is it that these people really need?  How can all this be fixed?  The humanitarian in me seeks answers in the provision of clean water, sanitation, a better road system, education, just to name a few.  All these carry an importance that cannot be overstated.   But I wonder if any of these things in themselves are sufficient.  The Haitian people have made a life surviving on band aid fixes. Wires providing electricity to the few fortunate homes that have it are strung together like the Christmas lights decorating Clark Griswald’s house.  Many of the vehicles look to be about a single bolt away from abandonment.  Though it is welcomed, are there any real answers in relief?  The evangelical Christian in me, on the other hand, says that the answer to what people need will only be found in the Gospel (cue all men in the congregation to respond in unison, Amen!)  This of course applies to all people: the rich, the poor, the simple, the educated; but for some reason it seems to carry special importance to the impoverished souls living in third world countries such as Haiti.  And so we send out our missionaries, with pockets full of gospel tracks and savvy witnessing tools, to give the gospel to a hurting world as if the gospel could be tossed like candy from a flowery float in a parade of piety.

Come to Christ, or the Altar

The beginning of the modern invitation system's popularity is most commonly attrubited to 19th century evangelist Charles G. Finney. Over the past 200 years or so, the "mourners' bench" has become a staple in the conclusion of most Baptist church services. I, for one, have grown up in churches where it was believed that not giving an "invitation" at the end of a service was bordering on sinfulness. "How can someone "come to Christ" if we don't give an altar call?" it is asked.

But is this practice misleading? Are there dangers in the altar call system? What do you think?

The World Isn't Worthy

As I’ve said in previous posts, we are studying through Hebrews in our Sunday AM worship, and this week, the text has really worked on me in a big way. Studying this book has constantly challenged me to examine the reality of my faith, and my own priorities.
In the book, there is a consistent theme of enduring persecution through faith. The climax of this is found in chapter 11:35-38 (which is where we are studying this week at church), where the readers are reminded that their persecution has been preceded by many others who have suffered for their faith. The truth of this passage goes completely against the lie that is so prevalent in American Christianity today: that suffering and hardship is only due to a lack of faith. It’s said that if we truly have faith, we will prosper and have whatever we want, because after all, our best life can be now if we just have enough faith and speak favor into our lives. The people in this text it says “were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life”. These people did not suffer because of their lack of faith. In v. 39 it says that they were “commended for their faith”. So if they had faith, why were they stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword, and destitute hiding caves and dens?
The answer is that faith may lead to conquering kingdoms and obtaining promises, but in God’s sovereignty, it may also lead to suffering and pain, even in 2011. Somewhere in N. Korea, there is a prison guard ready to torture a Korean Christian for their faith. Somewhere in Iran or Iraq or Saudi Arabia or Yemen, there are Christians losing property, freedom, or being abused, and it is not because they don’t have enough faith, but it is because they actually do have real, deep, genuine faith. Not that God will make their life good now, but that he will be their reward later. The world truly isn’t worthy of these people.
I think when we receive our eternal weight of glory, and when those who have suffered for the cause of Christ receive theirs, we will wish we had sacrificed more and suffered more for the glory of Christ and the gospel. Comfort and ease in this life will mean nothing in that moment. Do we as American Christians that don’t face this persecution sacrifice and pray and weep for those that do? Our faith may not lead to severe persecution, but is it real enough that it would endure if it did?
www.persecution.com

Just tell me what I need to know!

To me, faith is something to be wrestled with.  I'm suspect of any faith in which everything can be explained and be worked out perfectly.  Not that the exercise of seeking to explain God and His works is not beneficial, but let's face it, God didn't exactly spell it out for us.  I find Theology fascinating, but I'm reminded that it is not revelation.  Which, in itself, I think says a lot about God and the relationship with Him He intended for us.  I find Theology fascinating, but even as I read and listen to it, I'm reminded that it's not revelation.  God reveals Himself through His Word in paradoxes and narratives, not lists and charts.  Growing up I often heard the Bible illustrated as as a textbook or road map for life.  I have now added those references to my "Things I learned in Sunday School that I won't Pass Down to my Kids" list.  The Bible is both better than and more confusing than any textbook I've read.  And as far as maps are concerned, I'd rather the details not be left up to interpretation.  The Bible does more than answer questions.  It invites us into a lifelong an everlasting conversation with God.