Friends, forgive me. You know I’ve been blogging every day for over 5 years. You may not have put it together, but the church where I moved to and went on staff with is based in Jopiln, MO. Yes – the Joplin that you’ve been watching on TV and hearing about from the devastating F5 tornado that hit on Sunday, May 22nd and changed our life forever.
I’ve been working 16 hour days and have been living in Joplin (though my campus is 10 miles away in Carthage) since the storm happened. I’ve dealt with death, destruction, devastation and also seen some amazing God things and have some awesome stories. Here’s me with Franklin Graham when he came by to check on things at our church (our main campus sits at the busiest intersection in Joplin, MO).
Our church has been partnering with Samaritan’s Purse (a wonderful ministry headed up by Franklin Graham). Here is a video I did for them:
For now, please read my wife’s blog post HERE that will catch you up on everything. Again, forgive me for my absence from blogging. I’ve been swamped.
The following is a video from our friends at Max Lucoado’s church in San Antonio. They came and interviewed some of our church members and staff. This video shows what it’s like here. More soon.
Have you heard of TheCommon.org? Maybe you should! They are my newest sponsor and have a cool service for your church that you should consider. Check out this guest blog post:
TheCommon.org started with a need. Actually it started as a list; an extremely inefficient list of things people needed help, being communicated to a huge audience of people who “might be able to help” that led to an idea. You see, every community has both Needs and Abilities. And we’ve found that, generally, People want to help each other. But the process of connecting these needs with the people who want to help is severely broken.
What if there were a better way for people help each other, and for communities to help people help each other? Not just another piece of software or a place to share photos, but a movement and a connecting point—something that has true value to the community. Something that can embrace both philanthropy and simplicity.
Connecting people looks like a huge, complex system in most communities. You have an entire ecosystem that is dependent upon a central system of administration to drive service, outreach, care. And your system is then limited by the capacity of that individual or team.
But when you open communication—allow your community to connect directly with those opportunities—those limits go away. I can really only speak from personal experience. In the three years that TheCommon has been a living, breathing resource for people to serve, there have been connections I have been able to make, places to serve and relationships formed that flat out wouldn’t have happened in whatever you consider the “current model” without it.
And in the last few months I’ve witnessed some incredible interactions on the Projects and Marketplace as well: from baby clothes and waffle makers, to cars, refrigerators, and computers being given away to help people—all because they were made aware of a need and stepped up to meet it.
So, what happens when people have easier access to the needs in their community and partner communities through blending? Check out our Twitter feed. Listen to the 73 year old woman who just received help packing boxes, or the guy who just got help with his car repair. They share the stories of connections made and the good that is right therewaiting to be done.
We would love for you to test drive it in your community, and for a limited time are extending a FREE 60 day trial to all of Greg’s readers. Click the link HERE and be sure to enter the code “ga2011” when you create a community account. It’s simple to get started and we have some great resources to help you along the way. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at hello@thecommon.org.
This was a guest post from Jay Kroll who works in Marketing and Relationships at TheCommon.org. Follow them on Twitter at @thecommon.
Almost Isn’t Good Enough shares Wayne Elseyʼs story from a teenage boy on the verge of committing suicide to the founder of one of the fastest growing charities in the world. Along the way, Almost Isnʼt Good Enough takes a look into what has made Soles4Souls grow to where it is today.
Almost Isnʼt Good Enough will speak purpose into your life, much like the purpose Wayne discovered when he founded Soles4Souls. 100% of the proceeds will go directly towards furthering Soles4Souls mission. For every book sold, 10 pairs of shoes will be given to people in need!
Wayneʼs hope is that this book will provide 200,000 shoes to kids around the world in 2011! Soles4Souls is asking you to join in using the book to change the world.
Buy Two, Give One, Tell Five
When you BUY TWO, 20 pairs of shoes will be distributed to people in need wherever you designate.
When you GIVE ONE, a message of hope and purpose will be given to someone you care about.
When you TELL FIVE, you will help Soles4Souls hit our goal of giving away 200,000 pairs of shoes to people in need all over the world.
TELL FIVE by sharing this post on your Facebook or Twitter. Use the hashtag #200kShoes. Sign up and share email updates from the book. When you do, youʼll be providing shoes to an entire village.
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of Almost Isn’t Good Enough:
I chose to leave my corporate career and make Soles4Souls my life’s work. Just because I made that decision doesn’t mean that is the only option you have available. Maybe you’re in your twenties, thirties, fifties, or whatever age and wondering what you can do. You might be discouraged that you can’t leave your job and start a nonprofit organization to solve a looming social problem. Maybe your feet are backed into a corner with your career and family obligations and think there is no way you can get a do-over in life.
If you’re in your twenties, let me encourage you to learn as much as you can about yourself. Surround yourself with people who are better than you at just about anything. Listen, watch, observe, and practice. Change jobs more frequently if you need. Not everyone wakes up one day and recognizes what he or she will do with the rest of their life. With the pace at which technology is changing the world, chances are whatever you are doing today won’t exist by the end of your career. Even better are the chances of you stumbling into a career that didn’t exist when you graduated from college. Use this time to discover who you are, your unique talents,and how you can leverage those skills to help others and yourself.
If you’re in your thirties, keep a balance between work and family. Don’t be consumed with building your career that you leave your family behind. Your family will be there when your job fails you and when the company you have been so loyal to decides they no longer need your services. There is no amount of money that will buy you security you can find in the loving arms of the ones you love and who love you.
If you’re in your fifties or older, it’s not too late. You may be entering a transitional period in your life that is very similar to those who are in their twenties. Perhaps you are on the brink of retirement. Your identity is wrapped up in your work, your airline rewards account, and your membership to the corporate gym. Retirement does not mark the end of your life but an opportunity to invest in other areas.
In my last post, I shared a powerful story of a young girl. You may or may not have seen this internet sensation who has a powerful story of being given a second chance. I want to share with you today: Ted Williams.
Ted gives glory to God all throughout this interview and is a living testament that you can come back from addiction and homelessness. Redemption and for that matter: all things are possible with our God.
Ted is now being courted for a major job by the NBA and NFL films. Watch the following video of Ted being interviewed after being discovered. Unbelievable. To God be the glory.
Join my team this Christmas season as we give the gift of clean water to an entire community. We’ve already raised enough money to give clean water to a community in Uganda. Now we’re raising money to give clean water to a community in Sri Lanka.
You know the facts – I’ve blogged about them before. One out of eight people don’t have access to clean/safe water. Why don’t WE do something about it?
Pretty sobering when you see it like this, huh? This Christmas season while you’re shopping for friends and family, give a gift to someone you don’t know and may never meet. This gift will change their life through access to safe water and the Living Water message. Not only is this a Christian organization that offers hope and the Gospel to these communities, but you can literally see where your money is going.
When the community gets safe water, we will film a video as everyone takes part in the celebration. We’ll then send this to everyone who has joined a team and participated so that each person can see how far that $10 christmas gift went. Thank you for being a part of a truly transformational Christmas season! Join my team HERE and give the gift of clean water this Christmas season. Thank you.
This blog post has been on my heart for quite some time. I don’t want to come across as negative or a party pooper, but I feel this is something we need to openly and honestly discuss. I started thinking about how blessed we are as a nation and how well we live compared to the rest of the world. I started to question if the average American takes that for granted and if we realize we’ve been blessed to bless others.
It all started a couple of weeks ago when I was watching a comedian (I’m a big fan of comedy). In one of this comedian’s jokes he laughed about how in other countries they don’t have clean water and how here in the US we play in water. He went on to pretend he was at a water park and splashing around in water and going down a water slide. Something deep inside me hurt when he made his joke and I sobered up to the fact that we do play with our water.
When I go to Six Flags, I love the water rides. I stand on a bridge and get splashed. I felt sick thinking about washing my car and how I have taken having clean water available for granted for too long. I have blogged about clean water before – as you know, I’m passionate about social justice issues. I also supported a Twitter campaign to raise money to build wells in other countries. I was also on staff at a church that raised money to build wells.
All that to say, I’m no stranger to the facts, but to hear the comedian laughing about it really stung. It upset me and made me want to do something about it. If you’re wondering how serious this issue is, here are the cold, hard facts:
Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than all forms of violence, including war.
Want some more hard truth? In many countries, people wait in line for food. Here we wait in line for iPhones. Let that sink in. Again, my heart is not to be negative, but to speak the truth in love. I sincerely believe we have been blessed to bless others.
If you have safe, clean drinking water and you’re not waiting in line for food (which is probably all of you reading this), then what can we do to make a difference? I’ve decided to add a free ad for Charity: Water on my blog (over to the right). I encourage you to click on it, read more about them and support them. I’ve blogged about organizations I support on here before. Here are a quick few that you can get started with right away.
World Vision – My wife and I have supported WV for 15 years.
What will you give? What can your church do? How can we make a difference? We MUST wrestle with this and not ignore this part of God’s creation. If you’re up for donating something to one of these organizations, please leave a comment. Your action may inspire someone else to act. Together we can make a difference.
Yesterday I mentioned how pastor Ray Johnston brought the book of Philemon alive to me. Did you read it again? If not, go and read and come back. Basically, Philemon was a wealthy slave owner who had a slave (Onesimus) rip him off and run away. Onesimus met Paul and became a Christ-follower. Paul wrote a letter to Philemon (his old slave master) asking him to accept Onesimus back as a “son” and member of his family. Not only was he a slave (which were killed and treated as unhuman), but he had ripped Philemon off and ran away.
So, after reading Paul’s words to Philemon, do you think Philemon did it? Did he accept Onesimus back and not kill him for running off? For the answer we look to ancient Church history and letters written 50 years later by an early Christian leader (St. Ignatius of Antioch) to the Church at Ephesus. In the very first chapter of St. Ignatius’ letter he praises their “their wonderful bishop” (pastor) Onesimus. Think it’s a coincidence? Ignatius uses the identical phrase that Paul uses in verse 11 – “who formerly was useless, but now is useful.”
Say what? Onesimus – a slave, became one of the great leaders of the Christian church and most likely was the pastor of the Church of Ephesus. Many scholars point out that Ephesus was the center of where they met to choose the letters to be included in the Biblical canon and Onesimus might have had a hand in encouraging them to include his story (the book of Philemon) in our Bible. Have you ever wondered why such a strange and short book was included in the Bible? Maybe God wanted us to see the amazing story of a slave who became a pastor and leader in the early Church. What are your thoughts?
Two people that I greatly respect and follow are pastors James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll. Both have recently returned from Haiti after seeing on the ground and up-close and personal what’s going on. They are working on a new project called http://churcheshelpingchurches.com/ and are helping to rebuild the Church in Haiti.
I encourage you to follow them on Twitter (see their names above) and check out THIS website and see how you and your church can get involved. Be sure to watch the videos on their website. You can only see them there.
Again, thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter, I came across Donald Miller’s response to Pat Robertson’s comments on Haiti. I think Donald captured very well what I was feeling. He’s a true writer and expresses his feelings well. I invite you to go HERE and read his blog and comment.
Since Pat spoke on behalf of Christians, how do you feel about his comments? Is your church doing anything to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti?
About a week ago I came across this big announcement from Jason Salamun (via the wonder of Twitter). Project Church is giving away half their budget to end human trafficking & sex slavery globally, serve the poor locally, and help start churches who share their DNA.
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I have a heart for social justice and ending slavery. I know this budget move isn’t realistic for most churches, but I admire the heart and passion of Jason and Project Church. I think they are blazing a new trail of literally putting their money where their mouth is and I hope it will have a positive impact on the Church – capital “C”.
What do you think about this decision? Could you see your church giving away 10, 20 or 30% to end slavery?
