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I have a few minutes. What can I do for World Orphans?

If you were wondering what you might be able to do for orphans with a few spare minutes, we have some suggestions. Check these out.

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Let us know if you have any other suggestions.

The "Third Wave"

The World Orphan logo is (ec)³. Which stands for each church, each child, each community. The national Church is completing both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment through the act of caring for the orphan. With a just few resources from the west, the national Church can get it done.

 In his book, "Revolution in World Missions," K.P. Yohannan writes:

"But around the world today, the Holy Spirit is breaking over Asian and African nations, raising up thousands of dedicated men and women who are bringing the salvation story to their own people. And millions of lost souls in closed countries would probably never learn about the love of God by any other means. These national Christians-humble, obscure pioneers of the Gospel-are taking up the banner of the cross where colonial-era missions left off. They are the third wave of mission history-the native missionary movement....

I believe we will see this generation reached for Christ as this exciting third wave of mission leadership unties with concerned Christians, churches and mission agencies around the world. As we draw nearer to Christ in unity, feeling His heartbeat for lost and dying souls, we realize that we are all serving on King and one Kingdom."

Do you sense how fortunate we are to live in these exciting times. A time that is like none other in so many ways. The third wave in missions is just one way, but a big way. When obedient Christians around the world begin to unite in ways they never have before we will see the Holy Spirit honor that unity with a mighty movement. When obedient Christians around the world feel the heartbeat of the Lord for the orphan, for lost and dying souls the Kingdom will be impacted and the Great Commission will be fulfilled during this generation.

Please join me in praying for the third wave, for the unity between the Churches in the developing world and the Churches in the developed world. That together, we can see the Holy Spirit honor our obedience with by fulfilling the Great Commission through us as we fulfill the Great Commandments, and rescue the orphan.

You can obtain your own copy of Yohannan's book at this web site free book offer .

"Destiny Rescues Destiny"

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hang out at the Desperation Conference at New Life in Colorado Springs. It was my fist time to meet the members of the _Tag ministry and hear their heart for the orphan. This is part of their story. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next.

Light on a Hill

"Mission and Missions must be at the consuming passion of the whole church of God and not the exclusive domain of an elite missionary regiment. Only then will the church be like a city set on a hill which cannot be hidden. Only then will the fullest meaning of mission as the light of God be realized." Gerald Wright 

Day of "Coincidence." Part 2

In Part one I asked if you have ever had one of those days where too many things happen for them just to be a coincidence? The other day I had one of those days, which seems to happen more often than not. A quote from an author, a Bible verse and an email all converged at once to make a reoccurring point.

Here's the email and the point:

The Bible verse, Jer. 22, was scheduled for the reading plan over 100 years ago. But it "happened" to fall on the same day that I received an email from My Space. It said "check out the new MySpace Local and see what has been reviewed in Denver."

The title that caught my eye was "Top Night Life, Church." I have to admit I was more than just a bit curious. Someone has figured out how to do church and end up as one of the top venues? Maybe in Colorado Springs, but not in Denver? So I clicked on the tab. The review included this summary:

"This former cathedral pumps up the volume and praises the electronic gods on the dance floor...

With several bars, three dance areas, a couple of lounges and even a sushi bar, The Church makes getting rowdy lots of fun. Depending on the night and the room, it attracts crowds of goths, mods and club kids. There's obvious appeal to ordering a drink and dancing the night away in a former church. However, it's not a concert hall: Sound bounces off the stone walls and cavernous high-arched ceilings creating some less-than-stellar acoustics."

The building has remained, but the church is no more.

The building, St. Mark's Parish Church, was built in 1889 and is listed in the National Historical Register. The historical designation meant that it could not be torn down after it was abandoned years ago. So, someone bought it and turned it into a nightclub, and named it "The Church."

Buildings can end up on the National Historical Register for several reasons. They might be associated with events or people that made significant contributions to society, or they have distinctive characteristics of construction that represent the work of a master. Some of the buildings in Denver are registered for being the first in the Nation to provide health care to tuberculosis patients, people that had been robbed of their health by a terrible disease. 

It turns out that St. Mark's Church was registered for it's representation of the work of master Denver architects, Lang and Pugh. The church didn't make it into the National Register, only the building did.

I don't know what happened to the church, but I dare say that their culture is no more, at least at that site. Did they go to sleep and wake up too late? What happened to the vision of Kingdom work that made them contribute so much, to build such a great building that could be described years later as a cathedral? What happened to the lives that were changed as they heard the Word of God and looked on as the sunlight passed through the stained glass windows? Were they disobedient to the Word? Is Dr. Sweet right? Is this an indication of more to come?

The point: God commands obedience from His people, His church. Justice, righteousness, caring for the oppressed, the widow, the fatherless, are commands. They are not just ministry options. When His people "transition their culture" and are obedient to His Word, they will care for the orphan. And through the care for the orphan they will have a lasting impact on the "kings" and "servants" around them.

What would the National Historical Register look like someday if every church in America did wake-up and get it? Would it be filled with listings of theaters, school gyms and community centers? Places that couldn't be torn down because the people that rented the space and met there made a significant contribution to society and changed the world. They fought the battle against HIV/AIDS, poverty, oppression, terrorism, ignorance and they rescued every child. They changed every community with a message that turned lives around.

My hope is that the future days of coincidence are filled with quotes from authors that state that churches are waking up and people are providing a "continuum of care" for every child. That the Bible verse for that day is Matthew 25:21 "His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." The email is about a place that people need to experience, where people drink in the Word of God. And the point is that God is pleased with His church because we are obedient to His Word.

Day of "Coincidence." Part 1

Have you ever had one of those days where too many things happen for them just to be a coincidence? The other day I had one of those days, which seems to happen more often than not. A quote from an author, a Bible verse and an email all converged at once to make a reoccurring point.

When I finished all the thoughts it was too long, so I had to split it into two parts. Here is the quote and the Bible verse.

The Quote:

"Western Christianity went to sleep in a modern world governed by the gods of reason and observation. It is awakening to a postmodern world open to revelation and hungry for experience. Unless churches can transition their cultures they stand the real risk of becoming museum churches, nostalgic testimonies to a culture that is no more." (Leonard Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims)

I heard Dr. Sweet make a similar statement, or prediction at a conference last year. The point he was trying to make was that the American church needs to wake up or it run's the risk of becoming like the great churches in Europe. The church there has become so irrelevant to the culture, that the great cathedrals are empty, or in many cases only museums.  

The Bible Verse:

The Bible reading schedule I have been using was compiled over 100 years ago and the reading the day of coincidence was Jeremiah 22:

" 3 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people.5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation."

The Hebrew word translated here for desolation could also be translated as ruins, or waste.

Do you hear the familiar ring? The church that fails to be obedient to what God commands, runs the risk of becoming a desolation, ruins or waste. "A culture that is no more."

Are there any examples like this in America? In your neighborhood?

Check out Part 2 for the email and the point.

Working Harder - Praying Less?

"It is better to let the work go by default than to let the praying go by neglect. Whatever affects the intensity of our praying affects the value of our work. "Too busy to pray" is not only the keynote to backsliding, but it mars even the work done. Nothing is well done without prayer for the simple reason that it leaves God out of the account. It is so easy to be seduced by the good to neglect the best, until both the good and the best perish. How easy to neglect prayer or abbreviate our praying simply by the plea that we have church work on our hands. Satan has effectively disarmed us when he can keep us too busy doing things to stop and pray." E. M. Bounds