Well, here I am again, at the Gryphon, with one awesome addition; my wife Rachel is sitting across the table from me. She has no idea I'm writing about her. She's working hard on some homework from her grad class. She's going back to school to get her Master's in teaching. It's her day off...well sort of. She didn't have to work at Starbucks today--a part-time job which helps us with health insurance and other bills--but she did have almost two hours of class already.
We joke to each other that if we ever go into the mission field we might actually find time to relax.
Missions have been on both our minds lately with the tragedy of Haiti still very much present in the news. We wonder how long the media will keep reporting about them. We wonder how long we'll remember them.
Small group went really well last night, although only about half the group showed up. That left about five of us total, which is a good size for a small group. Numbers never bother me too much. I faithfully do my job the best I can everyday, and trust that God sends who he will send. Anyways, last night we talked about "Poverty and Justice." After being sent--free of charge--to the Urbana Conference with my wife this winter, I left inspired, and decided that the 2010 theme for the young adults and college students in my ministry would be "Poverty and Justice."
During the missions conference I found many helpful resources, including a 6-week lesson and journal series called "The Hole in Our Gospel" based on Richard Stearns book (President of World Vision) by the same name. I decided to use this journal series as a Lenten study, which starts in about four weeks. I've spent the last week studying the bible and reading books about the Christian's responsibility for the poor, hungry, sick, and marginalized. Getting into this I thought I was already pretty well-suited to lead others in becoming aware of the needs around us, and show them how to be proactive in meeting those needs. But somehow the more I study and pray the less adequate I feel. The funny thing about delving into the lives of the poor and destitute is that the more you learn the less capable you feel to make a difference. This rubs my academic mind the wrong way. I like learning about a problem, and then quickly learning a solution. It's a fairly painless process. Learning about the lives of the poor is very painful...and unsettling, because my own life begins to seem much more luxurious than I would like it to seem.
At the end of the series the college students and young adults will be challenged to actually find a way to actively stand up for justice for those who have no voice, or start a campaign on campus that will raise awareness around a particular issue, like clean water, the spread of AIDS, or the child sex-trade.
If you're interested in any of this, or want a closer look at what we'll be doing, you can check out the website. It actually has the 42-day journal online for free, so if you feel compelled you could do your own Leneten study.
http://www.ministryplanet.net/sites/sixweekquest
Well, that's my 15 minutes. Back to work, got another small group tonight, this time it's at Starbucks!
Until next time.
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