Adoption in God’s Story: Fall

God created man and woman to live as a family. Together with one another. And together in His presence. It was a good setup. Unfortunately, in the fall we are introduced to sin and death and the brokenness of relationship with God, the family, one another, and the creation.

We see this breakdown in the story of Cain and Abel. Almost immediately after the fall the first family experiences brokenness that few of us have experienced. Jealousy. Envy. Deceit. Murder.

That was only the beginning of what was to follow. Families are not only broken by the sinful actions of man and peoples but by disease, natural disasters, death.

Take Uganda for example.

Decades of war. Thousands of children abducted by the LRA. The HIV/AIDS pandemic. Severe hunger and poverty. 2.3 million orphans left fatherless (more than any other nation in the world today).

We know in our souls this is not right. The need for gospel-justice is more apparent than ever before. The fatherless need a father. When it comes to the orphan crisis caused by the fall, God’s response is to “place the lonely in families” (Ps 68:6-7). Will that be our response?

The need for adoption is both a result of the fall and a way to bring healing to the broken lives of orphans here in the US and around the world. As we provide families for the fatherless through adoption we reflect God’s glory and we restore what was broken. In this, we find some of life’s sweetest rewards and treasures.

Read Part 1: Adoption in God’s Story: Creation

Free Crazy Love Audio Book by Francis Chan

Christianaudio.com is offering the audiobook version of Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” for free. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It is one of the best books on the implications of the gospel that I have read recently.

Click Here to go download this Audiobook and be sure to check back each month as they offer a free book monthly. Usually it is something worth reading/listening too!

Click Here for more on “Crazy Love”.

(HT: VitaminZ)

The Hipster Generation, Social Justice, and Orphans

The potential to impact the lives of millions of orphaned children is huge when you look at the passion of those in the 18-34 year old generation.
Singles like Renee and Katie have moved overseas to spend their lives serving the fatherless.
Artists like Aaron Ivey and Steven Bush are using their gifts to raise awareness.
An increasing number of couples in this age bracket are stepping out in faith to adopt even when they can have biological children.

Along these lines, Adam Smith writes a telling column about the 18-34 year old “hipster” generation in Relevant titled, Who Are We Trying to Impress? Here’s a choice section that makes me thankful for the ones I mentioned above who are really making a difference, inspiring others, and don’t care who they impress.

Our generation, the 18-to-34 set, tend to share a common characteristic. We are remarkably self-satisfied. We are socially aware, politically sensitive and culturally savvy, and we like this about ourselves. The question it raises, however, is if all our sensitivity, savviness and awareness has led anywhere. Certainly, social justice campaigns abound within our generation. One would be loathe to be identified within the subculture without a keen passion for grassroots, countercultural movements. However, where have these movements led? Is ours a generation that is quietly changing the world, or is social conscience just one more accoutrement of fashion for us? An accessory we wear with our Chuck Taylors and horn-rimmed glasses? It seems we’re out not just to change the world, but to impress. The question is, who exactly are we trying to impress?

Of course, one can’t take an entirely pessimistic view of our generation. Many of us are involved in amazing, world-changing endeavors. As a generation, we tend to be remarkably tech-savvy, relish working in teams, show amazing talent at multi-tasking and celebrate diversity. It’s a powerful pastiche that lends us the possibility to do remarkable things and—perhaps more than any other generation—see our world changed in practical and lasting ways. There are 75 million of us, and we have at our fingertips a world connected in such a way that we have more opportunity to impact the globe than at any other epoch of world history. Many of us are doing just that. Groups like Invisible Children, Blood:Water Mission and Kiva have harnessed the passion we feel for justice and the enormous potential provided by technology to make a tangible difference in society and culture.

However, what is troubling is the veneer we often put on our efforts and our culture. We seem so intent upon creating an impressive display of cultural and political awareness that the culture and politics we tout become secondary to the style in which we tout them. When our love of music becomes a race to beat each other with knowledge of obscure bands, we’ve lost our love of music. When our political engagement boils down to who has the best screen-printed swag, we’re not engaging politics. When our passion for social justice isn’t coupled with actual knowledge of the issues we’re fighting for, it’s just posturing. Once again, who are we trying to impress?

Read the whole article here.

Aaron Ivey: Between the Beauty & Chaos

Adoptive-dad and worship-leader, Aaron Ivey, (along with bandmate, and fellow adoptive-dad, Steven Bush) have just released a new album, “Between the Beauty & Chaos.” I highly recommend it.

The songs center around “God’s faithfulness and beauty, and the church’s response to injustice, poverty, and orphans. The 10 song album reflects a heart for the Kingdom of God here and now, between the beauty and the chaos.”

That is some good stuff to be singing about!

It is hard to pick out a favorite song but a few that I really love are “The Name”, and their versions of “It is Well” and “How Great Thou Art.”  The most powerful song for me is “Amos Story” – about their son they are adopting in Haiti. If you know Haiti you know that not many adoptions are happening. Their son is there waiting for them. They are able to go visit but they are waiting on the government to process paperwork. It has been a long and incredibly difficult process. I know only a small taste of that as we wait to bring our son home from Uganda. I love these lines:

“I’ll find a way to get you here if it takes every breath,
another sunrise hits the ground and its a dark lonely sight.
Light years away, I hope you know there is somebody searching for a way to get you here.
I will get you here!”

You can buy the album on iTunes and Amazon. Be sure to check out Aaron’s website, including the justice section highlighting ABBA Fund and some other great organizations making a difference.

“It seems chaos is everywhere.  Tragedy, hunger, brokenness, and darkness can be found around every corner.  From our backyards to the shores of distant countries, the need for the Light of Christ has never been more apparent.  And with this hope that we have in Christ, chaos becomes beauty.” – Aaron Ivey

Affording Adoption in a Tough Economy & When Church Leaders Don’t “Get It”

I want to point out two great articles in the latest Family Life Hope for Orphans newsletter.

Johnston Moore writes about affording adoption in a tough economy here.

“Three important steps people can take in affording adoption in these times: trust, ask, and be creative.”

Jason Weber writes about what you can do when your church leaders just don’t “get it” here.

“The most important role you have when there are leaders who don’t get it is to pray. Remember, God is in the business of changing hearts – we are not. How faithful have you been to seek Him and ask Him to mightily intervene in hearts on behalf of children?”

Adopting from Africa

Since my family is adopting from Uganda I have been talking to an increasing number of people about our experience and about adopting from Africa in general.

One question that has come up is what other African countries are open for adoption. Ethiopia is by far the most popular but what about the rest of Africa?

The best place to start is on the US State Department website. I also asked my good friends RJ and Rebecca Caswell from Weaving Families for their thoughts. They adopted twin boys from Ghana last year and as part of their adoption ministry they provide counseling and consulting to families adopting.

Rebecca writes:

The list of countries in Africa that are open for adoption is sort of a difficult one to compile because it seems like everyday an agency is announcing a new program somewhere in Africa and families have been successful in adopting from countries without “established programs.”  The best place to check the status of adoptions in a country is www.adoption.state.gov

You will have to search one country at a time but you can read what the adoption requirements are for each country and whether or not they are party to the Hague Convention (this dictates what agencies are allowed to work in country and if independent adoptions are possible.) I have listed countries below with the numbers of children adopted in parentheses.

The top African countries with completed adoptions to US citizens in 2008:

Ethiopia (1725)
Liberia (currently closed) (249)
Nigeria 148 (no agencies)
Ghana (101)

Rwanda has become popular recently with several agencies opening programs there (17 in 2008). I have just started seeing agencies announcing Uganda programs (55 in 2008.)

I have seen agencies touting programs in  Burkina Faso (2), Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi (2) and Sierra Leone (10)

Many countries have residency or fostering requirements that can be waived if the courts deem it appropriate or in the best interest of the child as in Uganda as you are aware.  There has been so much in the press about Madonna’s adoption but Malawi clearly states that you must be a resident but they choose not to define resident so it is up to the discretion of the judge.

If God has lead you or is leading you to adopt from an African country (other than Ethiopia) I’d love to hear.

Article on the SBC Adoption Resolution

The news service of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has a great article on the passing of Dr. Russell Moore’s resolution on adoption. The resolution encouraged every Southern Baptist family to pray about whether God wants them to adopt or provide foster care for a child or children. It also called on Southern Baptist and other evangelical churches to devote a Sunday each year to emphasize “our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world.”

Here are a few choice quotes by Dr. Moore:

“Something is afoot among Christian families and churches of virtually every kind,” Moore said. “God is calling the people of Christ to see the face of Jesus in the faces of orphans in North America and around the world. Southern Baptists have affirmed our belief in the authority of Scripture, and the Bible tells us pure religion is defined by care for the fatherless.

“We’ve been defined by our commitment to evangelism, and there is no greater field as `white unto harvest’ right now as children in orphanages, group homes, and the foster care system, children who don’t know a parent’s love and who don’t know the name of Jesus. When Satan wars against children, we should be the ones who have compassion on them, even as Jesus did and does…

“My prayer is that twenty years from now there are thousands of Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, and church leaders who started their lives as orphans, now preaching the gospel of God their Father.”

Read the whole thing.

Family Night

This is an excellent idea for families!
What do you do for family night? I’d love to hear ideas from my readers.

Adoption and Orphan Care Resolution: PASSED

Today the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest protestant denomination) passed the resolution below (presented by Dr. Russell Moore) on adoption and orphan care! This has huge potential for the sake of the fatherless! Pray that an adoption culture will take root and spread in the churches represented by the SBC. I can’t wait to see what God has in store!

“On Adoption and Orphan Care”

WHEREAS, in the gospel we have received the “Spirit of adoption” whereby we are no longer spiritual orphans but are now beloved children of God and joint heirs with Christ
(John 14:18; Rom. 8:12-25; Gal. 3:27-4:9; Eph. 1:5); and

WHEREAS, the God we now know as our Father reveals himself as a “father of the fatherless” (Ps. 68:5) who grants mercy to orphans (Deut. 10:18; Hos. 14:3); and

WHEREAS, our Lord Jesus welcomes the little ones (Luke 18:15-17), pleads for the lives of the innocent (Ps. 72:12-14), and shows us that we will be held accountable for our response to “the least of these my brethren” (Matt. 25:40); and

WHEREAS, the Scripture defines “pure and undefiled religion” as “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” (Jas. 1:27); and

WHEREAS, the satanic powers have warred against infants and children from Pharaoh to Moloch to Herod and, now, through the horrors of a divorce culture, an abortion industry, and the global plagues of disease, starvation, and warfare; and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have articulated an unequivocal commitment to the sanctity of all human life, born and unborn; and

WHEREAS, a denomination of churches defined by the Great Commission must be concerned for the evangelism of children—including those who have no parents; and

WHEREAS, upward of 150 million orphans now languish without families in orphanages, group homes, and placement systems in North America and around the world; and

WHEREAS, our Father loves all of these children, and a great multitude of them will never otherwise hear the gospel of Jesus Christ; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, June 23-24, 2009, express our commitment as a denomination of churches to join our Father in seeking mercy for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we call on each Southern Baptist family to pray for guidance as to whether God is calling them to adopt or foster a child or children; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we encourage our pastors and church leaders to preach and teach on God’s concern for orphans; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we commend churches and ministries that are equipping families to provide financial and other resources to those called to adopt, through grants, matching funds, or loans; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we ask our International Mission Board and North American Mission Board to prioritize the evangelism of and ministry to orphans around the world, and to seek out ways to energize Southern Baptists behind this mission; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we encourage Southern Baptist churches to join with other evangelical Christians in recognizing November 8, 2009, as “Orphan Sunday,” focusing that day on our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we hope what God is doing in creating an adoption culture in so many churches and families can point us to a gospel oneness that is defined not by “the flesh” racial, economic, or cultural sameness but by the Spirit unity and peace in Christ Jesus; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that we pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit on Southern Baptist congregations so that our churches increasingly will announce and picture, in word and in deed, that “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

Adoption in God’s Story: Creation

Everything God does, He does for the absolute display of His glory. Our part is to see that glory, savor it, and share it with the world! With that foundation, I want to look briefly at how adoption fits within God’s global purposes and what that means for us.

Adoption and Creation

Adoption points us to the fact that God created man and woman to live in family. We see this highlighted first in the fact that God created Adam and Eve to live as family. There was no other option. Further, in Psalm 68:5-6 we see God’s heart for the family: “Father of the fatherless is God in His holy habitation…he places the solitary in families.” God does not want anyone to be without a family.  And, as we ourselves care for the fatherless through adoption we reflect His glory, His fatherly care, His family-building passion. We in effect, put on display in this world the very nature of God Himself and the world sees in the flesh the father-heart of God.

Undergirding all this, Ephesians 1:4-5 says, before the “foundation of the world” God the Father “predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” Amazingly, even before God created the earth and mankind, He marked us out for the great privilege of being His children through adoption! Adoption was not a divine afterthought. It was in His mind and purposes before the start of human history.

All this points to the fact that, in creating the world, God intended to build families that would ultimately reflect the family of the Trinity (I won’t go into that here but if you want to look at something that will blow your mind that is a good place to start!). Pre-creation, adoption was God’s plan to build His own spiritual family and His plan for providing healing for broken earthly families. He does not intend for anyone physically or spiritually to be without family; and His pursuit of that is central to His pursuit of the display of His glory and our delight Himself.

Today, delight in His adopting-family-building-fatherly glory! Go and put that glory on display as you make our glorious Father known to the world. And let’s do we can to reflect His glory through our own adoption and care of the fatherless!