This Radical!

My wife and I have been listening to David Platt of The Church at Brook Hills recently. He’s currently preaching through James and through this series the church has committed to what they are calling “The Radical Experiment.” I can’t urge you enough to look at what they are doing. When I read this I think, “YES! This is how a church that is reading and preaching the book of James ought to respond!” I can’t wait to see the ripple effect of this on their church, other churches, their city, and the nations.

From their website:

As our faith family has been studying the book of James, we have been challenged by the Word in light of the needs around us in the world. When it comes to spiritual need, so many still have so little access to the Gospel, and when it comes to physical need, over 26,000 children die every day of starvation or preventable diseases. Meanwhile, God has entrusted the Gospel to us, in addition to giving us extraordinary physical resources compared to the rest of the world. In light of all that God has given us and in view of the needs around us, we are not going to be content to merely listen to the Word and deceive ourselves; we are going to do what it says.

We’ve decided that for one year we are going to look at every expenditure we have in light of dire, desperate need around the world (specifically children who are dying of starvation or preventable diseases). As a church, we are going to save and sacrifice in every possible place in order to free up as many resources as we can to give away. In addition, individuals and families within our faith family are going to begin doing the same thing, spending and sacrificing every possible dollar in order to give as much as possible to urgent spiritual and physical need around the world.

Our initial commitment of $525,000 to Compassion International involves sponsoring 21 Child Survival Programs across India.

In addition to caring for children on the other side of the world, we have also been challenged by James 1:27 to care for children and their families here in Birmingham. On Sunday, September 6, as we studied James 1:27, we began considering how we could work in partnership with the Department of Human Resources in our county (as well as other foster care and adoption agencies that work with DHR) to provide for all of the children in need of homes in our county. Two weeks later, on Sunday, September 20, hundreds of families signed up to begin the foundational steps in fostering and/or adopting children.

Read more on their website here.

Definition of an Emergency

Shaun Groves:

This past weekend – thanks to an e-mail from a blog reader – I listened to a sermon by Francis Chan (three times) called “Living To Display The Gospel” and was re-inspired by a new answer. In his message he told the story of how he decided to give away a large sum of money he earned. And he ended the story by saying that some people ask him if it’s wise to give it all away. “Shouldn’t you be more moderate in your generosity?” they essentially ask. “Shouldn’t you put some of it away in case of emergency?”

To which he answered, “Are you saying that what’s happening in ‘the developing world’ isn’t an emergency? …Oh, you mean an emergency that involves me. Because if it doesn’t involve me then it’s not a real emergency.”

He explained passionately and gently that God is not moderate in his generosity toward us. Jesus didn’t look at the mess on Earth and say, “Well those problems aren’t my problems so I’m staying out of it.” No, he gave all because he loved the whole world. Love says your emergency is our emergency and then it sacrifices without moderation to intervene. Love, Francis believes, doesn’t save a sum so large for it’s own future needs when someone else is in tremendous need right now.

Francis reminded me that moderation isn’t a bad thing but even moderation must be pursued in moderation. And it’s thrown out the window entirely in case of emergency. And all over the world, this is an emergency.

[HT: VitaminZ]

Three Ways to Give Hope this Christmas Season

1. Make a Donation to Help Make an Adoption Possible. Your gift to our loan fund will be used to help a family adopting a child overcome the financial hurdles. Further, as the family pays back their interest-free loan the money you donate will be used dollar for dollar to help another orphan enter a Christian family. It truly is a “gift that keeps on giving” giving hope to child after child. Click here to make a donation online.

2. Start a Memorial Fund. Through LegacyChild you can establish a fund through which family and friends can make tax-deductible donations in memory of a loved one. Start a fund, we’ll set up your own page on our website with photos and information, then let your family know about it as your Christmas gift to them. You then have the blessing of choosing a family from our website to give an interest-free adoption loan too. Your gifts through your memorial fund will help the family you choose adopt, and as they pay their interest-free loan back you will have the opportunity to help another family, and another, and another!

3. Invest in the Establishment of an Adoption Fund for your Church.
Sometimes all it takes is one person to start a fund for their church. By establishing local church adoption funds, local churches can directly minister to their own families and help provide financial assistance to those called to adopt. The ABBA Fund provides churches with administration and an approval process at no cost. Read about how it works here and contact us for more information.