Reaching to Serve

I am so proud of how all of our campuses are serving in our communities. We are by far not the only people doing this, it’s exciting to me to see how many churches have awakened to the fact that our role is to do more than preach with our mouths, but help people in need. People with spiritual, physical, relational, financial, and emotional needs.

I have Pastor Friends here in the city and throughout the states and around the world who are truly making a difference and caring for people. Love is active, so we stay busy helping others. Here are some of the things we have done lately.

Our MWC campus just held a banquet for Military men and women. To appreciate them and let them know how much they truly mean to us. MWC houses Tinker air force base, and the area is populated with the military. It was just a way of saying thanks and it really made an impact.

MWC has also been tailgating at choctaw high school Home football games, giving away free burgers and hot dogs and just being available to the students and families. They have also been diligent in building an ongoing relationship with teachers, administration and students by going to the school and helping out.

Edmond Campus, held a benefit dinner not long ago, partnering with a local high school for a young man who had been injured in an accident and had been paralyzed. They raised money to help him pay for medical equipment and medical Care.

Edmond campus men have been visiting the elderly in one of the local nursing homes. They have provided snacks for college students on finals week, and put together goodie bags for a local football team for an away game.

OKC Campus at the start of school handed out free snacks and connected with college students. OKC is going into local public elementary schools, and doing an assembly on the value of reading. In one day we will be in front of several hundred students, and helping promote reading and reinforcing what their teachers are teaching. We will do this on the 18th of this month and again in the spring.

Stillwater blessed 10 families for thanksgiving, fed lunch to all the teachers at the middle school, and some of the administrative staff at OSU, as well as cleaned the Payne County Youth Shelter.

Norman has been tailgating at the OU football games. They have given out thousands of free food items (hot dogs, and breakfast burritos) and connected with lots of people. They have really helped some people while being a part of the fun in the community. They Even ended up on the fox sports show. How fun.

Cordell Campus took on a project to help renovate, clean, and do minor projects on a home for a single mom.

These are just some of the things we are doing. We have individuals in our church, who have outreaches to get blankets for the homeless, others who are getting socks for the homeless, and still others who are regularly feeding the homeless. We have men who are mentoring inner city youth and women who teaching and training young at risk women life skills and parenting.

So many other things are going on and we’re just getting ramped up. One of the things I like the most are the ministries all of our campuses come together for. Like our foster kids ministry. We provide a free camp in the summer for 80-100 foster kids, and we do something we call the “Tree of Hope” Its a way for people on every campus to get involved with giving a christmas to hundreds of kids. We have people take kids wish list off the tree and buy gifts for them, wrap them and bring them back for a big party we do after our Christmas production. This helps our foster kids and our RTG (rescue the girls) families.

The greatest part of all of this is that it’s God’s heart for His church to help those who are need, and as we are helping we can share the love, compassion, grace, and Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love Jesus and all that He stands for, and am privileged to work in His Kingdom. It’s an honor to serve people and it’s life changing for us as well.

By the way on all of the projects we do, we are partnering with local merchants, business people, city officials, and leaders. Partnership is the key.

We can all do something. Please comment and tell me some of the things you are doing with your church or on your own to help people.

Thanks
David

 

 

Does anybody Care?

I have a great life! I get to meet a lot of people, from different backgrounds, in diverse settings, and issues on different levels. Just for the record, everyone deals with “stuff.” Everyone. Everyone in this life has ups and downs. Many victories and many travesties, and sometimes they come right on the heals of each other.

The one thing I know that “life” is not prejudice. It does not prejudge in any way. Everyone goes through it. By the way there is only one option if you don’t want to go through it. I think that life is what you make it, our perspective has a lot to do with our survival. Whether dealing with good or bad times, we can choose to be positive.

I think one problem we have, is when we get down, we can’t see anyone else. Its like, all of a sudden our life is locked in to a long stare in the mirror, and we don’t like what we see. I was watching “extreme home makeover” the other day, I love it. I love seeing people do good things for other people. There was a young man on it named Patrick Henry Hughes. He was born without eyes, and without the ability to straighten his limbs. He is now nineteen and quite an inspiration. He is a great musician! I can’t do his story justice by any mean, he is so inspirational! He has a book out, I’m going to get it. I can’t Imagine how so many of us have such minor issues compared to him, and yet he and his dad worked together to keep him moving forward, and we can find every excuse to slow to almost a stop.

When we are down and in that stare down with ourselves we can’t see anyone else, so the question arises, does anyone care? The answer of course, is yes! Absolutely yes! Someone does care. First and foremost God cares. The bible says in 2 Peter, that we should cast our care on Him because He cares for us. Others care. I bet we would be surprised how many other people care, if we would just let them in, if we, when we’re hurt would let down our guard and quit sending the message that we don’t want to be bothered.

I’ve had several wake up calls in my life. I call them that, because they are I was asleep to, until someone woke me up. Issues like human trafficking, foster kids, HIV/aides, orphans, starving people around the globe. When I first wake up to an issue, i always get zealous, then I see the need, it seems overwhelming, then I decide what i can do to help, then I go about doing it. In this process there is always a temptation to say, why doesn’t anyone care? Where are all the people that should be doing something about this? However, invariably I find out as i continue my quest to help, there are a lot of people out there caring. Some of them have different motives than others, but what I can say is Somebody does care.

Yes, more should care, and its up to us to get more people informed and involved, but lets not curse the baby as we are throwing the bath water out. I encourage you if your down, realize no one can read your mind. Ask yourself, “is my attitude a sign on my forehead that says, stay away from me?”

Ask for help. Ask someone to get involved. Tell someone close to you, that you need them, because I tell you with certainty, someone does care. Don’t give up, don’t quit, someone does care. If you can’t do anything but cry out to God and ask him to send someone to you, He will. He cares.

Someone Who Cares
David

Depraved…

I have just finished watching “Nightlines” report on tracking a pedophile in Phnom Penh Cambodia. I feel much like i do every time I encounter this. I feel a full spectrum of emotion. I want to cry for the hopelessness of the situation, I’m enraged at a person who could be so depraved as to move from one country to another and make a life there for the purpose of sexually abusing children. Its appalling, so much so that your mind almost wants to say “is this really happening?” Its the ultimate in Surreal.

I probably would say that like so many americans do, except I’ve been there, and I have worked with many children who have been rescued from the sex trade, and our ministry spends time and money to help keep this from happening to other children and helping those this has happened to.

Make no mistake, this is happening all over the world. It is interesting how it happens. The culture is ripe for it, because of what has happened in the history of Cambodia, there are some in that culture that do not have the same respect for human life as others, and there are predators many who are american who take full advantage of this. They see children as a product not a person. Couple that with poverty beyond the pale and you have the makings of using human beings as slaves. Let me just say however, that so much of the cambodian population are very loving, caring people, we have many great friends there, that frankly are changing their nation for good from the inside out.

Its very interesting to me that this man they are reporting on, “Harvey Johnson” an american has gone there and is living there, he is a pedophile disguising himself as an english teacher. The people of Cambodia want to learn english very badly, and its a perfect front to trap kids. He can set himself up as a trusted american there to help them, and make a living in doing so. While there are many organizations that use this tool for good, this man is taking advantage of the culture to please himself.

What is so profoundly treacherous about this situation is that it is in mass destroying the lives of innocent children. Effecting them mentally, spiritually, emotionally and Physically, many times at the hands of their own desperate parents. I can’t tell you the stories I have heard and witnessed for myself of little girls as young as 5, that have been abused. Some that have lost their mind, some have lost their ability to ever have children of their own. Some have been so deeply scarred their future looks bleak at best. However there are many great organizations working with these children around the world. Some who are literally rescuing these children right out of the hands of their abusers. Others have taken the role of aftercare, and counseling. Many organizations are helping pro-actively by getting kids off the streets, and out of situations where they could be taken, or bought for human trafficking purposes.

I have also seen so many of these children who are such success stories of what compassion, love, counseling and ministry can do. Turn their whole world around and give them a safe, second chance.

We work with several and know others, but there are a lot of people out there trying to do something about this travesty. Lest you bury your head in the sand, don’t think it is not happening right here in america. the statistics of children who are being used and abused in sex trade settings in our own country are astounding. WAKE UP! Help! do something, we can not let this stand. Its our responsibility to help the innocent to speak up for those who can not speak for themselves. Who have no choice, who are in the clutches of people who will use them for profits until they are not worth using and then toss them aside like little more than an old dish rag.

We are doing what we can, and I am continually pursuing partnerships, and relationships to work with in this endeavor. How can you help? You can support the organizations that are doing something, or you can get on the front lines and help that way. We are doing both.

Come and see and support what Global reach for justice (Church of the harvest’s global initiative) is doing around the world, to help in this arena and others.

November 13 Friday night, our global reach for justice banquet (fund raiser) withe special guests the Watoto children’s choir from Uganda Africa. It will be a night to hear what we have done, and what we are going to do in 2010 and beyond.

Other organizations to help as well are, International Crisis Aid, International Justice Mission, A21 campaign (chris Cain).

When I saw this for the first time, the little baby girls that are so precious and was told their stories, and read the case files, i was left in a heap, and could only think about my own daughters, and how I would turn the world upside down, if someone were to try to harm them like this. Well, I believe that God has made us as responsible for the innocent as he has our own families and we must stand for them, we must act for them, we must speak for them, we must give for them, and we must stop this for them.

I am not writing this as a spectator on the sidelines, but as a person who has been there, who has seen this first hand, and who is doing something, although I wish much more, we are doing what we can. There are a lot of ways to help, we can all do something.

I will be writing on this more in the next few days. Lets take this head on and lets stop this madness. Kudos to Nightline for exposing this evil.

Thanks
David

“I Love the Lord”…..Whitney Houston

I watched the rerun of the Oprah show late tonight and saw the second interview with Whitney Houston. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was so impressed with her. She was very honest without being disrespectful, which i would imagine would have been very difficult given what she has experienced. It seems her life, had become very much like so many lives today. Simply out of control. Her marriage, her emotions, her physical life, and her career. Everything was out of control.

She obviously made some bad choices, and got herself in a mess. Addicted to drugs, estranged from her husband, and just trying to pull it together. My favorite part of the interview was when Oprah said, “who do you love?” Whitney replied, “I love the Lord” Oprah asked her so how did you make it? She said I know where my strength comes from, I would never have made it if it wasn’t for God.

Our lives may or may not be out of control today, but it wouldn’t hurt for us to remember we can not make it without Jesus. He has done so much for us, and his grace is so good, and has empowered us to overcome all the negatives in life. So tonight I say like whitney, I love the Lord, and I would never have made it, outside of his goodness and Grace. I know where my strength comes from. Not me, but the Holy Spirit. Thanks Jesus for living in Me, guiding me, encouraging me, and inspiring me, and loving me.

Thanks
David

There’s always a story…

Lately I find myself learning a lot. Honestly that should be the norm with all of us, because if we’re not learning, we’re not growing, a truth we forget at times. I think what I am going through now is another phase maturing. Although it truly pains me to say it, I am getting older. No, i did not say I’m old, just getting older (i must qualify that for my own psyche).

What i’ve been learning lately is there’s always a story. Whenever we encounter someone who is hard to deal with, an out of control child, a person who seems to be dependent on another person, a person who regularly irritates others, someone who seems to always be in trouble, or even a family member who drives us crazy with their immaturity. Maybe even a person who writes huge run on sentences like the one you just read.

Whatever the case there is always a story. I think we should be aware of the story. We need the background before we can truly relate to someone. Now, I say this not to excuse wrong behavior. Not at all, but I say this for perspectives sake. We to quickly judge without knowing the situation. We rush to form an opinion without thinking it through. Maybe its because or society has become so politicized that we can’t think of peoples personal lives, but rather, where they fit on the continuum of our political spectrum and agenda.

lets not forget every person has their own story. If we know the story, then we can have the right perspective to relate to them and maybe even help. In ministry of course we’ve worked with all ages, all races, both genders, and even some confused about their gender, or their sexuality, the very poor and the very rich, and everyone in between.

When we see certain things, many times it speeds us to judgement, to opinion, to criticize, but how can we help if we don’t understand. I want to encourage you before you judge develop a relationship and hear the story, because if you do, you won’t end up judging at all, you will end up caring, being compassionate, and helping that person. You will realize they are not just the other side of a political agenda, or a moral standard, they are a person whose gone through some stuff.

I can’t begin to share all the stories. When working with foster kids and at times getting frustrated with behavior and then you hear the story, your frustration subsides and an overwhelming compassion and compulsion rises in you and says, “I will help this child!”

In working with people who seem to never be able to get over problems or obstacles, or addictions, you want to judge or be tired of it, but then you hear the story, and you realize my opinion matters little, but my love and action can make a change.

So, today, before we form our opinions of others, before we generalize and put everyone in the same box. Before we decide we know more than we really do, I implore you, listen to the story. You’re perspective will shift, and action will follow.

Am i say its ok to continue down a wrong road, or that people should be excused for wrong behavior because of their story? NO

But I’m also saying they can’t be helped effectively unless someone is willing to hear their story.

So what’s your story?

Thanks
David

True Religion

Global Reach for Justice Cambodia 2009

Last Night…

Well the trip has come to a close. I can honestly say we have done all that we could to help the people of Cambodia on this short trip. We have laid a good foundation for future work and have further developed relationships with teams. I love my life, getting to share Jesus with people who so desperately need Him, and get to help people who have need.

Ended the night tonight with a debrief meeting with the team. We do this because I want to talk to them about returning to the states and re acclimating to the culture at home and not allowing reverse culture shock to set in.

We allowed everyone to share important moments to them, and to talk about how the trip made them feel and how they felt about the help we provided. As always it was a great meeting and good for perspective. This team was remarkable. They are resilient, flexible, positive, team players, great attitudes, a real joy to lead.

I am sorry that I haven’t been able to get up as many blogs as I would have liked due to poor internet connection and in some cases none at all, there will be more video and written blogs to come when I get home. Here are some things that the team said.

Some said they sensed the real responsibility to carry the vision of bringing justice to the world because of what they have seen. They vowed I will not forget.

Some said they were impressed by the leaders here and that there is hope because of the all out commitment to Christ that they have. They said that one leader told them that all the things we have done are such an encouragement because it makes them know that they are not forgotten and they don’t feel like the are in this all alone.

One said she was just so thankful for being able to come on the trip and sees it as a destiny move for her. God has opened her eyes to the need around her.

Others said, the have a revelation how simple it is to meet need if you just have a mind to do it.

One said it is so powerful how much compassion God has and how he provides for the orphans through Christians and the church. She said I have seen God use teams here and our team to provide the needs of widows and orphans, she sees how God works and what the church is really all about.

One said “I have never seen anything like the things we have encountered on this trip and it opens your eyes to our responsibility to use our blessings wisely and to be grateful for what we have been given.

Others comment were things like, “I have more compassion,” also “I see Hope.”

There was much more and these are just a few paraphrased comments. Truth is the experience is life changing, for us and the people we are helping. I’m glad God lets us be a part of helping others. Its awesome.

David

Teaching English…Courage

Just getting started…

Its been a great week, and there are some more video blogs and pics coming so be looking for them. Just wanted to let you know that this week, we have Fed, clothed, ministered too, thrown birthday parties for, and played with the orphans of our two hope houses and in our friends Feeding program. We took one group of them to see the eighth wonder of the world…”angkor Wat” It was very interesting, fun, and extremely hot. The humidity is unreal. Lets just say we sweated some.

Can’t wait to get back and get rolling on some local stuff, love living life, doing what we do, helping others and changing the world, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Global reach for Justcie….righting wrongs!

Thanks
David