Swaziland is a small country in Southern Africa.
Over 40% of the population is HIV positive, there
are more than 120,000 orphans, and the life
expectancy for women is the lowest in the world, at
only 33 years.
Around the country, feeding centers have been
created to help provide regular meals for the many
orphans who lack proper care. The majority of
these care points are run by women, who
themselves are also facing many hardships as the
result of the HIV/AIDS crisis.Timbali Crafts was started in 2006 to help
generate an income for the 45+ women who work
as volunteer cooks at the eight feeding centers in
the rural area of Engculwini. Crafts sales allow the
women to earn an income for their families, and
also continue on with their volunteer work, which is
vital to their community.
Timbali Crafts also seeks to reach out to the
spiritual needs of the women, through regular
Bible studies, retreats and special events.As Timbali Crafts continues to grow, even more
women in Swaziland will be able to become
involved in this income generating opportunity,
and further outreach to underprivileged women will
be funded.
Timbali Crafts is directed by Julie Anderson,
missionary with Adventures In Missions.
The more I've tried to devote myself to serving Him, the less I've experienced this 'feeling' of abundance, or even contentment, in my life. My theology says that God should be enough. That He IS enough. Yet, I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling that knowledge with the struggles that I'm facing. Despite my efforts to seek God and spiritual maturity, I feel like I'm missing something, and I don't even know what that thing is!
Bart Campolo: Why Churches Shouldn't Care for the Poor
I got to talk with Bart Campolo on the phone the other day, regarding a project about poverty that I'm doing with Neue, a Relevant Media Group website. I thought you might enjoy a brief excerpt from the interview - a teaser, if you will, dealing with a topic I broach on this blog quite often - church.
In response to my question, "Why should the Church care for the poor?" Bart gave this informal answer:
"You know, I'm going to be honest with you: I don't understand the fixation that most of the people I know that follow Jesus have with the institutional church. I don't really see buildings, denominational structures, and doctrinal statements reflected very much in the life and teaching of Jesus."
He didn't speak with scorn or contempt for institutional church; he just seemed to have a much simpler definition of church than that, a definition many of us are longing to live out. "While lots of really cool things have come from the church, I've also seen so much pain come out of people involved in church and organized stuff. I don't necessarily feel that the church... is the basic unit of our Christian 'society.'"
He thought for a moment, stumbled over himself for a second as his mouth caught up with what his brain wanted to communicate, and then redefined church: "I don't know - maybe a bunch of people hanging out with each other... So, if you mean by 'the church' a collective group of Christians, they should care about the poor for the same reason that I care about the poor, the same reason that God cares about the poor. Because we're human beings; we're made in the image of God. It is our nature to love, to respond."
He thought again for a moment, possibly considering what he had just said and took the challenge a bit deeper: "Why should organized church care for the poor? I don't know," he admitted rather bluntly. "Actually, if you came to my neighborhood, I could give you several reasons why the organized church shouldn't care for the poor. Especially, economically it's not in their interest to care for the poor. It doesn't advance organized religion to care for the poor."
Even though Bart and I were hundreds of miles apart, talking to one another over not-the-greatest cell phone connection, his words moved me. They stung a little, but I knew that it was a good kind of sting. I silently wondered if I was contributing to a Church that didn't have it in its best interest to care for the poor. He continued, comparing the two "churches" he had been talking about - one being the institutional "church" with buildings, structures, and systems, and the other being the true Body of Christ:
"So, why should people who follow Jesus care for the poor? Easy. Why should an organization trying to get a thicker chunk of the American cultural landscape care for the poor? Gosh, I don't know. They probably shouldn't. You don't see the Democratic or Republican parties bending over backwards to give to the poor, because it's not really going to help their movement very much. Those people don't have anything to give, [and] they'll suck a lot of your resources. Organizationally, it's not really a good move."
The interview continued, and Bart went on to talk about how he got started caring for the poor, but the thoughts that he opened the interview with continue to haunt me as I seek to follow a Jesus whose way doesn't always seem safe or comfortable. I asked him if he had any advice for young believers wanting to "do justice," and he said to get together with a group of your friends, move to the inner city, live together, and begin to include the hurting, the broken, and the poor in your circle. He admitted that there wasn't anything too glorious about it, but he said that it was a life full of tremendous reward.
Check out Bart Campolo's website, and visit his blog to read more about him.
There are two worlds.
One where people are poor. The other where people have money to buy things.
Color us innocent, but we think there should be one world.
So we set up Trade as One so people in America can buy things from people in the developing world.
We get beautiful and useful things. They earn a living.
That sounds like a fair trade to us.
Trade as One (TaO) is committed to selling only fair trade products, giving others in developing countries a chance at earning a stable income, and deterring women and children away from sex trafficking as a way of life. Fair Trade means TaO allows artisans from around the world to freely express themselves through their products, and use their talents to make beautiful things for us. Visit TaO, buy something for yourself or a gift for someone special, and support an economically just global trading system.
#182: Saying "Pot Blessings" instead of "Pot Lucks"
Once on the Simpsons, Maude Flanders told Homer, "Neddy doesn't believe in life insurance, he considers it a form of gambling."
Granted, despite sleeping with that lady on one episode, Ned Flanders was designed to be an amplified personification of Christianity. His moves were big and loud. If you went to his house you played Bible board games and ate "unflavored" ice treat instead of ice cream. His version of faith was bright and shiny and exaggerated. I thought it was fake until recently.
In response to a Pot Luck post I wrote lots of people started emailing me. They told me that in their church, they were not allowed to say the phrase, "Pot Luck." It's too worldly, too much like coincidence, too much like gambling. So instead they say, "Pot Blessings." And some people say, "Pot Providence."
I heart that. Hearing about that made me really eager to find other examples. I instantly wanted to add a glossary to the back of my book that was titled simply, "Christian Translator." Baking some devil's food cake but feel like that sounds too demonic? Call it "Angel pie." Daughter lost a tooth and excited about the tooth fairy? Call it the "tooth angel."
It's a weird thing to be fixated on, but there it is. I'm in love with the idea of having the world's most comprehensive list of Christian words. Let's do it, you and I. Let's change this crazy world.
We have a team in Swaziland, that nation in Africa where nearly half the adult population has the AIDS virus. I received this email from Gary Black in Swaziland today and it wrecked me:
"The team found a four week-old laying on its dead mother yesterday, they kept it - we are getting it to the abandoned baby hospital Friday."
What do we do with this? That's my son's team down there. I don't know about you, but I'm outraged by a world that produces situations like this. And while that may seem like a world away to many, for my son, it's as immediate as it is heart-wrenching.
The only thing that appalls me more is that so many of us Americans who can do something about this are more interested in stuff that will only ultimately burn up in the big fire. God help us. God, help us to wake up. Help us to see how much you love the widow and the orphan. God help us to break as you are broken up over this four week-old.
God, help me to lose this tortoise shell religion that sheds these kinds of tragic situations like water. Forgive me God for not praying more. Forgive me for not emptying my bank account for your little ones. God, we have lost true religion. We have sought finer sanctuaries and better parking lots.
We have tried to fill our church pews with seekers, but we have not sought your children dying on their mother's chests. We need to see a way out of this mess that we've got ourselves in. God, help us in this 21st century mindset that we've acquired. I don't even know what else to pray.
Kenyan children pray for their country
1/23/2008
By Sue Sprenkle
NAIROBI, Kenya (BP)--A group of children runs up a muddy path, drenched from an unexpected downpour. A 5-year-old boy speeds in front of the pack when he suddenly spies the perfect puddle.
He waits until his older sister and friends are almost parallel with him and then practically "cannon balls" to get the biggest splash. He giggles and dashes in the church's front door as the 8-year-olds squeal and chase after him.
I laugh at the scene and follow the kids inside the small, tin shack of a Baptist church. After three weeks of post-election violence, it's good to hear the sounds of children laughing and playing - especially in the hard-hit slums of Nairobi.
Inside the church, it's wall-to-wall children. My heart overflows with emotion as I hear a sound even more precious than laughter - a child's sweet, innocent prayer.
"Father, our country is in trouble. We pray for peace to come," an 11-year-old boy prays. "Protect us, Father. Teach people to love one another and not to fight anymore."
For the last two weeks, children in this small slum area have gathered to pray for their country. The church's pastor says the children started gathering on their own, so he let them in the church. The daily prayer meeting now attracts more than 200 children ranging in age from 3 to 17.
Ever since the children started praying together, the pastor says there have been no deaths, houses burned or even violence in their section of this slum. Adults recite this fact in amazement. The children, however, don't even mention it because it's exactly what they expected to happen.
"Pastor told us that there is power in prayer. He said we can change the country through prayer," 12-year-old Boniface explains. "So that is what we are doing, changing the country.
I'm amazed at the depth of understanding these children have of the issues surrounding the Kenya post-election chaos.
The 12-year-old prays for President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to sit at one table and talk peacefully. Votes cast in the election for these two candidates are under contention. The two leaders have yet to talk to each other in an effort to bring the strife in Kenya to a peaceful resolution.
Caroline, 16, shows her concern for the 250,000 internally displaced people around the country. She prays they will be able to go to school somewhere and that they feel safe. UNICEF estimates that more than 40 percent of the displaced are children. Parents put their children on trucks headed to the camps for displaced people but stayed behind to protect their houses and belongings. Many sit in camps, unable to attend schools that just opened mid-January.
Another young boy prays for the people hurting others who are not from the same tribe, referring to reports of ethnic animosity throughout the country. He asks God to help them all be brothers and sisters and one people.
The pastor smiles and whispers to me, "A few days ago that one asked if I knew what tribe he was. I told him no. He didn't know, either. So he told me, ‘I think I belong to the tribe of Kenya.'"
When it's time for the "babies" to pray, a fearless 4-year-old clasps his hands and closes his eyes so tight that his entire face scrunches up. "God, people die," he says in prayer. "Please do not let anyone die in front of my house."
More than 600 people have died since elections Dec. 27. The number increases daily as violence and protests continue.
It's now my turn to pray and close the meeting. There's not much left to say, so I thank God for the innocent prayers of children and their faith in His answers.
As soon as I say "Amen," the church buzzes with little voices and bottled-up energy spurts out freely. Laughing and holding hands, the children rush into the rain and head home.
Even though it's dry season and the rains are not supposed to come for another month, no one complains about getting wet or muddy. The rain is an answered prayer.
The children had prayed about a three-day countrywide protest called by the opposition party. They had asked God to take control and keep people from dying.
Because of the rains, turnout for the protest was much smaller than expected. While there was still a lot of property damage, it was much less than predicted. Death tolls for the week were the lowest since the incidents started.
"See," 7-year-old Natasha whistles through her missing two front teeth. "God answers prayers."
Sue Sprenkle, an overseas correspondent for the International Mission Board, has been reporting from Africa for 10 years.
A new survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays, finds 72% say "God, a higher or supreme being, actually exists." But just as many (72%) also say the church is "full of hypocrites."
Indeed, 44% agree with the statement "Christians get on my nerves."
Most of the unchurched (86%) say they believe they can have a "good relationship with God without belonging to a church." And 79% say "Christianity today is more about organized religion than loving God and loving people."
"These outsiders are making a clear comment that churches are not getting through on the two greatest commandments," to love God and love your neighbor, says Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research. "When they look at churches … they don't see people living out the faith."
But despite respondents' critical views of organized religion, Stetzer is optimistic. He cites the finding that 78% would "be willing to listen" to someone tell "what he or she believed about Christianity."
And 71% agreed that "believing in Jesus makes a positive difference in a person's life."
"What surprised me is the openness of the hard-core unchurched to the message of God and Christianity — just not as expressed in church," Stetzer says.
New forms of community, such as Internet Bible study and prayer circles, also mean some people don't believe they need a church, Goff says.
"So much of American religion today is therapeutic in approach, focused on things you want to fix in your life," he says. "The one-to-one approach is more attractive. People don't go to institutions to fix their problems.
"The question for evangelism now is: Do you have a take that is authentic and engaging in a way that works for the unchurched?"
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
"Bah, Humbug", or "Merry Giftmas"?
So there I was, a few days ago, listening to the Staci Orrico Christmas album, when something I heard made me stop in my tracks. In her rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful", she sings an added line... "Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day". Sounds religious, right? Well, let’s stop and think.... If we have Christmas to celebrate Jesus’ birth, then obviously he couldn’t be celebrated until after he was born. Additionally, scholars estimate that Jesus was actually born in the fall, not on the December 25th date we hold so sacred. So actually, Dec. 25 was designated the day that we celebrate Jesus, but has nothing to do when he was actually born. Dumb song.
Ok, so it really doesn’t matter what day we celebrate Jesus, as long as we celebrate him, right? Well, yes. But you have to realize that Christmas celebrations are nowhere to be found in scripture. Christmas day is a tradition that wasn't celebrated by Christians until the 4th century, as they attempted to inject Christian meaning into the pagan holiday Saturnalia. We as American Christians have now adopted this time of year to be the ‘season of giving’, a time to spread joy by putting up cheesy decorations and spending money we don’t have to buy people we don’t like items that they don’t need (thank you, Tyler Durden).
Just think about these typical ‘holiday’ thoughts:
*When decorating my house, an 8 foot OC Chopper Santa will look much more festive then a nativity scene.
*I must bake cookies, even though I’m always complaining how I really should lose a few pounds!
*Gotta buy my kids some really cool stuff so they’ll know how much I care. Too bad I’ll be too busy working to see them enjoy it.
*I’m so stressed out. I wish my family wasn’t expecting me to spend the holidays with them.
*You should join me in boycotting this retail establishment because they won’t say "Christmas" in their advertising.
*If I don’t get such-and-such that I really want for Christmas, I’ll just buy it for myself. In fact, I may just hit those post-Thanksgiving sales and buy it anyways.
*I need to get those 200 Christmas cards in the mail, so all these people will know how much I really care (even though I haven’t spoken to them, well, since the last Christmas card I sent them).
How is Jesus possibly glorified by these things? Is this how you would want someone to celebrate your birthday? I think not. Why then, do we show such disregard for the savior of the world? This is such a shame, because there is a real opportunity to celebrate Christ in a spiritually meaningful way. I want to show honor to Christ, but I just don’t think that Christmas as we know it is the way to go.
Perhaps we should stop thinking we’re religious because we give so many nice gifts... wasting money to satisfy greedy selfish desires is not Christlike.
Perhaps, as G-Dub suggests, instead of buying stuff at Christmas, we should sell our own belongings and give the money to the poor.
Perhaps, instead of Christmas, we could celebrate Passover with the Jews, and celebrate the fact that Christ is the lamb of God, who shed His blood to purchase our eternal life.
Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
"Young people's circuits are overloaded. They can't keep on top of their email, surf their Facebook, handle their Second Life avatar and upload their Flickr. They find all this technology that is designed to connect them is in fact disconnecting them. They are actually in multimedia meltdown."
The result is a knee-jerk reaction towards the less sophisticated, as young people seek temporary salvation from the cutting edge. They are being driven to activities reminiscent of their childhood and more familiar with their parents' generation. Out goes MySpace, PS2s and iPhones, and in comes knitting clubs, craft fairs and cloud appreciation societies.
..."But this is not a fight against technology – youths want to be at the leading edge, but they also need a time for back to basics, where analogue living provides some respite."
