Hunger

1.02 Billion people in the world are hungry.

That equals out to about 1 in 6 people.

The totals of those who are hungry has risen 11% in the last year.

We all know that the world has changed a lot in the last year, yet those who are the most vulnerable are feeling it the most.

I got this information from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_re_eu/eu_un_world_hunger

I am saddened, angered, and challenged reading this news. As I go about my life, living it day to day, rarely do I long for those who are simply without food. Yes, I do somethings....but my heart still hurts.

One of the simplest calls from Christ is to reach out to the poor. We, as a society, are not doing that great. I post this to remind us all to remember the poor, to at least lift them up in prayer, and maybe, to inspire us all to take an extra step to help out.

Grace and Peace,
Micah

Typical Church

I came across a review from the Barna Group (the popular churchy statistics people who conduct polls on Christianity), on the common majority view on experiences of people with the typical church in America.

You can find the article by clicking on...http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/270-americans-are-exploring-new-ways-of-experiencing-god

It is a interesting article for a number of reasons. Firstly, they designate a typical church. What would that be? Would it be singing hymns, listening to a sermon in a building with stained glass windows and a bell tower? Or, would it be going to a contemporary, box type church, with contemporary music and listening to a sermon. Really, what do we envision as a typical church?

Secondly, it is interesting how we view church as something we go to, instead of something we are. Often, I get caught up in the idea that church is this institution that we attend, something other than who we are. But really, when I break down what Jesus is talking about, I see the church as being us, the people coming together and being a community. If a church looks typical in someone's eyes, then it is because the people of that community have created their community to operate that way.

Thirdly, it was intriguing to me how open people are to trying something new with their spirituality. He writes, "

64% say they are “completely open to carrying out and pursuing your faith in an environment or structure that differs from that of a typical church.”
Two out of three adults contend that they are not tied to a conventional church setting as they seek to experience and express their faith. This openness to new contexts, processes and structures is especially common among Baby Boomers (68%). Interest in pursuing faith is similar in all areas of the nation with the exception of the Northeast (56%)".

We are mostly a people seeking new and exciting places for our spiritual lives. So why is that? Often, I wonder if we should be focused on creating new and exciting places for our spiritual lives instead of just attending them.

I guess my question of focus is how we, as a community of believers in Christ, can take ownership in our church communities and create new and exciting spaces for people to experience God?

Grace and Peace!

Micah

Father's Day

Well, Father's Day is coming upon us soon. If you are thinking about a gift, other than one of those great ties with Mickey or Donald on it, I have a great idea for.

http://www.thementoringproject.org/

Donald Miller, who is a Christian author and many more things, started an organization called the Mentoring Project. In this project, they are working to fight for the fatherless generation that is growing up within our world today. More and more kids are without a father, and that can be such a difficult childhood for those kids. Through this mentoring project, they train mentors to simply be a positive presence within the childs' life.

The goal is to 10,000 mentors through 1,000 churches. He is challenging, us, the church, to get involved and be the positive presence to these kids.

How the gift works is, you can sponsor the project with $10 a month and by giving this, you get an autographed copy of a book/CD by a popular author. Check it out in the link above. I know that my father would love something signed by Tony Dungy or Max Lucado.

Even further, though I don't know if this ministry is something for our church, it challenges us to rethink how we are engaging the youth within our neighborhoods. In all of our communities, kids are growing up without fathers. Almost all of the studies point to how this can be quite a challenging issue to reconcile as a youth and this struggle feeds deeply into their adult life as well.

This project is definitely making me rethink how we can be the Body of Christ for those in our community without fathers and I hope that it challenges you as well. I know that my father grew up without a "present" father, and he speaks even today about how hard that was. Simply being a positive presence with a youth or young adult for an hour a week can be powerful.

Grace and Peace!

Micah

Rose-colored Glasses

Maybe you have heard the term, "Rose colored glasses" before. Usually, when I have heard that term, someone is making a comment about another who is looking at the world with a tainted view, one that only sees the good while ignoring the bad. It's a simple phrase.

However, when any of us look at the world, we are all looking through a lens. We have countless experiences that are informing how we see something. Whether it is our upbringing, the relationships we are in, or our social-economic status, all of these teach us how to interpret the world.

As we extend this thought to scripture, it follows through as well. We are told time and time again at how important it is to read scripture. And it is. God's scriptures are powerful, teaching and cultivating within us the spirit of God within our life. Still, Christians rarely (or not as much as they should), teach and work with people at how to read scripture.

As a kid, and even a young adult, I had some crazy understandings of God (I might even still have some now). Scriptures like Mark 10:25, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," brought all sorts of interesting images of a rich man getting stuck halfway through the eye of a needle. Now, I know that is a bit of a stretch, and I have always had an active imagination, but when we think about it, this scripture stretches us. Is it really bad to have money? Is being rich wrong? Am I willing to make money and chance not getting in heaven, or even getting stuck halfway through a needle?

These are questions that I asked, and maybe you have as well. All of my experiences have informed how I viewed this one scripture, and many of my experiences were highly challenged by what was said.

The Bible is big. There is really no debate about that, and...it takes some time to really understand it. I found this article which walks us scripture readers through a very practical manner for how to read scripture. Just click on this http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=509&B=Denis%20Haack&TID=7 I find this article quite compelling and filled with integrity in regards to how we engage the scripture God has given us. Take a look at it and let me know what you think!

Grace and Peace!

Micah