Archives For Faith and Int. Development

Why I’m Passionate about HOPE

April 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

A friend recently asked me, “There are so many great organizations out there. What really is the difference with HOPE?”

I paused before responding. I didn’t like his question because it felt like he was looking for me to talk about HOPE’s competitive advantage in relation to other organizations. When comparing ourselves with other causes or other organizations, we all lose.

I see our competition not with other organizations who share a common mission, but rather with the many other causes that capture our time and attention. If we got as excited about healing and wholeness and missions as we did about professional sports and pet food and ice cream, then we’d have the resources to massively change the philanthropic landscape.

But what he was really asking was our value proposition. What is it that makes me passionate about our cause?

Here are some of the things that resonate with my head, heart, and soul.

  1. Head. The business impact.
  • Sustainability/Scale. Due to HOPE’s methodology, eight microfinance institutions in our Network are fully covering local costs. Profit enables HOPE to grow and means we don’t have to raise funds to do the same programs year after year. We are able to serve more and more families and dream big.
  • A Job is Better than a Handout. Handouts have never caused a country to escape poverty. Only jobs do that. It makes sense to me that job creation requires investment – and HOPE has the privilege of being investors for over 500,000 families.

2. Heart. The personal impact.

  • Individuals Matter. Having lived in several countries and spent significant time traveling to these places, I’ve met the people we serve. When you see lives changed, you simply cannot leave without desiring to do more.  Stories like Fadzai’s are happening. This is not hypothetical.

 

3. Soul. The eternal impact.

  • The Power of the Local Church.  HOPE’s savings programs equip the local Church to serve their communities with biblically based business training and financial services. While not our primary motivator, lower costs result from partnering with the Church. It’s good stewardship. See video of our church-based savings program in Rwanda.
  • Missionary Staff: We are able to recruit a team of fulltime missionaries who serve as loan officers and solve problems in local communities. Over 1,200 staff members interact with families every day. We operate on a far smaller budget than the traditional “sending” model and equip the local body of Christ to serve their communities.

It is a joy to serve with an organization that is actively sharing the love of Christ and helping individuals work their way out of poverty.

 

 

 

In Faith and Int. Development, Microfinance , , , , , , , , ,
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Rethinking Mission Trips

April 2, 2013 — 4 Comments

Short-term mission trips are an incredible experience. This year, 1.5 million people will travel overseas to serve.  Personally, several cross-cultural trips opened my eyes to the reality of life outside of North America. I hope to involve my children in cross-cultural experiences as well.

But may I humbly suggest short-term trips have a much greater impact on the people who go to serve than on the recipients of our service? And to fully experience the beauty of these experiences, we need to begin by realizing just how much we have to learn.

A few years ago, I traveled to Haiti with Greg and his son, Kyle. We went to serve. But this was just one more time when I was the one who received.

After visiting HOPE’s work with David St. Hillaire (check out his contagious smile in the previous video), he welcomed us to his home and he presented a beautiful picture of modern-day communion.

At a table covered by a tarp to shield us from the sun, we ate rice, beans, fish, and fried bananas served in old communion trays.  Members of the family made sure no flies bothered us. It was obvious they spent days preparing this meal of unparalleled hospitality. We feasted.

On the way back to our car, Kyle slipped. His feet, submerged in mud, were filthy—unprotected in flip-flops. Moments after Kyle stepped in mud, David St. Hillaire’s family took him back to their house and dropped on hands and knees.

They washed his feet.

Here was Kyle—caked in mud—yet they were washing his feet.  Not begrudgingly, but joyfully.

I couldn’t miss the parallels of this story with another.  Two thousand years ago on the night of Passover, after eating and drinking, Jesus washed the feet of his friends.

Before the most pivotal event in history—the crucifixion—Jesus takes time out to wash feet.  What a testament to Christ’s purpose: The Son of Man came to earth to serve. Following His act, Jesus said, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). We might talk about the symbolism of foot washing, but would we really do it?

David’s family showed by their actions that they did.

Reflecting Christ, David and his family served dinner and washed feet. I’ve never seen a more beautiful picture of Jesus than at that moment in Haiti. Their joyful service called me to join in exceeding hospitality and serve in the way of Jesus.

It is silly to think we have nothing to learn when we go to serve. When we lose our cultural arrogance, we discover the true beauty of these experiences and the gift of cross-cultural friendships.

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The Most Frightening Words of Jesus

March 26, 2013 — 6 Comments

A few years ago, everything seemed to be going right. HOPE was growing—rapidly. Opportunities were opening up to share our message. Even my family was in a good spot. Life was wonderfully busy. Surely God was blessing us, right?

But doing good can actually be a spiritually dangerous pursuit.

stock danger photo

In fact, Jesus says many service-oriented, creative, talented people will come on judgment day and say to Him, “Look at the works we have performed in your name, the miracles, the prophecies.”

But Christ will say to them one of the most shocking statements recorded in all Scripture, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23).

It’s possible to be doing good things in a way that pleases everyone… except Christ. So how do you know if our service is leading us in the wrong direction? Here are a few warning signs I missed:

  • Is our emphasis on what we do or who we are? Is time in prayer and study of Scripture  marginalized—“less important” than all the good work we have to do?
  • Are we secretly hoping to be recognized for our service? It’s easy to do our good works with the hopes that we’ll be able to post a picture or tweet about them – instead of being solely centered on pleasing Christ.
  • Do we believe ministry “success” is because we are doing something right? Are we relying on our strength, our  creativity, our performance, our gifts and talents instead of an utter reliance on God and His power? Is prayer an add-on or the centerpiece of our service?
  • Are we in real relationships? Do we have people who will help us spot the slow drift or cooling of our faith?
  • Is pride poisoning even the most sacrificial service? When all was well, are we puffed up on our success? If so, doing good becomes the enemy to the Gospel.

We need to remember how Jesus clearly said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus didn’t say something. He said nothing. 

If we are ever going to make a difference, we need to begin by abiding in Christ. Our service starts from a position where we don’t see all we have to do, but rather, what Christ has already done. We begin not by focusing on our grand plans and strategies, but the love we’ve already received.

Only when we look at the world through the cross, do we rediscover WHY we serve.  It’s not about a growing ministry. Or doing more good deeds.  It’s simply a response to the most radical love the world has ever known.

As we celebrate the Resurrection this week, I hope this world-changing act of love becomes the motivation for a generation known for radical service, as we follow the way of Jesus.

In Faith and Int. Development, Leadership, Uncategorized , , , , ,
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Orphanages are not the answer

March 5, 2013 — 5 Comments

In “The tragedy of orphanages,” a TED talk by Georgette Mulheir, Mulheir shares how the institutionalization of orphan care results in tragic results. Kids who grow up in orphanages are likely to experience significant social, physical, and cognitive harm.

Orphanages are also correlated with poverty, crime, and sex trafficking:

Moldova – study: Young women from orphanages are 10 times more likely to be trafficked than their peers.

Russia – study of orphans within two years of graduation from an orphanage:

  • 14 percent of women involved in prostitution
  • 22 percent hold a criminal record
  • 10 percent have committed suicide

The tragedy is that so many of these “orphans” have a living parent. Poverty is the largest driver of institutionalized care.  The solution isn’t building more orphanages; it’s finding creative ways for each child to grow up in a home.

We need to go beyond orphanages, and there’s a new book that helps us discover why and how.

You really need to read Orphan Justice: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting, written by my friend Johnny Carr, national director of church partnerships at Bethany Christian Services.

Johnny’s book is a vital perspective that there is no one-size fit-all solution to the global orphan crisis.  And not everyone is supposed to adopt – but we’re all called to care for widows and orphans in their distress.

Orphan Justice encourages us to see Christ’s call for the Church—to restore the family. It enables us to realize the complexity of the problem and the many different ways we are to respond.

Adoption is one option. Providing family support services or taking part in foster care  are also alternatives.  For example, in Ethiopia, Bethany Christian Services supports community-based care. They place orphans in homes in that community—with the intention that the families will ultimately adopt them. It’s also about prevention. Helping families grow their income enables then to bring more children into their home.

Whether it’s coming alongside families or adopting a child, the Bible is clear about one thing: caring for orphans is at the heart of Christ’s mission for the Church.

For another post on orphan care, see When Building Orphanages Isn’t Enough.

 

In Adoption, Faith and Int. Development , , ,
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