Vetrean Pastor, Life time Learner, Problem Solver, Servant-Leader and Motivational Speaker.

A loving, caring family lets them know we care: Addressing the Kony 2012 video

While there were many shortcomings overall, my biggest concern was when the video was speaking about the help being given to the children of Northern Uganda. This is where you move into what’s really happening on the ground. The focus was on one MAIN thing- SCHOOLS. One Ugandan woman in the video spoke and said, “The best you can offer a child is by letting them be independent and that is by providing education (bold mine).” In essence, this captures a pervasive and dangerous philosophy.

While most of us here in Uganda understand the need for GOOD schools and education that has the ability to touch and impact lives, education must be seen in the context of the needs that are much GREATER and DEEPER in the lives of hurting children. Is the BEST thing you can offer a child really INDEPENDENCE through EDUCATION? The answer must be NO. Education cannot replace family, and independence (a characteristic of the orphan heart) leads to self-reliance, isolation and ultimately death. We need to beware of the danger of meeting the external needs of orphans instead of their greater and deeper needs, creating cultural orphans who simply perpetuate the cycle.

We are convinced that the best thing you can offer a wounded child is a loving, caring FAMILY. And of course the greatest thing you can offer is ultimate HEALING through the Gospel of Jesus, discovery of the perfect Father-God, and inclusion in the great, beautiful and diverse family of God- this is true and freeing DEPENDENCE, and is also the place where healing is lived out. This is what we need to be looking at for the long-term care and healing of the children of Northern Uganda.

3. How to be a Better Part of the Healing of Kony’s Atrocities Here in Uganda

So what is a proper response for people being touched by God in a genuine and compassionate way to help in Uganda? 1. Pray- consistently and with purpose. Pray in the larger realm for God’s Glory to be manifested in the midst of the darkness. Pray for the works going on in Uganda and for broken children to find genuine healing through God and His people. 2. Research and find out what is happening in-country. What are Ugandans doing? What are solid local organizations and churches doing who understand the broader issues and what are THEY saying that they actually need? 3. Support is good, but partnership is best. Find out how you can truly partner. The book When Helping Hurts has some good insights into this discussion, as much Western “help” can actually end up hurting. 4. Check financials of any ministry you are considering working with. If only 30% or 50% of the money given is actually getting “on the ground” or directly to those in need, you should step back and re-evaluate. Any organization has overhead, but HOW MUCH is being used and for what purpose?

via newhopeuganda.org

Why You Should Raise Your Kids in the City | This Is Our City | Christianity Today

The darkness of the city is easy to see. In the first few years we lived here my sons saw, from the vantage point of the back of our van where they were waiting for us to come out of the evening service, a robbery suspect chased down the sidewalk, caught, and spread-eagled, handcuffed, and Mirandized on the hood of the car parked behind us. We drove past hookers in silver lamé bikinis and stilettos, watched over by their pimp, on our way home. We watched one man knock another one out in a fistfight at a street fair; and, memorably, a well-dressed man in the financial district drunkenly fall to his knees, vomit all over himself, and then stagger off.

Naturally, these incidents were the subject of lengthy family conversation and discussion. That sin should be so visible, and appear in its true, ugly colors, is of inestimable value in a culture that glamorizes depraved behavior, laughing off drunkenness and promiscuity as "partying," and mocking those who don't participate. I never had to give one lecture on the evils of drunkenness to boys who had seen them live, in living color, for themselves.

But in the city, your kids see sin and its consequences while you are still with them and can help them process it. Eventually they're going to encounter it for themselves, usually when they leave the protected environment of home for the big wide world—just when you are no longer around to discuss things.

I have had parents counter this suggestion by saying that, as valuable as processing the ugliness of this broken world with your children might be, there is such a thing as seeing too much, too soon. Possibly so, but my daughter-in-law (with degrees in education from Vanderbilt and Harvard in primary and secondary education, and with experience in teaching both) pointed something out to me: If children are really that young, too young for some sights, they simply won't see them, or understand what they're seeing. Children find a great deal of the world inexplicable, so the very young are not usually in danger of being damaged by fleeting glimpses of the sordid world. By the time they are old enough to notice what they're seeing, it's time for parents to be talking to them about it, anyway. And it's usually way younger than you thought!

via www.christianitytoday.com

18 Ways to Ruin Your Reputation on Facebook by Paul Steinbrueck - ChurchLeaders.com - Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How To's, and Free Resources

Facebook is a great way for you to build and maintain relationships with people both inside your church and in your community. But Facebook is not without its risks. Every time you post something, you risk hurting, offending or distancing yourself from people. So, here are 18 things you want to avoid doing on Facebook…

First, the ugly…

1. Post something out of frustration in the heat of the moment. 

We all get frustrated at times. And if you want to engage people authentically, you need to “keep it real.” But Facebooking when angry, frustrated, or hurt is never a good idea. Take a few minutes (or a few hours) to cool down, and then think again if you really want to use Facebook to vent.

2. Criticize people. 

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Even if you don’t use a person’s name, chances are you’re Facebook friends with that person or someone close enough to the situation to know who you’re really talking about.

3. Embarrass yourself.

Expect everyone in your congregation and your community to see everything you post to Facebook. So, don’t post anything you wouldn’t be comfortable saying or showing from the pulpit on a Sunday morning.

4. Embarrass your family. 

Our spouses and kids say and do funny things all the time. Most of those things can be posted to Facebook with no problem, and they help people to see you’re a normal person with a normal family. But be sensitive and when in doubt, ask your spouse and kids if it’s OK to share a quote, happening, or pic online.

5. Criticize other churches in the community. 

Every church has a different mission, ministry philosophy, style of worship, and theology. But we all share one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. We should be known for our unity not our division.

The self-absorbed…

6. Only talk about your church. 

Pastors, when people become Facebook friends with you, it’s because they want to engage with you – a real person – not a spokesperson for your church.

7. Share everything posted to the church FB page. 

Even if you post personal updates to your Facebook profile, don’t repost every church update as well. Some – yes, all – no.

8 . Just talk about yourself. 

When you go to a social event, do you like hanging around with people who only talk about themselves and never ask you about you? Don’t be one of those people online either.

via www.churchleaders.com

I am quite sure Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross so I could drive a Hummer (or a buick ..or get a greencard...hot smoking wife who loves Jesus......).........God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7:10-12.

My heart was broken when I watched this video on 11-7-2011. The prostitution of the gospel of Christ in my country breaks my heart. I am sure that Jesus did not die on the Cross so we could drive a Hummer. Would you kindly take 20 minutes to view this video and pray that God will judge these predators of the poor and bring them to justice. I pray that God will judge this false preachers soon. Would you also pray that God will take my wicked heart and replace it with a heart that is truly broken with the things that break the heart of God. I want God to be pleased with my life. Thank you Seyi Reynolds for an excellent well done job.

Psalm 7:10-12 My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.

 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

 

10 Reasons I Survived a Church Split | nakedpastor

But I would not have survived without the following:

1. SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP: Even though we lost one of our leaders in the split, the leadership team was strong and extremely supportive. We could rely on one another without question. Because of the leadership, I look back on those years as the golden years of my ministry even though they were also the worst.
2. FREQUENT AND OPEN COMMUNICATION: The leadership did its best to pass on all and every piece of information to each other. Nothing was unimportant. We also shared as much as we possibly could with the congregation as a whole without jeopardizing the health of the church. We met as often as twice a week and communicated at least once a day. Looking back, perhaps we could have shared more with the congregation, but under such a volatile state it felt too risky.
3. WITHHELD CRITICISM: We refused to publicly criticize those we believed were instrumental in the split. In fact, we felt a personal spiritual mandate to be as sheep to the shearers: silent. This infuriated those who would base their decision of who to support on fact, which I believed was impossible to untangle. One of our leaders insisted that the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh were the only criteria by which to discern under these conditions.
4. SOUGHT HELP: We shared our struggles with those leaders outside of our congregation we felt could be trusted and who sympathized with us. We even brought in a professional counselor to provide several sessions of group counseling to the leadership team. We did not share information with the simply curious.
5. PARTIED: We would get together as a leadership team as well as with other sympathizers to party. We ate lots of food and drank some good wine. The lighthearted nature of these meetings was intentional. We knew these were gossiped about but they were essential moments of reparation. We were sometimes able to laugh at ourselves and our circumstances.
6. READ INTELLECTUAL WORKS: I made a point of reading over my head, of reading important books of depth in order to provide me with a larger perspective, the big picture. Thinkers like Luther, Barth, Stringfellow, Foucault, etc., gave me enormous comfort and perspective during those years.
7. HELD ON TO HOPE: Even though almost everyone around us, they later admitted, believed we were “dead in the water”, we almost always refused to believe we were going down. We constantly held on to the hope that one day the struggle would be over and we would enjoy respite. There were black days, but the next day hope would shine again.
8. DON’T DENY: One of the things we allowed to happen at leadership meetings as well as regular church meetings was the expression of sadness. What we were experiencing was like nothing we’d ever experienced before, and the pain was excruciating. I believed this had to be freely expressed in order to move closer to healing.
9. DON’T COMPROMISE: Most splits are caused by a political decision, and because we were certain our decision was a wise and necessary one, we felt it would go against conscience and truth to compromise it, even if it meant an alleviation of pain. We were constantly advised to compromise our beliefs or our position. We paid for our steadfastness or stubbornness… however you look at it… but my conscience is clear.
10. ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: What perplexed me and the leadership from the beginning was that not only did we believe we were right, but those who were giving us difficulty also believed they were right. I believe this idea injected patience and wisdom into the leadership team’s attitude rather than an arrogant and autocratic one. Thi

via www.nakedpastor.com

Two Lessons from Vacation Bible School 2011 at North Mason Bible Church....

 

            One of the highlights of my summer was allowing the Spirit of God to use me as I directed Vacation Bible School at North Mason Bible Church during the last week of July. Our team was a multigenerational group of gifted believers who decided to serve Christ with humble hearts and minds filled with grace and truth. Watching our teenagers cultivate relationships as they served with adults the age of their parents and grandparents was exceedingly delightful and encouraging. The whole team engaged the children in enjoyable activities with the end goal of teaching them more about Jesus Christ. Here are two lessons I learned while serving on our VBS team this year:

• God is not walking around in heaven and analyzing our strengths and weaknesses to see how we can best serve Him. He is not interested in our skills, but rather our availability. A couple weeks before VBS I picked up a charming and delightful couple who were hitchhiking along Highway 101. We exchanged pleasantries, but soon it was clear to me what their names truly were: Miss “Fear of Failure” and Mr. “Doubt.” With the tenderness of a mother, Miss “Fear of Failure” provided me with insights on my character and reputation. She intelligently assessed my struggle to pay attention to details and my tendencies to overcommit and under-deliver. She reminded me of my unfinished projects and unfulfilled dreams, and capitalized on my failures.  Mr. Doubt interrupted his gorgeous loudmouthed wife by passionately reminding me of moments in my life when my good intentions ended in bad decisions. He established a series of reasons why VBS 2011 was not a practical ministry for the twenty-first century church and why VBS could not be executed in three months effectively.  After a couple days in my house I finally kicked these two servants of Satan out of my house. I could not allow them to  dominate my thinking; I simply reminded myself of the message that God gave to Mary: “With God all things.......I mean all things .......all things.......are possible.” Nothing is impossible with God. God is not looking for our ability but our  availability.  Our effectiveness in not only dependent on ability but most mportantly on our ability to listen to God. Listen to God, not your emotion, and  not to people who undermine your work.

• The second lesson I learned is that leaders who listen to godly people around them will see God use them in ways better than they ever expected.  Good leaders who refuse to listen to godly people will be surrounded by morally good people who may not have anything godly and wise to say. The book of Proverbs warns “the simple” against being “wise in their own eyes.” God labels a person “a fool” as someone who listens to one’s heart over the advice of godly people in their lives.  At a couple of the VBS 2011 preplanning and training meetings, I enjoyed listening to God-loving teenagers, Christ-serving adults, and Scripture-loving grandparents as they deliberated on ways to make to make VBS 2011 a blessing to families in our community.  Groundbreaking ideas flowed from their minds and lips like water from an Alaskan Glacier. I drank those ideas like a thirsty Nigerian con-man looking for new words to develop his next email Internet scam. I implemented four out of every six ideas I received and it was such a blessing to see how God used those ideas to make our VBS 2011 the most attended VBS in the past four years.

            When it comes to administration and people management, my skills are greatly lacking. However, my willingness to listen to the group of people serving Christ with me allowed over 80 children in our community to enjoy themselves and learn about Jesus Christ in a safe environment. I am truly blessed at North Mason Bible Church to be surrounded by gifted and dynamic people who are learning to love God with their heart, soul and mind. Thank you to those who gave and prayed. Thank you for those who encouraged me to allow God to show Belfair how much He loves them.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor James Owolabi

PS. Thanks to Kate for a great job editing this article. You did awesome

 

the Journey..........I love this woman..................AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

Some days, babies die and children don’t obey. Some days, friends won’t leave their addictions or take the ARVs that could save their lives or listen when I try to share the gospel. Some days the hurt of the world muddles my vision and I forget to remember that every moment is holy and I could live here on my knees with shoes off and hands raised if I would just choose to see it.

 

Tomorrow or next week or in ten minutes I will forget. A devastated friend will sit on the couch and I will struggle to find words that encourage. I will cry as I peel carrots over the open, already-stained pages of Psalms. But right now I breathe deep and bend knees and raise hands high. And I say it to you and I say it to me: God has been good to us.

And to Him, the Good Father, I say thank You.

 

 

via kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com