http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php?/blog/serving/ en info@churchatcharlotte.org Copyright 2010 2010-03-09T20:26:25+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/poverty-reduction/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/poverty-reduction/ A blog I read once in a while, Reeds in the Wind, had a very challenging and eye opening post a couple days ago.  Here’s a small section from the post: One of the conversations in particular has stayed with me. On the way to Gbarnga, in Liberia, James Nowell asked the question, “How do we know when there has been enough intervention for poverty reduction?” This started a long conversation/debate that continued on and off for the rest of the trip. Here is an example of what James was referring to: as we drove by a village, we saw a young boy playing with two rusty cans and a piece of string. My heart immediately went out to him as I thought about all the nice Fisher-Price toys that my children played with…but then I also immediately realized that he was probably happy playing with that toy. So how do we know where to intervene and when… when is enough, enough…and when are we beginning to impose our (Fisher-Price) culture on someone else’s who may understand contentment better than us? I encourage you to read the entire post here. What are your thoughts?  What is poverty? 2010-03-09T20:26:25+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/choices/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/choices/ If you missed the last two Sunday’s I’d encourage you to listen to Pastor Kallam’s messages.  He entitled the last two weeks “A Matter of Choice” and preached on Matthew 6:19-24. 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Challenging verses and I’m still processing the message and I think I will for a time to come.  Kingdom now. A Matter of Choice - Part I A Matter of Choice - Part II God Bless, RJ   2010-03-09T00:28:49+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/new-seasons/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/new-seasons/ I have two exciting updates to share regarding two of our new supported missionaries. Brian and Jami Staples have sold their home and Brian is about to start flight training.  They hope to be “on the field” in Kenya sometime this summer.  Wow!  I received an email today detailing some of their immediate needs and I thought it would be helpful to share.  I know they would love to hear from you! Tomorrow is moving day!  Furniture and some “loose” things need to find their way down to our temporary location at some point this weekend so we can begin cleaning and making this house ready for the new owners to take possession next week.  There are some things we could use some help with if you find some spare time on your hands: If you have a truck or moving tools, we’ll swap ya for a taco salad lunch tomorrow! Monday and Tuesday will be deep cleaning days.  If I had 5 people to help, I could probably get it all done in one morning. There are also some light maintenance things needing to be fixed (Brian has the list of these items: 704-293-3349 cell) URGENT NEED: appliance help!  The water that dispenses from the door of the refrigerator is not working!  Ice works fine, just no water. Spin cycle on the clothes washer is like a teen employee: sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t…and never gives a real good reason! J There are several things that will not be going to Africa nor going into storage.  We need to organize a very small garage sale or get things listed on Craigs List. Melissa Putney, also a fellow CAC member like Brian and Jami, is now in Costa Rica serving with ReachGlobal!  Please pray for her transition and her ministry. You can read more about her journey here. God Bless, RJ 2010-03-06T00:07:20+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/well-digging-in-ethiopia/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/well-digging-in-ethiopia/ Here’s Pastor Kallam and Steve Heffner working hard digging a well on our recent trip to Ethiopia. 2010-03-05T03:01:12+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/did-you-know/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/did-you-know/ As a true southern boy I am not used to prolonged cold weather.  This winter has been much colder than I’m used to.  I’ll be quite honest that I don’t like it and I’m ready for Spring.  As winter drags on my thoughts often drift to thinking of folks that do not have a home to get out of the cold.  I can simply stay inside and turn up the heat. This evening I wondered how many people in Charlotte are in this situation so I did what I often do: I googled homelessness rates in Charlotte, NC. The first link that popped up was from a site called the National Alliance to End Homelessness.  Here I clicked on their interactive map and learned that there are over 11,000 homeless individuals in North Carolina. One of the next links was from a recent article in the Charlotte Observer.  In this article I learned that there are over 6,500 homeless people in Charlotte and almost 800 who are chronically homeless.  The article points out that the chronically homeless are particularly vulnerable. Kathy Izard, from the Urban Ministry Center, said “I’m stunned. We as a community weren’t addressing the problem of chronic homelessness when we thought we had just 500. Now, we realize it’s even bigger than we thought. We should be alarmed.” So now what?  I’m not exactly sure, but God has my attention.  How about you? God Bless, RJ   2010-03-03T02:04:27+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/ethiopia-trip-pictures/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/ethiopia-trip-pictures/ Here’s a slideshow of some pictures from our recent trip to Ethiopia.  A HUGE Thanks goes to Craig Jones for these! 2010-03-01T18:28:53+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/earthquake-in-chile/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/earthquake-in-chile/ An 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile early this morning.  Please join me in praying. You can find out more information below. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8540289.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8540473.stm 2010-02-27T13:35:38+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/sorry-sorry/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/sorry-sorry/ I’ve posted below a guest blog post from Don Truslow.  Don recently traveled with CAC to Ethiopia. “Hammer” and “sorry-sorry” were the only English words my new friend knew, as far as I could tell.  Addal works as a guard at Camp Langano, the SIM camp located four hours outside of Addis that has been bringing the Gospel to young Ethiopians for many years.  I was part of the mission team assigned to tackle a few of the myriad of projects at the camp.  I met my new friend unexpectedly one evening while I was repairing some window screens for one of the cabins.  Addal tentatively approached me, and then reached out to help hold the screening while I trimmed.  For the next hour and a half, we were a team, taking turns trimming, sharing the hammer, and uttering “sorry-sorry” when one of us broke a piece of quarter-round molding or missed the intended target with the staple gun.  While we did not share a language, we had little problem communicating.  It was great fun. Ever since my youngest daughter traveled to Ethiopia five years ago, taking such a trip has been on my heart.  This trip was one of the most impactful, broadening, and fulfilling experiences of my 51 years.  As promised, it put me “outside my comfort zone”.  My international travels have been mostly business related with stays at some of the world’s top hotels such as the Connaught in London, and the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. The mission trip to Ethiopia was a little different from these past travels.  It was far better in so many ways. As a first-timer, it was difficult for me to emotionally process seeing the widespread poverty and unimaginable living conditions, especially the lack of clean water.  Yet, I was even more taken by the beauty of the people, their warm smiles, and their emphasis on personal relationships. The believers we met were incredible.  Their testimonies and life stories were rich and inspiring.  They seemed to live their faith continually, relying on God’s blessings to meet their most fundamental needs throughout every day. I was amazed at how much work our team accomplished.  It felt good to serve. I gained a better appreciation of why works are important in combination with faith (James 2:14-26).  Not surprisingly, our work opened the door for God to work in each of us.  I know that I grew spiritually and returned home with a deeper sense of just how big our God is.  During the trip, two themes from the group discussions and devotions kept coming to mind.  The first was a formula: Change in place plus change in pace equals change in perspective.  The second related to Christ’s second great commandment: Love thy neighbor (Matt 22:37).  But who is my neighbor (Luke 10:29)? My temporal life probably could not be more different than that of my new friend, Addal.  But in the eyes of God, both of us are His children.  Addal is my neighbor and my brother in Christ.  I am pretty sure I would have missed that without a change in place and a change in pace acting to change my perspective. I look forward to returning.  There are plenty of projects left to be done at Camp Langano and plenty for God to work on within me. 2010-02-23T13:45:30+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/reflections-on-china-guest-post/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/reflections-on-china-guest-post/ Guest blog post from CaC member Ben. I am a “Processor,” so that is my excuse for taking this long to write about my trip to China.  My wife and I have been at CaC for almost three years now, and we are very excited at what we see happening in our church in the area of missions and outreach.  It is so encouraging to see so many people here getting a vision for other parts of the world and seeking the Lord for what He might want us to do as a church.  I am looking forward to our continued growth in the area of missions.  The trip to China was an incredible experience for me.  Actually, looking back, the most rewarding part of the trip is the relationships I have begun to build with other people in our own church- like RJ, Lynn and Alan, Bill, and of course Wayne- AKA “Bunkee”.  After spending three years in the Middle East with my family, I began to realize how starved most Americans are for community, and this trip was a great way to build some of that. It was a privilege to be able to see first hand what God is doing in China.  I had heard so much in recent years about the exponential growth rate of the house churches there, and I got to see some of that with my own eyes.  We met the first Christians EVER from a people group comprising several million!  And we got to spend time with the church planter who actually broke through to them.  I was amazed at the passion and the urgency of these relatively new Chinese Christians to take the Gospel to the most difficult parts of their country.  They are willing to suffer (and have already suffered) for their faith on a level that I cannot begin to imagine.  During the trip, I kept asking myself, “What can I, as an American Christian, possibly offer these people that seem to have so much more faith and joy than I have ever had?” In many ways, I truly feel that we need to partner with the Chinese church more for our own sakes than for any assistance we can offer them.  We have so much to learn from these people who have put EVERYTHING on the line for their faith.  May we at CaC do the same, and may we count it an honor and a privilege to continue working with the Chinese house church.  Please click here to learn more about our initiatives in China or to travel on our next trip. God Bless, RJ 2010-02-18T16:27:58+00:00 http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/church-in-ethiopia/ http://churchatcharlotte.org/site/index.php/blog/entry/serving/church-in-ethiopia/ A short video (sorry about the poor quality) of a church service in Ethiopia complete with dancing from Pastor Kallam, Pastor Hoffman, and Steve Heffner. 2010-02-18T00:40:17+00:00