Inner Revolution

Doing Good

Here's a post from a couple of years ago. Thought I'd toss it out again:

April 22, 2009

Recently my friend Shawn Wood is sponsored a very cool initiative he called 5 Days in May which got me to thinking about doing good. I think there are three levels of good doing:

Level One: The do gooder

These are people who see something like 5 Days in May and think, "I have to do something about this." They sign up to drink nothing but water for 5 days and give the money they save to Water Missions International. They are the people who hear an appeal to help tsunami victims and toss a $10 in the collection plate. Sometimes they will sign up to sponsor a child in Africa. Do gooders are a very necessary part of the good doing process.

Level Two: The game changer

A few years ago when my wife visited Christ's Gift Academy, a school for AIDS orphans in a small fishing village on the shore of Lake Victoria, she thought, "I have to do something about this." She could have sponsored a child (she now sponsors three children), or led a team of teachers on a mission trip to the school (which she has done several times). But that wasn't enough. Sherry organized a new board for the school, revamped their fund raising process and led the American operations for several years. She is definitely a game changer. (And a darn good looking one as well)

Level Three: The world shaker

My friend Joe had no intention of moving to Africa when a buddy talked him into taking a trip to Christ's Gift Academy, but after his first visit he thought, "I have to do something about this." When he returned he spent several weeks in prayer, consulted with trusted friends and sought pastoral guidance on what he should do. Then he quit his dream job as a Division 1 basketball coach, sold everything he owned and moved to Africa. Joe still doesn't see himself as a traditional missionary, he's just a guy who had to make a difference. Joe is a world shaker.

What are you?

Are you a do gooder? It seems like if we take up space on earth we should at least be a do gooder.

Are you a game changer? Where could you made a significant contribution that would change the status of good in the world?

Or are you that rare individual who is a world shaker? One of my favorite scriptures is in Acts 17; "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also." I hope before I die someone will say that about me. I want to shake the world. How about you?

Bring hope to the hopeless

There are some things in life you do because you want to, some you do because you have to, and some you do because its inconceivable that you wouldn't. For me Christ's Gift Academy (CGA) in Mbita, Kenya falls under the third category.

Two years ago Sherry returned from Kenya with stories and pictures that have changed my life forever. Mbita is a fishing village on Lake Victoria in the poorest district of Kenya. When Bill Gates and Bono and Rick Warren visit Africa they never make it to Mbita, and their money never makes it there either. AIDS in Mbita is an everyday fact of life; most of the children at CGA have lost both of their parents to AIDS, many of them are HIV positive themselves. CGA is much more than a school to these children; they feed the families, they check on the homes to see if they are safe, they transport the sickest of the students to the closest clinic located many miles away. The children cry on the days CGA is closed; it is their connection to life.

Christmas in Kenya

This year Seacoast sent hundreds of shoe boxes that arrived back in July. Steve, Judy and Joe who run the school held the shoe boxes until Christmas and then distributed them to the children gift wrapped in plastic trash bags. (No WalMart for wrapping paper). The children were so excited to get their gifts, but the Americans had to teach them how to play with toys they had never seen before. (Imagine a slinky when you've never climbed stairs) Joe said he was supposed to take some of the sick children to the clinic, but when they opened their toys they decided they weren't sick any more. Seeing these pictures and reading Joe's report make my eyes leak some kind of salty substance. (Just like every time I see these innocent children)

So here's the point; when God has given you as much as he's given us how can we not give some of it to orphans? Sherry now leads the board of directors, works with the missionaries who run the school on a daily basis and visits at least once per year. Together we sponsor a couple of the children as well as the missionaries and we plan to take  our whole family over in June. But God assures me that there is more that I could(should, will) do. My job is to figure out what that means.

Which brings me to you. What are you doing? If you aren't helping children or widows somewhere in the world, why not? How can we (me and you) call ourselves Christians if we see helpless people being slaughtered by AIDS and aren't moved to compassion. Its great to see Bill Gates, Bono, Bill Hybels and Rick Warren unite on a cause like this, but it really only matters if I get involved. If anyone who reads this can give me an honest answer to how a Christian could see the suffering in Africa or India or another part of the world and not become an activist, please let me know. If you're not involved, let me connect you with CGA. If you are involved, let me know what you're doing.