Introduction to Joshua

Introduction to the Book of Joshua

I read the Bible just about every day.  Sometimes I'm following someone else's prescribed plan.  Often, I'm reading this book of the Bible or that one, choosing the next book based on where I think God is leading me.  A few months ago, I had spent a heavy amount of time in the New Testament and felt I needed to balance my study with a return to the Old Testament.  Joshua is where I began.  I had read it before, but it came alive for me in so many ways this time.  I felt that God was speaking to me profoundly with every turn of the page.  That's how this series we're doing at PCC came to be.

There are so many practical applications from the life of Joshua for you and me, I have had a hard time deciding on a few texts to cover in our Sunday morning services.  But this blog is a way that you can encounter God personally, by digging into the text for yourself.  I'll guide you a little along the way, but make no mistake about it:  The God behind the events in the Bible is the same God who speaks through the Bible.  You can hear from Him, but you have to dedicate a little time and focus.

To get us ready, let's peer into a little of Joshua's background and set the scene.

In case you don't know, the Israelites are the people God chose as His special people.  Abraham was the first, then his son Isaac, then Isaac's son Jacob.  God changed Jacob's name to 'Israel', which is where we get the name we use for the Jewish nation to the this very day.  ('Israelite' and 'Jew' and 'Hebrew' are all  interchangeable in the Bible and represent the same people group).

The opening lines of Exodus tell us that the Egyptians felt threatened by the Jews and took them all as slaves and put them into hard forced labor.  God answered their cries for help and sent Moses to deliver them from captivity and into the land God promised to give to Abraham's descendants.

But those same people who had witnessed God's power and His miracles later rebelled against Him.  So, God's judgment was that they would not enter the 'Promised Land', but their children would.

Joshua is one of only two adults who had the distinct privilege of walking in the 'Promised Land' who had also personally experienced slavery in Egypt (Caleb was the other one).

So, who was Joshua, exactly?

Well, what we know for sure is that Joshua was Moses' aid and second in command.  He had been tested and mentored by Moses and proved himself to be coachable, loyal, strong and courageous.

Just for one example, let's take a look at Numbers 13-14.  Moses sent twelve men to scout out the territory of the Promised Land.  They came back and said, "...We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large....We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size..." (Numbers 13: 27-28, 31-32, NIV)

But not all of them agreed.  "Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.  If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.  Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:6-9)

Joshua was proving himself able to withstand the pressure from the outside - pressure from the people - even before he was appointed the leader of the nation.

Joshua wasn't simply a 'yes man' for Moses.  He was trained to understand that the real power wasn't in Moses hand, but in the Hand of God.  For example, take a look at what happened in Exodus 17:9-13

Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”  So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.  So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

This account becomes legendary, and you can be absolutely sure that Joshua knew it.  Joshua was able to accompany Moses part of the way up the mountain when God delivered the Law to Moses.  What do you think they talked about on the way down?!

Joshua was being groomed for years - decades even - to lead the people.  Why was he so effective?  Because he was coachable.  He never developed an "I know everything there is to know" mentality.  He never coveted Moses' position and secretly wished he would just get out of the way.  No, Joshua coveted Moses teaching and was grateful for the investment that Moses made in him.

Perhaps, as we begin this journey, you can consider the people who God has put in your life to pour into you.  Is your attitude right...good...grateful?  Have you thanked them - ever or lately - for their investment in you?  Do you ever tell them the difference they have made in you - how they have helped you be a better person and follower of God?  Shouldn't you?

On the flip side, who are the people around you that God has put in your life as your 'Joshua'?  Are you taking the responsibility to pour into them seriously?

My prayer is that we all have a 'Moses' and a 'Joshua' somewhere in our lives.  I do, most of the time, have a few folks I'm really investing in and pouring into - these are Joshua's.  They are moldable, coachable, and they soak up what I teach them.  I also have one or two 'Moses' types, who are coaching me.

I hope you'll reflect on that now, but also as we continue this journey.  Tomorrow, we'll dive in to the Book of Joshua!

Why Churches are Dying

I had two very interesting conversations today.  I say 'interesting' because they came immediately after yesterday's timely topic at PCC, but were with people who aren't PCC'ers!  Neither of these folks has ever been to our church, but I know both of them from some other circles.  AND... they were completely independent of each other.  AND...both wanted to talk about why some churches grow and most don't.

One is a committed member of another church in the area.  He's a friend and we often talk, but not always about church.  He was shocked when I shared the statistics:  less than 1 in 5 Americans go to church today.  The number of people who don't to church grows by one million each year.  He asked, "Is that because people are less moral and don't want to hear the church's positions?" His question was honest.  He genuinely wanted to know why fewer and fewer people are going to church.

"Not really," I said.   People want to live good lives and do the right thing.  They are highly spiritual, and are generally open to God and the truth about Jesus. But they no longer see the church as a legitimate partner in their spiritual journey.  Why?

There are lots of reasons that people give.   If you ask someone why they don't go to church, they might say things like:

• I don't have time to go to church, or 
• Church is boring, or 
• All the church wants is my money, or
• The church is full of hypocrites, or
• I feel beat up and judged when I go to church, or...

I've heard all of these answers, plus a lot of others.  I ask people all the time.  And an increasingly common answer is given to me in the form of a question:

Why should I go to church?

From their perspective, the church doesn't care about them...the church cares about insiders, not outsiders.  Think about it:  the church speaks its own language, has its own insider culture, its own dress code and procedures.  Everyone knows when to stand up, sit down, bow and pray.  Everyone knows the words to the Lord's Prayer, the Doxology and other ceremonial rituals.  When the pastor says, "Turn in your Bible to the book of Habakkuk", he's making a subtle statement:  you should have brought your Bible.  If you didn't, people are looking!  So, everyone opens their Bible and turns quickly to Habakkuk.  An outsider - IF he brought a Bible at all, is still in the table of contents by the time the Scripture reading is over!  And when the pastor says "sanctified" or "justified" or "holified", everyone nods in affirmation, unanimously affirming that they know what those words mean.  (holified is not a real word, by the way, in case you were wondering!)

The outsider often feels embarrassed at best or like an idiot.

So, if you come to church as an outsider, you are identified - either overtly or subtly.  You are noticed.  You might even have to stand up and tell everyone, "Hi, I'm Bill.  I'm not a churchgoer."

Who likes to feel like an outsider?

And guess what?  Bill doesn't HAVE to feel like an outsider!  He thinks, "Why would I want to do that when I can hang out with the fellas or my family?"

You see, when the church quit caring about meeting people where they are (see Sunday's message here), it lost its privilege to speak into peoples lives.  And now, people see the church as completely irrelevant.  Their question could come another way:  What does the church have to do with me?

In other words, they're giving fewer excuses and, with bewilderment, saying, 'Why are you even asking me this question'?

A couple of generations ago, EVERYONE went to church.  You were looked down upon if you didn't go.  There was peer pressure from the entire community to attend.  Today, just the opposite is true.  People can work, play, sleep in, do their home repairs, go to the river, watch the game, cut the grass.  THAT'S NORMAL TODAY!  And with all of these things, what they are saying is, "I find more value in investing my time in those activities than I do in investing my time at church." They are prioritizing their time, just like you and I do, and doing what they see as most valuable.

What the church has to do, if it wants to regain the privilege of speaking into people's lives, is become a valuable resource.  We have to be something brings so much value, they'll choose to come invest an hour or two of their time with us...choosing church over the river, chores, work, sleeping in or watching the game.  We have to meet people where they are, just like Jesus did. Just like He wanted His church to do.  Just like the early church did.

Until it didn't.

This is why we do music styles that are current or classic instead of dated.  It's why we deal with topics, life stages, events, circumstances, emotions and issues that people are dealing with or thinking about and that can help them live better, more healthy, more God-intended lives.  It's why we pay attention to new cultural patterns, how people learn and engage today in different ways than they did in the past.

Our message will never change:  Jesus is alive!  He is God!  And the only way to a full, rich life (this life and the next) that reaches the zenith of its potential is through Him!

But our methods will always be changing, so that we can meet people where they are...just like Jesus did, and His first followers, and the Apostle Paul and the early church.  This is how we become part of the spiritual conversation again, and it's why people are discovering the truth about Jesus at PCC.

When people ask me, "Why is PCC able to get people to come to church?" my short answer is this:
We quit caring about what WE wanted.  We lay down our own preferences and desires and live into this one truth: Jesus died for us.  Our lives are FULL because of Him - regardless of what kind of music is playing!  We care about what Jesus cares about - people!  People who are far from Him, desperate for Him.  We care about helping them live life to the fullest, which can only happen when they discover Jesus Christ and they will only discover Jesus Christ when the church starts meeting them where they are.  That's what we do.  And may it ALWAYS be so!

A Day with KIDS!

Fridays are usually my Sabbath.  I'm a strong believer in taking a Sabbath every week.  I think we should take more seriously the 4th Commandment (See Exodus 20:8-11) and remember that we weren't supposed to work 7 days a week.

It's easy to say, but life is more complicated than that, isn't it?  It's HARD to be disciplined enough to look at your long and growing to-do list and set it aside for 24 hours so that you can focus on God and family and rest your body, mind and soul.

I try really hard to do this.  Most every Friday, I try to not work at all.  Most of our staff at PCC also shut down on Fridays.  People who do vocational ministry don't have typical or predictable schedules.  This is not to say that we're completely unique.  I know lots of people - from business owners to emergency professionals to teachers to homemakers - who all have crazy, erratic schedules.  There is always something that needs to be done and there is always a crisis.  You can probably relate.

That's all the more reason for you to take a time-out!  I like to say that you cannot give what you do not have.  Rest is important for your body.  Focusing on God and remembering His goodness is important for your spirit.  And playing - just raw, plain ol' fashioned fun - is good for your soul.

So, yesterday I had a chance to play hard for almost the entire day.  First, I let my boys play hookey from school and I took them to Busch Gardens.  We met my Mom and stepdad there, along with our daughter and her fiance, my brother, and another brother's two small kids, Max and Ava.  While the big kids went to ride rides, Susan and I stayed with Mom and Bob so that we could take the little kids on the little rides.

Yesterday at Busch Gardens, our 3 kids:  Daniel-18, Joshua-11 and Mary Ashleigh-22

I have to say that I originally thought this would be a chore...kind of like something I had to do, even though I really wanted to ride the big rides, I had to stay in toddler land and help with the...toddlers.

But I actually had a blast!  I forgot how fun it is to take little kids (Max is 3 and Ava is 2) to a place like Sesame Street Forest of Fun.  I rode with Max on his first roller coaster ride and both kids were mesmerized by pretty much everything.

We left the park early so that Susan could get ready for a MAJOR event at church last night - something we've never done before:  The Edge Half Nighter!  The Edge is the 5th and 6th grade group.  These are the kids that are not really little kids anymore, but they're not teenagers yet, either.  This Edge is fun and spiritual exploration and Bible study and small group - all tailor made just for them.  And last night, I got to spend a couple of hours having a blast with about 50 of them.  

For example, we played hide and seek in the Powhatan Campus building.  It was AWESOME!  Some kids found the most creative hiding places and they were so good, I actually started to worry.  "Have we ever lost a kids permanently playing this game?" I asked.  But once we started looking in every remote place, we uncovered their very good hiding places!

And of course, there was the Velcro Wall!  That thing is really cool, and was a big hit with the kids.  It was a really great day.  Check out these few pics...

Where I was last Sunday & why

Last week, I led a four day Revival series for Chesterfield Baptist Church.  Several folks have asked me what a "Revival" is and why I would accept an invitation like that.

The word 'Revival' can mean several different things.  However, in the Southern U.S., a Revival is typically a series of church services that spans several days (usually 3 to 6) for the purpose of helping the members of the congregation re-gain excitement about the church, focus on their relationship with God and ignite spiritual fervor.   Topics for a Revival series can span the spectrum, but often include a 'call' to members of the church to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (see Matthew 5:13-16).

**See the addendum after this blog post for a little interesting history on Revivals.

Each year, I get invited to do speaking engagements at churches and other organizations.  Though it really is an honor to be asked, I can't accept all them all.  Specifically, Revivals typically end with a Sunday morning church service, so this is obviously something I think and pray hard about, because accepting a Revival invitation means I will have to be away from PCC.  As a general rule, I only speak at other churches two Sundays per year.

Chesterfield Baptist Church's invitation was intriguing to me for several reasons.  First, I know some people there. Also, they have a strong and effective leadership and a long-term, dedicated and skilled pastor for whom I have great respect.  

But the thing that excited me the most was CBC's strategic location.  They are right on route 360, in the path of the massive growth that has been moving westerly in Chesterfield County along Hull Street.  That church is positioned geographically to literally reach thousands of people.  I felt that I could perhaps help inspire them, sharing a little of PCC's story and crack the door open to a possible new vision for them.  As I've often said, I'm not the most profound teacher.  I'm not the smartest guy from seminary (not even close!).  What I do bring is to the speaking event, though, is a lot of energy.  Hopefully I helped raise some excitement about the possibilities for them and their future.

So, starting last Thursday, I taught at their Revival for four days in a row, finishing Sunday morning.  Some folks from PCC's band did the music there at the Friday night service, and it was extraordinarily good.  And a few PCC friends were there most nights.  It was nice to have some familiar faces in the room!

The people of Chesterfield Baptist Church were warm and receptive.  I was glad to be able to do it and I think it was a good, Kingdom investment for me and for PCC.  

Plus, I've heard a TON of great responses and positive feedback about Angie Frame's message...Wow!

But having missed two weeks at PCC in April, I'm excited about settling in for a good stint at home now!  In fact, I'm really excited to teach at PCC this weekend on something I've been learning that I've not really ever seen before.  Hope to see you there!!!


**If you'd like to know more about Revivals, keep reading.

Revivals today are different from Revivals that happened 50 years ago.  Let me explain.

In previous generations in the U.S., most Americans had some exposure to church.  In fact, from the early days of our nation until the 1960's, most people went to church most weeks.  It was actually frowned upon to not attend church.  Church was a part of the social fabric of our society.

Because of that, most people had been exposed to the teachings of Jesus and the basic claims about him as the Son of God.  It wasn't offensive to discuss Jesus with just about anyone.  Even people who didn't follow Jesus were respectful of Him and of the church.

Skilled evangelists would travel from town to town and preach for several consecutive days in a series called "Revival".  Because people looked fondly on the church and on faith in general, it didn't require any arm-twisting to get people to come to hear Billy Sunday (yes, that was a real Evangelist - the predecessor of Billy Graham) or some other evangelist preach at the local Revival.

And since people had been exposed to teachings about Jesus, they were mostly open to an impassioned plea  to 'give your life to Christ'.  Hundreds and thousands would have an encounter with God at these events, and receive God's grace and salvation.

But the culture began to shift dramatically in the 60's and 70's.  Not only did it become socially acceptable to not go to church, but it actually became someone odd if you did go.  And because fewer and fewer people were exposed to basic church teachings, Revivals became less effective for evangelistic purposes.

Whereas churches still certainly hope that the spiritually curious will come, it rarely happens in any church Revival.  This is because of the huge cultural shift away from church in general.  People who don't go to church are somewhat open to going to a weekend service (Saturday or Sunday), but are rarely open to going at any other time.

Many churches, instead of ceasing the practice of having an annual Revival, simply shifted the purpose away from evangelism and towards the encouragement of the core congregation.  This is what typically happens in a church revival.

The Skill of Listening

Sunday, I talked about one of the most important teachings in the Bible: Listening.  I believe listening is a critical life skill that, sadly, is rarely formally taught.  Therefore, many people go through life perplexed at all of the difficulty people have communicating - at work, at home, in Washington.  The source of this trouble is often misdiagnosed, but it's really not that complicated:  People just don't listen.  It's not because they don't want to.  Instead, it's mostly that they just don't know how.

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry..." James 1:19, NIV

If you weren't at PCC on Sunday, I would highly recommend that you watch or listen to the message.

I heard from folks that they took my advice, went home and turned off phones.  Couples asked each other, "Do you feel like I understand you?"  I'm confident those were productive conversations.  But there is more to say about listening, so I wanted to provide some additional training for those brave enough to really work at this skill.

Empathic Listening is the practice of listening for feelings and reflecting them with words.
You may have heard of reflective listening.  Empathic listening is different.  When you are reflecting, you simply repeat back the words you hear.  "I had a bad day," she says.  You reflect, "So, what you're saying is that you had a bad day?"

Sometimes, in very tense, highly charged conversations, we have to resort to reflective listening.  Do this when there is a total, complete breakdown in communication.  But normally, this is a little insulting.  In the conversation above, she would reply, "I just said that!  Are you mocking me?"

Empathic listens with the eyes, as well as the ears.  It seeks out the underlying feeling behind the words. "I had a bad day," she says.  You see that her shoulders sag, her eyes stay on the floor, she falls onto the couch and puts her hand on her head.  You respond, "You seem exhausted."  or maybe "You must be frustrated"  or angry or upset or 'at the end of your rope' or whatever you sense is the feeling underneath of her words.

Here's the key:  When you reflect the feeling you think they have, they will respond in one of two ways:  Yes or No.  They will either confirm what you said, "I am exhausted.  I'm just so tired of working these long days."  Or, they will correct what you said, "No, I'm not so much exhausted as I am just frustrated.  I mean, I love what I do, but my boss is just so hard to get along with!"  Do you see?  They might say that they are tired, but what's behind it could be a frustration with a person or a particular event or whatever.

Every time the person who's talking says something - or even when they don't say something - I'm going to reflect their feeling, as I perceive it. And they will either confirm or correct the feeling I named.

And here's the good part:  They will usually add to it, giving you a slightly deeper layer to their feelings.  If you do this well, they will usually take you on a journey, and you'll find the end of it often being a place that is completely different than where the conversation started.  Here's a hypothetical situation that could have gone ballistic, but because she listens well, the bomb is diffused and the heart of the issue is mutually discovered:

Bob storms into the house:  I cannot believe that I had to move the bike out of the driveway AGAIN!!!

Kim:  I know you're frustrated.  [Note that Kim doesn't say that she'll call the kids and lecture them and she doesn't say, 'well, boys will be boys' and she doesn't say, 'what's the big deal?'  She simply reflects his feeling.]

Bob:  I've asked him over and over again not to do that!

Kim:  You feel like he doesn't listen to you.

Bob:  He doesn't listen to me!  It's almost like he ignores me.  But I'm his Dad, and he just cannot ignore what I tell him to do!

Kim:  He doesn't respect you.  [she says this not as a statement of fact, but just giving air to Bob's feelings, as he expresses them.]

Bob:  That's right. He doesn't.  I don't know...I've yelled and yelled about this.  Maybe I'm just not spending enough time with him.  I've been working so much and I feel like the only time I see our son is when I'm reprimanding him. 

Kim:  You feel like a bad parent.

Bob:  No, I feel like I've turned into my father - and I swore that would never happen!  I promised I would be better, spend real time, have real conversations and a real relationship.  But the truth is, none of that has happened.  

Kim:  You think you are failing him as a father.

Bob:  I do.  Something has to change....

Certainly, kids should do what they are told and not leave bikes in the driveway.  However, that wasn't the real issue.  Bob wanted to talk about something else, even though he didn't know it or couldn't articulate it.  Because Kim cared enough to  listen empathically, Bob was able to flesh out the root of his frustration, which wasn't his son...it was Bob himself.

You may say, "This is not realistic.  Nobody has conversations like this!"  But I've seen and been a part of this kind of conversation many, many times.  Healthy people with healthy relationships DO talk like this, especially when there is clearly an emotional response underneath of the words being spoken.

The rule here is 'Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood."

So, when you are the listener, don't make it about you.  Don't fix it, explain it, correct it or even analyze it.  You're simply trying to get to the feeling that the other person has and name it.  When you do that, it gives them relational oxygen, and it shows how much you care about them.

This is especially helpful when someone is upset with YOU.  You feel defensive and want to correct the allegation, but when we come back with our response, we're not listening.  Someone has to listen.

Once you think you're at the core issue, sum it up like this (going back to the conversation with Bob and Kim)

Kim:  It seems like the real issue for you is not the bike or our son, but that you are frustrated with yourself as a parent.  Do I have it right?

At this, Bob will either say, "Yes, that's it" or "No...", but then he'll correct again.  You keep going until your summary produces a "That's it.  You've got it"  response.  And then, you get to speak about you, your perspective.  I usually begin with an expression of regret, sorrow or apology (whichever is appropriate).  "I'm so sorry.  I know you wanted your relationship with our son to be different."  But then, you get to add your thoughts and ideas.  You understood Bob, now it's your turn to be understood.  So, you can say, "I have some thoughts on some things we could do that might turn this around, if you're open to hearing them."

Do you think Bob will be open?  Almost 100% of the time, he will. Why?  Because you cared enough to listen - really listen - you earned the right to speak into the situation.

If you will practice this, intentionally, and tell people around you that you are trying to get better at it, you will find that your skill level increases rapidly, and your relationships change and improve.

If you want to learn more about this, I recommend The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.  Habit Five is his training on listening.  The entire book, though, has been formative for me, and I listen to the entire audio version of the book every year as a part of my personal growth plan.

Our Calling

The room was filled with teenagers. They talked and laughed and whispered. Some of the girls flirted with some of the boys. If it wasn't for the fact that they spoke a different language, you could have easily mistook them for the kids in your neighborhood.

But they aren't.

I sat in the back of the room and tried hard to watch the movie projected on the wall. It was difficult because, though the movie was in English, it was dubbed in Russian. But I had seen this movie before. The Blind Side. A true story about a kid from the hood in Memphis who was abandoned by one family, but loved by another. People who were total strangers found him, took him into their home, made him feel important, and showed him love like he had not seen...ever.

In one scene, this Mom in this family (Sandra Bullock) is moving Big Mike from the couch to a bedroom, a step that would make him more 'family' than 'guest'. In this scene, Big Mike is standing there, lost in a gaze.

She asks him, "What's wrong?"

He says to her, "I've never had one before."

She asks, "You mean your own room?"

He looks at her, embarrassed, "No. A bed."

Slowly, she realizes that she can make a difference - a real difference. At one point, she's having lunch with some other ladies and one says, "You're really changing his life!" But she replies, "You've got it all wrong. He's changing mine."

That's what God wanted to do with me on this trip. He wanted to change my life so that I could up the ante on changing others.

I sit and watch from the back of the room, fighting hard not to cry, but knowing that God was breaking my heart again - in a good way. I've needed to see and know and experience the heart of God and how His heart breaks for the forgotten, the disenfranchised, the poor, the orphans.

I began to see that not all of us are called or able to invite a stranger into our home or adopt a kid, like happened in the movie. And not everyone is able or called to travel to Tanzania or Belize or Moldova. Many of us may not even be called or able to go and feed the homeless in Richmond.

But we are all called to help in some way. We are all called to remember. We are all called to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

When we fund the mission work that PCC has so carefully investigated and vetted, we are giving these kids the bed they never had. We're literally giving them the clothes on their backs. We're not just talking a good talk, we're living what we say we believe: That God gives us resources so that we can change people's lives in Jesus' name.

Like never before, I see now that we do. We do change lives. Not just in Powhatan, but all over the world. Before I came here, I couldn't fully connect the dots. But I can now.

We change lives through benevolence grants PCC gives to help people in our area who have no heat or food.

We change lives every Saturday because we support Backpacks of Love. Through our partnership with them, kids in Powhatan eat on the weekends who would otherwise go hungry. That's not an exaggeration. It's the truth.

We change lives because we support Together for Tanzania. Through our partnership, people in that country have access to medicine, food, education and mosquito nets. People are alive today because we helped.

We change lives right now through our work in Belize. We are revitalizing the community by rebuilding the church and funding the only youth center around. That church would not be standing today, growing and reaching people if we had not responded.

We change lives through CERI Moldova and the Transitional Care program here. There are kids sitting 5 feet from me right now who would have quickly spiraled into another nameless, faceless statistic if we had not helped. And we did more than just delay the inevitable...we offered them the chance to change their lives in a sustainable way forever. Forever!

Because we - the people of God - stepped up and became the hands and feet of God, people's lives will never be the same.

We give to these causes out of the offerings and donations we receive every week. When you give to PCC, you are making life changing things happen in our community and around the world. You may never travel where your giving impacts, but that doesn't mean your giving isn't potent. It is. Powerfully so.

I'm convicted that we can and should do more. A lot more. We're going to send more people and give more money. We're going to feed more people, clothe more people, lead more people to Jesus Christ and change more lives for this life and for the next.

I don't always listen well to the voice of God. I'm sorry to say that I don't always obey when I hear Him speak. But this time I did, and I'm so glad. He's moved in me and taught me and shown me things that have changed me, and I will never be the same.

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The Heartbreaking Story

Today we traveled 2 hours south to the city of Cahul to visit the tiny CERI operation there. Just 20 kids in the Transitional Care program - kids who were either orphaned or abandoned, but were over 16 years old, making them ineligible to live in a state run orphanage.

I got to meet these kids today. They were working in the city park on a community service project - which they volunteered for - painting all the benches, trashcans and a few other things. They chose the paint colors themselves and decided on the colors in the Moldovan flag. They didn't speak English, but you didn't have to hear them speak to hear their hearts.

After a few minutes in the park, we took them out for pizza - an unusual treat for them - and then we went to the CERI office for a 1-on-1 with the case worker. She told us stories of success, and how the conversation with these kids went from hopelessness and de-humanization of themselves when they entered the program to completion of 4-year University degrees just a few years later. There were many stories like this. What I asked her was this: What would happen to these kids if we didn't help? If the sponsorships dried up and churches like PCC withdrew, where would these kids be? Her response: Lost. They would be lost. There was no other help, nowhere else for them to turn.

PCC is the 2nd largest church sponsor of CERI Moldova. When you give at PCC, part of your giving helps change these kids' lives. That's not a platitude. It's tangible, measurable and as real as the smiles on their faces and the food they eat every day.

I came here an agnostic. I will leave a believer, and determined to do more, because we can make a significant, immediate, substantial and life changing difference here. And we're not just feeding them...and we're not just teaching them how to feed themselves...we're also teaching them about Jesus Christ.


One story, then a big picture PCC Missions note to follow. The kid in the picture below is named Dima. They found Dima when he was a kid in a dumpster, trying to get warm. No one knows who his parents are, no relative ever came to claim him. He's a nobody...to anybody.

But he's worth something to God.

Dima has a hard time staying motivated. He frequently wonders why he should even try to succeed. He has often expressed the heartfelt and logical conclusion that nobody cares and nobody wants him. But these CERI people have the most amazing resolve I've ever seen in my life. They encourage him, got him a sponsor who really, really cares about him, and they say to him, "When your sponsor comes to visit, let's show them the things you've achieved!" So, little by little, Dima makes slow progress and stays with the only people on the planet who care.

I think 999 out of 1000 people would have given up on Dima, but these folks just don't quit, and they rarely give up. Dima - and the 5,000 kids here like him- is why I'm motivated to up the ante in Moldova.

Closing Note: Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about missions on a big picture scale at PCC on this blog. So, if your passion is in Tanzania or Belize (our other 2 international partners) or with the local need in our area at home, you'll want to read tomorrow's post.

 

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