I was inspired

“A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN”
Poem by Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador — assassinated for speaking
Up for God’s kingdom and justice in 1980

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection…..No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We
provide yeast that produces effects beyond
our capabilities.

We can not do everything and there is a sense of liberation in
realizing that. This enable us to Do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning a step along the way
an opportunity for God’s Grace to enter and do
the rest.

We may never see the end results….
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.

Feeding ministries, individuals follow Matthew 25 example

By Brittany N. Howerton
October 22, 2009

Hunger.

You know what that feels like. You’ve felt it at some point, those pangs of an empty stomach waiting to be filled.

Thankfully you probably didn’t have to stay hungry for very long.

And thanks to the efforts of ministries that have chosen to follow Christ’s example in meeting needs, neither do people like “Poppy,” who spends most of his days occupying a table at Linn Park in downtown Birmingham.

“Here, you will never be hungry,” he said, glancing at the men and women gathered around the park’s patio. “Birmingham people will feed you. Birmingham is the only place where people on the streets won’t get hungry because most of the time, somebody is going to come through and feed you.”

Having lived in the city for 40 years, Poppy has slept under bridges and trees and on park benches. He’s helped build banks, waved construction flags and sold cigarettes at 25 cents a pop.

But there haven’t been many days Poppy has gone without food.

“It’s because people here have religion,” he said confidently. “They really believe in their religion, and their religion says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, give to the poor and help the hungry. They see this as a way of showing that.”

People like those at Journey, a community of faith connected with Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association, see giving food to the dozens occupying the downtown area as a way to introduce them to Christ.

They, along with those from three other area churches, take meals to the park on the second Friday of every month.

It doesn’t matter what brought a person to this point, said Rob Duncan, Journey’s logistical coordinator for the ministry.

“We’re going to provide a meal, give a good message and meet their needs as best we can,” he said, citing Christ’s call to care for the “least of these.” “We just think it’s scriptural to meet needs. It’s not for us to judge … but to meet needs and present the gospel, and hopefully we’re presenting it in words but also in actions.”

It’s the same reason that Ann Miller and her husband, Charlie, decided to get involved with a local soup kitchen.

“It’s so basic to who we are” as Christians, said Miller, a member of Lakewood Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association who has been volunteering weekly at the Rose of Sharon Soup Kitchen for nearly four years.

But she admitted she had fears about getting involved with people in need initially.

“I don’t know if it made me feel more responsible for them and I didn’t want to deal with it,” Miller said. “But God … led me to come to the ministry, and now I’ve never done anything as rewarding in my life.”

Duncan noted that some Christians choose to miss the blessing.

“A lot of times, I think we’re the other two in the good Samaritan story. We cross the street on the other side and walk away,” he said.

But there are not enough excuses to negate the responsibility God has given His followers, Miller said.

“God is calling us. … I think we know it deep inside, but we run away from it and just don’t want to devote the time, the energy, the resources or whatever. It’s easier to pretend that this is what they want and this is what they have and go on. We (as Christians) get caught up with each other because that’s easier.

“But God loves those people as much as He loves us, and if we can’t at least give them some relief … something is very, very wrong with what we claim.”

Slams on NAMB?

In recent months, we have seen many changes come about for Southern Baptist entities: The announced retirement of Southern Baptist Convention executive committee president Morris Chapman; the ousting of NAMB President Geoff Hammond; and the announced retirement of International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin.
Ironically enough, just months before the mission boards’ leadership was shaken, Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt unleashed a Great Commission Resurgence task force, through which rumors have stirred of a mission-merge. Or better, a mission board makeover thus eliminating two separate boards and creating ONE board.
While many Southern Baptist “elders,” if you will, have voiced hesitation — and some, opposition — to the task force, others have risen up with nothing but support.
I cannot help but think stirring believers to a better understanding of and motivation toward the Great Commission Christ has given can be most beneficial. I even think, in some ways, the creation of one mission board through which funds are channeled and missionaries can be sent locally and globally would not be a bad idea.
However I do have huge opposition to the degrading and devaluing of a missions entity that has served as a domestic evangelism catalyst since its establishment in 1997, after three SBC agencies merged.
Recently the Associated Baptist Press reported that Duke McCall, a 95-year-old retired denominationalist (having led three SBC entities for a total of 40 years), wrote an essay included in Carl Kell’s “Against the Wind: The Moderate Voice in Baptist Life” saying NAMB is a “wasteful funding mechanism” that “has served as a pressure device to keep state conventions in line with Southern Baptist Convention programs.”
McCall expects to see NAMB’s role diminish or disappear during the 21st century.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin has also said NAMB “is broke and has been broke for a long time,” North Carolina’s Biblical Recorder reported.
Moreover on Oct 23, a panel discussion on the Great Commission Resurgence was held at Southern Baptist Theological seminary, during which Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration, said NAMB “doesn’t work.” He compared NAMB to the IMB saying, unlike IMB, NAMB doesn’t have a good track record for “filtering people out, saying you’re called to missions, you’re not. You’re able to do this, you’re not.”
Jon Akin, of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, added that the IMB is the only SBC entity that draws young people into the denomination.
“I talk to young people [and ask them], ‘Why is it you’re in the SBC, what do you love?’ The No. 1 answer is IMB. Another entity is not named ever,” he said. “I think we’re caught up in doing a lot of good things but need to prioritize the best things so our people will be excited about it.”
So if you are a NAMB missionary, you’re simply “caught up in doing a lot of good things,” but not good enough to be a priority?
Or if NAMB isn’t working, we are to just tell those missionaries thanks for your help, but the time you spent working for the Lord through that organization was ineffective? Oh and those lives you helped impact for the gospel? Yea, maybe all that wasn’t worth it after all? Is that what we’re saying? Is that the message we’re willing to send?
Consider families like Alabama-natives Jason, Genee and Josiah Duckett who are evangelizing and planting churches in DuBois, Pa because of their placement through NAMB. Impacts have been made and lives are being changed through their work to further the gospel. This is not to be negated.
Let us not become so high and mighty on our own horses that we end up fighting battles that we create with one another, rather than fighting toward the cause Christ put forth.

All things Autumn

Let it be said that Autumn is officially my favorite season. Leaves of changing colors blowing through sunlit streets, the sounds of football announcers and raging fans echoing through the house and the aroma of pumpkin pies and toasted pecans filling hearts and tummies.

It's simply beautiful.

Autumn also marks a time of pumpkin carving and pumpkin-patch going — something of which my roommates and I had to take advantage. So off we went Sunday afternoon to visit the Hayden Pumpkin Patch. It proved to be a jolly time of candy-apple eating and perfect-pumpkin finding (along with every other child in north-central Alabama).

Upon returning to our lovely fall-decorated home, we immediately set out with one task in mind: Carving the perfect pumpkin (with deliciously roasted pumpkin seeds to follow). Silence fell over the table as 10 hands set to work, chipping away at the course shelling of the farm-grown orange sphere. Success claimed the reigns as we arose with our completed projects, each screaming with the "personality" of its creator. What's left but to wash the remnants of the large gourds to prepare its seeds for roasted perfection. From salted and Parmesan-Italian to brown sugar-cocoa and cinnamon-sugar, these birthrights were a delight to withhold. And nothing could complete the evening but a lovely fire, proving perfect for s'mores making.

Choosing to make a difference

By Brittany N. Howerton
The Alabama Baptist

Aflao, Ghana — that’s where the streets are paved with garbage and power lines stretch through the town like a case of unraveled dental floss. It’s where a large cemetery runs along both sides of one street, reminding residents of the area’s high mortality rate. It’s where homes look like rickety shacks and motorbikes are the most affluent form of transportation.

But past the town seemingly in shambles, there’s a wall surrounding a safe structure that houses 40 children, who otherwise would call that garbage-lined street home.

And in that structure is a unit dedicated to a little girl from Albertville whose vision to take the gospel to African children forever changed Solitude Baptist Church, Albertville.

Four-year-old Jesse Brooks dreamed of sharing Jesus with the world. And although a tragic car accident took her life in 2002 when she was only 10, it did not take the dreams God had planted in her.

Just five years after Jesse’s death, her parents, Chris and Tammy Brooks, found themselves doing things they never thought they would do — things Jesse had wanted to do.

“We knew she had a heart for children and for ministry, but we never knew the Lord was going to use us to carry out her dream,” Tammy Brooks said.

She searched for several years for a way to honor Jesse’s life by helping children, but it was not until 2007 that a door of opportunity was opened.

When an evangelist from Art Alive Ministries visited the Marshall Baptist Association church, sharing about the needs of the Good Shepherd Happy Children’s Home in Aflao, Pastor Joey Cannady knew it was just the kind of ministry for which both the church and the Brooks family had been looking.

So out of Solitude Baptist, the Jesse Brooks Foundation was formed, and funds were given to build the Jesse Brooks Dorm.

“In April 2008, Chris, Tammy, myself and another person from the church went to Africa and had a dedication service for the building, and that’s when Tammy agreed our foundation would fund 100 percent of the support for those kids,” Cannady said.

And that’s just what the foundation is doing now — raising funds to provide for all of the 5- to 16-year-old children at the home.

But the foundation is hoping to do even more.

Once the children turn 16, “they are let go of the orphanage, and there is nowhere for them to go,” Tammy Brooks explained.

So during a July 14–Aug. 11 trip, she and five others scouted out land to host a vocational building at which the 16-year-old children can begin learning trades for hopes of a better life.

“God showed us a [plot of land] … and it’s an absolutely perfect place to do what we had dreamed we’d be able to do,” she said.

Those dreams also include more dormitories, a missionary house and maybe even a church.

But it’s about more than just training the children to cook and farm, Tammy Brooks added. “It’s about training the children for going back out into the country to make change.”

So the team also spent time discipling local pastors and their wives and hosting Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) for area children.

“Some (of the children) had walked several hours to get there, carrying (younger) children on their backs to come to VBS, and they were just amazed at the singing and learning about Jesus,” Tammy Brooks said.

And with the recycled VBS lessons the team took over to be used as Sunday School curriculum, church leaders are equipped to teach even more children.

“You would have thought you had given them a million dollars,” Tammy Brooks said. “Certain things weren’t even in the packs and they don’t even care. For them, it was, ‘Just give me books; just give me something to be able to teach these children.’ … This curriculum to them is a way to draw other children into the churches.”

Even though she doesn’t fully understand why God has entrusted her rather than Jesse with this task, Tammy Brooks knows He makes straight the path of the faithful.

“Every day, I ask God, ‘Why in the world are you allowing me to do this?’ It wasn’t even a dream I had had. … But it’s so humbling to be a part.”

For more information, visit www.jessebrooksfoundation.org.

Why do we get so scared?

It's because we're afraid, isn't it? I mean, let's be honest really. We don't always like to experience things with which we aren't familiar.

The unknown.

It sounds beautiful when we think of exotic locations, spontaneous road trips and the end of a well-fought football game. But if we're talking about people, well now it's just much easier to not even go there, right? It's much easier to not have to worry about them. You know, those people. The ones that aren't like us. The ones that may not really understand a home or sitting down with family or having money to go shopping on a whim just because we need something new for this seasonal change.

Those people.

It makes us uncomfortable. Scared. I walk through the automatic glass doors at Wal-Mart to grab a cart for my grocery load and Mary catches my eye. She's just sitting there on the green metal bench, hoping someone might give her a second glance. You've seen her. Well, you've at least noticed her. Taking time to truly see her sitting there, to see her need, that takes effort. Time. Sacrifice and humility.

But you can't help notice.

If I stop to talk to her, my group will be waiting on me. I can't make them wait. That's rude.

If I stop to talk to her, I know she'll ask for money and she'll probably just use it to get her next fix.

If I stop to talk to her, I will actually have to acknowledge that she just may become a responsibility in my life.

No, no I can't do that. I can't make them wait. I can't give her money. I can't take that responsibility. She probably wouldn't understand or wouldn't remember anything I had to say anyway. So I quickly grab my cart, avert my eyes and hustle into the store, making a mental note to exit out the opposite side of the store upon departure.

You know you've done, thought it.

But what you don't know is that Mary does understand. She does notice.

What you don't know is that Mary lived with her elderly father until he passed away last January. Her mental illness did not provide her with much opportunity for holding down a job and there was no one else to take in a middle-aged woman with disabilities. So it was the streets for her. She busses around town as often as possible, making stops at whatever location she desires. Wal-Mart Market on Green Springs happens to be one of them. And the Chinese buffet up the way has her favorite chicken and collard greens, when she can coerce someone into buying her some that is.

What you don't know is that Mary's favorite snack is barbecue potato chips and ice cold Mountain Dew. She'll take that any day, staying careful not to consume the entire bag of chips in one setting.

What you don't know is that Mary has actually heard of God. She knows that his Son's name is Jesus and that He died on the cross. After that it gets a little fuzzy.

But if you take time to talk Mary, you can explain that Jesus died on the cross because He loves her, because He wanted to take her place. Because even though we don't always do what He tells us, He loves us anyway and wants something better for us and to live for Him.

Maybe she gets it. Maybe she doesn't. But she's heard and you can say that you know that wholeheartedly. It doesn't seem so scary anymore does it? I mean, now that you know her and all, she's not so scary. She's just a story waiting to be told. She's a heart waiting to be taught, a tummy waiting to be fed.

Why do we have make it so difficult? Yes we are commanded to take care of the least of these. We are commanded to provide for orphans and widows, to feed the hungry and take care of the poor and NOT FEAR.

We must learn that ignoring does not negate the responsibility. Just because you pretend not to notice doesn't mean the problem disappears. Take up your call. Accept that responsibility. If you dare claim Christ as your own, dare to execute His example loudly. To everyone. Even Mary.

A new season

At each season change I get a little too excited. I love living in a climate that allows for four distinct seasons with glories in each one.

Today as I was pondering the joys of autumn, I realized most of what I love about the seasons are things that remind me of my childhood. Then I realized, what an honor to have been raised in a home where to think back on my childhood is a wondrous thought. I thank my parents for the small things they did and allowed us to do.

I am thankful for summer days at grandma's pool and trips to the beach; I am thankful for the warmth the sun gave off as it peered through our sliding glass door in the early spring mornings as I downed my homemade pancakes in the shapes of hearts. I am thankful for fall days of riding big wheels into piles of leaves and little league football games accented by many trips to the concession stand for hot cocoa and laffy taffy. I am thankful for winter sledding on large black trashbags with my dog in the back yard because we broke the sleds mom bought and for days of homemade snowcream with family and friends gathered near.

With autumn upon us, I eagerly gaze out my window, longing for the chill of the season's breeze to float by, anticipating long drives home through the Tennessee foothills painted with reds, oranges and browns, and enjoying each moment spent in a loving environment for which I will forever be grateful.

Honduras Trip 2009

Dear friends,

In 2006, I traveled to a small town in Honduras where I came in contact with hundreds of orphans receiving care from the gracious hand of a dedicated couple from California. My heart was gripped by the children’s hope in the midst of national poverty and by the need for godly men and women to sacrifice time for those children.

A year and a half later, God opened a door for me to return again and spend more than four weeks investing in the children through discipleship, physical labor, cleaning and love. My life was forever changed by the relationships I developed with the children and I have consistently prayed for additional opportunities to return to them (You can read about my experience during this trip through previous posts archived on this site).

God has answered that prayer, and this December, I will return to my heartland once again to pour into the lives of the children there. This time, I will be traveling with a group from Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, a Christian camp and retreat center in North Carolina that focuses on evangelism and discipleship through creative programs and activities (for more information about Snowbird, visit www.swoutfitters.com).

While the cost of the trip is only $850 per person for the entire week, it is an amount I cannot fully fund alone. I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining my team of supporters.

We often pray, “God I am willing to go if you desire,” but the fact of the matter is that God has not called us to be willing to go. He has called us to “go and make disciples of all nations.” For such a time as this, my nation is Honduras, and it is at His Word that I humbly take up this charge.

Even if you do not feel led to support financially, I ask that you commit to praying for our team as we travel Dec. 3–10, as we work and as we share Christ’s love with the children and staff at Orphanage Emmanuel.

I look forward to being a part of God’s continued work at the orphanage and I thank you in advance for your prayers and outpouring of support.

For we know “religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).

In His grip,

Brittany N. Howerton

(Checks may be made payable to “Brittany Howerton,” or to “Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters,” and mailed to 224 Lakeshore Drive, Homewood, AL 35209. A payment of $400 is due Oct. 1.)

A natural pouring

As the rain pours over the earth, moistening everything in its path, I consider the faithfulness of the Father.
As the heavens break open and the rain comes face to face with earth's atmosphere, everything God has made receives its nutrients. The only place to withdraw from the rain is the stand under shelters made by man.
Stand under a tree and the water's drops leak through. Stand under a cliff's overhang and the wind's strength blows the wetness into your face. God designed the rain to pour upon the earth, just as He designed His faithfulness and steadfast love to pour over us. Why do we try to hide in our castles made by man? Why do we try to retreat from the faithfulness God is pouring out for us?

Does love have to be like a battle field?

I pretty much had a battle with God the other day about learning to retrain my thinking to not worrying about what other people think. I used to be like that — carefree, unworried, I do what I do who cares what people think — but somewhere along the line of the last couple of years that has changed. Its painful to admit. But I do get concerned about what people think and I hate that about myself. I wish I was bolder, more confident in who I am in Christ like I used to be. I’m trying to get back to that place, but once you’ve left its a difficult return — difficult to retrain your thinking to be that carefree.

A New Year — again — with many memories behind

Ringing in the upcoming year with a group of dear friends warms the heart and feeds the soul ... and does nothing short than allow for a good time!

Realizing 2009 holds many surprised and plans for my life, I press on toward the mark as Paul would say. I anxiously await all that God puts in my path as the newest year of my life continues to progress.

I've heard it said that we plan our steps but God directs our course. I see much truth in this. Though I pray that in 2009 I will be able to put aside my stubbornness and even allow my steps to be planned by the Father.
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Christmas was a jolly time as well as I visited with family and friends. My sister-in-law, Bridget, is with child and Launa Kate continues to be filled with life inside of her. I received a photo just yesterday of a 4-D ultrasound. It is amazing the features that are revealed of that sweet baby while still inside her mother's tummy. I cannot wait until her arrival here. She will be just beautiful.

I was also reminded, especially this year, of Mary for we celebrate this season in honor of her baby's birth — the birth of Christ. Watching Eric and Bridget anticipate the coming of Launa Kate, talking to her, cherishing the moment when she will arrive easily paralleled for me the birth of Christ and the emotions that must have run deep through Joseph and Mary. Nonetheless, Mary sought to "hold these things in her heart." For in this principle, I fall short. Nonetheless, this principle I seek. To grow as Mary grew (obviously not in a physical way). To anticipate as Mary anticipated. And to cherish things in my heart and in my spirit until the day Christ is ready for them to be birthed through me.