Becoming A Globally Engaged Church

I feel privileged to be a part of what is happening through County Line and our ministry partners as we work to bring the message of hope and love to others. I am continually amazed at what we are doing directly through the County Line and with people who are affiliated with County Line. I am awestruck by the time, energy, and resources people give so that others can experience the hope and love that comes through Jesus Christ. I am going to attempt to list out what we are doing as a church and what others are doing through County Line:

• Supporting missionaries who are working with churches in Bulgaria and other countries in Europe and Middle East.
• Supporting missionaries who are working with orphans in Uganda.
• Supporting a missionary who is teaching pastors small-business principles for self-sustainability.
• Supporting an orphanage that is creating families for Guatemalan children who have HIV or special needs.
• Supporting two health clinics in the area. 
• Supporting youth ministry organizations as they work in schools.
• Supporting inner city ministries in Fort Wayne and Chicago.
• Supporting a prison ministry.
• Supporting an online ministry that is reaching people in far away places.
• Supporting homeless ministries in Fort Wayne and one in Atlanta.
• Pointing local residents in need in the direction of resources they are looking for.
• Providing food for those that need it.

I am certain that I am missing a few, but the point of this post is not to brag. Rather, I want to highlight the opportunities that each of us has to engage in our world and make a difference. I am thankful to be a part of a church that pursues the hard issues and wants to reconcile them. That is why I am working on some future endeavors that will address:

• Racialization
• Orphan care, adoption, and the foster care system
• Modern day slavery
• Immigration
• Homelessness
• Poverty
• Dead/declining churches

These are very real issues that the church cannot be silent on. I am excited about the situation we are in and the opportunity and influence that God has given to all of us. As individuals and churches, I want to challenge all of us to cross some lines that we don't feel comfortable crossing and learn from those who are different from us. 

Orphan Care

My wife and I went to an adoption conference a few weeks ago as I wanted to investigate what an Orphan Care Ministry could look like at County Line Church. This was my first time at such a conference, so I really didn't know what to expect. However, I came away with some information and ideas that I think can help the local church in caring for orphans. Here are some of the things I learned:

• There are 153 million orphans in the world. 
• Approximately 17 million are "double" orphans as both parents are deceased. 
• About the same number, 17 million, are adoptable for a variety of reasons. 
• Several other factors such as HIV/Aids, human trafficking, and poverty are all causes that separate parents from their children.
• Adoption is only one of the answers to ending the the orphan crisis.
• There are many agencies that can provide information and help parents discern if and how they can adopt. Loving Shepherd Ministries is a great organization that will help families get started in the right direction. 
• Foster Care and preventative programs, such as Safe Families, are other avenues besides adoption.
• The local church can serve in many ways, either directly or indirectly.
• • They can start an Adoption Fund with Lifesong for Orphans. 
  • Raise awareness through Orphan Sunday and other events. 
  • Partner with an orphanage such as Village of Hope in Guatemala or New Hope Uganda.
  • Host an Adoption/Orphan Care Conference.
  • Collect and study resources such as Stuck, Orphan Justice, The Global Orphan Crisis, and Giving Wisely.

For the first time ever, County Line Church will be conducting an Orphan Care Sunday. This is a first step towards becoming engaged and creating an Orphan Care Ministry. We will be highlighting families within the church who have been impacted by adoption, providing resources from local agencies, opportunities to sponsor a child from New Hope Uganda, and providing a Beans & Rice Meal to raise awareness for Village of Hope Guatemala. 

County Line Church is committed to be engaged in the fight against children becoming orphans. It can seem like a daunting task, however we can't just sit on the sidelines and allow this to continue. We must become informed, engage in something, and work together. 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  

James 1:27 

What defines you?

Why is it that we allow our jobs or occupation define who we are? Don't believe me? Why is it that one of our first questions when meeting a stranger is, "What do you do for a living?" Or, "Where do you work?" When our occupation has been addressed then the conversation picks up as you talk about your responsibilities at work, the stresses of the job, and how much you enjoy your boss! 

What would happen if you were not allowed to talk about your occupation when describing who you are or what you do? Or, what if you didn't have a job? What would you talk about? How would you describe yourself to a stranger? So much of our self worth and definition of who we are stems from what we do for a living. What would happen if we found our self worth not based upon what we do, but who we are? 

How would you describe you? How would you define yourself to others? What are your skills, talents, and abilities outside of your work context? From this type of exercise you can then begin to compare who you are with what you do. Do your personal descriptions match your job description? If not, then you are probably struggling with your job. Maybe you are not in a situation where you can find a job that resonates with who you are. If that is the case then I encourage you to find areas to volunteer or start a hobby that connects who you are with what you love to do!

Begin by writing down one word descriptions of yourself. You will be amazed at how quickly your list will grow. As an example, here is a short list of what I came up with of myself: strategy, network, collaborate, research, read, learn, analyze, clarify complex issues. My list is currently up to seventeen and I have now started listing out what I am not good at doing, or what I don't like to do. Try it and see what you come up with!

Hey Jack! How was your day?

Unexpectedly, I caught the bug. I tried to stay away. I wanted to turn the channel, but I was intrigued. Are these guys for real? Does the uncle really act that way? Are those beards real? What finally put me "all in" with this Duck Dynasty craze was how each show ended.

As much as a family gathered around a table, paints themselves as "a picture perfect family," we know the Robertson family is anything but perfect. However, that is not the point they are trying to communicate. It has more to do with getting along despite differences and conflict. Every show ends with Phil, the dad, giving a blessing for the food. They all dig-in for Aunt Kay's, the mom, delicious meal. As the camera scans around the table, we see family and friends laughing, eating, and making gestures about something someone did.  Then we hear Willie, CEO of Duck Dynasty, talk about a principle the family learned from that episode. Yes, I know the show is scripted. I am not entirely sure if they script each show around the principle, or vice versa. Regardless, this is a great exercise for leaders!

For the last few months, I have attempted to summarize or describe what happened during the course of my day. It doesn't read anything like what I hear at the end of a Duck Dynasty episode, but it does give me time to stop and reflect on what happened. Maybe it was a conversation that took place with my daughters about school. Sometimes it was a milestone that was achieved, such as when my son received his driver's license. Or, it could be a thought I had that day. Regardless, it gives me an opportunity to reflect and write.

Admittedly, I don't do this every evening as sometimes I am too tired, or I think that nothing important happened. However, when I force myself to pause and reflect on the day something always sticks out. The other thing I try to do is keep my writing short. Most of my entries are a few sentences or even in bullet point form. Why is this a great leadership exercise? Here are a few benefits that I have seen so far.

• I can remember what has transpired in the last few months.  
• I can learn from my past mistakes. 
• I can better determine a theme taking shape in my life.
• I can objectively look at myself and the lens in which I look through.
• I can learn how I react to life and people.
• I can learn how to be a better husband, dad, and co-worker. 

Realizing what I already know about myself, I knew that I would have to plant a few things to make sure I stayed on top of this daily exercise. Here is how I have set this up.

1. I created a daily reminder on my phone. It is amazing how often I would have forgotten. 
2. I set the alarm for 10:00PM. This is around the time I'm getting ready for bed, but still cognizant to think through the day's activities.
3. I downloaded an application on my phone and ipad called vJournal. I knew that I would be less likely to handwrite these notes. It takes me less time to get out my phone or ipad and type or text my thoughts. This application also allows me to upload pictures which I can use to communicate something that happened that day. 
4. The vJournal application is directly linked to my Evernote account. This means all of my notes are digitally saved by date. I can easily access my entries to review, add tags, edit thoughts, etc. 

Learning To Let Go

At some point every leader comes face to face with the reality that it is time to let go. The "letting go" may not be forever and it may only be a portion. Nevertheless there is a definitive moment when a leader must let go. In that moment they have two decisions - give it away with confidence or with hesitance. In the moment of decision-making the leader is  faced with the reality of how well they managed their leadership responsibilities. The "letting go" could be someone who they have mentored, or a project they oversaw. It could be a firstborn heading off to college, or that first overnighter. 

This past weekend I had the privilege of letting my son "go" when he earned his driver's license. For the past ten months we have been working towards this moment. We have been practicing on the country roads, in town, and attempted to parallel park several times over. I even started him off driving a stick shift! We discussed the responsibilities and privileges that come with driving. Together we worked, talked, and practiced so that when the time came, we both had confidence that he would be ready for this milestone. 

As a dad, I have every right to not "let go." I could come up with many reasons as to why he shouldn't drive, or drive with restrictions. However, there is no reason for that because we have been planning for this exact moment and I have all the confidence in the world that he going to be fine. His mother, well, that's a different story!

To be honest, it is not always as easy for me as the example I shared above. There are other areas in my life where I need to learn to "let go." Leaders want to be in control and fear what will happen when (not if) they lose that control. Anyone leading a family or organization creates an unhealthy culture when they lead from fear and control. Preparation is were we begin. As leaders, it is our responsibility to see the road ahead and identify the moments in which we will have to "let go", including position of leadership! How prepared are you to "let go?"