Defining Moments

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

Here we are again at the start of a brand new year. Not only that but it is a start of a brand new decade. It seems really hard to believe that ten years have gone by that quickly. We started the decade worrying about the Y2K crisis. We saw 9/11 occur which impacted our lives in so many ways especially in the way we travel.We have watched an idea called Facebook grow and change the way we network and communicate.  Finally we have ended this decade going thorough one of the worst recessions in our lifetime. If you take a moment and sit down and reflect we all have been touched in one way or another by these defining moments. These are events that at the time we may not realize it but they are impacting us in ways that will change our lives and touch us in important ways.

Let me share with you personally how those three events have touched and changed me as a case in point. Travelling prior to 9/11 was easy. I used to work a job that required travelling. I could easily breeze through airports with no worries with what I was carrying or the time needed to get from one gate to another. Can I say that now? Facebook is now a major player in my life. I never used a MySpace or a blog but several years ago I began to Facebook (see even the terminology has changed), it has allowed me to connect with others in a ministry in a whole new way. Farmville aside it has proved to be a great ministry tool in connecting sponsors to children. The recession obviously caused me to be laid off for a period of four months and to find a lesser paying job (I'm still grateful though) and of course our investments became devalued. Each of these touched me in ways that I never anticipated.

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The Greatest Gift

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I will be upfront and state that this article is directly tied into our current worship series at Fork Christian Church. We are doing a study called the Advent Conspiracy. In a nutshell we are trying to go against the tide of our culture and to make a difference this season. Rather than just buying to buy and giving to give we want to get back to basics and make it about relationships. It is about making a difference both locally and globally. Think back on that first Christmas. A simple birth changed history and lives. What if this season we tried to make Christmas another life changing event??

It has been said many times that the greatest gift ever given was the gift of Jesus Christ. God freely gave of himself, through his Son, to save us. God wanted a relationship that was free from sin with us. God wanted to love us fully and for us to love him back fully. God gave us his Son in order to accomplish this. Simply put Christmas is about love and relationships. That is the meaning of the first Christmas.

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Being "Mr. Lovewell"

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

We have been speaking about love over the past few posts. The study at my church has concluded and one thing I wish to leave you all with is that love is a verb. Love requires action. Love is never stagnant. If we say we love but our actions do not support it then we cannot truly be loving. God so loved us that he gave his son for us. Jesus so loved us that his entire ministry was an example of love in action. From birth to the cross everything he did was out of love. Often we say we love but do our actions support that?

Mercy Me, one of my favorite Christian artists, has a new album out. It is simply entitled "The Generous Mr. Lovewell." Many of the songs deal with love in one form or another. The title song is about a man named Mr. Lovewell. I would like to take a look at some of the lyrics with you and show you how they apply to what we have been talking about.

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Compassion Sunday

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

We are speaking about love!  As I mentioned in my previous post my church is doing a church-wide study called the "40 Days of Love." Basically we are examining the relationship principles that Jesus calls us to. Week two is about loving others as Jesus did. Jesus calls us to love the unloved, the widows and orphans and the poor. This is a perfect lead in for my ministry with Compassion.

Just a little background- Every advocate and sponsor that is involved with Compassion would love to have a Compassion Sunday at their church. This is a global event in which churches speak of Compassion's ministry and encourage child sponsorships. I have presented at several churches and have always be thankful for the opportunity. I guess the "Holy Grail" is being able to present at your own church. It is an opportunity to bring the ministry home. Over a year and half ago my pastor approached me about having a Compassion Sunday at our church. Needless to say I was thrilled but it took awhile to nail things down. Last spring we discussed doing it during the summer or as part of this study. God's timing is perfect! The message for week two would be the ideal tie-in. Loving others as Jesus loved us. Even better they wanted to tape an interview with me and then follow up "live" on stage with some final thoughts.

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Love Is A Verb

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

Recently at my home church we started a six week study called "40 Days of Love" which was written by Rick Warren (Sr Pastor of Saddleback Church). This is the same type of study that some of you may have done like 40 Days of Purpose or 40 Days of Community. All of these are great six week studies designed to grow, stretch and strengthen your faith. It is said that it takes six weeks to develop or break a habit so these fit right in there in creating a new way of thinking. Over the next few posts I want to take some of what I have gleaned from this study and share my perspective.

Though not from the study, but rather from my heart, today's post is entitled Love is a Verb. This is something that I have discussed many times with sponsors and others when presenting Compassion's programs. You see we can say we love someone or something but that is really just words. Love requires action, love requires doing. I can tell my wife over and over that I love her but unless I back those words with actions then it just means nothing to her. Those actions too must reflect my words. They are tied together. I cannot say I love her and then treat her harshly for that negates the statement.

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