Is the Church part of the American Dream?

The Church and Debt: Okay, so the poll is closed and the results are in: Only 25 people voted, but 77% thought churches should NOT go into debt, 9 % said yes, it was okay for the church to go into debt, and 13% were not sure. I know this is not a 'scientific' study, per se, but it affirms that this is something that churches in America need to be talking about and praying about and being open with their congregations about so they're not wooed by the enemy into becoming part of the American Dream. My favorite (biased) comment on the subject is here, in case you missed it.

I read a quote by Ed Stetzer yesterday that really spoke to my heart: "The American dream is one of the biggest distractions Satan uses us to distract us from God's global mission."

I've thought about this quote since I read it and throughout the night. I also finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan yesterday. Man, God is really messing with my brain and my heart. I know that He is calling me out, calling me to be different, and calling me to be "radical". I'm trying to seek God to find out what this will look like in my life. I've always been a little "radical" or "different" or "someone who marches to the beat of her own drum", but I know that God is asking me to "kick it up a notch".

I've lived the past thirty something years yearning for the American Dream: A nice big house (decorated like a Pottery Barn catalog), nice cars, healthy children, no wrinkles, a fashionable wardrobe, 401K, college funds, etc. You get the picture.

Now all of a sudden God has nailed home the reality that I am NOT promised tomorrow! What am I doing TODAY that will make a difference in light of eternity? James 4:13-14 says: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that just appears for a little while and vanishes away.

I'm writing all this because really I just need a good therapist but can't afford one...haha. Lucky for you all right? I'm struggling here with this and I hope some of you are too...... Why am I saving money to redo my bedroom with new duvet covers, paint, curtains, etc. when people are hungry and lonely and hurting? Yeah so my duvet cover is a little ripped and I don't like the paint color, but will I live without a new one? Of course. (But God... I REALLY want to paint my bedroom!! *stomping my foot*).

Surely we all know people who died suddenly or tragically.... they never saw it coming. If I died next week, would I want people to say "Kirsten has a really nicely decorated bedroom" or "Kirsten thought of the needs of others before her own"?

But this is HARD! My friend Anne Marie said this yesterday: HA! The American Dream - how long will we believe that lie. I still fall back into that lie so easily. As if we have been promised anything for this life except persecution and trouble because of our love for Christ. Salvation is all about when we are united with Him for eternity - not heaven, not what we think heaven has for us but HIM! Just Jesus! Oh if I could only remember this ever time I waver.

I feel the same way!! And this is the radical life that God wants us to live: to forsake the American Dream for Jesus... not conform to it!

Again, I don't know exactly what this looks like for me, but I'm excited, scared, anxious, etc. to find out!

God is so cool how He always does that!

I've been craving a really good Bible study lately.... like a Beth Moore with lots of homework. I know, I know.... a glutton for punishment! How can I do homework when I can't even keep up with my kids' homework?! I called my neighbor Amy and asked if she was interested and coincidentally (God is sovereign) she was starting up a Beth Moore study the very next week! Cool, huh?

The Bible Study title is Breaking Free. Now I did this study about ten years ago and boy did I have a lot of things to break free from! But now it is just as fresh and exciting and new because over the past ten years I've worked up a whole other set of things that need to be dealt with. Also, (again God is sovereign) I got to meet another neighbor who is part of the group whom I'd only met in passing before. Not only do we share the same house number (although on different streets), we share a lot of other similarities and struggles with our children. I feel like we are Divine Appointments in one another's lives.

Okay, so I'm starting week one of the homework and part of it is to memorize a verse for the week. When I read the verse I was so excited I just HAD to share it!!!

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the the prisoners...

~Isaiah 61:1

WOW! This is NOT a coincidence and I'm again amazed by God and His perfect timing and His love for me. This is just another reassurance of the calling on my life... to be His ambassador to the ends of the earth! Did I mention that I CANNOT WAIT to go to Uganda with Ekissa in May so I can do the work that the Lord has called me to do?

My Disenchantment with the Contemporary Church, Part 1

Ahh, the proverbial elephant in the room, the one people tiptoe around. As they say here in the south…. It’s a big ‘un!

Let me add my disclaimer here: I am not directing this post at any one church or person or population segment. It is merely my opinion, which I am fully entitled to. I in know way expect everyone to agree with me. I don’t expect ANYONE to agree with me. This is just what God has laid on my heart through His word and the path my life has taken. If it steps on your toes, then maybe it’s time you take a good hard look at the direction of your church and the condition of it’s heart. And from some of you I can hear a resounding “AMEN” because your church is doing things right. Take it or leave it.

My Disenchantment With The Contemporary American Church, Part 1

It is no secret that I’ve become disenchanted with the contemporary Christian Church these days. It’s just that when you’ve looked into the faces of innocent children that go days and weeks eating only bugs and poop, it changes your perspective. Then, to see them raise their faces and hands to God and praising him for His provision and being part of a “church service” right there in the middle of nowhere with a dirt floor and a couple of drums, well it sends chills up your spine. I know without a doubt that I saw the face of Jesus in that place and amongst those people.

So I struggle. I walk into a typical contemporary church and am supposed to be wowed and transcended into this “worship experience” of sounds and lights and artificial fog. It seems that this is how we are wooing the “unchurched” into our church services, by creating this artificial “environment”. The Bible says in John 13:35 “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Do our churches attract people because we love, or do they attract people because we have the coolest music, a laser light show and superb programming?

It’s just something to think about. I’m not saying that those things are inherently bad, but if they are our focus, then we’ve gotten off track. That is my opinion. More later.

Ugandan Beads!!

I'm selling these beads to benefit the ministry of www.ekissa.com

Each bead is hand made from recycled paper and is special and unique. They were purchased at a fair trade price from widows in Uganda. All the proceeds from the necklaces go right back to buy more necklaces, therefore supporting the idea that these widows can be self-sustaining and support their families. Ekissa seeks to provide a holistic approach and do our part to help alleviate poverty in Uganda while sharing the hope of Christ.

Some strands are shorter, and some are longer, but each is unique!

The ones are my neck is one long strand that I have tripled, so you can make it

suit what you're wearing.

They are $10 each plus actual shipping. So, the more you buy, the cheaper to ship!

But if you live near me, I'd love to hand them to you in person!

Poem by my team-mate (written while we were in Uganda)

Mercy by Malinda Hayes

(Note by Kirsten: Malinda is 18 years old and she wrote this poem after we visited Mercy Orphanage. She is an extraordinary young woman with a God-given vision!)

Images that haunt
Deceit that taunts

Abandonment and shame
Dished out to the lame

Monsters as men tell lies
That lead children to die

Their stomachs go unfed
While they are tortured in their beds

Untreated malaria and worms
Should make the Church do more than squirm

Action should be taken
Because God's plan is in the makin'

Although there may be violence
God will no longer let there be silence

Because of the terror that moves through night
The Church should surely fight!

We will fight with all our might
And follow Jesus's everlasting light

Those who do not walk God's path
Will finally experience His wrath

For giving up just one meal on the table
Or maybe just your basic cable

A child's physical needs can be bought

And education can be taught

We may send money to the poor

But Christ commands us to do more

In Christ's suffering we are supposed to share

So take the time to say a prayer

Jesus gave us the Great Commission

So why has the church made such a great omission?

Love one another, as I have loved you

That is all he has asked us to do

Jesus paid the ultimate cost

Now it is up to us to help the lost

The curse of Compassion

I was born a compassionate person.  I am emotional.  I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve.  At times, this has been a curse in my life.  I even hated God for the compassion that I felt for others because I lost several things in my quest to be a savior to those in some sort of need, whether it be a physical or emotional one.  I would cry out to God "WHY ME?!  WHY DO I HAVE TO CARE SO MUCH WHEN NO ONE ELSE SEEMINGLY DOES??" I was the girl with the weight of the world in her hands.

During my teenage years I rebelled against my compassionate nature and tried very very hard to turn my thoughts to my own self gratification and righteousness.  I usually succeeded because I am very strong-willed and God gave me the freedom to choose my own path.  As it turns out, it was a very hard and bumpy path with lots of twists, turns, potholes, and even chasms in it.  But even when, in our own stubbornness, we choose the wrong path and try to change what God has made us to be, He is there, like a crossing guard.  At the crossroads of life, which are very numerous if we stop to count them, He is there pointing us in the right direction.  The question is:  Do we choose His path or our own?  Do we go where we feel He is leading us or do we ignore Him because His way doesn't make sense to us?  I regrettably admit that I have taken my own road many times and most often it leads to pain and confusion.  But "God is not a God of confusion, but of peace" ~ 1 Corinth. 14:33

The past several years of ministry have been somewhat confusing for me.  Of course, lots of good things have come out of it but it's like I've been wandering and searching and trying to figure out my place in the world and in the church (the collective body of Christ).  I've served in many ways and capacities but have still felt confusion; never really 'at home' in the role that I was in.  Again, God has certainly used me in every area, and for that I am eternally grateful.

But once again I find myself at a crossroads in my life.  I'm doing my best to listen to the Crossing Guard and to embrace the gifts that He has given me that will put me on the perfect path that He has laid out for me.  This is always easier said then done; the enemy often tries to confuse me, even within the church. 

I invite you to embark on this journey with me and to help me to run the race that He has set out for me.  I don't know exactly what this looks like, what it will mean, or where it will lead me.  I do know that I will try my best to submit to my Father's will and I covet all prayers for strength and endurance on the road ahead.

Until then,

K