Strategies for Training, Missions and Ministry
Do you know how they treat poor people in Cambodia? They give them a bottle of soy sauce and take their picture. I am not sure who is supposed to be the one feeling blessed, the photographer or the impoverished villager.
We live in an instant high-tech age where ways of communicating and relating change rapidly and drastically. We must always remember and even force ourselves to be physically, personally and intimately engage people in a real world. We are called to be agents of change, but transformational change, in the real world.
In Cambodia everyone knows the name Duch. He was the warden of the Khmer Rouge prison called S-21. From 1975 to 1979 Toul Sleng held 20,000 prisoners. All of them, except 7, were tortured to death. As a believer in Jesus, he is using his final days to share the message of forgiveness and love. He is an unlikely witness.
It seems so many employees have forgotten about people and live for simply fulfilling policies. If policies lead to injustice: Break the policy. If policies lead to broken relationships: Break the policy. Policies are only someone’s idea. Don’t forget about people. Someday you are going to need people, and you better have some friends around.
How Important are foundations? A foundation is a massive structure which has to support the weight of the building. A small building needs a small foundation. A big building needs a big foundation. I am not an expert builder, but I think we have to be sure we always build our nations, our lives and our families on a solid foundation. That foundation must be a foundation of righteousness, holiness and obedience to God’s commands. No exceptions.
If you are an urbanite just remember you can’t eat concrete. You need the poor. Love them, treat them with respect and give them the full value of the fruit of their labor.
I met with some Army Rangers and SEALS today. They were pretty cool. You know how these military guys love to tell stories. They were talking about how many Muslim soldiers in Middle Eastern armies fight. They hold the gun up and just spray a bunch of bullets and shout “Insha’Allah”. What it means is…
Policies always have an effect on society. Even with our little bit of money that Christians help people with in Cambodia, we too affect the society: Some for good and some for bad.
There are many ways to get through a jungle. The easiest way to travel is to follow those who go before you. Usually they just walk on a path which becomes warn over time. The path is narrow and small, and is hardly ever straight, because a person is constantly adjusting his weight and movements according to the obstacles he faces, so the path reflects the journey.
In today’s society, everyone is always looking for clever ways of doing business, or making the most money with the least amount of effort. Scams and schemes are everywhere to fool people. Unfortunately they are even in the church. Like I said, I don’t have all the answers, but I think we all need to be reminded that God has given us the task to build nations. We all need to be more careful how we build. One of my favorite “red letter” sections is John 15:16 which says, “You did not choose me,[Jesus] but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” If you build your nation God’s way, you build the Kingdom of God.