I speak on behalf of Compassion International almost every show that I play about what it means for the body of Christ to actually BE like Christ…about what it means to truly serve the “least of these.”  I speak about our tendency here in the developed West to feel like the issues of poverty, injustice, and “serving orphans and widows” are too big for us to really tackle, too daunting for us to even really get our hearts around, much less do anything about.  In light of that we tend to rely on the “powers that be” to push into those issues on our behalf.  We tend to think that tackling governmental corruption in third world countries or governmental bureaucracy in developed nations would be really getting to the heart of the matter because that’s where the real power to change things really lies.  And although those are indeed noble intentions, the sad truth is that we’ve bought into the idea that the real power on this earth lies in the hands of the governments of this world. Please don’t misunderstand me, there is an absolute need to dive into the issues of corruption and bureaucracy and do whatever we can to change our world through those political and ideological avenues; but we cannot, as followers of Christ, cling to the idea that real change, real power in this world lies in the hands of politicians and police forces.  Is our God not the Author of this world?  After all, it is not the job – it is not the CALLING – of the governments of this world to serve the least of these.  It is the job and it is the calling of the Body of Christ. If you are a Believer reading this right now, it is not a question of IF we are serving the least of these, according to Jesus, that is an absolute…the question instead is HOW are we serving the least of these?  There are so many beautiful ways to do this, from the local food bank around the corner to organizations like Compassion International.  I have been so deeply inspired and moved by the friends in my life who have taken this calling personally, and PERSONALLY decided to dive in.  Whether it’s my friends from the band Jars of Clay who just celebrated digging 1000 wells in Africa through their Blood:Water Mission, or friends like Stephan and Caitland Sharp who are in Rwanda as we speak processing through the adoption of their new son, who they’ve named Crew, so they can bring him home to meet his new big sister, Sadie.  These are the people who’s hearts have been inclined to serve the least of these in very specific ways.  The truth is, not all of us have the means or platform to dig 1000 wells in Africa.  Not all of us are called to adoption.  But we, every single one of us, can be a part of these specific callings in the ways that we chose to give.  I’m asking you today, if this inspires you the way it inspires me, to help my friends Stephan and Caitland with the adoption of their new son, Crew.  As it turns out, they don’t necessarily have the “means” either, but they do have hearts that were called and compelled to have one less orphan in this world…and one more child in their home.  Please go to the link that I’ve posted below to a short video that the Sharps made just before they left for Rwanda 9 days ago.  You will hear just a bit of their story and you will see how easy it is to give to their specific calling to bring Crew home.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SHARP’S VIDEO