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Catalyst One Day #catoneday

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When Helping Hurts (Book Report)

I normally wait to write book reports until I have completed the book, but two things have led me to be a bit more pre-mature than normal:

#1: I've been enjoying the book immensely for several reasons (more on that below).

#2: Bill Clinton's recent comments about Haiti's condition have proven this book's thesis to be true.

Let's look at #2 first...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton recently acknowledged that some policies which happened under his administration appeared to help Haiti, but those policies actually hurt the country.  President Clinton admits that they wanted to send food to Haiti to help this poor Caribbean nation out (plus, it would help rice growers in America).  But rather than help, it has led the nation to be dependent upon imported food sources rather than be able to feed themselves.  Our "help" as a rich nation has actually hurt this struggling nation and it's beautiful people as they begin the rebuilding and redevelopment of their infrastructure.

But this isn't the only example.  Time and time again, U.S. citizens, churches, missionaries, social workers, non-profits, NGO's, the World Bank, (and even myself) engage in activities that make them believe they are helping people when in reality they are hurting the very ones they appear to care about.  Whether it be through contributive giving, feeding programs, or physical labor efforts, the intentions are often right, but the long term outcomes are the polar opposite of what is truly desired by all.  And thus the poor remain poor.

This is the reality that Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert aim to confront and change in their book When Helping Hurts.

I have to admit something before I proceed: I have been very leery of much of the "social justice" being trumpeted by the Church in America in recent years.  When the call was first being sounded by many in the "emerging church" through their sermons, conferences, books, and blogs, I was very much in favor of the idea of helping the poor, victimized, and less fortunate (admitting I hadn't been doing much other than being a faithful Compassion sponsor for many years).  But the more I kept hearing the call, the less "Jesus" I heard and the more "just do good" kept coming to the forefront.  So I backed away emotionally and theologically.

This is why When Helping Hurts has been so revolutionary to me.  Corbett and Fikkert take biblical theology I have not only believed, but also taught (namely the doctrines of sin, man, and salvation/restoration), and have extended these truths to issues of poverty.  Their suggestions from these theological convictions are Christ-based, but also deeply practical.  It has been so refreshing to read something theologically sound (without getting too academic) that also calls for practical action and true changes.

But not only have I appreciated the biblical approach of the authors, I also have appreciated their redefinition of poverty.  By taking the doctrine of the fall and applying it properly, Corbett and Fikkert help their readers see that we ALL are in poverty; some of us just aren't in material poverty.  But because of the truth of Romans 3:23, we all have an impoverished relationship with God, others, ourselves, and the world.

Now keep in mind - I haven't finished the book.  I haven't had time to read the past couple of days, but I am ready for the chapter on helping in "your own backyard." With that said, I highly doubt my opinion will change as I complete the book in the next couple of days.

If your church is rejecting Glenn Beck's ridiculous rant and is choosing to join God's plan for true social justice and restoration, then you MUST make When Helping Hurts at the top of your reading list.  This book is profoundly practical while aiming to reshape the thinking of "givers" so that our help will truly be just that.

Rating: 5 bags of rice out of 5

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Erin Bird
erin.bird@newcovenantbible.org
Young Adult Pastor
www.newcovenantbible.org
erinbird.posterous.com

Twitter: erinbbird
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Family Day at the Imaginarium (Waterloo Iowa)

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Shamrock Around the Clock 2010

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Exposing the Invisible (An apology)

I just received a gentle rebuke via Facebook, and I think my friend is right on.

Yesterday I posted the video of the sermon I preached last week.  But I didn't just post the video, I shared my honest feelings about how painful I find it to watch (or even listen) to myself.  Like many, I am my own worst critic.

But the problem with me complaining about myself is this: I often pray (as I did on Sunday) that I would disappear so God's Word could go forth.  I want the spotlight on Christ, not me.  And the friend who Facebooked me pointed out that he/she didn't see the messenger on Sunday, they only heard the message.  Which means my prayer was answered!

But then I pointed the spotlight on the messenger yesterday, no longer letting me be "invisible".  I went against the very thing I prayed for!

So I stand corrected.  I apologize for putting the spotlight back on me, instead of letting it remain on Christ where it so clearly was after my sermon.  I will keep the video up, as well as my comments, but I'll update that post with a link to this one so others can hopefully learn from my mistake.

And thank you to the one who called me out on this.  You did it like Christ - you communicated with grace and truth - and you did it succinctly.  May God use me the same way in others' lives as well!

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Listen to Stellar Kart's new album for FREE

Cedar Rapids native and former New Covenant youth group member, Brian Calcara, is the bass player for Stellar Kart, who released their newest album, Everything is Different Now, today.  Christianity Today gave it a very positive review, so I gave it a free listen at Lala to find out for myself.  I thought some of Brian's friends (or just really curious people) would want to hear SK's brand of positive pop rock (I think my kids would like it!).

On Lala, you can listen to an album for free one time, which is nice because it helps you decide if you want to buy the album, buy just a few songs, or purchase none at all. So here's the Lala widget:

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Erin Bird
erin.bird@newcovenantbible.org
Young Adult Pastor
www.newcovenantbible.org
erinbird.posterous.com

Twitter: erinbbird
-----

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I always find it painful to watch myself on video...

This is the sermon I preached last week. It is so painful to watch myself and see how I looked from the audience perspective.  But, I know that if I want to improve as a communicator of God's Word, I should humble myself, watch this, and critique it.

But not right now. :o)

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Listen to Passion's new album for FREE

I enjoyed listening to Passion's new "Awakening" album today, and thought some of you might too:

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Mid-week reminder - "Who or what are you praising?" (Daniel 4)

For anyone at New Covenant who heard my sermon last Sunday (or listened to it online), here is a mid-week reminder of the Next Steps:

    - Have you read through Daniel 4 again?

    - Have you taken some time to read Hebrews 12:7-11?

    - Have you had a chance to honestly answer the Personal Questions to Ponder?

Here are the Personal Questions if you don't have your notes readily available:

    - Who or what are you praising?

    - How are you like Nebuchadnezzar?

    - What needs to change in your life in order to give God the primary praise?

    - What practical steps are you going to make to allow the Holy Spirit to help you in this/these area(s) in your life?

    - Is there a “Nebuchadnezzar” in your life you need to pray for, care for, and/or share with?

I've enjoyed hearing feedback this week from many of how God used last Sunday's sermon to challenge and/or encourage them.  I prayed today through the cards that were submitted Sunday by those indicating their response to the Next Steps.  I'm praying though that this isn't just a one week thing for those of you who have been exalting in too much self-praise.  The biggest encouragement I could get is to know that the work of God's Spirit in you (and your response to Him) is continuing and you (and me!) are daily moving further from your crazy self-praise to giving God your primary praise.

Feel free to let me know via Facebook or Twitter or email how God is continuing to work in your heart!

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The Crash of God

This morning I preached on Daniel chapter 4, the story where King Nebuchadnezzar went insane by God's command.  My main point was that God was disciplining Nebuchadnezzar from his sin of self-praise.  God crashed in on Nebuchadnezzar's self-praise, and utterly humiliated him so that Nebby might know what really is worth praising.

I then made the point (probably a little strongly) that we all are like King Nebby - we engage in self-praise.  We may not be as blatantly arrogant as Nebuchadnezzar was, but we use various things to bring ourselves praise.  It might be your job, it might be your family, it could be your possessions, it could be an addiction, it could be fashion, it could be anything that you use to give your primary praise to yourself rather than to God.  And out of his love, God will crash our lives through discipline so we might gain a proper perspective of who HE is - then we will gladly give Him our primary praise.

After each service, I got lots of "great message!" feedback, but more than compliments, I wanted to see and hear about conviction and life change.  And boy did I ever!

After the 11:00 am service, a 70-year-old lady (I'll call her Dee) came up to me, told me she had never been to New Covenant before, had tried to go to a different church this morning, but ended up at the wrong church.  To make a long story short, someone from the "wrong" church drove her to New Covenant's parking lot.  She walks into the service and I begin preaching about how we use our addictions to praise ourself rather than God.  This hit her square in the heart because she has a gambling addiction.  She began to share how God has been working in her life, and she knew it was beyond coincidence that she was at New Covenant this morning.

Dee has a long road ahead, but it is evident God is working mightily in her life.  Would you pray for Dee?  Pray she can give up the gambling.  Pray she would experience freedom in Christ.  Pray she can get connected to the right women who can help her grow in her relationship with Jesus and find her satisfaction in him, not in playing high-stakes games.  Pray for her marriage (it's not good).  And pray her kids (who thankfully all love Jesus) can be the right help and support to her.

While you are at it, would you pray for those I didn't talk with who were being convicted of sin this morning?  Perhaps this includes you, so pray that you would not give into self-praise, but rather would exalt God alone, because He alone is worthy of it.  Because while the crash of God accomplishes beautiful things, it can be very painful.  And I'd rather see you (and me) giving Him praise before He has to discipline us to that point.

(By the way, if you live in Cedar Rapids and didn't hear my message this morning and happen to read this on Sunday afternoon, I invite you to come at 5:00 pm tonight.  If you don't know how to get to New Covenant, here are directions.)

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My 3-year-old says I have a big head. I think he just has big eyes...

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Hidden Sin Isn't Really Hidden

What a messed up nation we are!  First, we have websites that will help match a married individual with another married person with whom you can have an affair and keep it secret from your spouses (sorry, not going to provide a link for this one!).  Now we have iPhone apps that aid in the covering of your affair.

Yet time and again I counsel people who have been sexually unfaithful and engaged in sex outside of marriage, and every time there is damage - to the person who had the affair and to the spouse (or future spouse) who discovers it.

We've all heard the stories of adultery.  Yet when it comes to ourselves, we think we can get away with it!  We think we can hide it.  How foolish we are!

Jesus clearly says,

"For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light." (Luke 8:17)

Even if a person somehow successfully keeps his/her affair secret, (or porn addiction, or gambling problem, or alcoholism, or inner pride, or gaming addiction, or cutting, or whatever your "secret" sin might be), God knows and that person knows.  The person living with a secret sin can never be "fully himself" with anyone else, which therefore keeps him or her distanced from others (his spouse, her church family, his co-workers, her college friends, etc.).  And the more emotionally distanced a person is from others, the more likely he or she is to continue to engage in "secret" sin.

Here's the good news/bad news of this matter:

The Bad News:  Your sin will be found out, probably in this lifetime.

The Good News: You can decide how it is discovered.

• If you keep hiding it, you have chosen to let yourself be embarrassed when the sin is revealed.  Then you will suffer a damaged reputation, a lack of trust, and a complete devastation of your emotions, relationships, spiritual walk, and more.
• If you choose to expose the sin yourself, you will still suffer some of the pain of other's shock and the process of healing, but the embarrassment is far less, the recovery much quicker, and trust is much easier to rebuild.

So which are you going to choose?

• Are you going to keep hiding your sin, employing technology and lies to mask your failings, and suffer the embarrassment when it comes to light?
• Or are you going to man-up (or woman-up) and confess your "hidden" sin?

Because your sin isn't nearly as hidden as you think it is.

Credit given to Pete Wilson's excellent blog for the info on the TigerText app. Photo from stock.xchange.

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Overwhelmed by Generosity

God and His people have been so good to my family and me recently - I truly have been overwhelmed by the generosity extended to us.

 

Generosity by the Numbers
While I was out of the country for 8 days, 40+ volunteers put in over 200 hours of work on the main level of our home, unbeknownst to me.  As I walked into the kitchen from our garage, I was completely surprised at the changes that awaited me:
·      My kitchen no longer had an obnoxious buzzing fluorescent light, instead 1 quiet circular light fixture illuminated the room.
·      Instead of boring white walls, I was greeted by the warmth of “Golden Wheat” color covering the entire back half of our main level (except for the wall with the fireplace at the end of our living room – that was painted a gorgeous red color).
·      Instead of the falling popcorn texture that has been on our ceiling since we moved in 8 years ago, I was awed by the artful “hard knockdown” texture.  It is a thousand times better than what was previously above our heads.
·      A new light fixture was also installed in our half-bath on the main level.
·      Many other smaller things were done as well!

 I would like to say a BIG “Thank You” to those from the BE[cause] ABF*, the Re:Focus ABF, the Marriage Matters ABF, the New Covenant SWAT team, and the staff at New Covenant that gave so much of their time and energy.  Particular thank you’s need to go to Preston & Dan for their leadership and organization of this project, to Tye for his recruitment of the SWAT team and New Covenant staff, to Aaron for bringing guys from his workplace to texture our ceilings, to my wife for having the guts to try to pull this off without my input and support, and my kids for putting up with the mess while enduring the emotional unsettledness of having Dad gone for a week.

 Generosity in the Snow
As if an extreme home makeover wasn’t enough, I was given a 16” single-stage snowblower.  Bryan was given the used snowblower by his son (who recently moved to Seattle).  However, Bryan lives in an apartment.  He asked if anyone at church needed one, and my back yelled “yes!”  My corner lot will now be done in a third of the time it took me to shovel, which allows me to bless neighbors as well.

 Generosity through a Lens
Just days before I boarded the plane to fly to Jamaica, I found a Nikon D40 for an excellent price on Craigslist.  Without even asking, my friend Steve offered to let me use his camera bag, which was perfect for travelling.  Then my friend Craig offered to let me take his 55-200mm zoom lens since I only had the 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera.  Craig also gave me an 8Gb SD card, as did my good friend, Kim.  It was overwhelming to experience such generosity – and a nice welcome into the unofficial Nikon club.

 Generosity in a Home
Last Friday, February 26, I sat in the home of Kurt & Jill who generously allowed me to have my monthly spiritual retreat in their unoccupied space while they are away at work.  I was deeply touched that they would offer their comfortable space for my use for a day.  I had a great day in the Scriptures, prayer, reading, and more.

Generosity in a Family

Today marks my 37th year of life. (My 9-year-old declared me officially old!)  My family lavished me with very thoughtful presents.
 
Generosity in You?
As you can see, I am truly overwhelmed by all of the generosity poured out upon me.  And hopefully it's as clear to you as it is to me that generosity is inspiring.  It makes me want to go be generous to others!

 So who are you going to generously give to this week?  Whoever it is, I encourage you to overwhelm them!

  

*ABF stands for Adult Bible Fellowship.  I oversee 5 ABFs in my role as young adult pastor at New Covenant.

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My Birthday Presents

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