Vital Nov / Dec

ARE CHRISTIANS SUPPOSED TO BE WELL-LIKED? p28 WHY THANKSGIVING ISN’T ENOUGH p46 3 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MENTORSHIP COUNT p40

V I TA L M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ISSUE _ 06 / NOVEMBER _ DECEMBER 2015

CAN W E S OLV E THE

In the United States, there are roughly 400,000 children in foster care — and 350,000 churches.

Vital goes to the experts to learn how Christians can fulfill the biblical mandate to care for the abused, neglected and orphaned.

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YOUR WORLD IN PERSPECTIVE 24/ 7 IF IT AFFECTS YOUR WORLD, IT AFFECTS YOUR FAITH. V I TA L M A G A Z I N E . C O M I S A B O U T P R O V I D I N G YO U W I T H C U T T I N G E D G E , W O R L D C L A S S , S P I R I T- E M P O W E R E D I N F O R M AT I O N T H AT P U T S YO U R W O R L D I N P E R S P E C T I V E . W H E R E V E R Y O U A R E , W H E N E V E R Y O U N E E D I T, V I TA L I S T H E R E .

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to Be a Mentee

p30

If you want good mentors, you need to go where they are and do what they do

CAN WE SOLVE THE

p40 Beyond Thanksgiving God takes time not simply to command gratitude, but also to train us in offering it

Can We Solve the Orphan Crisis?

God explicitly commands the Church to look after orphans; it’s not just a nice idea.

8 VITAL SIGNS 10 FEEDBACK 11 THE LEAD • The Gift of Family

p46

12 PULSE • World • Nation • Church

24 THINKING ABOUT • Between

the Manger and the Cross • How to Navigate the Headlines • Are Christians Supposed to Be Well-Liked?

Red Envelope Compassion

This organization brings education, school supplies, greenhouses, even Christmas to unreached people groups in Northern Asia

p28 Are Christians Supposed to Be Well-Liked?

Imagine a world where convictions and kindness go hand in hand

Personality Quizzes and Christian Callings A psychologist shares how to make the most of these increasingly popular assessments

p64 30 CAN WE SOLVE THE ORPHAN CRISIS? Vital spoke with a number of foster care and adoption experts about how to take up this biblical mandate

40 HOW TO BE A MENTEE So you’ve got a mentor …

Now what? Here are three next steps to make the most of their influence.

46 BEYOND THANKSGIVING Cultivating and expressing gratitude should not be limited to a single day

p54 54 MULTIPLIERS • Red Envelope Compassion • The Help Agency • Thirsty Africa

59 TEACHING • Vital Voices • He Said, We Said • Don’t Make Those

Resolutions Just Yet • Personality Quizzes and

Christian Callings

73 MAKE IT COUNT 80 ONE MORE THING

Yo u r w o r l d f r o m a S p i r i t - e m p o w e r e d p e r s p e c t i v e

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VITAL SIGNS

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“THE WATER I GIVE THEM WILL BECOME IN THEM A SPRING OF WATER w e l l i n g u p t o e t e rn a l l i f e ” ( J o h n 4 : 1 4 ) . T h i s w e l l in the village of Kadjale is just one example of h o w A f ri c a O a s i s P ro j e c t c re a t e s a c c e s s t o c l e a n w a t e r i n A f ri c a . L e a rn m o re a b o u t t h e i r T h i rs t y A f ri c a i n i t i a t i v e o n p a g e 5 4 .

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A DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN ANSWER TO HALLOWEEN THINKING ABOUT: EDUCATION — A SPECIAL BACK-TO-SCHOOL SECTION p24 + MAX LUCADO, MARK BATTERSON & MORE

THE PARENT’S COMMUNICATION TOOLKIT

Be patient.

p66

FEEDBACK

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

ISSUE 05 - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

TEN BETTER WAYS TO TALK ABOUT TOUGH TOPICS

BY BRIAN DOLLAR

Prepare your response.

Connections

take time.

You’re still learning.

Say “I’m sorry.”

V I TA L M A G A Z I N E . C O M

“Very relevant to our everyday walk with Christ.”

Harold M., Facebook, Wadsworth, Ohio

ISSUE _ 05 / SEPTEMBER _ OCTOBER 2015

“Just found out about @thevitalmag and it’s great! You should definitely go check it out.” @uncletreysings

“I really appreciated ‘The Parent’s Communication Toolkit’ [How to Lead Your Kids Through Life’s Tough Topics, Sep/Oct 2015] in the recent issue.” Chris B., email, Charlottesvile, Virginia “Kudos to the people that work on the magazine.

I like the fact that Vital addresses current issues, giving good information to prepare Christians for life.

I enjoy the long articles as much as the short ones that provide quick, interesting information.”

Vera G., email, Seattle, Washington Vera, Thanks for reading and reaching out — and for getting to the long and short of it.

“Really solid article [Celebrating Male-Female Relationships, Sep/Oct 2015] in Vital magazine on an important topic.”

Dan N., Facebook, Kirkland, Washington

“Great article [Celebrating Male-Female Relationships, Sep/Oct 2015] by Vital.

Will we practice what we preach?”. @joebarnoske, Twitter, Pen, Florida Joe, That’s the big question!

Thankfully, it looks like this article struck a chord with at least a couple of you.

“I recently stumbled across your online magazine. I was very impressed with the layout and design, as well as the depth of content.”

Caitlin M., email “I love your emphasis on inspiring stories that help us see the Holy Spirit empowering people to make amazing changes

in our world. There are so many stories that news media shock us with.”

Janet S., email, Fairport, New York Janet, Wow, we’re so glad you feel that way! Thanks for reading. We hope Vital might continue to be a place where you find good news.

You can read more about a Christian approach to digesting today’s media in “How to Navigate the Headlines” on page 26.

Appreciate all the work that @thevitalmag is accomplishing. They have a great team in place! @AG_USA @KentIngle, Twitter, Lakeland, Florida

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Connect: feedback@vitalmagazine.com Twitter: @thevitalmag Facebook.com/thevitalmag Instagram: @thevitalmag 10

THE LEAD

THE GIFT OF FAMILY

T

he months that include Thanksgiving and Christmas are, as the song puts it, “the most wonderful time of the year.” Outside, snow covers the ground; inside, a fire burns in the hearth. The smells of holiday foods waft throughout the house. Lights illuminate the early evenings, pumpkins line the porch and wrapped gifts lie under the Christmas tree, waiting to be opened by eager children.

It’s easy to wax sentimental about this season. Ironically, there was little sentimentality about the first Christmas. Mary found herself unexpectedly — though miraculously, joyfully — pregnant.

Joseph, her fiancé, thought it prudent to divorce her quietly, but an angel set the record straight and he adopted her Son. They traveled to Bethlehem because the occupation government wanted to tax them, and Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable. When the local monarch tried to kill their son, they fled as refugees to Egypt.

I didn’t pay attention to these unsentimental aspects of the Christmas story until I became a foster parent two years ago. Two little girls came into our home filled with uncertainty about the strangers who had replaced their parents. As a parent myself, I can only imagine the distress the girls’ mom and dad were going through. Turns out that not every family experiences this season as the most wonderful time of the year.

The cover story of this issue of Vital is about foster parenting and adoption. November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and we

wanted to shine a light on the struggles some children face and what Christians can do to help them. Jay Mooney of Compact Family Services gets us started with a reminder of the biblical mandate to care for orphans (page 30). Profiles of Project Ignite Light (page 34) and The Oaks Orphan Care Ministry (page 38) show what individuals and churches can do to help kids who go into the foster care system. Drawing on personal experience, Trisha Porter allays four worries potential foster and adoptive parents have about receiving a child into their home (page 36).

And Connie Quinn makes sure we’re doing orphan care for the right reasons (page 33).

Of course, we also have insightful stories about

Thanksgiving (page 46) and Christmas (page 24). But I want to close with an appeal: Holidays have a tendency to focus our attention on our family and friends. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but look beyond the needs of your family circle. Or rather, enlarge your family circle to include those — especially children — who are in need. (Beyond our cover story, the Multipliers section, beginning on page 54, provides some strong examples of ministries doing so.)

We pray this issue will spur you to experience the truth of Jesus’ words that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

George Paul Wood is executive editor of Vital.

11

PULSE WORLD

12

KEEPING YOU CONNECTED TO THE HEARTBEAT OF THE WORLD

A FAITH-BASED FIGHT AGAINST AIDS

A

ccording to the United Nations, “between 2005 and 2013, the number of AIDS-related deaths in subSaharan Africa fell by 39 percent.” There is the sobering reminder, however, that the disease still claimed the lives of 1.1 million people there last year. And while rates of infection have decreased for adults and children, youth infections are on the rise.

World AIDS Day, on December 1, calls people to remember this “crushing burden for untold individuals, families and communities across the globe,” Paula Ireland says. She coordinates Cry Africa, an Assemblies of God World Missions effort to mobilize African churches to engage in HIV/AIDS ministry. Cry Africa promotes Community Health Evangelism (CHE) as an effective church-based model of community development. CHE’s first step is to determine needs and resources, then local church trainers educate community volunteers in health promotion, disease prevention, evangelism and discipleship.

In 2016, Cry Africa aims to start a microenterprise loan project, offering an opportunity for CHE trainers to generate sustainable income. “We believe the only way to impact such overwhelming issues is the power of the Holy Spirit operating through local churches, called to be salt and light in their neighborhoods,” Ireland says.

(Photo: CHE workers in Choma, Zambia.

Credit: Christine Little)

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PULSE : WORLD

REYKJAVÍK’S RECOVERY

ABROAD AND IN THE STATES, CHURCHES ARE MEGA DIFFERENT

W

hile megachurches are a recognized trend in the United States, and America is credited with developing this type of worship environment, churches around the world are quickly — and steadily — surpassing the U.S. in megachurch attendance. Large churches abroad tend to be in urban areas that build “up” rather than “out,” while most U.S. megachurches are located in the suburbs. Here in the states, the demographic that attends these stadium-sanctuaries is often middle or upper class, while that’s not always the case overseas. The state of Texas alone has four cities with more than 11 megachurches, but the world’s largest megachurch is in Seoul, South Korea, boasting over 800,000 members — larger than the population of Detroit, Michigan.

Nearly 10 years ago, the devastating volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Iceland and hurt the country in more ways than one. One problem area was Iceland’s economy, which took a huge hit. In recent years, however, things have been looking up, and Iceland’s airlines are one major factor that have contributed to the country’s recovery.

Taking advantage of their convenient location between North America and Europe, Icelandair allows travelers to stop in Reykjavík, the nation’s capital, for up to seven days with no additional charge. Now the tourism industry is booming; between 2010 and 2014, Iceland had nearly one million visitors. That’s not too shabby for a country with a population of only 320,000.

GLOBALLY, MEN OUTNUMBER WOMEN Current United Nations numbers estimate the world has slightly more men than women, with the average being 101.8 men per 100 women.

GERMANY’S CLASS ACT German educators are passionate about helping their society — that’s why about 60 universities are letting refugees attend classes for free. Some schools will even pay for a migrant student’s transportation and books, in hopes to attract more skilled workers to their up-and-coming workforce. As one school’s president says, “Migration is a task for all of society, and universities must do their part.”

14

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PULSE NATION

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KEEPING YOU CONNECTED TO THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

MAKING THANKSGIVING

A

can of cranberry sauce.

Mashed potato mix. A warm scarf. They are small items, but in the context of a Thanksgiving outreach, they speak to the love of God — and the importance of churches having a community presence during holidays.

“Thanksgiving is a time that many food pantries run out of food, so this helps us to make them strong before the holidays set in and there is a greater demand than normal,” Robby Bradford, senior pastor of First Assembly Community Ministries, says. Their Thanksgiving food drive in Lafayette, Indiana has won awards from the local food bank for its contributions.

Eastridge Church in Issaquah, Washington, hosts a “no-stringsattached” annual event at two locations, giving away as many as 2,000 turkeys and bags of groceries. “We don’t require any proof of need and simply want to provide a little help during a season that can be difficult for people,” Heather Westad, executive assistant, says.

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PULSE : NATION

IN THE BASEMENT

CELL PHONE ETIQUETTE 101

D

o you think it’s OK to use your cellphone when taking public transportation? What about in a meeting? A Pew Research Center survey says that most Americans feel public places are fair-and-square cell phone zones, while users should be more considerate in environments with fewer people around. Seventy-seven percent said it’s fine to use phones while walking down the street, and 75 percent agreed they’re fine to use in public transit. Thirty-eight percent said it’s OK to use handheld devices in a restaurant, but only five percent said it’s appropriate to use cell phones in a meeting. What about church? Only 4 percent think it’s acceptable, but in recent years, many churches have been trending toward tech-friendliness.

O COME, ALL YE WASTEFUL Between Thanksgiving and New Years, household waste increases by more than 25 percent. Food and other holiday waste adds up to an extra 1 million tons a week to our nation’s landfills. If each family reused two feet of ribbon, it would amount to about 38,000 miles of bows. (Source: RecycleWorks)

Unemployment is finally down, and the job market is looking more promising to millennials than it has in years. So, why are they still living in their parents’ basements? A recent study says those ages 18–34 are less likely to be living alone now than they were during the Great Recession.

According to Pew Research Center numbers earlier this year, 26 percent of millennials are living with their families. While this generation is becoming more financially stable than it has been before, rental rates are continually on the rise, which may contribute to some millennials’ choice to live at home.

26% of millennials are living with their families.

THE DEADLY COST OF DROPPING OUT RIP

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How can individuals live longer? As The Atlantic reports, public health officials say they can try finishing school. Researchers have tracked mortality rates for high school dropouts that look alarmingly similar to current and former smokers. So, for those who are looking to live longer, we have two recommendations: Don’t smoke, and stay in school.

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When news reaches him that Jerusalem’s wall is shattered and its gates burned with fire, a distraught Nehemiah seeks God’s guidance in fasting and prayer. Granted an unexpected leave from his duty as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah sets out for Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall—never anticipating the dangers that await him on his arrival.

The leaders of the surrounding nations become his fierce enemies, plotting to assassinate him and stop the wall’s reconstruction forever. A drought, meanwhile, has left the country impoverished, forcing many families to resort to drastic, devastating measures to keep from starving. Yet Nehemiah holds fast to his purpose with a faith that will not be shaken.

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PULSE CHURCH

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KEEPING YOU CONNECTED TO THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CHURCH

CHRISTMAS IN BETHLEHEM, THEN AND NOW

B

ethlehem is most widely known as the birthplace of Jesus. The Palestinian town, located 5.5 miles southwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank, is also the hometown of King David. Early traditions identified the location of Jesus’ birth in a cave to the east of Bethlehem.

In the fourth century A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine built three churches in Palestine connected with the life of Jesus, one of which was the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. It remains one of the oldest churches in the world and the oldest active church in the Holy Land. The church incorporated the cave identified as Jesus’ birthplace into its construction. Today, a silver star in the grotto underneath the church marks the traditional site of Jesus’ birth.

“To this day, Christian pilgrims from around the world visit this sacred place to commemorate this magnificent moment when God stepped into time and space,” Marc Turnage, director of the Assemblies of God’s Center for Holy Lands Studies, says.

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PULSE : CHURCH

I-WORSHIP 700,000 OF THE 3.1 MILLION AHERENTS OF THE US ASSEMBLIES OF GOD ARE HISPANIC.

DIVERSE NATION, DIVERSE CHURCH

As

diversity increases in America, many religious groups are mirroring society — while others continue to be populated by just one or two races. Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witness, Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated each had a more even spread of races among them than the United States population. This means they were the most closely aligned to having 20 percent of each race studied: Hispanics, whites, blacks, Asians and mixed-race Americans.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Methodist Church are both more than 90 percent white, while the National Baptist Convention have almost exclusively black members. Within the U.S. Assemblies of God, 700,000 of the 3.1 million adherents are Hispanic, contributing to the overall diversity of the movement.

How do you worship? Around the world, more individuals are adding a technological element to their religious experiences. In fact, some connect to faith-based entities via cell phone or digital tablet more than they do in the real world. According to a new study conducted by AT&T, 41 percent of those surveyed said they use technology to access inspirational podcasts, apps and websites. Of the same group, 32 percent said they regularly attend church and 25 percent said they regularly use a mobile device to enhance their worship experience.

As nearly three billion people around the world have access to the Internet, these new innovations are making access to the gospel possible for more people.

‘TIL DIVORCE DO US PART

A minority of American respondents told LifeWay Research they believe divorce is still a sin when the couple isn’t in love anymore (38 percent), when a spouse commits adultery (39 percent), when an individual is being abused by their spouse (37 percent) or when one’s spouse has abandoned them (38 percent).

ARE YOU A LAW-ABIDING CONGREGANT? Some churches are very serious about what is — and isn’t — allowed in their chapels. For example, in Rehoboth, Delaware, it’s illegal to whisper in church. Bostonians won’t tolerate any peanut-eaters in the sanctuary, and in Omaha, Nebraska, it’s illegal to sneeze during a service.

Better hope you don’t catch a cold!

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THINKING ABOUT

BETWEEN THE MANGER AND THE CROSS The message of the Christmas story isn’t confined to the nativity JOHN GRECO

T

he still night air was broken by the sight of an angel glowing with the glory of the Lord — and shepherds trembled in fear below, not realizing that they were about to be among the first to greet the Son of God in the flesh. With his announcement of “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” the angel heralded the turning of the ages (Luke 2:10). Then, more angels appeared, praising God. This news was too big for a single messenger to carry; the time had come for the Lord to fulfill all His promises.

When the sky rolled back into place and the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds lost no time hurrying into town. They looked for the sign the angel had promised: “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (2:12).

And they did indeed find the newborn Savior, just as the angel had said.

Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph placed Jesus in a manger — but not specifically as a sign.

For these new parents, Jesus’ feeding trough-crib was born out of necessity, as “there was no guest room [traditionally “inn”] available for them” (2:7). But was the sign for the shepherds simply the peculiarity of seeing a baby in a manger? Or did the manger itself indicate the way in which Jesus would become their Savior?

Nativity scenes decorate our homes, our lawns and our Christmas cards. For many of us, the manger is a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday, and for some, it’s a pledge of allegiance to tradition when Christmas’ Christian roots seem to be threatened. But in ancient Judea, a manger was not a decoration. It was a small, hollowed out stone box where food would be placed for sheep and other animals.

And it was in a manger — a food box — that Jesus was laid as a baby. Years later, Jesus would

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take bread, break it and tell His disciples, “This is my body given for you” (Luke 22:19). The sign of the manger, it seems, marked Jesus’ chief purpose in coming to earth.

Jesus would also declare, “I am the bread of life. … This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48, 51). It is fitting then that the “bread of life” is born in Bethlehem (literally, the “house of bread”). This too is a sign. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is more than the happenstance of a census decree or the ancestral privilege of the King who would sit upon David’s throne.

In the Christmas story, we discover that the manger sits in the shadow of the cross.

The shepherds were forever changed that first Christmas night — and their example is one we can follow as we celebrate Christ’s birth in our world of tinsel and eggnog lattés, far removed from first-century Bethlehem. First, they shared their experience with everyone they could find. They couldn’t stop talking about Jesus — and what God had done for them (Luke 2:17).

Second, they left the manger “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (2:20). Shepherds lived transient lives and were often peasants. As a result, most Judean shepherds spent their lives on the fringe of society, feeling disconnected from the God of Israel. But now God, through Jesus, had brought these men near — and they couldn’t help but worship!

Finally, the shepherds broke the first rule of being shepherds: They left their flocks (2:16). Given the proximity of Bethlehem to Jerusalem, it’s possible that these men were shepherding sacrificial lambs for use in the temple. But they walked away in search of the new thing the Lord was doing, no longer trusting in the blood of sheep or bulls.

There is nothing we can do to make our way to God, so at Christmas, God made His way to us. New life will not be found in anything we might do for God — only in what Jesus has done for us. Christmas is good news because of Easter, but there would be no cross without the manger.

John Greco is a writer and editor for an international Christian ministry in Atlanta, where he lives with his wife, Laurin, and son, Jonah. He is the author of Manger King: Meditations on Christmas and the Gospel of Hope.

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THINKING ABOUT

Power in t he

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found this to be true in the most eye-opening way, concerning the prevalence of divorce in second and third marriages. Several academic and ministry web sites quoted the divorce rates of these marriages to be extremely high and cited government sources that do not exist. And in a highly visible Psychology Today article, statistics were attributed to an expert who emailed me personally to say she had nothing to do with those numbers. In the end, there is still no report or study that confirms such high numbers.

One must read all headlines with a grain of salt. And that simple road safety mantra — stop, look and listen — offers a straightforward approach for anyone to become more adept at reading headlines and discerning the latest studies.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE HEADLINES The next time new research rocks your Facebook feed, keep these three simple keys in mind TALLY WHITEHEAD

26

O

ne of the first things I remember being taught as a child when playing outside was how to cross the street. Stop, look and listen was the catchphrase to help ensure road safety. If only all current headlines came with catchy safeguards for the public — especially when a new report comes out that causes anxiety to faithful Christians nationwide.

Eight years researching marriage and divorce statistics for The Good News About Marriage taught me that not only is caution needed when reading any headline, but even more care is required when discussing the latest studies with others. I

Stop The first step when reading any article or caption is to stop to recognize the source, before investing too much of yourself emotionally into any article. There is no reason to get into a frenzy over a headline about a sudden increase in Christians divorcing or millennials all leaving the church if posted on Pop Sugar, hypothetically speaking.

On the other hand, if an article on the same subject is from the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, then the headline will likely include reliable research and carry more weight. Even then, one would be wise to pray for what Proverbs calls a discerning heart. “The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly” (Prov. 15:14).

Look After properly pausing, look at the article. A discriminating reader will pay particular attention to the author or organization mentioned, any studies cited and the experts interviewed. Snopes is a great resource to prove if something is

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true or an urban myth, although a lag time may exist for the latest studies and not all subjects will be found there.

Easier still and usually my first move in researching any topic is to simply Google the headline. Supportive links and other articles usually pop up to confirm an article.

Likewise, numerous criticisms may surface if the research lacks serious scholastic accountability. Twitter can also quicken the discrimination on the validity of a specific study. By choosing to follow the author of the study, one can watch their Twitter feed about the research and even in some cases, track the discussion between scholars about the findings.

Likewise, one should take another look at the article for the actual study named — and then find it! If the study does not emerge from your headline search, then enter the actual study name into Google, and the study should appear quickly. Studies can look pretty intimidating and be lengthy, but anyone can take a few minutes to skim the introduction, the conclusion and any graphs. If a study originates from a university and reads rather obscurely, then seek out an accompanying article from a wellrespected writer for help to understand the content better.

Even with the ease of Google, many trustworthy organizations, Christian and otherwise, sadly still report bad statistics on their websites. I personally experienced this time and again concerning national divorce statistics.

In a recent interview by phone, Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, revealed another example.

He kept hearing and seeing that 86 percent of evangelical teens leave church forever after high school. LifeWay conducted their own research and found it to not be true at all. Now, Stetzer’s article about their research and the accurate findings appear at the top of a Google search on the subject. The more Christians pay attention to real studies and ignore the temptation to quote secondor third-hand articles about them, the better informed, reliable and equipped we will be to shine a light of truth into the world.

In fact, Stetzer shared how recently he has been encouraged by the Christian response to attentiongetting headlines. He noted how in the past, “a lot of people bought into the alarmist narrative, but I think that narrative is changing. People are getting a little more of a nuanced view.” For example, he mentioned the perceived view that Christianity is dying and explained, “No numbers are saying that. No real researcher believes religion or evangelical Christianity is dying. The challenge is that often Christian leaders will say things to get people to attend their conferences or to sell books.” Not only is Stetzer a guru on research, but as one can tell from our conversation, he doesn’t hesitate to take Christians to task for misquoting research and statistics.

Besides LifeWay Research, other reliable research

organizations include Pew Research Center, Gallup, Barna Group, General Social Survey, The Heritage Foundation and Hoover Institution. Stetzer also added a few specific religious ones, like ARIS (American Religious Identification Survey), the ARDA (The Association of Religion Data Archives) and Baylor Religion Survey.

Other great resources Stetzer mentioned include Bradley Wright’s bestselling book, Christians Are HateFilled Hypocrites, and Wright’s follow up book, Upside.

Listen Listen, before you cross that proverbial road and start repeating articles, studies and statistics. Listen to many experts’ dialogue about the topic and give yourself time to absorb the information accurately and responsibly. Listen to your pastors, small group leaders and friends in church about pertinent events and related articles. If you hear your pastor incorrectly quote a statistic from the pulpit, then maybe send an encouraging email with the actual study web link. If your friends or small group members are misquoting something you know to be wrong, gently educate them in love. And if you read a startling article without substantiated research, restrain yourself from sharing it until you confirm the precision of such news.

Avoid abusing stats and be equipped with the knowledge of actual studies.

Most importantly, participate in conversations with a listening ear for what really matters. Statistics enlighten and engage readers, but at the end of those numbers, Christians should listen to the Holy Spirit about how best to discern what to do with any finding.

When asked if there was an area of research that concerns him today, Stetzer immediately mentioned the rise of the nones, those that have no religious association.

As Stetzer put it, “I think the trend toward secularism is worthy of alarm. The rise of the nones is the fastest growing trend in religion today. … And they are hard to reach, so that is a real concern.”

Expert researchers will faithfully point Christians to the important part of understanding research, if we choose to listen. The rise of nones should motivate us toward evangelism and discipleship that is relevant, personal and grace-filled for this generation. We should also remember the promise from Hebrews: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

So, stop, look and listen for ways to absorb pertinent research wisely and live like Jesus is still on the throne, in spite of any headline.

Tally Whitehead, M.A.P.T., is a researcher and writer as well as director of Christian formation at her church. She resides in the Columbus, Ohio area with her husband and four kids. To find out more about Tally or her book with Shaunti Feldhahn, go to tallywhitehead.com

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ARE CHRISTIANS SUPPOSED TO BE WELL-LIKED? Imagine a world where convictions and kindness go hand in hand JUSTIN LATHROP

H

ere’s a difficult and unfortunate truth: Christians aren’t always the most likeable people in the world. You may already know this. If you take a minute to think about pop-culture perceptions of Christians — TV characters, comedy bits, songs, movies — you’ll see how easy it is for culture to turn Christians into the laughingstock of this age. When left to the devices of culture, we don’t come across as the kindest, most understanding or least judgmental people. Which brings up a tender and difficult question: How much of this is our fault?

I’ve been walking with Jesus for most of my life and there’s nothing I believe in more than the transforming power of God’s love. In my personal life, He’s changed everything.

For the most part I grew up without a dad, but any bitterness I felt from his absence in my life is gone, thanks to Jesus. I’ve been consumed with gratitude and joy as God has placed other “fathers” in my life. I’ve watched Him transform marriages from chaos and turmoil to genuine love and respect. I’ve seen mothers and daughters reunited. I’ve met women who have come out of prostitution and slavery. I’ve met men who have broken the addiction of drugs or pornography.

Jesus — the divine creator of the universe who holds every atom in perfect harmony, who provides every breath — wants to be in relationship with us and transform our lives. He wants to take us from hell to heaven. Isn’t that amazing?

This is precisely why it makes me so sad to see Jesus get bad press because of His children. How unfortunate that our actions and words sometimes turn people away from the most incredible leader

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of all time—the only One who can change their lives forever. Those of us who have had a divine encounter with God want to point people toward Him. I believe that. But are we doing a good job?

It’s my belief that strong convictions don’t have to be needlessly divisive. Since Jesus was the example of what it looks like to live a sinless life, let’s allow Him to be our compass. How can we look to Him to see what it looks like to be truly liked?

Whenever I talk about this concept with people, the biggest pushback I usually receive goes like this: “Wait, but Jesus was hated for His faith — He was even killed!”

And my response is always, “Yes, He was hated by some, but this wasn’t because He was judgmental or difficult to get along with; it wasn’t because He was loud-mouthed about his opinions.

In fact, several times in the New Testament He insisted to people, ‘Don’t tell anyone about me.’”

People didn’t hate Jesus because He was selfpromoting and judgmental and always thought He was right. They hated Him because His sheer existence convinced them how they were falling short. They hated Him because He challenged their traditional understandings of “right” and “wrong.” They hated Him because He confused them and confounded them and messed up the system they had carefully put in place.

If that’s why we’re hated as Christians, I’d say we’re doing something right. If we’re hated for being proud or judgmental or rude or mean . . . something is wrong.

There’s no way we can make sure everyone likes us. To spend our energy doing that would be a waste. But we can, collectively, accept the responsibility God has given us to act with kindness, regardless of who we’re interacting with and regardless of where we fall on any given “issue.” When it comes to The Da Vinci Code or to ballot boxes or political spectrums, our work isn’t finished when we answer the question, “Which side is right?” That’s only the beginning. Our next, immediate question must be, “How can we live with personal conviction, promote unity among the body of Christ and reflect the love of Jesus to those around us?”

Justin Lathrop is the director of strategic relations for the Assemblies of God, U.S.A. and Influence magazine. His new book is The Likeable Christian (Salubris Resources, 2015), from which this article is adapted with permission.

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CAN WE SOLVE THE

God explicitly commands the Church to look after orphans; it’s not just a nice idea. Statistics indicate there are more than enough Christians to meet the need. So why is there still an orphan crisis?

For this special cover story, and in light of November being Adoption Awareness Month, Vital spoke with a number of foster care and adoption experts about how to take up this biblical mandate, starting in our own backyard.

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1979, a young woman ran out of an apartment in the northeastern United States, escaping from an attacker.

“She had aged out of the foster system, just like her mother years before her,” Tammy says of the frightened girl — her birth mother. “My biological [grandmother] was a foster child. They both grew up in the foster system. Never adopted.”

Seeking $50 for an abortion, the abused and confused rape victim stumbled upon an Assemblies of God church in New Jersey.

Instead of receiving help to have an abortion, she encountered a loving pastor who presented another answer. He directed her to Highlands Maternity Home and Child Placement Center, then located in Kansas City, Missouri.

“Loving people offered help to a broken and wandering need,” Tammy continues. “That need was my birth mom, and me in her womb. Their intervention taught my birth mother to give me life instead of death. I could have been a lost story of abortion, but compassionate action saved me.”

The cycle of abandonment, abuse, brokenness and hopelessness turned toward hope. When Tammy was born in 1980, a foster family, who would later become her parents, picked her up from the hospital. “They were amazing!” Tammy remembers, with a smile and tears flowing down her cheeks. “The adoption was official by the time I turned four years old. I remember my family throwing a big party for me. My mother gave me this beautiful little doll. I will never forget it. Hope was mine. They loved me with the love of Jesus.”

Following graduation from high school, Tammy enrolled at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, where she met a pastoral student from Oklahoma named Lance. The two married.

Lance was an ordained Assemblies of God minister, and Tammy became a licensed registered nurse in two states with multiple certifications. Together they have pastored three churches and have two handsome sons. Tammy was the first in three generations of birth mothers to keep her biological children.

On June 3, 2015 — 35 years after her mother chose life for her — Tammy became the health services manager of the ministry through which she was rescued, fostered and adopted. She ministers healing and hope to foster children. She assists pregnant teens with prenatal support and nursing care. Her story has come full circle.

The Need There are thousands of families and children today who long for a redemptive story like Tammy’s.

According to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, there were 415,129 children in the American foster care system on September 30, 2014. That number, however, does not include the 238,230 who exited the system in the same year. In other words, there were at

When it comes to the matter of modern orphans, the compassionate offer must be all — from prevention to redemption. least 653,359 children in foster care at some point during 2014. Furthermore, according to the AFCARS 2014 report, approximately 1 in 4 children in foster care — more than 100,000 — were awaiting adoption.

Millions more children in the United States are affected by abuse, abandonment and neglect. According to the Administration for Children and Families, in 2013, approximately 3.5 million American children were involved in investigations of alleged abuse or neglect. An estimated 678,932 children were determined to have been abused or neglected, and an estimated 1,520 children died as a result of child abuse and neglect.

Abuse and neglect can range from physiological to psychological trauma, from sexual abuse to medical negligence. I will forever remember watching Kara (not her real name), a foster child in 7th grade, staring at finger-foods and opening her gift at a Christmas party. Her hovering foster mother quietly cried, and when I inquired, she told me that Kara was experiencing her first Christmas celebration. In Kara’s world, food and clothing had been scarce as a result of parental drug abuse and neglect; school had often provided her only meals.

There are far too many functionally orphaned children like Kara in foster care — and aging out of foster care presents its own challenges. Studies of foster care alumni conducted by Casey Family Programs and the University of Chicago indicate that thousands

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become homeless and incarcerated each year.

Beyond the United States, UNICEF estimates that more than 132 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents, and on every continent, households report violence against children at rates ranging from 20 percent to 60 percent. It is not acceptable or sustainable.

But by the grace of God, children can find healing trust through an informed, patient and persistent love.

The Mandate God’s yearning for orphans is clearly declared in the Bible, from Exodus 22:22 to James 1:27.

In James 1:27, the call is not just for compassion from God’s people, but action on behalf of orphans.

Specifically, the call is to “visit” orphans “in their affliction” (ESV). The original Greek term episkeptesthai, translated “visit” in this passage, means much more than simply issuing a social call. It involves taking care of the need. Jesus illustrates this in Matthew 25:36 and 43, where episkeptesthai is again understood in the context of providing care.

In Matthew 25:35–40, Jesus offered an inheritance to those who give food, drink, clothes and care to “the least of these.” Jesus commended their compassion. But Jesus did not stop at physical social justice. He provided “drink” that would satisfy the thirsty soul. He gave His all, for all, on the Cross.

When it comes to the matter of modern orphans, the compassionate offer must be all — from prevention to redemption. Nothing short and nothing less will do.

God loves orphans and called His Church to care for them. The single largest institution in the U.S. is the Church. God’s people have the capacity to redeem kids in need, to extend a pro-life ethic from the unborn to the born. Churches should embrace adoptive and foster families and understand their hardship. Moreover, churches should understand and embrace the children of these families. It is not always easy or without challenge; however, if God calls us, He enables us. Caring souls can restore hope to individuals, and the next generation.

The Mission There are few more vulnerable in this world than the orphaned. How are you involved in making the world a safer place for them? This need is met by roles that span from professional social work to foster care to volunteering to giving. You can donate your time, talent, treasure and testimony to the need. You can give, mentor, transport, feed, clothe, nurture, parent and love. You can encourage a social worker, professional counselor, foster parent, foster child or another involved. Orphaned children will be better for it. This nation will be better for

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By the grace of God, children can find healing trust through an informed, patient and persistent love. it. The Kingdom of God will be increased for it. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17).

The greatest need is for more Christian foster families.

And if 25 percent of those families would consider adopting a child, the need would be better served.

This is in keeping with the heart of the Christian mandate found in James 1:27 to “look after orphans … in their distress.” Not only is fostering a child honorable, it is a natural process for determining fitness for adoption. Although the AFCARS tells us more than half of all foster children will return to the biological family, one-fourth will need adoption.

Getting involved first calls for getting understanding.

Abused, abandoned and neglected children require more than a hug. They need healing from biological and sociological hurts. In many states, the Children’s Bureau reports, more than half of the children in foster care suffer from prenatal and infancy abuse that delays and deters their behavioral development. Foster and adoptive parents, as well as their communities, need to educate themselves on the needs of such children to appropriately render the healing God has for the child.

Prayer is foundational to serving the foster and adoptive need. God will lead the prayerful. Pray for God’s direction about your involvement. This is not someone else’s need; it belongs to God’s people.

May foster and orphan children know the permanent loving arms of Jesus through God’s people. May they find their identify in the family of God. May this generation of the Church lead in meeting the need. May Jesus see your compassion, commend your action and announce His reward: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40).

Jay Mooney is an ordained Assemblies of God minister and serves as the executive director of Assemblies of God COMPACT Family Services. He has dedicated the past two decades of his ministry to chasing underdog kids. He is married to Laura, an educator. They have four children, all serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Step In for the Right Reason” Connie Quinn trains parents — biological, foster and adoptive — to ensure children are put first ehind the scenes of any story of foster care or adoption, there are people like Connie Quinn.

Quinn is contracted with the state of Missouri, where she helps train foster and adoptive parents and works in the home equipping biological parents to either retain or be reunited with their kids. It’s deeply personal work for Quinn; over the years, she and her husband, an employee of Evangel University, have fostered 68 children; of their seven adopted children, five were former foster placements. “Doors just kept opening that way, and it transitioned into a job,” Quinn says. “My husband and I just always felt that God kind of knew what we were going to need before we had need of it.”

Vital had a down-to-earth discussion with Quinn about her experience, spanning more than 20 years.

What misconceptions are there about foster care and adoption? How do people conflate the two?

Fostering and adoption are two totally different programs. There are some people who really want to adopt. That’s great; we need people who want to adopt. If you really want to foster, we need families that feel like, “I can step in there, and I can work as part of a team to help this child.”

There are going to be visits. They’re going to be expected to emotionally support that child and see the importance of that relationship that child has with their parents, even when they see what has happened to that child or they’re looking at somebody of a much different socioeconomic level.

I tell families [considering taking in a child] to always ask, “Please explain the programs and what they mean,” then really look in their heart about what they as a family can do in reality. We need families that can do both. But I don’t ever want to see a family set up to get their hearts broken, and I don’t want children to be set up in a family that potentially doesn’t work because there are just unrealistic expectations of what the outcome is going to be. Talk to other people who have fostered and adopted. Reach out. There are any number of people who have done this a long time.

What are the practical needs and concerns you address with biological parents, from behavioral to financial?

Overall, it’s basic parenting skills, from appropriate discipline to nutrition to how to safely meet their children’s needs. All parents have to meet their children’s physical needs, whether that be appropriate food, shelter, clothing, housing. I help ensure that [biological parents]

understand the ages and stages of development, and if their children aren’t developing on the appropriate scale, where do they need to go to get those needs met? Are they meeting their learning needs? Are they able to make sure that their children are safe, whether it’s physical safety or environmental safety? The kids come into care because of abuse, neglect and abandonment. A lot of it is just working with parents on understanding how to meet the needs of their children, how to access resources in the community. More importantly, even how to notice the children have a need. I work with a lot of parents who didn’t have their own needs met as a child.

How would you encourage those who are considering fostering but are worried about the emotional risk?

One thing that we’re always going to have need of are people to step in for the right reason to help the children of our community. The number one thing I hear from everybody is, “I don’t think I can take a child into my home, treat them like they’re my own and possibly fall in love with this child, and then have this child taken away from me and get my heart broken.” We tell people, “If you bring a child into your home to meet their needs, then they leave and don’t take a piece of you with them, you didn’t really do your job.” As adults, we really have to step up and know that this child is worth the risk of having our heart broken just a little bit. If we don’t do that, who’s going to? These kids need to know, “I was worth somebody taking the risk to love me, even if it was going to hurt when I left.”

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Project Ignite Light This organization reaches abused and neglected children — with blankets and toiletries IAN RICHARDSON

ajamas.

God had given Pebbles Thompson that one word, and she had been holding onto it for a year.

She’d analyzed it. She’d Googled it. She and her family had prayed for more revelation. But all she had to show for it were the same three syllables.

Then, in February 2008, while praying in the shower, she had what she calls her “burning bush moment.”

“God spoke to me,” she says, “and He said, ‘Pebbles, you’re missing the point. It’s not about the pajamas. It’s about what they represent. And in those dark times, late at night when they’re afraid, I will be their light.’”

Mental images of abused children began flashing through her mind, and Thompson began to realize the needs facing the abused and neglected children in the Fargo, North Dakota area. After being rescued from their

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homes, many enter child advocacy centers feeling undervalued and with few possessions to their name.

For the next two days, each trip into the shower would bring more revelation, and each day she confided in her husband, Darin. By the third day, he jokingly told her to quit taking showers.

The Thompsons met with the Fargo police department and medical professionals, sharing the idea to put together “Bags of Hope” that would contain practical yet meaningful items for these children.

These groups said it was exactly what they needed, and they hadn’t even known it.

Today, what began in a North Dakota shower has become Project Ignite Light, a growing nonprofit organization that touches thousands of abused and neglected children in the states of North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota each year.

With the theme verse Micah 7:8 (“though I sit in darkness the Lord will be my light”), the nonprofit has given more than 10,000 Bags of Hope since 2008, with the help of thousands of volunteers and donors across the country. Each Bag of Hope includes: • a fleece tie blanket • pajamas, socks and underwear • 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner • a toothbrush and toothpaste • fruit snacks and a water bottle • a flashlight • You Are Special by Max Lucado • a zipper tote bag • for teen girls, deodorant and a personal journal These items, Thompson says, have more than just practical purposes. The flashlight helps children with their fears of the

dark and gives them a sense of control. The shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste help children feel clean again, physically and emotionally. The backpack provides a sturdy way to transport belongings, since many children come in bearing trash bags and will end up moving four to seven times while in foster care.

Volunteers distribute these bags at child advocacy centers, restocking each center as needed.

Thompson says the ministry not only reaches children, but it also opens doors to the entire foster care community. That’s why her vision is to have each community working for its own children.

“We know that we could be a shipping distribution center, but we would lose the ministry aspect,” she says. “If each community is there supporting their community’s children, it connects communities to their personal kids, and so they become the spiritual benefactors.”

From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, Project Ignite Light is launching “Pajamas with a Purpose,” a campaign to help raise awareness and restock its supply of pajamas, an item it constantly needs. Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to post a photo on social media of themselves or their family wearing their favorite pajamas using the hashtag #projectpjparty

“In those dark times, late at night when they’re afraid, I will be their light.” and tagging Project Ignite Light’s page. Then, they are asked to consider donating a pair of pajamas.

Project Ignite Light is also developing a training program to help churches around the nation minister to the children in their areas.

The Thompsons currently live in Rogers, North Dakota, with their four children, dedicating themselves full-time to their ministry. She says while it’s not what she would have seen herself doing seven years ago, now she’d never give it up.

“If God had said, ‘Pebbles, here are five different ministries, take your pick,’ I would have wanted to be the next Joyce Meyer or Beth Moore,” she says. “I’m so glad He knew better because this is exactly where I know I’m supposed to be.”

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Fears of Fostering Four reasons people hesitate to bring a child into their home — and how one family moved beyond them TRISHA PORTER

arly on in youth ministry, we had to make the dreadful call to the Child Abuse Hotline. One of our students was being physically abused by her father. We wondered, “If she is removed from her home, where will she go?”

This question stirred our hearts for children in foster care. We found out there are 153 million orphans around the world, according to staggering numbers from UNICEF. The United States Department of Health and Human Services tells us there are 415,129 children in the U.S. foster care system. Of those, 107,918 are ready to be adopted today.

But then we found out some good news: A census from the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies counted roughly 350,000 churches in the U.S.! Of those, 12,849 are Assemblies of God churches. We started to believe this problem is solvable, and began praying about adopting or fostering.

That’s when the fears kicked in.

I feared that bringing in a foster child would negatively affect my own biological children. The concern is real and valid. I worried

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The system is certainly not perfect, but as Christians, we have an opportunity to shine a light in this hurting space. that a “troubled” child would leave a negative impact on mine.

But the Lord clearly reminded me, “Greater am I that is in you [and your children], than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4, paraphrased). God promises His wisdom to know what’s best for our families, and all we have to do is ask for it! If God has called you, He will equip you. Too often we try to create such a safe environment for our children that we risk robbing them of opportunities to show the love of Christ. Bringing a foster child into our home taught my children how to serve, share, be grateful and love like Jesus.

I feared I wouldn’t be able to connect with a foster or adopted child. When we fostered, the first couple weeks were extremely difficult. His favorite word was “no,” everything was a battle, and I had a hard time connecting with him. But Jesus stepped in. He helped me to see that little guy through His eyes.

He reminded me that this child didn’t sign up to be in foster care — but we did sign up to help him. I also had an unrealistic expectation that I would just “fall in love” with this child at first sight; the truth is, all connections take time. I’ve talked with numerous adoptive parents, and it’s very common for connection to take several months, maybe even a year or two.

God knits our hearts together over time, and He can definitely do that for an adoptive or foster family.

I feared it would hurt too much to give them back, especially if I knew the situation they were going back to was far from perfect. But this fear had everything to do with how I would feel. The truth is it does hurt. But if I can provide God’s love, food, shelter, stability and safety for even just a few months, that’s a God-given opportunity. The system is certainly not perfect, but as Christians, we have an opportunity to shine a light in this hurting space. Our mentality has to be that of redemption and restoration. You and I may be the individuals God uses to put a family back together. What a privilege!

Finally, I feared it was going to be really hard and uncomfortable. I was right; it was really hard. I realized I’m a control freak, I don’t like unknowns, and I’m selfish. I really don’t like dying to self (Matt. 16:24).

Sometimes it’s difficult to separate the “American Dream” from God’s plans for our lives. Our culture tells us to strive for and adore success and comfort. It’s a life that doesn’t sound anything like the life God has called us to have. Denying self is painful, but the more we do so, the more we become like Jesus. There is a refining process that happens when you foster and adopt.

Maybe you had or have some of these fears, and it paralyzes you. Let me just encourage you: If you have God’s love to offer, food and enough space for a bed and dresser, you could be a great candidate to foster or adopt! At the very least, you can support other families who foster or adopt; everyone is called to do something. God adopted us (Eph. 1:5), and His love overflows out of our lives to love others. Open your heart to caring for the orphan. Your life may look contrary to the American Dream — but it will look much more like God’s vision.

Trisha Porter, her husband, Eric, and their four children live in Waxahachie, Texas. They are U.S. missionaries working with The Keep (keeporphans. org), a non-profit organization equipping the local church to care for the orphan and foster child.

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The Local Church: Equipped for Orphan Care The Oaks Fellowship shares a model for ministering to foster and adoptive families here are tremendous challenges to fostering and adopting children, whether legal, financial, physical or emotional. But in the context of a generous local church, families don’t have to walk through it alone.

Since 2009, The Oaks Fellowship, a church in Red Oak, Texas, has made a serious commitment to support the more than 3,000 foster children in their home of Ellis County. In 2014, 21 children were placed in homes through their church; in 2015 thus far, 17 children have been placed and 6 have been adopted.

Vital spoke with leaders of The Oaks’ orphan care ministry and learned four keys for far-reaching impact in foster care and adoption.

Orphan Sunday is a great starting point.

The Oaks sees Orphan Sunday as equivalent to Easter or Christmas.

“These are some of the big Sundays of the year for us,” Andy Lehmann, missions and community engagement pastor, says.

In addition to a sermon and songs centered on the theme of adoption, The Oaks incorporates some kind of visual reminder of the scope of the orphan crisis. “Last year, we did handprints throughout the concourse representing the number of children who are available for adoption,” Lehmann says. Afterward, leaders of the various orphan care programs host a reception for those wanting more information or to take next steps.

It takes a village to foster or adopt a child.

While Orphan Sunday might boost recruitment, adoptive and foster families are supported throughout the year. The Oaks takes a broad and extremely practical approach. Child placement agencies hold trainings for church families. For those with new placements, The Oaks presents $50 Walmart gift cards, and a team of 75 people help provide meals for up to two weeks. Through meals and gift cards, they served 36 families representing 71 children in 2014, a number they are well on their way to exceeding in 2015. A few Saturday nights a year, foster and adoptive parents can get a night out and drop off their children for activities, movies, snacks and dinner at the church. These themed Parents’ Night Out events have hosted as many as 170 children. Families also gain solidarity from on-call babysitters, assigned prayer warriors, a designated Facebook group and a monthly foster support group (at which they can earn hours for their licensing requirements).

“It can be a way to put your toe in the water,” Barbara Johnson,

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orphan care coordinator, says. “I think it’s just a natural progression for some to get more comfortable with where God’s called them to.”

Caring for the neglected, at home and abroad, requires collaboration.

While public systems and authorities are rarely perfect, they have much to offer churches — and vice versa. When it comes to foster care and adoption, Lehmann challenges believers to not just leave this responsibility to the government, but to come alongside it. “For us, the whole orphan care ministry started out of asking questions of what’s needed in our community,” he says.

The Oaks begins the conversation about international adoption with the same question: “What do you need?” Lehmann says their ministry is looking for more international opportunity, fueled by the ongoing emphasis on orphan care at home. He references their work with an orphanage in Guatemala, adding, “We want to partner with people who are already doing that and doing that well.”

We adopt because He first adopted us.

At its root, foster care and adoption is about family preservation — which could mean helping people who are struggling with addiction, finances or an unhealthy home environment. The Church has a part to play at every step along the way, says The Keep vice president Eric Porter — “from prevention to permanency.” Ultimately, it’s about being an active member of a much bigger Family.

“We do this because we ourselves are those poor people who have been adopted as sons and daughters of God,” Lehmann adds. “Because we are adopted and receive the spirit of adoption, we now have something to give and to offer.”

Make It Count Resources on adoption and foster care

Adopted for Life (Crossway) Russell D. Moore

Adopted for Life combines personal experience and theological reflection to issue a stirring call for the Church to take a leading role in adopting orphans.

The Connected Child (McGraw- Adopting the Hurt Child and All In Orphan Care (Arrow Hill Education) Parenting the Hurt Child Publishing) Karen B. Purvis & David R. Cross (NavPress) Jason Johnson Foster and adopted children often experience attachment disorders after being separated from their birth parents.

The Connected Child helps foster and adoptive parents nurture children in a compassionate, Godhonoring way.

Gregory C. Keck & Regina M. Kupecky

In these two books, Keck and Kupecky show adoptive parents how to deal with the unique challenges their children face, based on the hurts they have experienced in life.

This six-session small group curriculum is a starting point for believers looking to engage in foster care and adoption, starting with a discussion of the theology of adoption and how orphan care communicates the gospel.

A free sample can be downloaded at NoiseTrade.

On the Web CAFO Resource Library

Empowered to Connect Resources

Project Ignite Light

cafo.org/resources

empoweredtoconnect.org/resources

ignitelight.org

Orphan Sunday

Care Portal

COMPACT Family Services

orphansunday.org

goproject.org/care-portal

compactfamilyservices.org

Adoption Awareness Month Series: Throughout November, Vital will bring you stories, interviews and op-eds on the various questions and needs surrounding the orphan crisis, in the United States and around the world. Join us at vitalmagazine.com for this extended series, and follow along on Twitter and Facebook at @thevitalmag.

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HOW TO BE A MENTEE So, you’ve got a mentor … Now what? Here are three next steps to make the most of their influence.

PETER HAAS

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ometimes getting to the next level — in our education, our careers, our relationships, our health, our ministry — proves incredibly difficult. It’s a subject that Peter Haas explores in Broken Escalators (Salubris Resources, 2015), “a book about happiness, promotion and all the false things we believe about our dreams.”

A prerequisite for any kind of progress is mentorship.

Identifying and following the right people who have “been there before” can bring peace, wisdom and companionship to your journey. Haas recommends starting by asking three questions: 1) What is your dilemma or dream? 2) Who has successfully navigated your dilemma or dream? 3) What are you doing to earn the right to be around these people? The answer to this last question will require commitment of your own energy, service and resources — which is why it’s the point where most people get stuck.

So, what does it look like to be a good mentee? In the following excerpt, Haas shares three of his tips to make the most of your mentor’s time and influence.

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10 MYTHS ABOUT ACHIEVING DREAMS Quite frankly, some of us have a ridiculous theology of pain and promotion. We still hold fast to devastating misconceptions: that happiness is circumstantial, that people can prevent God’s promotion and, the worst misconception of all, that we know what makes us happy.

Here are 10 myths of promotion and happiness that will have a dramatic affect on your ability to achieve your dreams. Which mindsets do you need to get rid of?

1. The anxiety myth — If I don’t worry, my future won’t stay on track.

2. The driver’s-seat myth — Being in control is possible and will cause a lasting feeling of happiness and security.

3. The over-simplification myth — Promotion will make my life easier or happier.

4. The California myth — Promotion is a circumstantial or locational problem.

5. The talent myth — An exceedingly developed talent is the primary ingredient that qualifies me for promotion — more than character, experience, perseverance, loyalty or leadership.

6. The pot-of-gold myth — A golden opportunity, big promotion or dazzling relationship will improve my character.

7. The Goliath myth — People can stand in the way of my happiness or God’s promotion.

8. The isolation myth — I can discern God’s will and experience healthy promotion without being painfully close to godly friends and successful mentors.

9. The overnight-success myth — Everyone else’s promotions come faster than they actually do.

10. The pain myth — Promotion should be free of testing and pain.

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In 2 Kings 5, we read about an amazing leader named Naaman. He had everything going for him — until he contracted leprosy. When the disease took over, he employed a strategy much like the three mentoring questions. He asked: “What’s my dilemma?” and “Who has successfully navigated it?” In answer, the name of the prophet Elisha kept coming up, so he packed his bags and made the stressful trip to Samaria. When he arrived, Elisha didn’t even come to greet him. Instead, he sent a messenger to tell Naaman, “Go dip seven times in the Jordan River.” The instructions didn’t make Naaman happy: But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that [Elisha] would surely come out to me [not his servant] and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage (2 Kings 5:11–12).

Fortunately, Naaman had a smart assistant who begged him, “Just do what he says! What have you got to lose?” After relenting, Naaman dipped himself seven times in Israel’s river.

I can’t imagine how stupid Naaman must have felt while dipping. One, two, three . . . Why am I doing this idiotic ritual? . . . Four, five . . . This doesn’t make any sense! Six, seven . . . but finally, on his seventh dunking, he came out of the water completely healed!

As you’ll soon find out, this is the ultimate roadmap for mentoring. It sets up our three mentoring accelerators.

1. Spend the money necessary to meet on your mentor’s terms.

Traveling to Samaria was not an easy trip for Naaman. He had to jump through massive political red tape and spend a lot of money. Over the years, I’ve made many cross-country trips for mentoring, coaching or consulting. Even now, I have a mentoring budget.

Why? Because if you want good mentors, you need to go where they are and do what they do.

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Your life is the arrow.

Your mentors are the warriors.

2. Hang out with the people they tell you to hang out with.

Even though Naaman only got to interact with Elisha’s assistant instead of Elisha himself, the advice still worked. You don’t always need a rocket scientist to make your paper airplane. To you, it might be an extremely complicated paper airplane, but throwing a fit like Naaman will guarantee that you won’t get help from anyone.

One time, a guy insisted on meeting with me instead of my executive, even though I genuinely knew my associate was the better one to help with his issue. But he wouldn’t relent. In the end, he totally robbed himself. He got the Loser-Cruiser when he could have gotten the Cadillac. Even worse, his problem needed a follow-up meeting — a meeting I couldn’t give him. Sadly, my associate would have been able to accommodate him, but he was too arrogant to receive what God had for him. So remember, your best mentor might be someone’s young assistant.

Besides, you really need a team of mentors, not just one person.

3. Jump through the hoops your mentors require even if the hoops don’t make sense to you.

Naaman thought, Why would I travel all this way to dip in a dirty

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river? It didn’t make sense to him, but thankfully, he obeyed and reaped the rewards. This is how mentoring works. At some point you have to trust your mentor’s direction, even if that person is simply testing you.

Here’s a final example of this. For the first decade I was a pastor, I didn’t have many spiritual fathers, but a while back I met Pastor Billy Hornsby and felt like the Lord spoke to my heart: Get close to him . . . or those who serve him.

I have to admit that, at the time, I was kind of scared of him. Before pastoring, he had been a Louisiana State Trooper — and he looked like it. From a personality standpoint, he was completely different than me.

He seemed like an odd fit for a spiritual father, but the Lord seemed to persist: Do whatever he asks you to do — no matter how inconvenient!

And trust him.

So Pastor Billy asked me to fly places, write curriculum and mentor other people. Most of this was on my own dime. One time, he asked me to help him write his newest book. At the time, I didn’t have enough time to write my own book, let alone his. There were times when I’d think, God,

did You really want me to do everything he asked? Is this really the best use of my time?

But I kept on. One time, he asked me to fly to this conservative school in the Midwest to teach a small gathering of pastors. You see, Billy would go to a church, no matter how small. He was never “too big” for an event, but I wasn’t that spiritual. My attitude was: “You want me to go where?”

Even worse, he told me, “You’re gonna have to wear a suit” — which means, “you’re guaranteed to hate it.” Pastors who still wear suits in America never understand me. I’m a total weirdo to them. They can never grasp why anyone would name their church “Substance” unless they were on drugs. But at the time, Billy was feeling quite sick. He needed someone to tag-team preach with him so he could have a break. As hard as the Midwest trip would be for me, I knew it would be much harder for him. Besides, God had spoken to me, Do whatever he says! And as a good son, my job was to say, “Yes, sir!”

I won’t lie to you. That trip was tough. Half of the pastors there didn’t even want to talk to me. I barely got my own sermon written for the upcoming weekend, and by the end of the event I had almost lost my voice.

But guess what? That was the last time I ever got to travel with Billy. He was sick with cancer, and shortly after that trip he passed away.

At Billy’s funeral, I thought back on all the trips I had taken with him, and I realized that almost every good thing in my ministry career came through this one man’s life.

He grounded me, even as I was swinging theologically towards some silly church methods. He lent me $100,000 to plant my church. And almost every great pastor friend, publishing deal and speaking gig came as an indirect result of this one man.

Mentors don’t always look like you expect, and the hoops you jump through won’t always make sense. Promotion never comes, though, without a little testing and pain. And you can’t have testing without mentors. Your life is the arrow. Your mentors are the warriors.

It’s true that an amazing warrior will mess with you — bend you and then straighten your feathers. A mentor will rub you the wrong way. However, tension and testing are not evidence of a bad warrior; they are evidence that you’re about to be launched.

The world is strewn with warped arrows, randomly sticking out of the dirt, but you don’t have to be one of those. Instead, you can hit the bull’s-eye. You can be the arrow that takes down the greatest foes, the Goliaths — and when you do, the world will rejoice with you.

Peter Haas is a D.J.-turned-pastor who leads Substance Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This article is excerpted with permission from his book Broken Escalators (Salubris Resources, 2015). He is also the author of Pharisectomy (Influence Resources, 2012).

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BEYOND THANKSGIVING Cultivating and expressing gratitude should not be limited to a single day JOSHUA KANSIEWICZ

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hanksgiving: the holiday that expresses gratitude through gorging. There can seem to be little room for gratitude between rushing to get the turkey cooked, catching up with great Aunt Sally and fixing our attention on the football game.

Thanksgiving is a food holiday.

It is a family holiday. Though it was originally intended as such, it is hardly a faith holiday. In the middle of a deeply critical and pessimistic culture, however, it is still an oasis of sorts. It is a day when Americans remind themselves that the world is not merely the sum of negative influences like shallow politicians, violent crimes and white noise. There is reason to be grateful.

I remember saying grace last year over our turkey and stuffing. As a pastor, I am always asked to do the praying. As I tried to quiet my kids and cousins, I remember feeling a sense of growing unease. “Is this enough?” I thought. The prayer was genuine, and I was truly grateful.

But as I poured rivers of gravy over mountains of mashed potatoes, I considered gratitude and wished for a better or more consistent means of expressing it. I suspect I am not alone and that many other Christians feel that setting one day aside each year for thanksgiving is not nearly adequate, considering the greatness of God and the graciousness of His gifts.

We are right.

Fortunately, God has taught us methods of cultivating and expressing gratitude that are far more meaningful and fulfilling than the American “once-a-year” approach.

God commands gratitude in dozens of places throughout the Bible (I’ve included a sidebar of some of these references). In many passages, God takes time not simply to command

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gratitude, but also to train us in offering it. This year, as Thanksgiving rolls around, let’s take the time in turn to learn more about gratitude from the Master.

When Gratitude Stalls Gratitude is inspired by daily blessings from God: a new job, a good meal or even a convenient parking space. That kind of gratitude is transitory, though. We may shoot off a quick prayer of thanksgiving as easily as we text a friend — then it flies from consciousness just as quickly.

Many times we try to grow in gratitude by starting at the level of daily blessings. We determine to be more disciplined about saying “thank you,” and for a period of time we send up a flurry of thanksgivings — for our pets, our jobs, our families, our successes and even our failures. Over time, however, the discipline begins to slip. We find ourselves saying “thank you” less often. Eventually we are left only with a vague sense of failure. It had been working. What happened? Where can we find a more enduring gratitude?

We started in the wrong place. We tried to form a habit of gratitude without developing a heart of gratitude. Enduring gratitude is born in a transformed heart, gratitude that wells up not just from momentary blessings but from lifelong blessings.

A Source of Gratitude Consider this: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chron.

16:34). This is a call to gratitude, but it doesn’t come from any specific experience. It comes from reflection on God himself. Enduring gratitude arises from this type of reflection. Reflection is the habit of pausing long enough to let your thoughts take an idea in, as if for the very first time. It is the intentional act of dwelling on who God is — think of it as part brainstorming, part daydreaming. It is an intentional yet peaceful time of focusing attention on the goodness and love of God. Allowing ourselves to become receptive to that love and goodness, we let it fill our minds and our hearts.

When reflection occurs at this depth, it leads us into a spiritual posture of gratitude. Such soul-felt thanksgiving becomes cumulative. Thanksgiving for pleasant weather or for a child’s successful nap becomes more than an isolated incident. These

Many other Christians feel that setting one day aside each year for thanksgiving is not nearly adequate.

VERSES FOR GRATITUDE How does Scripture deal with the subject of thanksgiving?

This holiday, before you gather your family and pray over the turkey, perhaps you could pause to read through the following passages: Psalm 95:2–3 Psalm 100:4 1 Chronicles 16:8 Luke 7:47 Luke 17:12–19 2 Corinthians 4:15–16 Philippians 4:6–8 1 Thessalonians 5:18 1 Timothy 4:4–5 James 1:17

specific blessings become reminders of the goodness of our heavenly Father; they become echoes of His past kindnesses.

An example: Today’s successful business meeting is a reminder of God’s kindness in providing this job, which was a reminder of His kindness in providing an education, which was a reminder of His kindness in providing a loving family, which was a reminder of His own love in its most pure and direct form — the cross and Resurrection. Individual events become like beads hung on the thread of His grace.

Present blessings become experiences interpreted in light of the gift of salvation.

Most Christians experience an initial sense of deep and profound gratitude when they begin to follow Jesus. The thought of His forgiveness brings a joyous smile, even laughter. The promise of eternal life brings profound peace. For some of us, however, that initial gratitude may begin to wane. Is it possible for it to be reawakened?

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Reflection is again the key. Sometimes, however, the best reflection is not the isolated reflection of our private times with God. Psalm 9:11 says, “Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what He has done.” There should be a drastic contrast between Zion, where God sits on the throne, and the nations that reject His leadership. Reflection on this contrast can be a source of gratitude. Spend time among the lost; develop deep friendships with searching men and women. Hear their pain; listen to their stories. Allow the Spirit of God to share His great love for them with and through you. Allow that same Spirit to birth within you gratitude that you are not alone. You are loved. You are forgiven. You have hope.

This kind of gratitude is not accidentally inspired by experience; it is cultivated intentionally. This is the purpose of reflection on God’s love and kindness. It also demonstrates why thanksgiving cannot adequately be emphasized through a token annual effort. Five minutes a day of intentional reflection on God’s gracious love will do more to cultivate gratitude than devoting an entire day to gratitude once a year.

Rhythms of Gratitude Psalm 136 models thanksgiving beautifully. The psalm opens with this command: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.” The rest of the psalm is a joyous declaration of the ways that God intervened in Israel’s history, always punctuated by the exclamation: “His love endures forever.”

Here we learn that gratitude is rhythmic. The refrain builds in power through repetition. The individual events — God’s creation, the crossing of the Red Sea and conquering the promised land — all fade into the background. As the psalm is read, they blur together beside the force of the ringing refrain: “His love endures forever.” This is the power of a lifestyle or rhythm of reflection: It allows gratitude to become the unifying theme of life.

Gratitude can also unite a community.

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Psalm 136 was written to be used in corporate worship. The song is a review of the past works of God: how He created the world, how He rescued His people, how He provided for them. Generations after these events occurred, God’s people continued to tell the stories over and over.

Through the retelling of these stories, gratitude became a corporate, multigenerational act. The elders of the community were always passing on memories and gratitude to a new generation.

Storytelling was considered morally essential. It wasn’t mere entertainment; it was discipleship. It formed the way in which young men and women understood God and interpreted the world.

Telling true stories of the wonder and work of God is the way one generation instills gratitude in the next. This is an important model for both parents and church leaders today. Every child craves stories; they have the power to communicate deep truths about how God engages with His world. A regular diet of stories about God’s miraculous power (both in biblical times and in our own churches) opens people to wonder. It can train them in soul-felt gratitude at an early age when they are easily impressionable.

Expressing Lasting Gratitude Psalm 107:22 teaches us how to move from reflection to action with our gratitude. It says, “Let them sacrifice thank offerings, and tell of his works with songs of joy.”

Thank offerings in the Old Testament were a whole category of sacrifices designed to give God’s people a special way of saying “thank you” to God. A quick “thanks” may be adequate for certain gifts — a discounted purchase or finding your keys — but sometimes words aren’t enough. Can mere words capture our gratitude when we reflect upon a child that is born healthy? Does “thank you” express our transfixed wonder as we gaze at sun-pierced clouds over a glistening lake? Do we have only our mouths to praise God when He brings us out of violence, illness or tragedy? Gratitude that grows through reflection sometimes searches for something stronger.

Psalm 9:11 also offers a hint about how to sacrificially express this profound gratitude. We can “proclaim among the nations what He has done.” One way we can express our gratitude to God for salvation is by sacrificing for evangelism and missions.

For some, this might mean a financial gift toward missions.

Perhaps it means skipping coffee or eating out to donate more, giving up vacation time to volunteer locally or spending a year of retirement serving on the mission field.

Our family has developed a special tradition around gratitude and the holidays. Each year, our family tries to spend as little as possible on groceries in the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Meals that would have involved steak and potatoes are simplified to dishes of rice and beans. We severely limit extras like eating out and dessert. As Christmas approaches, we compare how much we have spent on groceries to what we spend in a normal month. Then the first thing we do on Christmas morning is gather together as a family with a charity’s gift catalog. With the money saved, each

PROCLAIMING PRAISE The Macy’s Day Parade, stream of Black Friday commercials and football games rarely hint at religion, but the original proclamation of Thanksgiving was rooted in Christianity. In 1782, Continental Congress president John Hanson took to The Independent Gazetteer to declare “a day of SOLEMN THANKSGIVING to GOD for all His mercies.” This included a recommendation “to all ranks to testify their gratitude to God for His goodness by a cheerful obedience to His laws and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.”

Other proclamations for days of prayer and thanksgiving followed, but it was Abraham Lincoln who made it an annual observance in 1863.

In the midst of the Civil War, he instructed Americans “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

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God takes time not simply to command gratitude, but also to train us in offering it.

member of the family gets to purchase a gift for those whose needs are far greater than our own. It is a sacrifice that my whole family can participate in – even my 5-year-old daughter and my 7-year-old son.

A thank offering is not obligatory; it is a voluntary expression of gratitude. No one can tell you what your thank offering should be. The basic principle to follow, however, is the principle of sacrifice. The very word suggests a challenging cost. Sacrifice should inconvenience you, but for a greater purpose.

Preparing the Thanksgiving Sacrifice This November, look toward Thanksgiving with the long term in mind by following this pattern: First, examine your motives. There are plenty of wrong motives for sacrificing to God. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself: Are you trying to “pay God back” for sins you’ve committed? Are you seeking to earn God’s love? Are you trying to impress others through your seeming selflessness? If you find yourself thinking these thoughts, deal with them. The first sacrifice you may need to make is the sacrifice of your ego; if you need to, ask a pastor or Christian therapist for help. These people are resources God has given to us because He loves us.

Second, set aside time to brainstorm and plan. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you, gently inviting you to make a specific sacrifice? Is the Spirit leaving the decision up to you as a freely chosen gift? Either way, sacrifice takes planning. As you narrow down what you will sacrifice, ask yourself about the implications of your decision: financial implications, time implications, habits you’ll have to change and so on.

On Thanksgiving Day, write down your Thanksgiving sacrifice. Put it somewhere that is private, but make sure it won’t get lost. This is a

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special gift you are giving to God. If you are part of a family, you may want to invite your family to participate in this together and choose to make it an annual tradition.

Finally, over the coming year, regularly reflect on the kindness and greatness of God. The book of Psalms is an excellent place to begin.

Reflection is a learned habit, so it may seem difficult or uncomfortable at first. It becomes easier with time, and the rewards become greater.

This year, as I say grace, my Thanksgiving will be connected more intentionally with the rest of my life.

My “thank you” will be a simple way of expressing something profound that is resting deeply in my heart.

My celebration will be tied to a series of sacrificial gifts that give meaning and emphasis to words that would otherwise be vague and insubstantial.

This year, my Thanksgiving will be part of an ongoing journey. Will you join me?

Joshua Kansiewicz is the senior associate pastor of East Coast International Church in Lynn, Massachusetts. He blogs at theassociatepastor.com.

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M U LT I P L I E R

Thirsty Africa The Africa Oasis Project ties water purification to the gift of living water

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SCOTT HARRUP

eople really don’t grasp just how fundamental pure drinking water is to every area of life,” Greg Beggs, Africa regional director for Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), says. “At the front end of life, it starts with infant mortality rates. But it touches on unexpected areas like education for girls.

When little girls aren’t off looking for water all day long, they have time to go to school.”

Beggs is reflecting on the growing ministry of Africa Oasis Project, a clean water initiative of AGWM ministering under the “Thirsty Africa” awareness theme. By some estimates, every minute a child in Africa dies from diseases caused by contaminated water.

And the pressing needs of poverty have kept many African children, particularly girls, from attaining a quality education. To date, Africa Oasis Project has drilled 424 wells in communities across 34 African nations.

These are towns and villages where residents had previously relied on the muddy water of often-distant rivers and streams, water sources that are typically infected with sewage and agricultural runoff. As well, the Africa Oasis Project supports rainwater catchment systems, placing filtration units and organizing water delivery systems.

“Research has shown that most of Africa Oasis Project’s costs translate into 10 or more years of clean water for just $4 per local resident,” says Randy Hurst, director of AGWM Communications. “At Christmas, we challenge churches and families to give $4 to supply clean water for one person for the next decade.”

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For numbers of Assemblies of God churches, the gift of a water well has resulted in community acceptance and favor, replacing resistance and persecution. Where possible, Africa Oasis Project has drilled wells on church property so nearby families are drawn to the church for free clean drinking water.

In one Islamic village, Temple of Peace AG endured frequent persecution and vandalism — until Africa Oasis Project missionary Mark Alexander and his team provided a well in the churchyard. Village authorities then issued orders that no one was to disturb the church again. Many of the religious extremists who tormented the believers moved away, and the congregation mushroomed to the point that a second church was planted.

In another village, Temple of Faith AG used the runoff from its well to create a massive garden. The plot of land serves as a true desert oasis that feeds numerous families. The well itself serves more than 5,000 people during the dry season. Water there is so abundant it flows even when no one is pumping the well, which replaced a previous water source contaminated by typhoid.

“The greatest outgrowth of these projects has been the access points for gospel outreach they have afforded our churches and AG believers,” Beggs says.

MAKE IT COUNT For more information and to give to Africa Oasis Project this Christmas, visit thirstyafrica.com/give.

The Help Agency Combatting rural poverty in an expansive Florida forest ALYCE YOUNGBLOOD

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the heart of Central Florida, you’ll find the 607-square-mile Ocala National Forest (ONF).

It’s a vast, lush region, packed with pines, rare wildlife, palm trees and natural springs.

Camping and canoeing make it a warm, outof-the-way destination for active tourists.

But many residents of the ONF live quietly in rural poverty. Education, food, electricity and running water are in short supply; drugs, particularly meth, are not.

These are just a few reasons why Assemblies of God U.S. missionary David Houck has been ministering in the ONF for 23 years, alongside his wife, his 10 children and The Help Agency of the Forest, an organization he founded. “There is never a question as to whether or not the Forest might be a mission field,” he says.

The Help Agency is a multi-faceted compassion operation, with an emphasis on reaching the next generation. Their after-school mentorship center is free to the public, providing a safe haven, food, tutoring, shoes, backpacks and prevention programs. For the kids, it’s “an opportunity to see a world beyond their neighborhood,” Houck says. Help Agency food banks nourish more than 7,000 people per month through services such as emergency groceries and a backpack feeding program that distributes meals for students on the weekends. The Filling Station, a local restaurant, doubles as a culinary prep school, allowing youth to learn valuable job skills. Every summer, the 72-acre Camp SoZo (sozo is a Greek word

meaning “to save”) hosts the Forest’s children, as well as mission teams who participate in work projects and block parties.

In short, Houck and his team are improving the quality of life, both physically and spiritually, for families in the Forest all year. And at Christmas, they go above and beyond — though this time the kids are unaware.

Weeks ahead of the Christmas holiday, The Help Agency begins a secret collaboration with parents in the area. They get five gifts for every child, as well as basics like pajamas, shoes, blankets and hygiene products. Christmas is delivered to more than 1,000 children and a take-home meal to every family. The covert project isn’t just about a holiday celebration; “We do this to build dignity,” Houck says.

Houck says individuals can best support The Help Agency by volunteering time or donating gift cards for bulk buying power. He also encourages others to see the forgotten “forests” that may surround them. “There is need everywhere; all you have to do is look for it, and then find a solution within your community.”

MAKE IT COUNT Learn more about The Help Agency at helpagency.net or Camp SoZo at campsozo.com.

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Red Envelope Compassion This organization brings education, school supplies, greenhouses, even Christmas to unreached people groups in Northern Asia ANA PIERCE

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elow is Vital’s conversation with the directors of Red Envelope Compassion:

What is your purpose, and how do you go about accomplishing it?

Red Envelope Compassion offers assistance in the opportunities encountered in Northern Asia to enter into remote unreached people group (UPG) areas.

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Red Envelope Compassion outreach efforts assist in building crucial relationships that over time provide opportunities for eternal impact. These outreaches answer real needs, allowing God’s love to be shared in both word and deed. This is accomplished through a wide variety of initiatives: meeting health and educational needs, providing clean water, goats (micro-enterprise), school supplies, greenhouses, solar projects, orphan care and more. These are all geared toward opening a door of eternal impact to these precious and forgotten people.

What’s the story behind your name?

Red Envelope alludes to a centuries old tradition in Northern Asia where gifts are offered in red envelopes called hongbao. Frequently these are given at New Years, birthdays and anniversaries. Red Envelope gifts are always given with no expectation of anything in return. This cultural significance matches our goals of unconditionally showing giving Christ’s love to the people of Northern Asia, so Red Envelope Compassion was chosen as the name.

Why Northern Asia?

Northern Asia contains one-fifth of the world’s population, and over one billion of these people have still not heard the message of the gospel. Most of the UPG’s there live in very remote, rural areas, with diverse needs and a multiplex of different belief systems. Red Envelope Compassion works because Northern Asia is very relational, a location where effective outreach cannot function outside of building strong relationships.

Red Envelope Compassion has the ability to speak the Good News into the diverse environments that are encountered throughout Northern Asia.

Can you share examples of Red Envelope’s impact?

One young lady was on the verge of suicide, but because of a Red Envelope scholarship she is now a Christian medical doctor, saving lives. One outreach is feeding

thousands of children. A solar outreach provides electricity to remote villages.

Hundreds of orphans’ lives have been changed, dorms have been built, farms have been developed, school needs met and solarheated water introduced.

Tell us about Red Envelope’s Christmas initiative.

We do have special holiday outreaches into remote villages, orphanages and schools throughout Northern Asia. Our workers use this time of the year to give special gifts to children in need — sometimes the first such gift they have ever received. We call one such outreach “Blessing Backpacks.” Throughout the year, but especially around the holidays, we visit rural schools and provide backpacks that are filled with school materials, hygiene supplies, and a small toy. Another is called “Compassion Toys.” Many of the rural children have never owned a toy — even in a region where much of the world’s toys are produced. The gift of a small toy touches a child’s life — and opens their parent’s hearts to the message of God’s love as we have demonstrated it.

MAKE IT COUNT Visit redenvelope compassion. org for more information on the organization and how to donate.

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4 Questions for Bus Buyers: 1. Which Bus Company has sold more buses to churches than any other company in the country?

2. Which Bus Company has more exclusive endorsements from denomina9onal retailers/publishers than any other bus company?

3. Which is the only Bus Company to provide churches, at no cost, a 7 Year / 70,000 Mile Body & Chassis Warranty on all new buses?

4. Which Bus Company has the best prices?

1 Answer: Carpenter Bus Sales Doesn’t that make it easy to know who to work with?

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Request “Special Church Bus Pricing” when you talk to your Salesman.

TEACHING

VITAL VOICES

In

each issue of Vital, we ask some thought leaders, ministers and creatives throughout the Church the questions you may want to ask, if you could take them out to coffee. From small talk to big ideas, here’s what they had to say.

Joy Qualls

Audrey DeFord

JJ Vasquez

Sandra Morgan

Associate Professor, Biola University

Artist

Youth Pastor, Iglesia el Calvario, and Assistant Professor, Southeastern University

Director, Vanguard Global Center for Women & Justice

Which is your favorite Christian holiday?

I have come to really love Advent and Lent.

We didn’t celebrate these holy seasons when I was a child, but as an adult, I have found great comfort in these seasons of quietness and anticipation.

Christmas and Easter are not the same for me anymore and have so much more meaning in the observation of the preparation and anticipation of these holidays.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since beginning your career?

Quit comparing yourself to what others are doing! You’ll spend time and energy in the comparison game and have no capacity left for actually creating.

So, look at what other people are doing — enjoy it — be inspired by it — celebrate it — and then get back to what you were doing!

Which piece of advice from a parent or family member do you still quote to people?

I had a job pulling weeds that was getting tedious.

My dad caught me being lazy and said, “If you’re going to pull weeds, pull them with everything you got.” That taught me to give 100 percent all the time.

Who encourages you the most to live like Jesus?

My husband. He takes our dog for a walk in our neighborhood and comes home much later than when I take her for a walk. That’s because he stops to listen to people along the way. He finds out that someone is in the hospital and goes to visit them. He has time to touch people.

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TEACHING DON’T MAKE THOSE RESOLUTIONS JUST YET Before you look ahead to next year, here are 10 ways to give this year the credit it is due SUSANNA FOTH AUGHTMON

O

What experiences and relationships have shaped you in the last 12 months?

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ne of my kids’ favorite pastimes is pulling out all the photo albums that we store in our bookcase.

We have albums from when my husband, Scott and I, were kids. We have pictures of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We have summer trip collections and school pictures.

Flipping through the pages of weathered photographs elicits a wide variety of responses from our three boys. “Dad, you were so young!”

“Look at how curly my hair is!” “You were such a chubby baby.” They also revel in my fashion misfires. “Mom! What was up with your pants?”

And then there are the moments when they marvel at themselves. “I was so tiny. … I am so much bigger now.” The metamorphosis of our sons is apparent as the pictures chart their growth from baby to teenager, from preschool to high school. The funny thing is that, caught up in the busyness of life, we don’t really notice how much they are changing on a day-to-day basis. It is only in these moments of laying belly down on the floor, shoulder to shoulder, laughing and looking back on the

TEACHING

transformation in their heights and the shapes of their faces, that we can see how much they have grown.

Taking a moment to acknowledge the changes in your own life may be the last thing that you want to do during this busy time of the year. All the joys of the holiday season stretch out before you like a twinkling strand of Christmas lights, bright and beckoning. Or, you may wrestle with the feeling that you are pulled in a million different directions by the crunch of year-end deadlines and tasks littering your to-do list. You may just want to lay down and take a nap until it’s time to watch the ball drop. But if we can take a moment to breathe, to quiet our hearts and dwell on the importance of the year we are leaving behind, it can be just like pulling out an old photo album and thumbing through the pages. We have a chance to laugh, to be grateful and to recognize the moment-by-moment transformation taking place in our own lives. (For more on cultivating a lifestyle of gratitude, read “Beyond Thanksgiving” on page 46.) We get to see how much we have grown.

This is an important part of life and our personal growth process. Dr. Christopher Koliba, a research assistant professor from the University of Vermont, says, “The word reflection comes from the Latin term reflectere — meaning ‘to bend back.’ A mirror does precisely this, bend back the light, making visible what is apparent to others, but a mystery to us — namely, what our faces look like.” When we “bend back” toward the year behind us, we have a chance at clarity. We get to see ourselves with the benefit of hindsight. We can recognize the importance of the year’s experiences and relationships for what they truly are: life-changing. We can use the closing of the year as an opportunity to look on the transitions, the hopes, the disappointments and the dreams that have taken place. By taking a moment to quiet our hearts, we allow ourselves to ponder important life-shaping questions: What have you learned this past year? What was hard about it? What was good about it? What mistakes are you leaving behind? Do you feel closer to or further away from God in this moment? What characteristic has He revealed to you about himself this year? What experiences and relationships have shaped you in the last 12 months? Are you heading in the direction that you want to be headed? Who are you becoming? What new growth do you recognize in yourself, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically?

Every year is different. This may have been a great year of innovation for you as you are following a new career path. Or it may have been a year of grief, losing someone who was beautiful and precious to you. Taking time to give the past 12 months some serious thought and weight can give us a solid place of understanding and clarity to

launch from as we head into the New Year. Dr. Koliba says that reflection can be seen as a bridge to learning. As we do so, we learn more about ourselves, those we love and the God who loves us most of all. We can testify to our own growth and point back to God’s faithfulness in the ins and outs of daily life.

Before you look ahead toward making resolutions, here are a few ways that you can embrace looking back as a meaningful part of your holiday season: 1. Bundle up and take a walk where a positive event happened this year. Pause to think about how this event has changed you and to thank God for the gift of this event.

2. Pick out a Christmas ornament that symbolizes this year, so that in the coming years, whenever you pull out this ornament, you will remember the journey of this past year.

3. Decorate a mason jar. Each time an important event takes place or a prayer is answered this year, write it on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. Before long, you will have a jar full of blessings to ponder.

4. In the Old Testament, Samuel (1 Sam. 7:12) commemorated God’s faithfulness in helping the Israelites in battle with an Ebenezer (stone of help) saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” Place an Ebenezer rock in your yard to remind you of God’s faithfulness this past year.

5. Print out your digital photos in a remembrance book as a physical representation of all this past year has held for you.

6. Find a Scripture verse that encapsulates your year’s journey. Write it out and put it on your fridge as a daily reminder of where you have come from and where you are going.

7. Write a note to a friend who has walked out this year’s joys and hardships with you, thanking them for their friendship.

8. Mark the passing of a loved one by doing something that brought them great joy, whether it is going to watch their favorite team or listening to their favorite music.

9. Print out last year’s appointment calendar to review all that you have accomplished in this past year.

10. Make a timeline of the year in your journal, marking pivotal moments and experiences in the year that you want to remember going forward.

Author Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, “Life is a gift, given in trust, like a child.” In this holy season, cherish the gift that you have been given this past year by holding it up in your heart and mind.

Susanna Foth Aughtmon is an author, speaker, mom of three and wife of Scott, lead pastor of Pathway Church in Redwood City, California. Find her books and humorous blog at tiredsupergirl.blogspot.com.

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TEACHING

HE SAID, WE SAID Why dialogue and discipleship are intrinsically linked HELEN C. KIM

At

some part of our day, we can be found talking. We chat with our kids, hold meetings, brainstorm, dream, share knowledge and relive parts of our day.

For Christians, where faith is meant to move beyond Sundays to converge with every facet of everyday life, what does it mean to walk with God in our daily dialogues? Can following Jesus into our daily conversations mean more than extra invitations to church or name dropping “Jesus,” “God” or “Holy Spirit” into our casual conversations? What does Kingdom culture in conversation look like?

The Prototype Restoration Project A look at the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 shows how God designed conversation to be. With God and each other, Adam and Eve are “both naked” and feel “no shame” (Gen. 2:25). Imagine the healing, freedom and communication that could happen today if no one felt the need to hide anything for fear of judgment. This is the prototype.

From Adam and Eve’s rebellion ensues the story of a God whose love for all humankind doesn’t accept the broken state of His creation.

Not only does He engage Adam and Eve in dialogue after their sin, God continues to listen, ask questions and respond to people throughout the centuries recorded in Scripture, rather than creating distance.

He relentlessly pursues the restoration of all things to His original design even at the cost of His one and only Son, Jesus. The sacrifice of Jesus enables much more than entrance to heaven upon death for followers of Christ.

Through Jesus, God enables us to know Him and partner in the restoration of every sector of life to the original plan, such that faith and life converge. God is open to dialogue, and what we say counts.

Hyperindividualism, central to American culture, moves us away from the naked and unashamed relationships in the Garden. But God’s central command in Deuteronomy 6:5, which Jesus also emphasizes, points out that knowing Him well is tied intimately to knowing and being known by others well. God doesn’t

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just ask that we love Him. There is a deeper knowledge and relationship found only through community with others and God. It will take effort considering our cultural tendencies, but through Christ, the way toward dialogueas-in-the-Garden is possible.

“With-God” Conversations Moving toward restoration of relationships as in the Garden involves conversations that help build and give life. Christians must learn to establish relationships on genuine love for the person dialoguing, in ways that address the fundamental, God-designed human desire to be known and loved. Soul-touching dialogues, or what I call “with-God conversations,” are not limited to only mature believers. Dr. Larry Crabb pens a profound vision for the potential of the capability of every Christian: I have strong reason to suspect that Christians sitting dutifully in church congregations … have been given resources that if released could powerfully heal broken hearts, overcome the damage done by abusive backgrounds, encourage the depressed to courageously move forward, stimulate the lonely to reach out, revitalize discouraged teens and children with new and holy energy, and introduce hope into the lives of the countless people who feel rejected, alone, and useless.

By partnering with the Holy Spirit through listening and obedience, rather than ignoring or responding with easy answers, with-God conversations release potential and change lives.

How to Increase With-God Conversations In every with-God conversation, there exists intentional partnership with God — active listening for what He wants to show, see or say through dialogues with both Christians and non-Christians. With-God dialogues often exhibit a few key characteristics.

Confession and Transparency Secrets have no place in Christian community. Honest confession allows for gospel application and the experience of grace. It ultimately draws Christians deeper into Christ by exposing a daily need and appreciation for His cross and grace. Such confession can also serve as a witness to non-Christians, drawing them closer to the One who addresses their own sins.

Transparency lovingly welcomes people to live authentic lives in Jesus, taking the gospel from a neat sermon to a real truth, wrestled with in the messiness of life. These conversations feed the soul, stirring desire to move through the ugliness of abuse, addiction, fatigue and depression toward the fullness of God. Togetherness in vulnerability

releases a tangible witness of God’s grace, gospel and love.

Gospel Truth With-God conversations are also marked by knowledge, study and answers found in the gospel. Responses come not from the best answer in one’s mind, but from what God says. With-God conversations incorporate the gospel in confronting sin and leading toward gospel living. This goes beyond quoting Scripture to tackling what it means to live out Scripture. Application of the gospel provides the opportunity to talk through how the gospel actually helps fight one’s struggles, doubts and fears. It requires time spent reading and considering the import of Scripture.

Discovery Through Questions With-God conversations involve less telling and more questioning, less giving of answers and more asking.

Rather than approaching as an expert with answers, participants in such dialogues trust God’s activity at work, seek to discover Him and respond as Jesus would.

Though He knew what was in human hearts (John 2:24-25), Jesus still made the effort to ask questions, build relationship, dialogue and discover.

None of Jesus’ questions in the Bible are “Will you come to the temple with me?” Rather, Jesus asks other kinds of questions showing His desire to know the person. Because of His questions, the disciples considered why they were so afraid (Matt. 8:26); the invalid explained that he had never been able to enter the pool when it was stirred (John 5:7); the woman at the well discovered the Messiah (John 4:29); and Peter articulated his belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16).

Questions help us uncover God’s activity and think through faith. One asks questions of the Holy Spirit and of those with whom they speak, creating new learning opportunities and reliance on God. “Where are you finding your identity?” “What does ‘grace’ mean in this context?” “Whose voice does your belief echo? Is it God’s, a family member, a past experience?”

Such questions provide a starting point to provoke thought, leading people to explore the happenings of their hearts, minds and lives.

As we make effort to move with God toward others in conversation, glimpse life and relationships in a way that once was — and one day will be fully restored.

Helen C . Kim directs strategy and development at Korean American Family Service Center in Queens, New York, has a doctorate from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and is a discipleship coach at Manhattan’s CityVine Church.

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TEACHING

PERSONALITY QUIZZES AND CHRISTIAN CALLINGS A psychologist shares how to make the most of these increasingly popular assessments GEOFF W. SUTTON

H

ave you ever taken a quiz to learn if you’re an introvert or discover how your personality is compatible with a romantic interest? It’s likely. Recently, TIME reported the phenomenal growth of personality testing; up to 35 percent of human resource professionals use them.

As I think about personality assessments, I’m reminded of Paul’s explanation that Christians have different gifts (1 Cor. 12). Each of us makes a unique contribution. When speaking about personality traits in relationships, at church or at work, I like to focus on fit. We all perform at higher levels when our values, interests and talents fit with the task at hand. To paraphrase Paul: Just as eyes and hands have different functions, the body of believers needs people with different personal strengths to function effectively (1 Cor. 12: 12–27). Here are four questions to identify how a personality assessment might help a Christian find his or her fit: 1. Is the assessment compatible with Christian values?

Some, like Johan Mostert of Discipleship Dynamics, assess traits linked to Christian growth. Others show assessments are compatible with Christian values. For example, Gallup’s StrengthsFinder, used by most Fortune 500 companies, connects strengths to Christianity in their book Living Your Strengths. And Dr. Angela Reid of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary explains how PREPARE/ENRICH works in Christian couples counseling.

How can you assess compatibility with Christian values?

First, read books or attend a training seminar that explains how the assessment lines up with the Bible. Second, look for questions that measure character traits using the same or similar words to those in Scripture (e.g., forgiveness, humility). Third, consider if the assessed values do or do not contradict a Christian worldview. For example, a test may not use explicitly biblical language, but terms like “decisive” and “cautious” in the DISC test do not conflict with what the Bible teaches about Christian character.

Finally, consider the results of any test as hypotheses to prayerfully evaluate in light of Scripture.

2. How can I make personal use of the results?

Assessments can be a basis for prayer and discussion with friends or professionals as you consider volunteer and employment opportunities. Some results can help set goals, select college majors or evaluate careers. At Evangel University, we encouraged students to consider how their strengths fit their calling; Bethany Johnson recalls thinking about her top five strengths reported by StrengthsFinder, which “helped put words to [her] God-given gifts.” She observes that the assessment wasn’t the only source of personal growth but, “it has made a significant difference in [her] life spiritually, mentally, emotionally and relationally.”

3. How can personality assessments be used in church or at work?

Tests can help screen applicants for key positions or build effective teams which include people with diverse yet complementary strengths. For example, using StrengthsFinder, managers can identify people who are strong communicators, planners, organizers and problemsolvers. Tests like PREPARE/ENRICH help pastors and others quickly gain and organize the information they need for an effective premarital and marriage counseling.

4. How reliable and valid are personality tests?

A reliable test produces similar scores every time you take it. No test produces perfectly reliable scores. Validity refers to how well test scores support the declared purpose of a test. For example, if you want a conscientious person on your team, then a high score on conscientiousness ought to predict actual conscientious behavior.

Reputable test companies publish reliability and validity data on their website. Although many people call the tools referred to in this article “tests,” publishers sell them as assessments and offer guidance and training in how to use them.

As Johnson points out, personality assessments shouldn’t be a sole source of personal growth. But they are powerful tools that organize self-reported information to aid our exploration of God’s call on our lives.

Geoff W. Sutton is a licensed psychologist and emeritus professor of psychology at Evangel University. He writes and speaks about Christian virtues and healthy relationships.

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NEW FROM DR. GARY SMALLEY

Your home should be an environment of growth where each member finds forgiveness, love, acceptance, and honor. In Let's Do Family Together, renowned counselor Gary Smalley reveals ways to build a marriage and a family that honors God and honors each family member.

“The way you interact with your spouse and your children now can impact your family for generations to come. Gary Smalley understands this better than most, and he outlines seven key principles for making it happen in this excellent book.”

- Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family also available in spanish

Visit LetsDoFamilyTogether.com to download a free sampler!

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Welcome to the My Healthy Church store section.

We curate an exclusive collection of Spirit-empowered resources, simplifying the search for your next book, album or curriculum.

Check out what’s inside and see the difference My Healthy Church can make.

Believe for Greater Things Are people in your small group facing situations that seem impossible? This Small Group Kit will connect you with dozens of Spirit-filled people who needed to see God move in an amazing way. Dr. George O. Wood shares four biblical examples of people who chose to believe God in spite of challenges: 1. Sarah laughed as she doubted God’s promise.

2. Naomi plodded and persevered through her loss. 3.

Hannah wept in brokenness as she longed for a child. 4. Mary submitted and willingly obeyed God’s supernatural plan for her life. As you look at what God has done in others’ lives, you’ll be inspired to believe God for greater things in your own life.

Kits include: Believe for Greater Things DVD with inspirational testimonies and teaching segments in four 8– to 10-minute sessions; 112-page study guide with opening conversation starters, video response questions, Bible passages for deeper learning, daily devotionals and more; tips for new leaders and helps for building a healthy small group ministry.

My Healthy Church Item #: 027047 $27.99

When Words Hurt

Talk Now and Later

Criticism is a fact of life. So how should a Christian respond?

When Words Hurt: Helping Godly Leaders Respond Wisely to Criticism by Warren Bullock provides a wide array of biblical, grace-filled responses that will enable you to maintain your dignity while enhancing your personal integrity. Leaders get criticized. No one gets an exemption.

Whatever your level of leadership, verbal arrows will be shot at you, and some of them will hit their target.

When Words Hurt will help you learn to face the criticism and the critic with grace.

In Talk Now and Later, author Brian Dollar presents 10 common topics your child deals with — or will soon — and detailed advice on how to approach and discuss the issues with them.

Learn to have these conversations early, often and wisely so that when the difficult topics come up, lines of communication will already be open.

Conversation starters cover: God, Death and Tragedy, Sex, Self-Image, Making Wise Choices, Divorce, Friendships, Money, Bullying, and Restoring Broken Relationships.

Salubris Resources ISBN: 9781680670424 $12.99

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Fearless A caring pastor and author meets with you daily in this collection of 261 inspiring devotions. Dr. George O. Wood examines the Book of Mark while providing a Scripture passage and prayer for each day. Wood is an engaging storyteller who shares an upbeat mini-story or vignette every day. For example, one day’s reading introduces the first grocery store owner to offer grocery carts for customers. It took time for people to accept this helpful new idea, since they had always carried everything themselves. Dr. Wood explains that our Savior does something similar for us. We tend to carry more burdens than necessary, so the Lord reaches out and says, Let Me do it for you.

A Psalm in Your Heart Let the Holy Spirit speak God’s truth into your life through the Psalms. Originally printed as a serial column, A Psalm in Your Heart by Dr. George O. Wood provides insight and encouragement through meditations on all 150 psalms.

A thoughtful gift, this attractive goldstamped edition includes a ribbon marker, Scripture columns, prayer response and space for recording personal notes. Meet the Lord in a fresh, new way as you explore these beloved Scriptures.

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Pop-science meets theology in this engaging book by Peter Haas. Approaching Scripture with comedy, stats and storytelling, a Minnesota minister explores some counter-intuitive twists behind happiness and promotion. This gutsy writer wrestles with theological issues many leaders would avoid on Sunday. He asks, What if your prayers could reveal your promotability or odds of happiness? and Did you know some people who survive traumatic events report higher levels of happiness? This author’s bold goal is to tweak people’s minds and increase the time and energy they invest in prayer, thinking and even blogging.

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Confessions of a Church Kid Inside Out Rich and Robyn Wilkerson fill this exhilarating book with exciting stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for God. Their concept is that anyone can be a servant leader; age, background and education don’t matter. The Wilkersons have followed servant leaders into hospitals, prisons and high-crime areas.

Their book is about setting aside differences, forming new bonds with others who choose to meet needs and taking action. You’ll find concrete reasons to both lead and serve.

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Growing up a church kid is tough, and being a Christian in this world is not for the faint of heart. In a spiritual tug-ofwar, there is a battle between living for God and finding acceptance. Is it possible to live a setapart life and have a seat at the cool kids’ table? In a humorous and let’s-just-behonest approach, Elyse Murphy goes on record about struggling through her teen and young adult years just trying to find her place. In Confessions of a Church Kid, Murphy reminds us that Jesus still loves us, awkward mishaps and all.

Salubris Resources ISBN: 9781680670240 $12.99

ESV Fire Bible A study Bible for the Spirit-led life now available in the English Standard Version.

Orginally conceived as a tool to help Pentecostal pastors and layleaders preach, teach and reach others with the gospel, these study Bibles will guide you along with your journey toward the Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered life your soul thirsts for. With extensive notes, background articles on key issues and authoritative commentary, these unparalelled study Bibles will help readers live the Christian life to the fullest, equipping them to pass the torch of faith to others.

Hendrickson Publishers $34.99 – $109.99 each For the complete list of Fire Bibles, visit MyHealthyChurch.com/ FireBible.

Kingstone Bible Graphic Novels In a visually oriented world, kids are instantly drawn to any visual media.

That’s why Kingstone Graphic Novels provide such a unique and powerful opportunity for your ministry. The Kingstone Bible line is a collection of classic stories of faith from the Old Testament and New Testamanet in 12 graphic novels. It is the most complete comic graphic adaptation of the Bible ever done.

Kingstone Comics $12.99 – $17.99 each Spanish: Salubris Resources $12.99 – $17.99 each

The Human Right Journey Are you ready for the journey? If you’re looking for quick and easy evangelism methods for your youth group, keep looking.

The Human Right Journey isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for those who are ready to get messy — the kind of messy that only happens when students start pursuing Jesus to the fullest extent of their ability. Packed with gospel-sharing concepts that are accessible to everyone, The Human Right Journey is ideal for students hungry to share their faith as well as those who have never really thought about what they believe.

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The Likeable Christian For those of us seeking to live a life that is pleasing to God, it’s tempting to get caught up in specifics (how to vote, which church to attend, how to do communion). While none of these concerns are unimportant, they’re not nearly as important as the greatest command ever been: Love God and love one another.

That’s likeability. In The Likeable Christian, Justin Lathrop discusses how to glorify God every day by living more like Christ, actually doing what He did and loving people the way He loved them.

When we live like that, we can be free, because the rest is up to Him.

Salubris Resources ISBN: 9781680670455 $12.99

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MAKE IT COUNT Don’t just read. Connect. Grow. Serve. Go. Worship.

A pattern for discipleship, inspired by Acts 2:42-47

Follow along with Vital over the next few pages to find big thoughts and next steps related to this issue.

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MAKE IT COUNT

CONNECT In

“Are Christians Supposed to Be Well-Liked?” (page 28), Justin Lathrop reminds us that it is our responsibility as Christians to represent Jesus to the world. Sadly, the world’s perception of Jesus and Christianity can be easily tainted by the actions and words of God’s own children.

How much more will the world want to know the King

NOTES

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we serve if we choose to act not with judgment or pride, but with kindness? We may wonder how it is possible to live with conviction and still be liked by those who disagree with us. Christ is our prime example of what it looks like to both live in conviction and connect with others through kindness and understanding.

And it is our responsibility to live like He did.

1

Do you believe it is your responsibility to show kindness to everyone you encounter? How does that truth change the way you connect with other people?

2

Scripture encourages us to love one another just as Christ has loved us (John 13:34). What does it look like to purposefully reflect His love to those around you?

3

How can you live by your convictions while still demonstrating kindness?

MAKE IT COUNT

GROW W

hat does it look like to invite God into our daily dialogues?

In “He Said, We Said” (page 62), Helen C. Kim shares how having “with-God” conversations can bring life and restoration to relationships.

Since the beginning of time, God has pursued His creation through dialogue: listening, asking questions and responding. By partnering with

NOTES

God, we can learn to have intentional, transparent and life-giving conversations, just as He intended for us in the Garden of Eden. How often do your conversations and the conversations around you offer encouragement and hope? Do you see more of God through the way you speak? By learning from God’s example, we can embark on a journey of allowing Him to breathe life into every conversation we have.

1

Have you ever experienced a “with-God” conversation? What about the conversation was unique?

2

What does it look like to partner with the Holy Spirit in your everyday conversations?

3

How have you been discipled by dialoguing with God and with His people?

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SERVE U

nderstanding our strengths and values can better enable us to use those strengths in service to the Lord.

In “Personality Quizzes and Christian Callings” (page 64), psychologist Geoff W. Sutton explains how assessments, while useful, must also be held in tension with biblical truths and values. How can you tell if an assessment is worth taking?

A bit of research, prayer and

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scriptural truth go a long way.

Personality assessments can help us better understand the strengths we bring to our jobs as well as to the body of Christ.

In many cases, they enable us to communicate aspects of our personalities for which we wouldn’t otherwise have words. As in every aspect of our lives, inviting the Lord into our process of discovery is the best place to begin.

1

Have you ever taken a personality or strengths assessment? What did the results reveal about your calling?

2

Ask the Lord what He wants to reveal to you about who you are, your strengths, gifts and talents.

3

We perform at higher levels when our values and skills “fit” the work we are accomplishing. In what areas of service do you uniquely fit?

MAKE IT COUNT

GO “T

he Help Agency” (page 55) shares the mission of David Houck and his family as they serve the residents of Florida’s Ocala National Forest. The Help Agency offers practical aid — meals, clothing, education and mentorship — in a community that lacks much more than these basic necessities. All throughout

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Scripture, we are charged with caring for the poor and the needy, the widow and the fatherless. Houck encourages each of us to find a solution to the need that most certainly exists in our own communities.

You have what it takes to make a difference. What small action can you take today that will impact someone’s life tomorrow?

1

Who in your community is in need, whether spiritually, physically or emotionally?

2

How will you choose to respond to Christ’s commission to serve others?

3

What is your prayer for both your community and communities in need around the world?

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WORSHIP In

“Don’t Make Those Resolutions Just Yet” (page 60), we are reminded that even the act of remembering is an act of worship. Susanna Foth Aughtmon encourages us to reflect on our year, recalling the moments of blessing and growth, disappointment and hope, before we forge ahead into the coming year. This act of worship allows

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your heart to access clarity of purpose, as well as ask lifeshaping questions about who you are becoming and what you have learned about God’s character (or even your own).

Let this present year be a source of encouragement and thankfulness as you steadily approach the year ahead.

1

How can you be purposeful in reflecting on your experiences and growth this past year?

2

When did God touch your life in a significant way this year? How can you commemorate those moments?

3

How will choosing to reflect on this past year impact the goals you have for the year ahead?

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“You Learn Something New Every Day” You’ve heard the above statement throughout your life, and Gallup research indicates it is actually true of most people. The chance of learning or doing something interesting daily increases with an individual’s education level. Seventy-four percent of those with at least some postgraduate education are lifelong learners. Even among those with a high school diploma or less, a majority (63 percent) still agree that each day holds something new. It seems that experience remains a strong teacher — and, as Christians, there is always opportunity to marvel at God’s many wonders and works (Ps. 40:5) .

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