Traveling to the Glory of God

We have had some traveling woes. Nothing major, but some professional minors. Our hotel “right next to the airport” was 45 minutes away, decreasing our potential 6 hours of sleep to 4. The hotel had bedbugs. We think. Getting our tickets in Delhi took a long time, so we had to run to the plane during final boarding. Then we sat on the runway for over an hour. Then we flew to Kathmandu but didn’t land there, re-routed to Lucknow, fueled up there, sat for another hour, then finally landed in Kathmandu, missing our connecting flight to Simra by well over an hour. We were so late to Kathmandu that we missed our contact with our plane tickets to Simra. After a few hours we finally had tickets and flew to Simra. Getting off the plane and seeing Albert was such a relief and joy. We drove about 90 minutes to the border and waited for immigration. Traffick was thick and eventually came to a standstill. Our driver said in 15 years he had never seen traffic so bad. We had to abandon the cars and make it to the immigration office by foot. The officer eventually showed up and demanded a bribe for coming out so late. We obliged and crossed the border. Then we went to immigration in India and then came to the building where we are staying. The shower and good night of sleep was amazing and refreshing.

I’ve been pondering 1 Cor. 10:31 today, which says that we should do everything to the glory of God. Everything. Even eating and drinking. What about traveling? How do we bring God glory when we have to run to catch our flight only to have it sit on the runway for over an hour and are tired and we miss our next flight and the baby on the plane won’t stop crying… How do we travel like this to the glory of God? Perhaps it is by having extra grace. Being patient. Smiling at Mr. Grumpy Pants. Being gracious and understanding. Showing love. I think and hope those things have been more evident in our team than the opposite. It has been humbling and a reminder that we are not in control.

We need to work out these logistics for sure, but we acknowledge that more than order or control, we need God and His Spirit.

Flying to India

I brought a “travel” journal with me. The last entry was made 3 years ago while in Kolkata just before my wife and I picked up our son from the orphanage. Then no more entries in the travel journal. A ten month old will do that…

Now he is 4, and my 8-year-old daughter sits next to me as we fly to India. Carolyn is excited, and we are joined by 5 others from our church: Micah, Jordan, Arielle, Carrie N. And Carrie T. We are headed to Bihar, India where Micah will run a 5 day photography program for the kids in the orphanage. I am “leading” this trip, which means logistics, finances and pastoral care. It is a solid team and I am not worried.

Before hopping on our first flight, Arielle pulled out some “get to know you cards” and we socially jumped right in. This is going to be fun.

Heading To India

It has been three years since I was last in India, and I am anxious to go back. This time Carolyn, my 8-year-old, will be joining me, along with 5 other people from our church. The entire team is excited, and scrambling to get last minute logistics taken care of before we fly out tomorrow. The trip is for about two weeks. We’ll spend 5 days in Bihar, India, and 2 days in Kathmandu. Then the team will fly home and Carolyn and I will meet my buddy James in Delhi for 3 days. In Bihar we will be doing a photography program with children in an orphanage. Carolyn is really excited about that part. It will be good to be back in India, and I’m excited to see what God will reveal in our time there. Please pray for us and our journey.

I’ll be blogging the trip here whenever I can get access to the internet…

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$34 Birthday Wish

I turn 34 this month. Yes, older than Jesus. Well, sort of…um…nevermind…

My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I couldn’t think of anything. I truly don’t need anything that I don’t already have or couldn’t go out tomorrow and buy on my own. And honestly, part of me feels a bit sick lusting after yet another tech device or revolutionary electronic tool. I have what I need. And more. So much more. Boxes of more stuffed into my garage, closet, office.

You likely know where I’m going with this…  Yes, many people don’t have as much as I do. Many people don’t have what they need. Many people don’t have basic stuff like shoes and water and food. That’s crazy. That’s out of control. That’s something I can do something about. And so can you.

So my birthday wish this month is that you would donate $34 to ThereIsEnough to address someone’s basic human needs. Food, water, clothing, housing, health care, justice…you pick. $34 can buy a bowl of porridge or beans for 136 hungry people. It can provide 6 families with fresh water for a year. It can provide footwear for 34 previously barefoot people. It can provide building supplies for someone without shelter, basic medicines for those in need, and justice for the victim. Seriously. It can. Only $34. It can make a difference. I want my life to make a difference. I want my birthday to make a difference. I want you to make a difference. I want us to partner together today. Right now. That is my birthday wish. Please donate $34 to ThereIsEnough today.

Monthly Support Letter

I hope this finds you well and living life to the fullest. This last year has been an exciting one, with a highlight being launching a nonprofit in November 2009. The purpose of this post is to let you know about my personal journey, the nonprofit, to ask for prayer and monthly support.

MY JOURNEY
In 2004 I heard Gary Haugen of IJM speak, and God tugged at my heart to live a life of Kingdom Justice. When I asked Gary how I could work for IJM, he suggested I enter the Marines Special Operations division or become a lawyer and then come work for IJM. Now, I don’t want to have to shoot anyone or go to Law School, so Gary suggested I help raise money for what they are doing. God had awaked my heart to His passion for justice, but my path toward a response was unmapped and unclear.

In the following years I continued to take small steps of obedience to live into this calling on my life. After years of small steps of obedience, I was ready to dive in deeper into an adventurous life of sacrifice and invite others to begin a journey of sacrifice themselves by partnering with me.

THEREISENOUGH
Though many people desire to engage and help those in need, there is often a paralysis that most of us experience as we begin to feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the needs around the world. Is there anything that we can really do? We often feel intimidated by the process of choosing from among the thousands of humanitarian organizations out there; we aren’t sure what needs to address; we don’t know if an organization is trustworthy.

This paralysis that often stops conviction from transforming into real action led me to seek the insights of business owners, church leaders, charity presidents and entrepreneurs around the country. This process birthed ThereIsEnough as a donation portal addressing the basic human needs of food, water, clothing, housing, health care and justice, as clarified by Jesus in Matthew 25. Six basic needs. One response.

ThereIsEnough.org makes food, fresh water, housing, clothing, health care and justice available to those in need by serving as a donation portal to support proven charities who address these basic human needs around the world. ThereisEnough.org decreases the duration of paralysis that can often lie between conviction and action by clarifying the most critical human needs and providing a simplified means of response. Donations to the site are given directly to the organizations that do the work.

NEXT STEPS
Our team (Board of Directors, volunteers, volunteer design companies, etc.) and I launched ThereIsEnough in November of 2009, and I have been devoting an average of 20 hours a week to the organization. In March 2010 I went down to part time at my church as a worship pastor to devote more time to this work. I am currently running the nonprofit out of donated office space, and am overseeing and implementing our vision and goals. We are continuing to gain momentum, and raising more and more funds to address basic human needs on a global scale.

PRAYER SUPPORT
Starting something new is always difficult, and accomplishing God’s purposes in the world always meets resistance. I would greatly appreciate your prayers in this endeavor. If you would like to provide prayer support, please email me at adam@thereisenough.org so we can keep you in the loop with prayer requests. Thank you so much.

MONTHLY SUPPORT
My responsibilities as Founder and President of ThereIsEnough include overseeing the mission, vision, values, operations, and methodology of the organization; building partnerships; key spokesperson and fundraiser. Having surrendered part of my salary from my church earlier this year, I am now trying to raise support to replace lost income. We hope to have 50 people commit to $30/mo. or $50/mo. to support our administrative costs and my part time salary. Please consider supporting us for a two-year commitment at one of these two levels.

When $25 can feed one meal to 100 people, $14 can supply clean water for a year to three families, $5 can provide 2 pair of sandals to someone with no shoes, we can clearly see how small investments on our end can have massive impact on those who live in poverty. Please join our campaign to address basic human needs globally and show the love of Christ in very tangible ways. To make a one-time or monthly pledge, go to http://www.thereisenough.org today.

Secure and recurring donations can be made on our website. Simply visit http://www.thereisenough.org, click “Give Now,” enter an amount for “ThereIsEnough Administrative Costs” and click “Monthly Recurring.” Donations can be made with a major credit card or PayPal. If you pay by check, please note “Administrative Costs” in the memo line and mail to ThereIsEnough, PO Box 2245, Indianapolis, IN 46206. All donations are tax deductable. Thank you so much.

Thank you for taking the time to read through all of this, and for considering supporting me in this endeavor.

Thank you,

Adam J. Nevins

Monthly Support Letter (short version)

In 2004 I heard Gary Haugen of IJM speak, and God tugged at my heart to live a life of Kingdom Justice. God led me to that moment and awaked my heart to His passion for justice, but my path toward a response was unmapped and unclear.

After years of small steps of obedience, I was ready to dive in deeper into an adventurous life of sacrifice and invite others to begin a journey of sacrifice themselves by partnering with me. So in November 2009 ThereIsEnough was launched.

THEREISENOUGH
ThereIsEnough makes food, fresh water, housing, clothing, health care and justice available to those in need by serving as a donation portal to support proven charities who address these basic human needs around the world. ThereisEnough decreases the duration of paralysis that can often lie between conviction and action by clarifying the most critical human needs and providing a simplified means of response. Donations to the site are given directly to the organizations that do the work.

PRAYER SUPPORT
I would greatly appreciate your prayers in this endeavor. If you are interested, please email me at adam@thereisenough.org so we can update you with prayer requests.

MONTHLY SUPPORT
My responsibilities include overseeing the mission, vision, values, operations, and methodology of the organization; building partnerships; key spokesperson and fundraiser. Having surrendered part of my salary from my church earlier this year, I am now trying to raise support to replace lost income. We hope to have 50 people commit to $30/mo. or $50/mo. to support our administrative costs and my part time salary. Please consider supporting us for a two-year commitment at one of these two levels.

When $25 can feed one meal to 100 people, $14 can supply clean water for a year to three families, $5 can provide 2 pair of sandals to someone with no shoes, we can clearly see how small investments on our end can have massive impact on those who live in poverty. Please join our campaign to address basic human needs globally and show the love of Christ in very tangible ways.

Secure and recurring donations can be made by visiting http://www.thereisenough.org, click “Give Now,” enter an amount for “ThereIsEnough Administrative Costs” and click “Monthly Recurring.” Donations can be made with a major credit cards or PayPal. If you pay by check, please note “Administrative Costs” in the memo line and mail to ThereIsEnough, PO Box 2245, Indianapolis, IN 46206. All donations are tax deductable. Thank you so much.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this, and for considering supporting me in this endeavor.

Thank you,

Adam J. Nevins

From Pit To Palace

Joseph was a kid that looked after his family’s sheep, and had 10 older brothers that weren’t too fond of him.  They disliked him so much that they threw him into a pit then sold him into slavery in the same day.  He ended up in Egypt working for a guy named Potipher, who’s wife had a crush on Joseph and hit on him almost every day.  He denied her every time, so she falsely accused him and he wound up in jail.  There, God empowered him to interpret the dreams of two inmates, one of which was freed and went back to work for the king.  So when the king had a disturbing dream that needed interpreted, Joseph was brought from the jail to the throne.

After a life of adversity and bad luck, Joseph finds himself in a potentially redemptive and transformational moment before the king of all Egypt.  Everything had culminated to this moment, and the question that the king would now ask, which was, “Can you interpret my dream.”  Joseph steps up, looks the king in the eye and confidently replies, “No, I cannot.”  Pause.  “But God can,” he adds.

So God empowers Joseph to interpret the dream, which wasn’t good news by the way, and yet Joseph doesn’t hesitate to speak the truth.  After hearing the interpretation predicting a 7 year famine, the king (in a strange turn of events) appoints Joseph to prepare Egypt for the coming doom.  Joseph becomes his right hand man, second in charge of all Egypt, and saves Egypt, his own family, and many from surrounding lands as a result of it.

How did Joseph achieve this?  How did he make his way from the pit to the palace?  It wasn’t from a good college education.  It wasn’t having a life mission statement.  It wasn’t from career counseling and a good resume.  It wasn’t from an aggressive business or life plan.  In fact, I don’t think it was from anything that he did at all.  It was because of a decision that he made at a very young age.  He decided to be a man of integrity, always speaking the truth, and to have a healthy work ethic, doing the best that he could in any situation to serve God, not man.

This suggests a disturbing conclusion that I have been wrestling with: perhaps what we do is not as important as who we are. In this age of action and busyness, character can easily fall to the wayside, or simply be defined by our Facebook status.  But who are we at our core?  Can we slow down enough, stop Tweeting long enough, turn the TV off long enough to look at ourselves in the mirror?  What will we see?  Who will we decide to be?  What will we decide about our character?  What will we identify as our personality, talents, spiritual gifts?  Perhaps then and only then can we consider who God has created us to be, and how we can best reflect that reality.  Our actions can then be fueled not by reaction or habit or distraction, but by conviction and character.

Back In Time

10:25 am, Dec. 12, 2009

Have you ever been in an altercation and witty articulation eludes you?  15 minutes later the perfect comeback is evident, but in the moment you are so clouded by emotion and passion that you stand silent and stunned.  Or worse yet, you mumble something an 8 year old would come up with on their best day.  It leaves you dissatisfied, frustrated, and regretting that you can’t go back in time and blow them away with your finely tuned argument.

I often feel a similar regret when it comes to situational benevolence.  I see a homeless man shaking his cup of change, and don’t have time to grab him some lunch, so I do nothing at all.  I drive past a broken down motorist on the highway and I do not stop to help.  We all have had these experiences, and often feel regret that we did not help.  If only we could go back in time and change our response…

A few days ago I drove to the bottom of an exit ramp to see a man holding an “Out of Work” cardboard sign.  As I pulled up and stopped, we made eye contact and held it for at least 90 minutes.  Maybe it was two seconds; it’s hard to tell for sure.  As the light changed and I hit the accelerator, I glanced down at two large, hot pizzas in the passenger seat that I was bringing home to my family.  Immediately I realized that I could have given him a piece or two of hot pizza on this cold winter day, and the regret hit me.  I had missed my opportunity to help this man in a small but meaningful way.  But then something happened.  I realized I could change the past.  I could change my passive behavior.  I could still give him a piece of pizza.  With the cunning skills of Batman, I quickly swerved into the left lane and turned at the yellow light.  I was going back in time.  I didn’t need to reach 88 mph, but I did need to loop around 4 city blocks to return to the scene of my indifference.  And finally pulling up to the intersection, flashing my hazard lights and rolling down my window, I changed the past and the future at the same time.

My hope is that our futures can change as we redeem the past.  By combating our selfishness to the degree of going back in time, it can allow us to become more aware of opportunities in the present.  Maybe even someday our knee jerk reaction will be full of grace and generous benevolence.  If we are to be articulate and quick witted in any area of our lives, may it be in love and generosity.

Weekend in Boulder

4:04 pm, July 5, 2009

We’ve been in Colorado for about a week now, and have spent the weekend in Boulder. It has been great to have some family time with the Razavi’s, and we are staying at Michael and Laura Collins’ house. They are gracious and mellow hosts with a beautiful house on the side of a mountain above Boulder. The view from the back porch is amazing. I keep taking the same picture every day as if God were painting a new picture in the mountains and sky each time.

We will attend church at Origins tonight, which is actually the first time I will have attended Ramin’s church in the four years he has been out here. I’ve just always visited during the week it seems. I get to join in leading worship with the team tonight, which should prove a breath of fresh air to my soul. It will be a different context for me, doing lots of free form “Enter the Worship Circle” songs with Aaron Strumpel and others, including ex-Common Ground rock star Natalie Razavi.

Ramin and I have had some good conversation about church and various philosophies of ministry, including Institutional Church vs. Organic Church, House Church vs. Community, and more. I always feel encouraged and sharpened by our conversations, and am glad and excited to hear him talk of the health and mission of the church here. It is good to have kindred spirits.

Sabbath

12:10 am, June 10, 2009

I think I have been on a road of transformation the last year or two, and because I am at the beginning of this journey, I haven’t known how to talk about or process it. This week God is giving me language for it.

The conviction I am experiencing is summarized in this line from Dangerous Act of Worship: “If we don’t lift our heads to see God in worship, we can’t see what God wants to show us, which includes our neighbor.”

I have lost the habit of listening to God for others. Sure, I’ll listen for the church as a whole, but not individual people. Gone are the days when I would look out on a Sunday and ask God who to pray for and why. Seeking out people after the service to share a word of encouragement or pray. I want to recapture that. I want to navigate to a place where I tap back into the interpersonal intercession of the prophetic. I want to lift my head in worship to look back at others and know what is needed.

Some thoughts from Dangerous Act of Worship…

Sabbath keeping practices:
1. Awaken us to God.
2. Cause us to confess our self-absorbed lives
3. Deepen our Christian life
4. Give fresh vision
5. Remind us of who we are, who our neighbors are

To Sabbath:
1. Say “no” to one’s self and agenda, schedule, etc.
2. Say “yes” to God and the world He has given.

A Few Ways to Sabbath:
• Be quiet. Slow down. Be still.
• Listen to God. Read. Pray. Hike. Meditate.
• Be the church. Be together. Deepen relationships.
• Play.
• Meditate and consider the forgotten, the poor, the needy.