The church property where the Compassion program is hosted is an oasis. The small lot feels expansive compared to the cramped quarters of the slum. The entrance is marked by trees, vegetation and pink hibiscus; a stark contrast to the stench, filth, and garbage just outside the gate. Continue Reading…
Leif and I had the privilege of sitting down with the head of Kenya for Compassion International, Joel, to learn more about their work to serve more than 93,000 kids throughout the nation.
“What’s the hardest part of your job?” I asked.
“Capacity,” Joel said. “We’ll have several hundred kids in line to get into one of our projects, but then there will be 50 or more that we have to say no—we want to help but there’s only so much you can do.”
“How do you keep your heart soft?” Leif piped in.
Today Leif and I spent the day in one of the poorest slums in Nairobi, Kenya. We visited a Compassion project committed to providing education and food to those in the most desperate situations. (Click here to learn more).
At one point, I asked our leader, Rich, if everyone in the room could leave—except for the young women.
At first glance, the nearly dozen women look like your average group of teenagers and young twenty-somethings—smartly dressed, giggly, and full of life. Continue Reading…
The landscape of Christian belief continues to become increasingly fractured. Lines aren’t just being drawn as much as bulldozed. Camps are being set up, artillery amassed, and snipers live on high alert.
No, I’m not talking about the doomsday-preppers, but the splintering groups of liberals, progressives, conservatives, ultra-conservatives, reformed, non-reformed, cool kids, home schooled kids, public school kids, those who take one perspective on homosexuality, those who take another, and still those who take a completely different stance all together, those who are for gun control, those who are against, those who believe prayer should be in the schools, those who believe we’re better off without it, those who pray nine hours a day, those who are lucky to squeeze in nine seconds, those who ___fill-in-the-blank___ and those who don’t—who claim to be followers of Jesus, lovers of God and find themselves expressing their views online.
The conversations among these groups about a myriad of topics have become increasingly heated, uncivil, unkind. Post a blog or perspective or insight that someone doesn’t agree with and the internet snipers come out to play—and they’re not just packing handguns, but far more powerful artillery.
The alliances often circle around who is right, really right, leaving everyone else wrong, wrong, wrong. [Tweet this]
“Gathered around a table, we fill our bellies and our souls. We feast as we taste and see the Lord’s goodness in our lives. The mystery of the table is that with mere wooden planks, a holy intersection emerges where ideas roll, tumble, and somersault between souls. Together, we learn to speak the unspeakables and discover grace. [Tweet this] Continue Reading…
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Margaret Feinberg is a popular Bible teacher and speaker at churches and leading conferences such as Catalyst, Thrive and Extraordinary Women. Her books and Bible studies have sold over 600,000 copies and received critical acclaim and extensive national media coverage. Click the image to learn more.
