Stop thinking and give

In the last few years, it seems that there has been a lot written and spoken about “sustainable giving” and “when helping hurts”. So much so, I feel, that any “responsible” giver reading and listening to these things almost becomes paralyzed with fear, and instead of giving freely, they become so worried about how their gift is being used that they do not give. It is true that individuals do need to be responsible and mindful with their giving; and be careful not to create any long term or unhealthy dependencies. But I think all the sustainable giving talk can be summed up with those two words: Be mindful. Do not get me wrong. I am a huge proponent of giving sustainably, however over the past few years I have become a larger supporter of giving freely. I think that our sentence should not just end with being mindful, but should read: Be mindful, but most of all give freely/joyfully.

So often the things we do or do not do are governed by fear. Fear of what people will think, fear of how people will use what we give, fear of creating more complications. And while some fear can be healthy, too much can paralyze. If we are giving in accordance to what we see in scripture, I see nothing to indicate that there should be any fear or worry connected to our giving. Give cheerfully, give generously, give to everyone who asks. (This applies not only to monetary gifts, but also giving our time, and those things that “belong” to us.) Now, I know some will have some objections and concerns with this but ultimately my point is this: All in all which heart do you feel God would have us give with? A light, worry free, cheerful heart? Or a heart that is bogged down and calculating every eventuality that could incur? 

Now I know I am taking this to its maxim and there should be some responsibility involved (that is why: be mindful), but ultimately I believe less thinking should go into this exercise than you would think. I am learning more and more that giving should not be a practice of the mind only, but ultimately a larger practice of the heart (which is sometimes quite hard for the INTP thinker that I am). I fear, when we try to be responsible or calculating we lose a part of cheerful giving we lose some freeness with the gift, and some of the joy, the heart that goes with and into giving. 

When I was in college some friends and I went on a camping trip.  While there a couple of us thought it would be a good idea to try to climb a pine tree using only hatchets.  As the first of us got about 20 feet up in the air, only secured to the tree by the blade of the hatchets, the honor student asked, "How are you going to get back down?"  Now if you are the person 20 feet in the air with hatchets in your hand, that is not necessarily the question you want to hear. But it led us to a great answer, that we still use till this day, "One step at a time." Now my point in this is not to promote foolish thinking, or utter lack of thinking, but to point out that this among many of my other memories are fond memories, full of joy that came from lack of thinking. Now granted, that is only so because no one got hurt, and we do need to exercise some caution, admittedly probable more than being in the air 20 feet up with hatchets... But the more we think and examine things from every angle the more likely we are to stay on the ground and not move, rather than create a joyous memory. If we live our lives mindfully, and move one step at a time, responding to the hiccups and challenges that come along the way rather than avoiding them altogether, we keep our motion, and can live a little more freely.

In summary: of course there are areas, over our time working in a developing country, that we have seen giving more beneficial than others. (I am partial to short-term relief aid, trainings, and sustainable economic projects myself). But who can say how God can use any gift. Even a cup of chai to some street boys, (that by all calculations could create a cycle of begging) can be used by God to do things we cannot even imagine. And do not underestimate the effect that cheerful giving has on the giver as well. To be concise: Give freely. It is not for us to control how each gift is used as that defeats the purpose and joy of a gift. Give to the needs that pass in front of you. Give where your heart feels a tug. Give joyfully and freely. But ultimately: Give.

It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 2: The Money

There once was a landowner who hired workers early in the morning, agreeing to pay them a set wage for their work. And again, in the afternoon, he hired more workers, to help complete the task.  Later that day, when the time came to be paid, he paid them all the same set wage for their work.  The ones hired first began to grumble, saying, “You have made them equal to us, though we worked longer and harder”.  But he answered them, ‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?’

            Working overseas as a missionary one has to face a hard reality, nothing in this world is our own.  When Audrey and I first embarked on this journey we quit our current jobs, gave up our apartment, sold many of our things, put the rest into storage, and “left” our family behind.  We either gave up or left behind pretty much everything we considered our own, save for what we could fit into our suitcases and embarked on a new journey that we felt God was leading us to.  I do not say that to boast or to brag, just to illustrate the view that all we had was temporary.  But given all of that, this was still a hard thing for us to learn; and as creatures of habit, as soon as we arrived we quickly started making ourselves at home again, collecting and hunting down items to make our stays here more convenient and comfortable.  However, there is always the looming feeling that it is all temporary.  We do not know when or where the Lord will call us next, so we try to live life with palms held open. 

            Living here we have partly come to the realization that nothing we have is really ours to cling to.  It can be here one moment and gone the next.  In the same way being individuals that are supported financially by friends, family, and churches it takes it to an even deeper level that we are not even “earning” our own income.  Everything we have is a gift. It is not ours, and ultimately it is all God’s, unearned gift. This means we have the need to be accountable and transparent for every penny of it. Now as I say this, I am so very thankful for all the friends, family, and churches that support us, and all of their hard work and giving that makes every day possible, and I hope we are doing the work you have commissioned us for well.  But I want to raise a question.  Is not all money God’s anyway?  And if this is true, does it not then mean those same two big things are true for you as well?  Do you not also have a responsibility for how you are spending God’s money?  Is it not also a gift from God? 

            As Americans across the board we all deal with entitlement to some extent.  And I am sad to say this is not only applicable to the “millennial” generation as we so often point out.   It is evident in every generation, just because we have put in the sweat, does that really mean we are owed something?  If it is all truly God’s money, then even if we “earned” it, can we truly spend it any way we please?  I think if we view “our” money as God’s money, this changes how we use and manage it.  No longer does it become as easy to borrow money for something that may be unnecessary or to put things on credit that do not really matter.  For after all, where are we storing our treasures, and with Whose money are we purchasing them?  To push the item even further, is it okay to spend money on things to make our lives more "comfortable" because isn't comfortable sometimes just another word for distracted?  As we become more comfortable are we becoming like the rich young ruler who was "comfortable" with his good deeds?  

            I do not say any of this to elevate ourselves here, or pretend like I have the answers. We are struggling with the very same things.  It is hard to be accountable to a level where everyone can look at your finances and say you are using God’s money correctly.  There are always things we, and our flesh want, that may or may not be wise uses of the resources we have been given.  It becomes even harder when you are trying to please both God and others who have given to you as well.  But I do want to challenge each of you today to live like all the money given to you is a gift from God, that you are accountable for and wanting to honor him with.  It is not your own, whether you have worked hard for it or not, it is all a gift.  

It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 1: The Work

            Let’s ask a question. “Why missions?” or I guess let me go even broader with that question, “Why professional ministry in general?” How have we gotten to a point where there are an estimated 2.2 million “Christians” on earth, roughly 31%, and we have to hire people to spread the gospel?  Now I must admit, this must sound very strange coming from the mouth of one of those fully supported ministry staffers, who is receiving income from sharing God’s word.  But I want to look at why this is a need.  Is ministry something for a select few paid professionals to engage in, or is it a collective community oriented call of God?

To give a very generic, Sunday school answer to start, I would say we must first look at the great commission.  “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Okay, so it seems pretty evident there if we believe what Christ said, we have a mission to make disciples, it is a job of everyone who believes.  Most people stop the argument there.  But let’s continue, lets look deeply and honestly at this.  Why in the world with 31% of the population of the entire world “serving” God in this mission, can we not get the job done without paying people for full time work to complete it?  The only answer I think we can conclude is that we, as the 31%, are not following our commission. 

            Now, Chase, listen, I work hard, 60+ hours a week, so that I can support my family and our lifestyle.  And then I go to church and fellowship on Sunday, and I even gave some money to the homeless guy on the corner.  Are you saying I am not following God’s commission?  Yes, bluntly, that is exactly what I am saying.  Unless we are purposefully engaging in the work of making disciples, growing up other leaders to join in the work of making more disciples and growing the kingdom of God, and being discipled ourselves, we are not following His commission. Now I do not know each of your lives personally and I cannot begin to judge anyone but myself.  But being honest and looking at my life, I cannot honestly say that even though I grew up in a Christian home and have professed Christianity for over 23 years now, that I have truly lived up to the commission that Christ has invited me to.  All I know is that by looking at the world today, looking at the state of our own country today, that we as a body of believers, we as a Church, have failed at living out the great commission daily in our lives. 

Maybe this does not apply to you personally, maybe it does, but the truth is it most certainly applies to the church at large.  We have failed in the great commission.  It is because of this, because we as individuals and as a larger collective have failed at our objective, that we have to outsource our personal jobs to a paid professional.  And the sad thing on top of it, I hate to admit, is that many times the paid professionals are not much better at their work.  Yes, they may be more intentional, but they are still bogged down by their own sins, failures, and desires that they still often cause just as much hurt as joy sometimes. 

            I believe it is because the world is broken, because our church is broken, because we are broken, and failing at our objective, that we need paid professionals to take the intentional time to carry out this work.  It should not have to be this way, yet it is because we have failed.  We are now reliant on these professionals to do the work that was entrusted to us.  My prayer is that this is not always the case. Yes, we may still need some missionaries to travel to remote places where the gospel has not yet reached.  But anywhere a well established church is planted, and the word has taken hold of believers lives, and the Holy Spirit is moving mightily, the church should be able to do its work from that point forward.  Let's awake church, awake, rise up individuals, believers, Christians, and do the work that we were called to do.  Let's love radically, make disciples, do it in the every day, as a part of living and breathing, so that one day we might not need the paid professionals of ministry today.  Let us engage in our call of community work, that flows naturally as an outpouring of being in communion with our Heavenly Father. 

Finding Sabbath Rest

            Recently I was listening to a podcast sermon from Tim Keller, Work and Rest.  In it Tim points out that so often we, and even the Pharisees of the Bible, think of Sabbath as a physical rest. In doing so we neglect noticing the deep rest the inner rest Sabbath may actually be searching for. Keller looks at some instances of Sabbath, and I am going to focus on the first one in Genesis 1-3. 

            In Genesis 1:31-2:2, we see God finishing creation and calling it all very good.  Then upon completion on the seventh day He rests. He sets that day apart and calls it holy.  Why does God rest?  Surely it is not because He was tired.  If God was a God who could tire, then surely He is not God.  So if He was not tired then why rest?  It seems this rest points not towards a rest of recuperation, or of recharging ones batteries physically, but rather a rest of accomplishment.  God had finished, He had accomplished, He had finished, and it was very good, so He rested.  He was completely satisfied by what had been done, now He could rest in that fact.

            So often we are striving for something, to prove something either to ourselves, to others, or even maybe to God.   But in reading Scripture it does not seem to me that this is what God requires or desires.  When man was created, we were made in God’s image, filled with His breath, the spirit of God, and pronounced “very good”.  Then God was finished, completely satisfied with His work.  Man lived in perfect communion with God, our “church” was walking in perfect harmony with God in the garden, perfect communication, not afraid and not ashamed.  It is not until Genesis 3 where we see the serpent entering the scene breaking that trust, that communion with God, and man begins striving for more.

            Because of pride, because of wanting one’s own way instead of God’s man tries to become his own God and begins the process of striving and proving himself that will continue until he is one day completely redeemed.  Man rejects God’s authority, God’s supremeness, and who God says man is, and begins to try to prove to himself and others that he is something of worth.  It is my theory that in knowing “good and evil” man develops a constant desire to measure and weigh himself, to count his imperfections, to try to counteract his guilt, to try to become more, to do more, to no avail.  Because of that fruit we now know how much more we can be, how short we fall of God, and we desire, we strive to bridge that gap, to become gods ourselves.

            Before tasting the fruit we were content, listening only to who God said we were, what God said we were, and who God was in us.  We were very good, and God was God, supreme and sovereign, there was no need for us to be anything more, to do anything more than rest in Him, in that fact.  We saw ourselves as God intended fulfilled in Him, in His image, radiating His glory.  In eating the fruit becoming “knowledgeable” we stopped resting in that fact and started striving for ourselves.  Psalm 46 says (paraphrased), “God is our refuge and strength, a help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change/fall apart -Selah.”  If God is truly our strength, our refuge, we should not be afraid, regardless of the state of the world and what is going on around us, we will not fear.

            I love the word Selah, and although there is some debate on its exact meaning I love the idea that it means pause and reflect.  Stop and listen, think!  Meditate on that fact, that God is truly God, and if that is true, then we are not gods.  That means He is in control of it all, there is nothing dependant on us, we are not responsible for making the world run, it is in His hands.  If we believe that fact, why do we fear, why are we striving to do it of our own accord?  It can only mean we do not truly believe, we do not truly trust that God is God.  We do not truly believe He is in control, in some small or large way we are guilty of the same pride of Adam in the garden, the desire to be in control, to have the knowledge, to do it on our own.  This is not rest, this is not Sabbath.

            Bringing us to the next section of Psalms 46 and what it means to rest in the Lord. Psalm 46:4 (again paraphrased) “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her. The Lord of hosts is with us; He is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; He is our stronghold. Selah.”  It seems this is most likely referring to Jerusalem but I believe now also applies to us.  How I wish for our lives we could all be rivers of peace, rivers of rest.  Not striving for anything but to give God control of our lives. If God is in us, if we are at peace, we will not be moved, and in this peace it seems God delights.  We rest because we have God at the wheel; from the prior verses we have yielded control to God because He has it all in his hands. 

            We no longer have to struggle to be someone, to do something.  We are to acknowledge who God is, and His power, and look at all the things He has done and know it is enough, that it is very good!  In looking at that we ourselves begin to trust in who He is and what He has done and we cease striving to become our own gods in ourselves.  We rest in the fact that this life is all about what God has done not what we have, can, or will do!  We are nothing but dust, and from Genesis 3 we see that is exactly what we will return to.  It is only what God does that matters, His life, His breath in us is what gives us value.  We exist only to be in communion with Him, to be His image bearers, to work, yes, but not to let that work or striving overwhelm or define us.  We are defined by nothing but God, and to be as the river in Psalm 46, at peace with God in our midst.

            How then can we find this now that we are plagued by sin?  Praise be to God, He came Himself and died for us, covering our sin, our shame, our striving with His own blood.  Our debt has been paid, not of anything we have or could have done.  But according to his mercy we are made clean.  Again we have no reason to strive for ourselves, it is finished.  We are at peace.  So while the world and our sinful nature tell us constantly to strive, to be more, to be better, to work harder, we must find our Sabbath (our deep inner rest), in trusting who God is and what He has done.  Letting our fears and failures go, because ultimately this world is not dependant on us.  This does not mean that we should be lazy and not work at all.  In fact, at the beginning of Genesis we see that man was put in the garden to work, to take care of creation.  So yes, we should work, yes we should act, yes we should love, but only as God leads, resting in His lead, trusting that it is in His hands.  God is in control of it all, not us.  We must only walk in communion with Him.  We must cease our striving and find Sabbath rest, Selah, the Lord is with us. 

Scholarships

Greetings Family and Friends,

Some of this post is similar to the farming project post, in case some one only reads one of them, so please bear with me.  Here is a more detailed look at the upcoming scholarship project as an extension of the farm project.

A large and rampant problem, or rather need, we have seen here in Kenya over the last year has to do with the high cost of children's school fees in comparison to families' monthly income.  Most schools here in Kenya cost about an average of 500-600 USD per year.  This may not sound like much, but when the average monthly income of many families ranges between $30-150 per month it begins to be difficult.  Coming up with funding is especially challenging for many of the families coming from a polygamous culture with multiple wives and about 10-20 children per family.  It is also challenging for widowed women and orphans.  When a child is short on school fees many, if not all the time, they are sent home to look for the lacking fees until they can come up with something to bring back to the school.  This causes students who are already struggling to become even further behind academically, and their moral and motivation is lowered.  It is hard to be motivated to succeed in school when you do not know whether you will ever be allowed to attend or have the chance to finish due to school fees.

Our goal is to provide income for families in need with part of that income being specifically earmarked for school fees for these families children with a farm project.  We also hope to provide some scholarships to help subsidize school fees for about 5-10 children a year, depending on profits from our bean farm (see earlier post).

Most schools we work with are around the 600 USD range per year.  Our hope was to provide scholarships for about 4-5 girls to start with to pay about two-thirds of these fees.  In this way it would bring the cost down to a manageable amount for families with many children, widows, and orphans.  At the same time it would still give them something to work toward for their children's and their own education.   Students pay by term here so they would be left with a flat amount of $70 every four months to pay.  We will also be assisting with jobs for families on the bean farm, or some "work study" positions for orphans during the breaks and waiting periods.  This not only will assist with those fees but also help keep students busy when they would be otherwise idle.  This would provide an opportunity for them to give back to their local community too.

We have started the interview process by getting students to fill out a questionnaire, acquire a recommendation letter from teachers/principle, writing a letter about themselves, and sitting for an interview.  The top candidates will be visited at their homes by a committee of ourselves and some local Kenyans to discuss the most effective and sustainable way to be connected and helping with their families.  This will come in the form of either scholarship only, a small home business, or perhaps working on the bean farm.  We anticipate needing initial funds to pay for this first term as the bean project gets started this week and has yet to have time to generate profit yet.  But our hope is that after this initial term, the bean farm will sustain the scholarships initially granted as well as open opportunities for more scholarships in the days ahead.  If you would like to be part of this shoot me an email and I can go into further detail.

We welcome any ideas and support any of you may have in regards to the project as we are both new to this, and without any business degrees or training, we are in new territory.  However, we have seen a very real need that we believe we may be able to help with and God has given us a vision of how we can help support the local community.  We pray that this will be a venue to make His glory known even from the sowing of some simple seeds.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or ideas!  Also be in prayer for us as we start to break ground this week! To God be the glory!

Chasevarndt@gmail.com

Farming Project

Greetings Family and Friends,  Here is a more detailed look at the upcoming community farm project.

A large and rampant problem, or rather need, we have seen here in Kenya over the last year has to do with the high cost of children's school fees in comparison to families' monthly income.  Most schools here in Kenya cost about an average of 500-600 USD per year.  This may not sound like much, but when the average monthly income of many families ranges between $30-150 per month it begins to be difficult.  Coming up with funding is especially challenging for many of the families coming from a polygamous culture with multiple wives and about 10-20 children per family.  It is also challenging for widowed women and orphans.  When a child is short on school fees many times, if not all the time, they are sent home to look for the lacking fees, until they can come up with something to bring back to the school.  This causes students who are already struggling to become even further behind academically, and their morale is lowered.  It is hard to be motivated to succeed in school when you do not know whether you will ever be allowed to attend or have the chance to finish due to school fees.

Our goal is to provide income for families in need, with part of that income being specifically earmarked for school fees for these families children.

Our vision is to start a small farm.  From running all the numbers and figures on paper, it seems to be viable and sustainable project.  At this point, it looks like the best vegetable for us to farm is French beans.  We have started by renting two acres of land for the next year.  This first year will start as a test run to see how sustainable the farm can be, and whether it can generate enough funds to be considered viable and support 5-10 families and students.  If it is a success, we would like to consider buying 2-5 acres and making a community organization to run and upkeep the farm, thus continuing to support the community long after our time here is over.

We hope to hire families who are out of work or only work part time.  This farm would be an opportunity for those women to have at least a part time job paying a fair wage.  Our hope is to pay a fair and slightly higher wage than they may get else where but to only payout half of the earnings per week to the working individual, while the other half goes directly to their children's school fees.  In this way we can help guarantee that these children are not sent home from school due to lacking school fees.

Any profits that are generated beyond the costs incurred: ie. rental fees, seeds, water, labor, ect... will be put back into the community in some way.  This will either take the shape of partial scholarships for students (which we talk about in another blog post), other community projects (such as home farms, milking goats/cows, chickens, ect.), or small business loans.  Our hope is that after initial start up cost, the project will maintain itself and generate income for similar projects in the future without any reoccurring support from outside.

We welcome any ideas and support any of you may have in regards to the project as we are both new to this, and without any business degrees or training, we are in new territory.  However, we have seen a very real need that we believe we may be able to help with and God has given us a vision of how we can help support the local community.  We pray that this will be a venue to make His glory known even from the sowing of some simple seeds.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or ideas!  Also be in prayer for us as we start to break ground this week! To God be the glory!

Chasevarndt@gmail.com

Wise ole Mango Tree

As I lie in my tent looking out on the setting sun and a very large mango tree, I reflect on what God has been doing in my life over the past year. I think, as Christians, and maybe even as humans, we all want to be wise old oaks (or in my Kenyan case, Mango trees). We wish to be large, substantial, noticeable, firm, steadfast, admirable, producing fruit, and giving shade. I think we view our success as Christians and humans as how well we are doing and how grandiose we have become. We see our purpose to be efficient and effective and can only be successful if we accomplish these things on a large scale.

However, I feel this is contrary to the purpose and plan of God. While we yearn to be large and to leave our mark, God only wants us to find the small part of ourselves that reflects His glory. The piece He has instilled in us from the beginning. Our mission is to reflect his grandeur not become anything in and of ourselves. I believe anything that speaks contrary to this is pride. We want to make a name for ourselves, we want to be successful, and we want to give largely and without expectation because that reflects well upon us. I think this is only natural and part of the human self and psyche, we want to like ourselves, and so we do things to enhance our image. Yet, in doing so, I believe we are obscuring the Son. If I am that large mango tree and God is the sun, the larger I become, the more of Him I block others from seeing.

I believe we all want to be old, large, wise oaks (or mango trees) when all God really wants from us is to be toothpicks. God has a special plan for each of us, and a unique design for our lives, but it requires very little, if almost nothing of who we are. All He desires is for us to reflect His glory. So as we continue to try to grow into those large oaks, He is constantly chopping (sometimes it feels like hacking) down our limbs. We are trying to grow to be something of stature yet we keep getting knocked down. Often I think we wonder, why would God do such a thing, why am I not progressing, why would God allow this to happen to me? We have a different vision than His; we desire to prosper in ourselves when all He wants is our surrender and for us to submit to His pruning. So He chops, we resist. We grow new branches (some which might be very nice and even produce fruit) but He cuts them down, so we try once more, but again it happens, sometimes over and over again until we are broken. Beautifully broken.

I feel it is in this brokenness where we truly find God, where we accept grace, where we submit to “not my will but Thine” where we can let go of our pride and our identity and grasp solely to Him. We allow the pruning, the chopping, the sanding, the shaping until we are whittled down to nothing more than a toothpick. A tiny, insignificant toothpick that is easily overlooked, small, and sometimes brittle. Yet, its function is completely tied to the Creator, to reflect the purpose of His grand design. It leaves no doubt who is at work, for its identity is tied up in Christ. So my prayer tonight for myself and for each of you is to “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” Psalms 46