Injustice Towards Children Has Broken My Heart!

While my plan was to go to the Enter Conference at New Life Church in Colorado Springs for training, challenge, and refreshing for my service as Worship Pastor, God had other plans in mind. One organization represented at the conference was iEmpathize. This group has a very powerful and shocking gallery of images and artifacts that speak very clearly the horrors of sex and slave trafficking world wide. As I made my way through the exhibit, God worked me over pretty hard. I was struck by the lack of respect for human life and the decency that should be afforded every child. I was sickened by the realization that our world has largely turned its back on the most innocent and helpless of victims.

The statistics are, of course, sobering.

• It is believed that over 27 million poeple are enslaved aroound the world today.
• UNICEF estimates that over 1.2 million children enter into the sex trade every year
• Approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood to sexual exploitation over the past 30 years.
• Up to 300,000 prostituted children live on the streets of the U.S.!

One display of the iEmpathize exhibit rocked me to the core. There was a small pair of shoes (pictured) that was found at a Brothel overseas. I was so broken by the small size of the shoes that I cannot get it out of my head. These shoes were smaller than Abigail's shoes (my 5 year old daughter). This experience has changed me - when I went to learn more about worship, God taught me more about the need of innocent victims in our world and He is calling me to be a voice; to do something about it. I don't know what yet, but God is all over me about this. My life must count for orphaned and exploited children in the world - it just must.

I Just Learned About...

World Orphans is an incredible ministry with a great idea. I had always thought of adoption as THE answer for orphans in the world. I still believe that, where it is possible, it is the best answer for a child to be raised by a Christian mother and father and taught the ways of Jesus. The reality is that adoption cannot be the ONLY answer. There are simply too great a number of orphan children world wide to think they will all be adopted into a family. In fact, the vast majority of orphan kids are not even adoptable. The legal process breaks down when there are no parents to terminate parental rights, when there are no governmental agencies with information on the kids, when there are no orphanages to house them. So, every night, millions of kids go to sleep on sidewalks, under bridges, or in garbage piles, with no one to watch out for them.

Enter World Orphans. It is the goal of this ministry to have churches in the culture and community where the problem exists provide solutions for small groups of children. The idea is to have an indigenous church build a small orphan home on the church property. Children live in small, gender specific groups, of 10 - 20 children. The home is staffed by members of the church, often widows from the community, who raise the children in the knowledge of Christ. Check out more about how this works here. Paul Myhill, the President of World Orphans, has written an essay called The Mega Issue in which he seeks to solve a list of interlinking problem by rescuing orphans. The orphan problem is at the root of so many other issues. He writes:

Do you desire to assist the poor and crush poverty? – Rescue orphans.
Do you wish to combat HIV/AIDS and other heinous diseases? – Rescue orphans.
Do you hope to prevent pedophiles from abusing young children? – Rescue orphans.
Do you want to stamp out prostitution? – Rescue orphans.
Do you yearn for the end of drug dealing and addiction? – Rescue orphans.
Do you crave to uphold the worth and significance of women? – Rescue orphans.
Do you long to stop violent extremism and the placement of children into radical schools? – Rescue orphans.
Do you dream to crush illiteracy? – Rescue orphans.
Do you aspire to eliminate child labor? – Rescue orphans.
Do you seek to eradicate the recruitment of child soldiers and atrocities they are forced to commit? – Rescue orphans.

You see, the orphaned children in a particular society are the ones on whom predators prey. They are the week, the easily persuaded, the abused. They are also the ones who, as they grow, will perpetuate the problems listed for the next generation. But if the orphans are reescued, not only is the cycle broken, but those same children are raised in a christian home and sent back into their culture to make a difference. To let people know of the hope and love found in Christ; these will be trained up as an army of missionaries.

To accomplish these goals, World Orphans has a most admirable plan: To partner churches in the west with indigenous churches world wide. To give American churhces the chance to be a part of the solution, to invite them on mission through giving and going, to impact the eternity of the children for whom they provide and all of the people those children will touch in the future. What an incredible idea and a God given vision! Please follow the links to the World Orphans website and find out more about them; they have an incredible ministry.

Mosaic to Kick off at First Baptist Church, Mansfield

First Baptist Church, Mansfield, kicked off the Mosaic Adoption and Foster care ministry at a very special service on Sunday, January 11th. We had a great day of worship and collected over $500 for our Mosaic adoption fund with Lifesong for Orphans. We had representatives from Buckner International, Covenant Kids, and information from Lifesong for Orphans for the enlightenment of our congregation. We heard a strong message from our pastor, Dr. Johnny Dickerson, about the likeness of God's children being adopted, with full sonship, into God's family, just as His people would adopt an orphaned child. It is the heart of Mosaic to see more orphaned children in Christian homes, where they will know love and protection, as well as receive a clear path to choose Christ. Mosaic will seek to touch the lives of orphans, minister to adoptive families, mentor children, lead mission trips to orphanages around the world, and help to fund adoptions for families wanting to change the lives of orphaned children. Please pray for Mosaic as we seek to do our part in impacting orphaned children in our world.

Lifesong for Orphans tackles Barriers to Adoption

Lifesong and the Mosaic Ministry or First Baptist Church of Mansfield are working together to create an Adoption Fund that would remove the financial barriers that prevent so many children from being adopted – through Adoption Matching Grants.

Here are the Top 3 Barriers to churches creating Adoption Funds...and Lifesong's Solutions to overcome the hurdles.

1. Barrier: Church staff “plate is already full” to administer fund

Solution: Lifesong will manage/facilitate the Fund & carry the administrative load on behalf of church, using mutually agreed upon criteria (reviewing applications, accounting, donor receipts, disbursing funds on behalf of adoption, etc.)

2. Barrier: Church feels uncomfortable/awkward approving/denying their own families (viewing financials, etc.)

Solution: Lifesong will provide all the screening, reviewing, approving/denying as a ‘partner’ on behalf of the church, using mutually agreed upon criteria for those decisions

3. Barrier: Adoption Fund is unfamiliar territory

Solution: Lifesong has passion, and expertise in adoption funding processes, maximize stewardship, use existing grant/loan procedures, IRS approved, ECFA approved (establishes financial integrity & avoids recreating the wheel)

And one of the best aspects….Lifesong manages & administers the Adoption Fund - at no cost to churches!

The Worship Industry

This video is a great reminder of what is really important in worship. To be real with each other and with God; to open ourselves up to what He will do in worship is, indeed, more important than what we do or don't do in worship.

IBESR!

In our long and tiring adoption process, we have already moved from "First Legal" into "IBESR". I don't really know what those titles mean, but I do know that it is progress, and that's what we're looking for! Stephanie, our adoption agent with A Love Beyond Borders, called me to let me know that we'd moved on to this step on FATHER'S DAY! Can you beat that? What a blessing that was.
Wendy and I are anxiously awaiting our next trip to Haiti to see our kids in August and it cannot come fast enough! In fact, we are just wishing that it was this trip we were bringing Marie Ange and Jameson home, but it will still be a while for that. So, we wait and pray that God will expedite everything as only He can.

Our Haiti Trip

What an amazing trip Wendy and I had in Haiti! We experienced so many amazing things and saw God move in amazing ways! We had the opportunity to pass out Bibles to the workers at the orphanage and at the guest house to all of the adult workers. The cool thing was that these were bibles given to us by Brian Lundy, who has worked with the Olympic Bible Project at the Olympic games, and were in the Haitian language of Creole. There are very few books written in this language and these precious people were so excited to see any book; let alone a bible, in their native language, that on several occasions they sat down and began to read the bible immediately! It was a huge blessing. Our primary reason was, of course to meet two children in particular whom we'd been asked to pray about adopting. So- meet Marie Ange and Jameson.

Marie Ange is a happy, healthy 7 year old girl in Port Au Prince, Haiti. She is bright, loving and caring and, though she and her brother have been orphaned by their parents for over 18 months now, she is very well adjusted. Marie Ange has the biggest, best dimples in the world when she flashes her smile!

Jameson is Marie Ange’s 5 year old brother. During our visit to the orphanage, he showed himself as a natural born athlete. He loves balls; shooting them, tthrowing them, catching them, spinning them– you name it (he and Caleb will get along fine!). Jameson has a quick and beautiful smile and is amazingly happy and easy going.

The attitude and disposition of these kids is nothing short of miraculous. When you consider what these precious kids have already faced in life, it is very humbling to see their joy in the face of it all. I will never doubt the truth of Psalm 68:5-6: a father of the fatherless and a champion of the widows is God in His holy dwelling. God provides homes to those who are deserted. Our trip was amazing and we definitely fell in love with our new kids! We have about a 10-12 month process left before we will actually bring these kids home, but the Lord is good and will sustain us! Thanks for all of your prayers and please remember the dire circumstances in Haiti and the orphans of this place.

Reaching One Child...

As you may already know, Wendy and I have begun the process of adopting a child from the country of Haiti. Our family is very excited about this endeavor and wanted to let you know a little about our process and plans. First, I want you to know that we feel a clear call from the Lord to do our part in fulfilling God’s command to look after orphan children; as given in James 1: 27:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This a call that Wendy and I have taken very seriously, and know beyond any doubt that He is calling us to open our home and family to an orphan child. In this way, the Lord will use us to change the life and future of one child. More importantly, there will be a pathway presented to this child to come to know Jesus as her Lord, which otherwise may not have happened. That possibility excites me to no end!

I want to introduce you to our future daughter. Florena is a happy, healthy 4 year old child of color in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Her mother made the difficult decision to release her to the orphanage there after realizing she was not equipped to care for Florena. Haiti is a terribly poor nation, with rampant disease and malnutrition among its people. Haiti is, in fact, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 75% of the population living below poverty level (as determined by World Bank). Unemployment is about 60%, and the literacy rate is about 55%. One in five children will die before their 5th birthday from malnutrition or disease. Out of this kind of difficulty, the Lord will use us to save Florena.

First and foremost, Wendy and I ask for your prayers. As the mountain of paperwork grows and the documents gather, pray that the Lord will help us keep our focus on the goal; to get Florena home. Please begin to pray specifically for Florena as significant changes are imminent. We are not diluted about the adjustment that our family will have to make nor about the effort it will take to make Florena feel comfortable as a part of our family. These are big changes for us and for her, so please join us in praying for her.

The process of adopting internationally is, of course, an expensive one. Wendy and I have sold one vehicle to free up some money for these expenses, but we realize that we cannot handle all of these ourselves. We have partnered with an organization called Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries, whose mission it is to help adoptive families raise funds to adopt children out of difficult circumstances. Through this ministry, individuals can make tax deductible donations to specific adoptive families to help lessen the cost for the family. In this way, you can partner with us in changing Florena’s life for the better. You will have the blessing of knowing that your help contributed to providing Florena with a loving family (with great sisters and an awesome brother), a warm home, and the opportunity to meet Jesus in a saving way. I absolutely hate to ask my friends and family for this kind of help, so I would just ask that you pray about involving yourself with us in this ministry. If you feel it would be a blessing to you, please make a contribution; rest assured it will be a blessing to us.

We will keep all of our contributors up to date on our process by email and provide you with a photo of our completed family once we get Florena home. If you are interested in helping us out and have any questions please call us at home or email us. Also, the Kingdom Kids staff is available to you Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time.) Please contact them at (509) 465-3520 or email them at Ministry@KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Their website is www.KingdomKidsAdoption.org. Donations should be sent directly to Kingdom Kids at 1417 N Lincoln St, Spokane, WA, 99201.

If you decide to assist us in our fundraising and wish to do so by check please DO NOT include our names anywhere on the check. Internal Revenue Service regulations do not allow for a tax-deductible donation to have any name other than the tax-exempt organization written on it. Please enclose a note with your check to indicate that you wish your donation to go toward our grant. Thank you so much.

In Christ Alone,

David and Wendy Peyton

817/453-9682

david.peyton@firstmansfield.com

wrpeyton@sbcglobal.net

Encounters with God: The friendship and the fear
Glenn Packiam and Ross Parsley - May 10, 2006

The old man walked slowly toward the tent. The people watched as he bent his well-worn frame to enter. They had seen him approach the tent many times, but each time they stood to watch. His wrinkled hands, still strong, parted the canvas as he stepped inside. And then it happened, as it always did. A large cloud, shaped liked a massive pillar, descended from the sky and positioned itself at the doorway of the tent. All the people stood in awe and began to worship. They knew what was taking place. They called it the "Tent of Meeting", for there a man could go to inquire of the Lord and meet with Him. But with Moses it was different. It was no mere "meeting"; with Moses God spoke face to face, as a man speaks with his friend (Ex. 33:11). And now as they watched the cloud-pillar at the entrance of the tent, they knew that God was with His friend.

Worship folks love that story! You probably get goose bumps just thinking about it. I mean think of it: a man speaking with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend. I love the fact that we can be friends of God. It is one thing to call Jesus our best friend; it is quite a different thing for Him to call us His friend. We like knowing that He is always there, that we can call on Him anytime; but certainly, it is more amazing for Him to call on us to do His work, to share His heart with us. Yet this is the very thing that awaits us-the joy of being His friend. I am so grateful for the wonderful way that different ones in the Body of Christ have helped us recapture the childlike innocence in our approach to God. We have learned how to call Him Father, and to crawl up on His knee, so to speak, and let Him whisper His affections to us. I am thankful for the freedom we have rediscovered in our approach to God. In a personal and meaningful way, prayer and worship have become our conversation with God. Aspiring to be like Moses, we have learned to call Him our friend and to allow Him to make friends of us.

But there is one crucial point to bear in mind: Moses' relationship with God did not begin face to face. Do you remember the story? In Exodus chapter three, the young Moses, strong and well-built, trembled in the middle of the wilderness. As the voice boomed from the fiery bush, the grown man tried to hide his face. Quickly, he unfastened his sandals, placing his bare feet on the hot desert sand. God had required him to remove his shoes by way of introduction. This was the prologue to a life-long journey of walking with God. There the former "prince of Egypt" stood, shaking and afraid. He hid his face. Why? Because he dared not glance upon the living God. Here we don't see friendship, or intimacy. This isn't "running through the field with Daddy God". This is fear, terror, awe. This is "O God, You are so holy....I'm nothing like You...Please don't strike me down!"

You see, I don't think we can really know the friendship until we know the fear. We only truly understand and appreciate God's mercy and grace in the light of His awesome and terrible holiness. That is why when God initially reveals Himself the response is usually terror. In Exodus 19 we find God "introducing" himself to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. Billows of smoke, peels of thunder and lightning strikes are His expression of choice. The people are so frightened that they begin to back away. Moses pleads with them, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Sadly, they didn't understand and rejected the invitation that God had extended. The book of Romans follows a similar progression in presenting the Gospel to us. (Remember the "Romans Road"?) Paul begins by stating that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. He goes on to add that the wages of sin is death. Then he marvelously outlines the plan of God and the miracle of the salvation that has come to us through "one Man's obedience", and how by faith in Christ we share in His life. Salvation is only meaningful when we realize what it is we have been saved from. Actually, almost every Biblical account of an encounter with God chronicles the mortal human falling to his knees and hiding his face to avoid locking eyes with the One Who is called Holy. And almost every account shows God or the heavenly messenger reaching out to the human, calming his fear and calling him to relationship.

There is a kind of fear and awe that turns to love and grateful devotion when friendship that would otherwise be preposterous and presumptuous is suddenly offered. Let me illustrate. You would never dream of a friendship with the President of the United States or the Queen of England. This is because we hold a certain amount of fear and respect toward them. Yet were they to offer their friendship to us, we would gladly accept, and would quickly become their most devoted and loving companion. This is also because of our fear and respect for them. We are devoted because we value the friendship; we value the friendship because we never thought it possible; we never thought it possible because we respected them so much that we thought them to be too great for us. When something we never dreamed possible becomes a reality, it is of infinite value to us. We were never worthy to be God's friends, but He offered it to us: at the expense of His own life, while we were His enemies. Think of it.

For our worship experiences to rival the Biblical encounters, we must make the fear of God the foundation of our friendship with Him. To drain the awe of God's holiness from our worship experience is to ultimately cheapen the intimacy of His love. To understand His transcendence is to appreciate His imminence. Psalm 25:14 says it best: "The Lord confides in those who fear Him." When God looks to share His heart with someone, He goes to the ones who fear Him. Just as it was in the life of Moses, so it is with us: the friendship begins with the fear.

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Now playing: Ross Parsley - My Savior Lives
via FoxyTunes via FoxyTunes

The Greatness of Mark Roach

I had the pleasure of meeting a new-comer in the Christian Worship Music scene back in February at the re:create conference in TN. Mark Roach is a worship leader at Morning Star Church in MO and an anointed song writer. His stuff is theologically sound, heartfelt, well written and meaningful. In a word, this guy is GOOD. I want you to go and check out his website and learn more about him. Mark's debut CD is titled Every Reason Why and there are nothing but winners on this recording. You can pick up the CD through Myrrh Records. This guy's even got a video on YouTube - go check it out here.
So - if you have a conference, camp, or special event for which you need a top-notch worship leader, contact Mark Roach and see what the Lord will do through him. Mark my words, the Lord's hand is on this guy and He will use Mark to accomplish great things for His kingdom.