Author: Erin Kirk

The Shutdown – What’s a Christian to Do?

/ Erin Kirk / 3 Comments

We the PeopleThe other day, my South African colleague Pieter asked what I thought about the US Government shutdown.

“I’m so mad, I can’t even talk about it,” I said, prior to talking about it and ruining my own morning.

Like many, I’m frustrated by my helplessness. So my standard response is to roll my eyes, turn off the news and go vacuum algae from my pool. And maybe that’s a dodge of my responsibility to the Republic, but what else can I do?

  • Excoriate President Obama on Facebook?
  • Pray that God will smite House Republicans?
  • Holler “they’re all crooks in Washington” and pour another drink?

Really? Does any of that help? Or does it exhibit the same spirit of division, selfishness and spite that’s got Washington balled up? If our default response is boorish and ugly and our legislators are plucked from our pool, why are we surprised when they are boorish and ugly? If the average American has $15,000 in credit card debt why are we surprised Congress can’t balance the budget? They are us, just with more money and better hair.

Later that morning, Stefan, one of our fiercest Mercy Ship warriors, was teaching on prayer. He had us look up Ezekiel 22:28-30

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I (The Lord) sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none.

Wait, is Ezekiel suggesting I stand before God on behalf of the ringmasters in Washington? Does he mean I should pray for people I won’t even vote for? Worse, do I have to obey Jesus, and love and pray for my “enemies” even when we’re talking about the debt ceiling and Obamacare? (insert scream here)

All as a protective measure over my nation? Hmmm.

English: Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, Gaute...Sometimes I wonder if the shutdown will chasten us as a people, convince us that we’re not as clever as we think. Better yet, will it spark a revolution whereby Americans finally snap out of it and reject this corporate-sponsored demagoguery. Whoever can teach this nation to cooperate again?

Yesterday, Pieter reminded us that former South African President Nelson Mandela, after 27 years in prison, not only refused to exact revenge on his enemies, but halted negotiations until all 11 South African tribes were seated at the table. It was reconciliation, not revenge, that made Mandela a hero. Oh but how quaint, who thinks like that anymore?

Um, Jesus does.

Jesus is in the reconciliation business (IICor 5:18-19, Romans 5:10, Colo 1:20-21) and since many of our legislators call themselves Christians, where are the attempts at reconciliation? Or are US problems just more complicated than Mandela’s were in South Africa?

I have paid attention and listened but they have not spoken rightly: no man relents of his evil saying, What have I done? Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Jeremiah 8:6

So far this plunge has led the nation into a tar pit of acrimony and revenge. Maybe we ought to try something different, like dropping to our knees to acknowledge the one called Alpha and Omega, and shutting our smart mouths except to say,

“Lord. We don’t know what we’re doing. Please help. Thank You.”

How to Love People Better

/ Erin Kirk / 2 Comments

I have a childhood friend who has adopted 9 of her 11 children, most of whom were damaged in utero by alcohol. Many of them require a breathtaking level of care and an environmental stability that’s hard to imagine in a home with 13 people sharing bathrooms.

What happens in her Minneapolis home is a miracle, a daily reminder of the faithfulness of the God she serves. I devour her blog Urban Servant trying to figure how someone with this much responsibility not only holds it together but has time write it all down. Recently, I took a good look at the tagline on her home page:

Filled, to be poured out again…

Screen shot 2013-10-06 at 7.21.17 PM

Yep they all do Tae Kwon Do too.

See, it’s not about her and she’ll tell you that. Nobody has this kind of stamina and personal courage. Rather, Dot understands she is a cup, designed to be filled with the love of God, then poured out on kids who, without she and her husband, would be crashing through the system. She doesn’t always know what to do but God does, and by trusting him over the years, her cup has grown in strength, character and volume.

This, my friends, is the purpose of Love Dinner. Dot’s life is an encouragement, a high-level example of what Jesus meant when he said:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

If you’re struggling with the love others part of the command, like that annoying woman at church or the tailgating jerk in traffic, you might be running on empty. If you don’t know how to fill up, pick up a bible and look up a few of these scriptures on how much God loves you, because when you finally get that, deep in your bones, it’s hard not to weep and tremble at his feet.

Fill up. Pour out. Repeat.

Most of the world struggles to live like this because they don’t know God is Love (I John 4:8). Imagine if they did. What would it look like? I think this video is a fun example, plus it has a ton of practical ideas for doing love well.

Love Dinner Assignment – Just for fun, try a few of these things in the video, or next time you’re in a drive thru, pay for the person behind you. Then tell us what happens.

Dig Up Your Talents

/ Erin Kirk / 2 Comments

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. – George Bernard Shaw

Around here, we are fairly obsessed with figuring out how to make our lives matter, how to surrender our plans in favor of God’s and living those plans in practical ways.

Mercy Ships, for obvious reasons, is intent on that process too. Today, one of our leaders, Dr. Andrew Clark, showed us this clip of Pastor/Author/Jesus Freak Francis Chan, explaining, in less than four minutes, why we feel destined for purpose, but wind up feverish, selfish, little clods.

In my opinion, Francis Chan has a legal right to be angry at God, but instead he devoted his life to falling deeper in love with him and helping people like you and me do the same. His terrific bestselling book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God saw an estimated $2 million in royalties, and Chan gave most of it away.

This kind of life is possible, but it’s risky and requires the omniscience we don’t have. We can live ok lives without God, (I think) but if we can live like holy daredevils with him, why wouldn’t we?

Jesus talked a lot about using our gifts, but he’s gets pretty hard-core in the parable of the talents. Remember, the two servants who doubled the master’s money (the talents) and the third hid his in the ground because he was too afraid to use it. Here’s what Jesus said about that:

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless GodThe master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? … And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness. Matthew 25:26,30 The Message.

Yah, Jesus said that. So perhaps we should get busy.

How? Remember the three questions we keep asking:

  • Who are we?
  • What do we want?
  • What’s the first step?

If you’re stuck on the first part because you don’t know who you are, don’t worry. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you don’t have to figure it out because he did it for you. It’s amazing how a singular focus on who Jesus says you are, answers the other two questions.

So, what talent have you buried? What’s the smallest first step you can take to dig it up?