Learn about Darfur

Next week we will continue our journey together learning about what role we as Christians in Cary have in global events by taking a look at the current crisis in Darfur.

Darfur is region (about the size of Texas) in Western Sudan and is currently embroiled in a vicious conflict that has left at least 200,000 people dead and millions displaced. It is a complicated conflict with political, ethnic and environmental motives that has now spilled over into neighboring Chad. The UN calls it the "world's worst humanitarian crisis" and the US government calls it "genocide."

In preparation for our discussion next week, take the time to learn about the region and conflict. Some good informational sites on Darfur are:

BBC's Quick Guide to Darfur
Reuters Alert Net
Amnesty International

Taking good care of our environment – Save The Watts!

Many of us in the Connections Church area get our electricity from Progress Energy. Progress Energy has recently launched a major energy efficiency campaign to help us to do our part to conserve our electrical resources. The Save The Watts campaign includes a fun, interactive web site with useful tips on how to save energy (and money) and FREE home energy checks done by a professional. Also, from October through mid-December Progress Energy Carolinas is partnering with The Home Depot to provide discounted ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) at selected The Home Depot stores.

God's Global Ecology

Have you noticed that the volume on the conversation about ecology has gotten turned way up lately? Everywhere we turn, people are talking about the environment. Well -- almost everywhere. Many church communities are strangely silent on this issue. Frankly, that won’t work for us at Connections. This Sunday we wrestled with a singular question of motivation: Why should we, as followers of Jesus or people exploring faith in Jesus, care about the environment?

1. Because we're on the hook for it.
Taking care of creation was the first job God gave humans. (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:7-8,15). Although all creation bears God’s fingerprints, people were uniquely made in God’s image. As a result, humans were given authority over (rule) and responsibility for (farm, take care of) all that God has made.

2. Because we're joined at the hip with the earth.
The relationship between people and the planet runs deeper than we assume. (Genesis 3:17-19; Hosea 4:2b-3) We come from the earth and will return to it. Our choices impact the rest of creation and the natural world sometimes returns the favor (famine, natural disaster, etc.). Followers of Jesus also claim to worship the same God that the rest of creation praises at all times. (Psalm 96:11-13) If we say that honoring God is a priority in our lives, shouldn’t we preserve that which never fails to give Him glory?

3. Because Jesus would care about the environment.
Although you can’t find one verse to “prove” this, stewarding what God has made seems to line up with Jesus’ mission and values. (Colossians 1:15-20) Jesus came with the mission to redeem and restore everything God made -- not just people, but the rest of the planet too. Although a day is coming when the restoration will be completed (people get new bodies, while God makes a new heaven and a new earth), Jesus tells those who would adopt His way of living to begin the redemptive process now.

Jesus’ highest values might be summed up with the word love. He taught that the greatest things in life were to love God and to love people. Could taking care of what God has made be a way to live out love? God certainly loves His creation (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 20:19; Matthew 6:25-30). Can’t we love God by honoring what He loves?

4. But what about loving people? Shouldn’t we worry more about humans who are starving than preserving trees and polar bears?
Maybe it isn’t an either/or, but a both/and equation. Taking care of the planet is an excellent way of loving people. Here are a few groups we love each time we practice God’s global ecology:

• Future Generations. They will inherit whatever we leave behind.
• Spiritual Seekers. God uses nature to reveal Himself. (Romans 1:19-20)
• The Least. The survival of the poor is often closely linked to the environment. They are also the least able to buy their way out of environmental problems.

5. How much will God expect from us in this area?
With authority and responsibility comes accountability. (Luke 12:48) Most of us don’t own tons of land or animals, but we do use the planet’s resources. American’s comprise only 5% of the global population, yet we:

• Use 25% of the planet’s energy.
• Eat 15% of its meat. (Which is resource intensive to produce.)
• Consume 28% of its paper.
• Account for 23% of energy related carbon emissions.
• Use 25% of its oil.

We have a lot; God expects a lot from us.

6. Where can we begin if we want to practice God’s global ecology?

• Focus on the spiritual aspect. Make this an act of worship directed to God, not guilt-driven act of self-improvement.
• Get out in creation. Most of us spend much of our time in man-made environments. Reconnecting with God’s beauty in nature can up our motivation level.
• Be mindful of your impact. Start noticing the resources you consume on a daily basis. You’ll feel more invested in ecology.
• Take a step at a time. Like anything else, progress in this part of our spiritual journey will probably come incrementally. Start at home with things you can control.
• Learn more in this area.

Books:
Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth, MD
Saving God’s Green Earth by Tri Robinson
It’s Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask

Websites:
http://www.savinggodsgreenearth.com/resources.html
http://www.energystar.gov/
http://www.treehugger.com/
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/

How Saving the World Begins

"You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

The Biblical Foundation of Human Rights

1. Defining human rights
Human rights describe the kind of life a human being should be able to expect by virtue of being human (not because they are members of a nation or other group).

2. Where do human rights come from?
The origin of human rights is creation. Human beings did not "win" them, no government has "given" them. We received them from the hand of our Maker "in the beginning." That creates a problem in this day of moral relativism, because it's hard (for say, a government agency today) to show the need for the protection of human rights if you can't point to their origin.

Genesis 1:27-28 (New Living Translation)
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

a. our relationship to God
We are made in the likeness of God.We are made to be God-"like". Because we are made by God, for God, we have certain rights connected with freedom of worship, thought, and speech. The subtlety is that ONLY that which is good in us is like God. The sinful stuff we put there ourselves out of our own greed, lust, and so on. That's where the danger is.

b. our relationship to each other
God is a social being, and made us the same. According to scripture, the first time God appeared in human form (Genesis 18), there were three of him! Rublev's famous icon is a great image of God as three people in relationship with each other and with us. In the second telling of the creation of humans in Genesis, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18). So human rights connected with the sanctity of human sexuality, the institution of family, and the right to receive respect no matter our age, gender, or nationality all come from this foundation in Genesis.

When one group of people says "We are made in the image of God, but this other group is not," the world experiences profound evil.

• 6 million Jews are killed (WWII)
• In the Balkans, two top Bosnian Serb leaders personally oversaw the executions of 8,000 Muslims in Serbian territory.
• In April of 2004, Sheikh Nur Barud gave an interview to Reuters in which he was quoted saying "All Somali Christians must be killed according to Islamic law. Such people do not have a place in Somalia and we will never recognize their existence and we will slaughter them."
• In 1994, Hutu leaders embarked on a systematic killing of 500,000 Tutsis in Rwanda.
• Today more than 2.5 million people have been displaced in the genocide that is taking place in Darfur.

Where God is not honored in our relationship with each other, deep sin takes root and flourishes and human rights are trampled.

c. our relationship to the earth and its creatures
God has given us clear directions to govern the earth and its creatures. "Fill the earth and govern it; reign over its creatures…" So when we as Christians fail to address the reduction in biodiversity, the food crisis, nuclear abuse, the amount of garbage we produce, or climate change, we are talking about failing to give the world it's basic human rights. So all those human rights we call the right to to adequate food, clothing, and shelter; the right to the preservation of good human health and the health of the Earth; EVEN the right to dignified work and sufficient rest; these come from the way God set things up in Genesis. These are at the base of the right to be human.

3. The problem: inequality of privilege
Because God made us, we have basic human rights. And it would be very easy for all of us in Cary to say to our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone, "You have the right to clean drinking water." What's MISSING is equality of privilege. Not everyone has the same access to things that we in North America have.

God's people were called for a very specific purpose. That purpose involves bringing bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, releasing the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18-19) The Bible even urges us to forego our own rights in order to do this.

Jesus was a prime example. He was a refugee baby in Egypt, a prophet without honor in his own hometown, rejected by the religious establishment of his own people. He became a prisoner of conscience, refusing to compromise in order to gain his release, he was falsely accused, unjustly condemned, tortured, and crucified. And he never demanded his rights, instead making the sacrifice of his life so that he might secure ours.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," wrote Paul. (Phil 2:5)

We are our brother's keeper. Human rights are our responsibility. We must set the example for this community, and for the world.

5. So how can we take action for God?
Read the post below for a list of eight ways to take action for God...

Eight Ways to Take Action for God

1. Educate yourself.
Don't wait for someone else to tell you where to look or what to look for, find out more about one of the global issues we are talking about during this 6 week series at Connections by reading up, going online, or talking to someone in the know.

2. Do a fast.
There are lots of ways to focus your attention on God and God's world through fasting. If providing clean water to the world is your passion, perhaps you might do a 40-day fast where you give up all tea, coffee, sodas, and other drinks in favor of drinking only water with your meals.

3. Donate money and time.
Commit to working on a Habitat House, or offer to head up the drive to collect gifts for Samaritan's Purse this year. Or just click and send a donation to an organization that works for peace in Darfur, or offer to help buy groceries for the pantry ministry at Connections.

4. Tell others.
Satan loves to get us isolated, because he knows we are quickly discouraged from following Jesus if we don't have the help of others. So tell a friend what you're doing for the Kingdom. Better yet, invite them to join you!

5. Pray.
There are so many ways to pray. Buy a prayer journal and begin to write your prayers. Start a prayer blog. Pray in the shower! Or join the prayer team at Connections each Wednesday.

6. Follow and join the work already being done.
There are almost always other people already working toward the goal you are passionate about. Find them online, in the community, in your own church, and join your efforts to theirs!

7. Consider: Is this my special Call from God? My passion? Am I specially gifted to take on this cause?
God has gifted you specially, and is honored when you bend your gifts and passions toward the building up of the Kingdom. Do you run, and hope to raise money for breast cancer? Raise a team and let Connections sponsor you in the Race for the Cure. Are you able to persuade? Start or join a phone campaign to raise awareness for the cause God is appointing you to.

8. Celebrate.
God loves a good party, and so do God's people. Share the success stories and let your church family rejoice with you and help you along the way. You might even inspire others to join you in God's work.

Increasing our Global Influence

by Matt Brown

The good and bad news about global Christianity
The good news is that global Christianity begins at home. The bad news is that global Christianity begins at home. Why bad? Maybe, it’s bad news because we are lazy and want to make a substantial and sweeping change, and then go home for dinner. No, you have to be like yeast. You have to work with God to know yourself, work with God to change yourself, and then work with God to serve others around you.

Where the power for global change originates
A philosophy is powered by the strength of its argument and by the acceptance of a group of shared assumptions. The Kingdom of God is powered by the Spirit of Truth, and by the fact of a common origin rooted in the image of God. Rather than compete with the Current World View (CWV), the Kingdom of God is meant to supplant the CWV, not only through the use of the established conduits of power, but also through the power that each individual believer holds within.

The use and abuse of evangelism
Many use evangelism to escape harder problems at home. Paul and the gang in Acts 16 went were The Spirit moved them to go, not where they wanted to go. We need to be honest with ourselves about our ministry goals: are they goals that we are framing based on some selfish desire or are they goals that are directed by God. That said, there are a lot of Jesus followers who think that if they are having fun, then they are doing something wrong. To these I say: “the kingdom of God is a party.” To the revelers I say: “The kingdom of God is a party that we have to be willing to die for.”

Masks vs. Grace
The CWV is an anti-gospel of perfection. It says that to have value you must be perfect. The thing that makes me want to burst with happiness is that God (the creator of the universe), does not expect that from us, and loves us anyway. The message of the Son incarnate is singular in its scope and meaning: we are fallen, we are loved, we are worth risking existence for. The CWV becomes anti-Christ when it changes the message of Jesus’ unconditional love to a cheap message of the tollbooth: come to worship, but first clean up your act. We have churches full of people who are not saved – not saved from their sins. They may be forgiven by God, but not by each other and certainly not by themselves. Many in the church are great at marathons – marathon lives at putting up false fronts, marathon lives of running from guilt, marathon lives of not ever coming close to (but endlessly circling) the Gospel of grace. To have global impact you have to move past the point of false fronts to the face of God and the image of God in yourself.