Bon Voyage from Valois

The fortnightly breakfast at Valois on the Southside has been pretty standard for Greg, Dave and I. We all lived on the same floor and went to Moody together. Since we graduated, this has been our way to stay in each other’s lives despite our different circles of friends. Dave moved into the hood where he has become the most eligible bachelor for a plethora of single moms. (and they’re not shy to let him know that.) In a crowd of 4000 people Greg fell in love with the girl on stage and married her 67 days later. (Creating one of Moody’s greatest love stories of hope to those feeling they are failing in their attempt to acquire their MRS degree.) Life sure has changed for all of us but today my heart is both sad and happy. Tomorrow Greg and Nicol roll out of Chicago in their U-haul to live in Georgia. In a couple months time they will make me a proud uncle by having a little baby. (named Allan…not really, but let’s face it, it’s a great name.)

The drawing board is clear and God has an unrevealed plan for Greg’s next steps. (I personally think they should start up a commune but that’s just my input.) A lot of new thrilling challenges await them… but I can only identify with them in the fact that uncertainty will
continually attempt to hijack their ship. Steps of obedience to God seldom come with guarantees of “feeling safe” or being “convinced this is the way to go”. Sometimes it feels like God has left us high and dry. Doubt and fear sweep in like vultures after we have taken those initial steps of faith… and God can seem suddenly silent. But like Andy Stanly said, “don’t confuse the silence of God for the absence of God.” His promise to never leave us remains true no matter what the circumstances look like or how we feel.

Just after I drove past Greg and Nicol's house, this morning, with these thoughts on my mind, I found myself sitting in a waiting room reading this piece from my book, “Spiritual leadership in not the ability to define everything the future holds. It is the willingness to move forward when all you know is God. The apostolic leader finds his direction from the compass of the purpose of God, is fueled by the passions of God, and, while he’s moving to do what he knows, God clarifies and directs… More times than we care to admit, we simply don’t know what the next step is. But if our hearts are bound to the heart of God, we are never lost.” –E.McManus

Cheers to y’all.

Birthday Valentine

It’s my birthday today. Yes, yes, I am a love child. A pre-valentines gift if you will. 29, mhmm… Scary? Not really, I feel pretty comfortable in these adulthood shackles. So don’t worry I’m not going to post any deep dramatic life reflection posts about life before the big three zero. Getting older doesn’t really mean much to me anymore for some reason. Quiet frankly some days I swear I still feel 6 (thanks to my daily devotional- Calvin and Hobbes), other days I feel 17 and some days even 40. I’m unfamiliar with the feeling of 29, so here’s to the unknown year of 29, cheers!

I do want to share a little of our “Off the Hook Fabio Valentines Party”. It was so fun to have worlds collide and have so many of my favorite people in the world under our roof. We celebrated valentines in community. ( side note- If there is one awesome lesson I’ve learned being single, it’s that much of what our hearts long for in a dating relationship can be found in God’s community and quiet honestly can only be found in community.) I love my community, my family. Happy Valentines!

p.s I'd like to add that Annie’s family is really, really awesome, especially Annie’s Mama. *ha ha ha ha*

Welcome to the Revolution

"Guess who's back, back again, guess who's back, tell a friend.....guess who's back (x5) " - S.Shady
(Don't you just love a good quote)
Well, as many of you know, I quit my job on the last day of 2005! This was a big change that may have seemed sudden to some, but was actually a long time coming— it just took a little extra time and faith to get out of the boat. A new vision for Africa has been stirring in my heart, and it was clear that the ministry I was working with was stretched to its limits in South East Asia. Africa was not becoming enough of a priority. In meetings I felt like I had became the annoying “Africa guy,” pushing my own agenda. I was also getting stuck in a graphics and web design rut, keeping me from using the other gifts that God had stirred up in me during my time at Moody Grad School.

So what have I been doing this last month? Ahhh…like a mad revolutionary artist, I have been plotting, creating, and scheming in secret. This new vision for ministry in Africa has begun to take shape. Can you see me now, sipping on mug after mug of hot Red Bush tea, a space heater at my feet as I labor into the early hours of the morning behind a computer screen feeling a lot like Jerry McGuire? Let me not fool you, this idealistic dreaming has not been easy; it’s been toilsome and exhausting, but it has also been marked by the guidance and phenomenal peace of God. I have been envisioning, articulating, designing, and praying. This really sums up my last month. Hence the no blogging.

If you are anything like me, there are times in your life where you stop and pause, assessing your gifts, talents, and your journey so far. You turn to God and ask Him to make some sense of it all. Where is it all going? Am I really living out your purpose? Of late, I have been bombarding Him with questions like these.

The Journey to Come
I believe the passion and dream that He has put in my heart for this next chapter of my life is simply to be a “bridge,” a bridge to build more authentic relationships between the Church in Africa and the Church in the US, a bridge that facilitates tangible channels of action for individuals wanting to do something for the people of Africa. This would happen through:
1. Missions
2. Internships and
3. Orphan & Widow care.
This vision is large and overwhelming, but it seems to have the fingerprints of God all over it. This ministry will function under the leadership of my mentor’s ministry, African Leadership Development, (which has been around for more than 10yrs). We are calling this new ministry Africa Revolution.

It would be foolish of me to attempt to explain all of Africa Revolution in this blog, so there is a website that I’ve put together to help cradle this vision in a way that, I hope, makes it understandable to you. It is fluid and changing, but taking shape. Many of you have already helped with it and I hope that more of you will join in along the way.

Okay, too many words already. Please, check out the website and give me some feedback…and leave a comment, as I would love to hear from you.

Click here to visit AfricaRevolution.Org "or click on the silver button top right.
(and I promise it's not a Crush Calculator.)