Why Adopt From Ethiopia?

• One in six children die before their fifth birthday
• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)
• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.
• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

My preaching needs your help.

My preaching does need help. In more ways than one.

One way my preaching gets help is by sitting down each Friday AM with these clowns and discussing a few things related to the previous weekend's message.

We ask whether the message was true to the text, relevant, interesting and applicable. This group is good at what they do and they're helping my preaching improve by leaps and bounds. I don't always like and agree with what they tell me, but that is kind of the point. I don't need 'fans,' I need coaches, and I've got a great set here. We also discuss the message that is going to be preached the upcoming weekend and take a look at the outline for the message in 10 days. It helps bring four different styles and communicators onto the same page and headed in the same direction.

I also get encouragement cards each weekend from 10-20 people each weekend I preach that help me understand what resonated and how God used what I shared to teach, encourage, or build up. If I don't listen to those who listened I miss something significant. I love feedback. If teachers aren't teachable then what do they have to say? As a teacher it's my job to push my pride aside and listen objectively to the response that my message brings. Sometimes my grammar is fixed, sometimes my references are corrected, sometimes my theology is challenged, sometimes my intention is questioned, but I'm always affirmed. I love this place and appreciate the affirmation of the preacher I am and the preacher I'm becoming. If you ever want to listen to one or pass one on they can be found in one place here.

*I'd hope this would go without saying but let me be clear. I don't preach for the response and approval of people. I speak as accurately, clearly and convincingly as I can what I believe God wants me to say and how he wants me to say it. But, I can often tell how well I listened to the Spirit by listening to the listeners. Preaching is increasingly about listening for me.

Another way my preaching needs help is from you! I'm on the weekend of Dec 26/27 and I'm attempting something unique. To pull it off I need YOUR help. Would you be willing to listen to a message from this last year and pass on to me the 2-3 points that especially spoke to you? This is going to be a collaborative effort looking back on the significant year of 2009 for Salem Alliance. It should take around 30 minutes and there are 20 more spots available! If you're interested, follow the steps below:

Step 1 Go to this page and find an available date. It will be updated as they are taken. Once you find one...come back to this email and go to step two

Step 2 Fill in your name and date you’re taking here.

Step 3 Download/listen to your message at the link here or from iTunes. Listen for at least 2, no more than 3 solid/passionate/anointed/summarizing/powerful (5-25 seconds/1-4 sentence) sound bites from the message you listened to.

Step 4 Click this link and let me know what your sound bites were and when in the message they occurred! Then click submit, that’s all!

IN REVIEW Pick a message Listen to a message Find 2-3 nuggets from your message and input into form.

THANKS!

March 4?

My last blog post was March 4? I know, I know, back so soon you ask? Well, here I am. back on the wagon determined to invest more energy and writing into this wonderful little spot on the internet. Anyone still here? I'll try to take this whole thing less seriously which will lead me to post more.