The One More Project

This past Sunday morning the HDBC family heard a report from our Small Group Vision Team.  At the heart of the report is The One More Project.  This is a project designed to help us reach one more person, one more family, one more neighborhood with the great news that God loves people and wants to bring them into His family through Jesus.  As Rick pointed out in his report, we are currently out of room.   Therefore on August 14, 2011, we will launch a new Sunday morning schedule which will instantly give us 70% more space, enabling us to reach 178 more people than we are currently reaching.  For details on the schedule please go to http://www.hdbc.org/ and click the One More Project button. 

We are in the process of finalizing the campaign that we get us from here to there.  We anticipate a 4-phase campaign.  Phase One: Spiritual Preparation.  Phase Two: Recruitment of Workers.  Phase Three: Information and Publicity.  Phase Four:  Launch.

I am so thrilled with the positive responses that I continue to get from the HDBC family.  It will require some changes, some choices and in some cases sacrifices.  But we are up to it . . . because we do it all for the sake of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:23).  May God richly blesses this decision to make room for One More.

It's a Small World After All

This past week I joined eleven other individuals on a road trip to the Crescent City.  We were not motivated by the historic French Quarters, though we did visit that part of the city.  Our goal was not to get a glimpse of the famous Super Dome, though we traveled by it daily.  We were not enamored by the Garden District nor drawn to the fabulous cajun cooking.  Curiosity about how well the city has rebounded after Katrina would not have been enough to lead us that far south.  So, what motivated us to travel to New Orleans?

Simply . . . the world.  We went to New Orleans to find the world, and we did.  The world is coming to the U.S. in more ways that you can imagine.  Cruise and cargo ships routinely dock in New Orleans for hours at a time.  Most of the workers on those ships are from countries other than the United States.  Global Maritime Ministries seeks to share the love of Jesus with those workers.  That is why we went to New Orleans. 

In the course of two days I met people from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Bulgaria and a host of other nations.  These hard workers typically are away from their families for eight to ten months at a time.  Global Maritime Ministries offers a free ride to its center where they can call home, check with family members through the internet, enjoy some snacks, play pool and ping pong, or just hang our.  Bibles are available in most of their languages. 

We went to New Orleans to find the world.  We found genuine, hard-working individuals who just happened to be from other countries.  We found individuals for whom Christ died.  We found individuals who are looking for the same things that Americans are looking for.  We saw pictures of their children, listened to their stories, laughed at their jokes, and prayed for their needs.

It is indeed a small world.

Rumors, Confusion, Conflict

I've been reading through Joshua the last few weeks.  There are some great principles that are absolutely relevant to us today.  This morning I read chapter 22.  It recounts the relocation of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh to the opposite side of the Jordan River from the other tribes of Israel.  Just to be clear, this was not some banishment or punishment.  This was the land they had requested and which was granted to them by Moses.  However, before possessing the land and settling down, they were required to assist their fellow tribes in the conquest of the land.  In chapter 22 that process is virtually completed.  Therefore these two and a half tribes were sent to their new homes with the blessing of Joshua.  So far so good.

Verse 10 reveals that when they arrived at the Jordan river, they decided to build a massive altar.  That's when the problems began.  Word drifted back to the other tribes, and the Bible tells us that they were immediately motivated to go to war against their brothers.  However, rather than rushing into battle they decided on a more rational approach.  They sent a delegation to ask a few questions and get a few facts.  Upon doing so they discovered that the rumor-mill had totally misrepresented the facts.  The rumor was that the altar was built as a substitute for the true altar of God and as an act of rebellion against the nation and against God.

After a few questions and a non-emotional, level-headed discussion, the truth was revealed.  It was not intended as a sign of division and separation, but actually as a sign of unity.  Their actions and more importantly the reason for their actions had been totally misunderstood.  Wow . . . the actual truth was the opposite of what had been rumored.  If you want the entire story, read Joshua 22:10-34.

Now, what is the takeaway?  Simply this . . . rumors lead to confusion which leads to misunderstanding which leads to conflict.  Never a good thing!  Level-headed, non-emotional dialogue leads to the truth, which leads to understanding which defuses conflict even before it can start.  That may be the most important point of the story.  They were motivated to fight.  They were planning to fight.  They felt justified to fight.  But then the light of truth was revealed and no blood was shed, no limbs were maimed, no grief was felt.  All because they were willing to dialogue, listen, trust and understand.

Sounds like a good plan.