One of the things that I learned early on being a manager was that artists like free stuff. Of course, this is not unique to artists, it’s somewhat of a human condition lived out at the sample tables at Costco every day. (I get borderline giddy when they break out the chicken wing samples.)
Almost without exception one of the earliest questions I get from a new client has to do with endorsements. It’s a great lesson to teach a young artist that there really isn’t any such thing as a free lunch or more specifically free guitar. A corporation isn’t in the business of giving out free stuff to artists because they think it’s cool. There is very much a business transaction going on. The transaction is simple, they pay you with free stuff and in exchange they get to tell people that you’re playing, wearing, driving, or slathering their stuff on.
They’re playing to lowest common 8th grade denominator that if the cool kids are doing it everyone will want to. And of course, it works. When Suzuki sponsored the Kutless tour it was their expectation that they would sell motorcycles and cars as a result of their investment. The good news is they did.
If you’re a baby band nobody has heard of you are not a potential endorser, you are a potential customer. Thus little to no free stuff for you. As the name of the artist grows, so does the desire of a company to align them selves with the name (In modern circles we like to call it “the brand”) of the artist or band.
As is always the case when lawyers and handlers are involved the deals can get way more complex and sophisticated but at its base that’s what an endorsement is all about. Your name side by side with a product or service acts as an endorsement or verification of the legitimacy of the product or service.
As an artist it’s important to not put your name next to things you don’t support, stand for, or even for stuff that has bad quality to it. The reason is simple, your name, no matter how popular, does not bring legitimacy or quality to a bad product or service. It might boost initial sales or whatever, but ultimately if the product or service is inferior or offensive it brings the name of the artist down, not the quality of the product up. It can actually bring damage to the name or “brand” of an artist.
When God was writing up the 10 commandments with His own hand He puts this commandment in the top 3.
Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;
It’s pretty easy to have total buy in with the no murdering or stealing ones, but why would this one be so important? I do agree that someone ought not to evoke God and damn if you bang your shin but If it were just referring to cussing, could that have made the top ten?
The KJ version doesn’t say to not speak His name in vain but rather not to “take” it. The NIV uses the words “do not misuse”. It’s oversimplifying to suggest that it’s just referring to speaking His name wrongly. That is part of it, just not all of it.
In Matthew 7 Jesus said that there will be some who come to Him on that day (referring to judgment day) and say Lord, we cast out demons in your name, prophecy in your name, do miracles in Your name? Jesus said something that is at best provocative and at worst scary; He said He will say on that day “I never even knew you”.
It’s almost as if Jesus is painting the picture of what we would call a “name dropper.” You know the type, dropping the names of famous or powerful people as if they’re friends even when they likely only met them in passing. It’s evoking a name to make them feel or appear more than they are.
When I’m dropping the name of Jesus as if I know Him and meanwhile keep up my own agenda, lifestyle, systems that’s very much taking His name in vain. It’s utilizing His name for my own agenda. Offering up my opinions, systems, programs, judgments, in the name of God doesn’t make my agenda look any better, rather it brings defamation to Gods name. After reading what Jesus said it ought to make me afraid.
It’s easy to point the finger at a televangelist wringing people out of their money to support a lavish lifestyle or shooting and killing an abortion doctor. I also think this could apply in our institutional churches where we’re building programs, systems, regulations, judgments in the name of God that look nothing like God.
Jesus gave this as a warning for us to be able to recognize them as false prophets. (matt 7) The good news is He said it would be super easy to spot them. He said we would know them by their fruit. What does the Bible call fruit? In Galatians Paul says that the fruit of the spirit is Love. Not how many people are being “reached” or how many “souls” are saved, that’s not the fruit. (those are more branches being attached to the vine)
I guess maybe it’s better to think of it the other way around. Instead of me trying to sign up God as my endorser, I should be signing up as an endorser for God. Philippians 2 says that His name is above all other names. There isn’t anyone with a bigger name for him to score as an endorser, so he picks you and me.
And what is God selling? Not to be cheeky but He’s not selling anything, He’s giving it away. He’s offering life, salvation, service to the poor and vulnerable. To put it simply, Love. When I’m spending my time offering Gods stuff. When I’m spending my time preaching the gospel, serving the poor and vulnerable, loving my family well, I’m an endorser for God.
In doing this it’s not just good branding, it’s God branding.
Tomorrow night we're back at Conduit and will be unpacking this commandment. I have more to unpack on this topic and I'm sure you will too. Come prepared for a fun conversation.
Blessings,
Darren
www.conduitmission.org
remember that $15 will feed a child in Haiti for a month. pray about it and see if God might lead you to partner with us.
www.darrentyler.podomatic.com the teachings from Conduit all posted here.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Conduit Apirl 19- God's Image
When I started to think through this week, my initial instinct was to continue on a narration of Haiti and how vodou is actually a combination of gods that are lower than the big God of the universe. I figured I would have plenty of fodder to talk about and tie in with a statement in regards to a command against idols. Vodou takes the Catholic religion and then mixes in ingredients from different African religions. Think of it sort of like a gumbo religion. It’s Catholicism with a ingredients that are varying degrees of creepy. With all the images and idols Vodou felt like an easy target for a study on having no idols.
The problem was that I was confusing commandment #1: No other gods with commandment #2 “No graven images”. Haitian Vodou definitely comes up with some doozies as it relates to worshiping other gods. When it comes to creating a graven image of God, Americans are in a class all by our selves.
The confusion is easy because the word is also translated idols and we get those confused with gods. The fact is that they are two completely separate commandments that are at once mutually exclusive and yet (like all 10 of them) completely intertwined. Much like a chain with 10 links.
The first commandment is a warning against worshipping other gods. We talked about it last week at Conduit but simply put it’s a command against replacing the true God with false gods. The second commandment is a warning against worshipping the true God falsely.
Throughout history man has wondered what God is like. What does He look like, act like, talk like. The desire is to capture an essence of Him, and looking to, among other things, nature to create an image of what He is like. Thus the reason the American Indian would put an eagle on top of their totem poles, or the Polynesians would worship turtles, or Egyptians would worship cows. (Ex 20:4…or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth)
They would say that the eagle is majestic and can see from above and is all knowing so that must be worthy of our worship. It’s just like God. It’s true that God is majestic, and all knowing and can see things I can’t, but the eagle swoops down out of the sky and picks of the weak and the defenseless. That is NOT God. It’s capturing something that is true of God, and applying it as God. It reduces Him, it oversimplifies Him, it brings confusion.
I don’t know anybody who knows anybody who has actually carved out a literal idol and used it for worship. My kids have used Play Doh for years and never once have I walked in and found them worshiping what they created for the Play Doh barnyard.
Just because the image isn’t literal doesn’t mean we haven’t created an image though. See if you smell what I’m stepping in.
Public figures are very conscious of their image. The image is sort of the short bio, the description, it’s the essence of who they are. When you think of Brad Pitt for instance you think of someone who is impossibly good looking, a great actor and a social activist. That is his image. It’s sort of reducing him to a couple of sentences. It’s true of Brad Pitt but it is not him.
What about God? What is His image? What is His essence? Paul told the church at Colossi that Jesus Christ was the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) The writer of Hebrews goes a step further saying that the Son is the “exact representation of His being”. (Heb. 1:3) Jesus painted a picture of God not with His hands, but with His life.
Paul said in Romans that we are being conformed to His image (Rom 8:29) and that we should no longer conform to the patterns of this world. (Rom 12:1-4) Jesus Christ is the image of the unseen God, and we are to be conformed to that image, to the image of Christ. When I’m wondering how I should live, how I should respond to a situation, what my stance on a particular issue should be, I base it on Jesus Christ Himself. What is God’s “image”? Jesus.
What was Jesus known for? He had this amazing ability to make powerful religious people feel very uncomfortable and yet the marginalized, sinners, poor, oppressed felt very comfortable in His presence. When He saw people in need, He met their needs. He healed sick people. He fed hungry people. He lived sacrificially. He loved.
In their book Unchristian Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman published research and found that the perception of Christians is that we are antihomosexual (95%) judgmental (87%) and hypocritical (85%) These perceptions are followed by majorities of boring, out of touch with reality.
When you stop and think of who Jesus was, how He lived while living here in a suit made of dude, how would you describe Him? Judgmental? Hypocritical? Boring? No way. How is it possible that this is our image? Perhaps it’s the image we’ve ascribed to God?
Paul said to not conform to this world, but the idea is of conforming to a pattern, to a mold. The pattern or mold of this world is to celebrate powerful, to get all I can, to be successful, to finish first. It’s the exact opposite of the image that Jesus painted with His life.
As a church we’ve sought power, we’ve sought success, prosperity, we’ve sought to impress people by “competing with the world” so that we can “reach” more people. In doing so we’ve unwittingly created an image, a graven image that attempts to represent who God is, but falls dramatically short.
I know that I’m speaking in generalities and the fact is there are churches right here in America that don’t worship this image of God. Conduit is only one example among many.
I saw a church in the image of God in Haiti. I saw a building that wasn’t fancy and had no moving lights. It didn’t even have glass in the windows. But it was a church serving their community. They were feeding the poor, healing the sick, and reaching out the world around. They weren’t prosperous, successful, or powerful; they weren’t even white. But then again, neither was Jesus.
It’s easy to cop an “Elijah complex” that nobody is getting this right but me and go hide. We must not do that. There are plenty of folks doing amazing stuff, they just don’t get on television. The church is you, the church is me. God isn't going to hire a publicist. We can tell His story with our lives.
The problem was that I was confusing commandment #1: No other gods with commandment #2 “No graven images”. Haitian Vodou definitely comes up with some doozies as it relates to worshiping other gods. When it comes to creating a graven image of God, Americans are in a class all by our selves.
The confusion is easy because the word is also translated idols and we get those confused with gods. The fact is that they are two completely separate commandments that are at once mutually exclusive and yet (like all 10 of them) completely intertwined. Much like a chain with 10 links.
The first commandment is a warning against worshipping other gods. We talked about it last week at Conduit but simply put it’s a command against replacing the true God with false gods. The second commandment is a warning against worshipping the true God falsely.
Throughout history man has wondered what God is like. What does He look like, act like, talk like. The desire is to capture an essence of Him, and looking to, among other things, nature to create an image of what He is like. Thus the reason the American Indian would put an eagle on top of their totem poles, or the Polynesians would worship turtles, or Egyptians would worship cows. (Ex 20:4…or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth)
They would say that the eagle is majestic and can see from above and is all knowing so that must be worthy of our worship. It’s just like God. It’s true that God is majestic, and all knowing and can see things I can’t, but the eagle swoops down out of the sky and picks of the weak and the defenseless. That is NOT God. It’s capturing something that is true of God, and applying it as God. It reduces Him, it oversimplifies Him, it brings confusion.
I don’t know anybody who knows anybody who has actually carved out a literal idol and used it for worship. My kids have used Play Doh for years and never once have I walked in and found them worshiping what they created for the Play Doh barnyard.
Just because the image isn’t literal doesn’t mean we haven’t created an image though. See if you smell what I’m stepping in.
Public figures are very conscious of their image. The image is sort of the short bio, the description, it’s the essence of who they are. When you think of Brad Pitt for instance you think of someone who is impossibly good looking, a great actor and a social activist. That is his image. It’s sort of reducing him to a couple of sentences. It’s true of Brad Pitt but it is not him.
What about God? What is His image? What is His essence? Paul told the church at Colossi that Jesus Christ was the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) The writer of Hebrews goes a step further saying that the Son is the “exact representation of His being”. (Heb. 1:3) Jesus painted a picture of God not with His hands, but with His life.
Paul said in Romans that we are being conformed to His image (Rom 8:29) and that we should no longer conform to the patterns of this world. (Rom 12:1-4) Jesus Christ is the image of the unseen God, and we are to be conformed to that image, to the image of Christ. When I’m wondering how I should live, how I should respond to a situation, what my stance on a particular issue should be, I base it on Jesus Christ Himself. What is God’s “image”? Jesus.
What was Jesus known for? He had this amazing ability to make powerful religious people feel very uncomfortable and yet the marginalized, sinners, poor, oppressed felt very comfortable in His presence. When He saw people in need, He met their needs. He healed sick people. He fed hungry people. He lived sacrificially. He loved.
In their book Unchristian Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman published research and found that the perception of Christians is that we are antihomosexual (95%) judgmental (87%) and hypocritical (85%) These perceptions are followed by majorities of boring, out of touch with reality.
When you stop and think of who Jesus was, how He lived while living here in a suit made of dude, how would you describe Him? Judgmental? Hypocritical? Boring? No way. How is it possible that this is our image? Perhaps it’s the image we’ve ascribed to God?
Paul said to not conform to this world, but the idea is of conforming to a pattern, to a mold. The pattern or mold of this world is to celebrate powerful, to get all I can, to be successful, to finish first. It’s the exact opposite of the image that Jesus painted with His life.
As a church we’ve sought power, we’ve sought success, prosperity, we’ve sought to impress people by “competing with the world” so that we can “reach” more people. In doing so we’ve unwittingly created an image, a graven image that attempts to represent who God is, but falls dramatically short.
I know that I’m speaking in generalities and the fact is there are churches right here in America that don’t worship this image of God. Conduit is only one example among many.
I saw a church in the image of God in Haiti. I saw a building that wasn’t fancy and had no moving lights. It didn’t even have glass in the windows. But it was a church serving their community. They were feeding the poor, healing the sick, and reaching out the world around. They weren’t prosperous, successful, or powerful; they weren’t even white. But then again, neither was Jesus.
It’s easy to cop an “Elijah complex” that nobody is getting this right but me and go hide. We must not do that. There are plenty of folks doing amazing stuff, they just don’t get on television. The church is you, the church is me. God isn't going to hire a publicist. We can tell His story with our lives.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, Conduit Bible Study- Darren Tyler. Click this link to check it out: Exodus 20:2 No Other Gods - Darren
Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, Conduit Bible Study- Darren Tyler. Click this link to check it out:
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Conduit April 11- The Hope Of A Nation
In 1791 Saint Dominque was the richest European colony in the world making many French wealthy through gigantic sugar plantations and coffee-producing estates. With a new nation being born just to its north Revolution was in the air in a country that would become known as Haiti.
A half million slaves who were the driving force of this enterprise started doing a head count and realized they outnumbered owners by 15 to 1. Those are overwhelming odds by any ones standards and certainly a confidence booster when planning a revolt. The slaves from Africa combined forces and overthrew their euromasters and sent them packing.
Over 200 years later this nation born from freed slaves is the 148th least developed of the worlds’ 179 countries. The average annual salary is $240- about 66 cents per day. 50 percent of the population lacks access to potable water and barely 10 percent uses electricity. For those 10 percent that have access to electricity it goes off every day for several hours.
What I saw on the ground was a nation in the throws of poverty. There is no public garbage service and so it is strewn around everywhere. There are piles of it, mountains of it, rivers of it and streets of it. There were literally streets that seemed to be paved with it. An interesting juxtaposition against a heaven whose streets are paved with gold.
This nation of former slaves was built on the backs of a people who had no idea what it was like to be free. As slaves it was not in any interest of the owners to educate their property Thus it was that a half million men women and children with no education, no resources and no God set out to form a nation.
With no formal training many of the former slaves retreated to the nation’s interior where they farmed small plots with little outside investment. They settled into subsistence farming techniques that continue to this day. It’s those very farming techniques that have played a huge role in stripping the land and have prompted an ecological crisis. In a year like 2007 when 4 major hurricanes blew through it is cataclysmic.
It is recorded that Haiti is the first nation that was ever established by a group of former slaves. This is not entirely true. Israel holds that title. Israel had been living in slavery for 400 years under the brutal Egyptian government. Like our brothers and sisters in Haiti, Israel was the economic engine for the prosperity of their owners.
When you consider this it begins to make total and perfect sense why one of the first things that God would do is to park them in the desert and give them The Law. It comes into focus why God would tell them to farm the land for 6 years and every 7th year to give the land a break. (Lev 25:1-2) It makes sense why He would take the time to tell them to go outside the camp and bury it when they have to go to the bathroom (Deut 23) It’s clear why He would tell them to stay away from certain foods that we know today have the dangers of carrying disease. (Lev 11)
It wasn’t a God trying to set up some sort of cosmic buzz kill system but rather a merciful God that knew what it would take for a people to coexist in a new land. It makes you wonder if Israel would’ve found themselves in the same condition as Haiti if God hadn’t taken the time to give them an education.
Many experts believe Haiti is not beyond hope. It has a relatively small population and is in a stable region. By some accounts there is about $1B in foreign aid immediately available that could be invested in hospitals, schools, health care, electrical systems and vital infrastructure. And yet that isn’t happening.
John Currelly, an agronomist with the Pan American Development Foundation in Haiti says "If you had covered these mountains 100 years ago with high-producing fruit trees and various other perennials, this country would still be richer than Canada. Haiti is extremely productive and has a tremendous recuperative capability ... The land itself, if left alone, comes back very quickly."
But the land has never been left alone. Its riches once fueled an empire, just as poverty now powers its collapse. And so what to do?
The government has failed dramatically if not spectacularly. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a sense of hopelessness when I first arrived. How could these people in this country ever thrive? Billions of dollars of foreign aid, a UN force t visible everywhere that operates on a $580M annual budget and the direct involvement both militarily and internally from the United States have not helped. Where is the hope?
At the risk of sounding cliché, it’s in Jesus. More specifically it’s in Jesus IN you and I and our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I had been asking where is God in the face of such suffering but the proper question is “where is the Church?” When I looked in that direction I saw hope manifested in a man like Gerald Lafleur who leads the church appropriately called Restoration Ministries.
I saw hope in Pastor Rodrigue who along with his wife open their home 3 times a week so 75-100 kids can eat a meal that is more than a dirt cookie or stale rice.
Sebastian (is sponsored by Bucky and Kimmie Elliot through Conduit.) is being taught principles like giving and mercy and love.
Farrah (sponsored through Conduit as well) is being taught that her body is her property and to break the cycle of single mothers with children from multiple fathers who will never marry their mothers.
Vlo (sponsored by Philip Peters through Conduit) is being taught to be a man to not get a woman pregnant and walk out on her.
Dashka (sponsored by Theresa Swain through Conduit) is being taught that abstaining from sex outside of marriage is the ONLY guarantee they have of not contracting an evil disease such as HIV/ AIDS.
They’re not only being fed physically but spiritually as well. These well fed children will grow up, and it’s my belief that they will grow up to be part of the revival that awaits Haiti.
This is all being done in the confines of a local church in a local community. It’s all being done because of folks like you and I. THE Church, made up of believers all over the world, are coming together and bringing real hope to this ravaged nation. It will only be done if all of us will man up, do our part, stand a post.
Jesus, when He sent out the 72, told them to pray for laborers. He said that the laborers are few. Living in Nashville where there are 1,000 churches that’s kind of a foreign idea. Coming home from Haiti I saw exactly what He was talking about.
If you’re not already involved with what we’re doing through Conduit, I would ask that you prayerfully consider getting involved. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I just want your prayer support, it’s my hope that we already have that. Sebastian, Farrah, Vlo and Dashka already have laborers, I wonder if you would consider joining us.
You can click on this link http://www.unitedcaribbean.com/haiti-childsponsorship-programme.html and see some of the kids that are still waiting to be helped. By donating through Conduit 100% of your gift each month is tax deductible and 100% of it goes directly to Restoration Ministries where 100% of it goes directly to serving the child spiritually, physically and emotionally. $30 a month. Many of you are already involved in a ministry like this, but if you’re not, prayerfully consider joining us.
(If you wish you can donate directly to Restoration Ministries but their accounts are in Haiti and you do not get the tax deduction)
Blessings,
Darren
CONDUIT RETURNS TOMORROW NIGHT. 7:30PM AT JOURNEY CHURCH IN BUILDING 8 AT THE FACTORY IN FRANKLIN. WE’VE GOT SOME AWESOME VIDEO, PICTURES, ETC FROM OUR TRIP TO HAITI.
A half million slaves who were the driving force of this enterprise started doing a head count and realized they outnumbered owners by 15 to 1. Those are overwhelming odds by any ones standards and certainly a confidence booster when planning a revolt. The slaves from Africa combined forces and overthrew their euromasters and sent them packing.
Over 200 years later this nation born from freed slaves is the 148th least developed of the worlds’ 179 countries. The average annual salary is $240- about 66 cents per day. 50 percent of the population lacks access to potable water and barely 10 percent uses electricity. For those 10 percent that have access to electricity it goes off every day for several hours.
What I saw on the ground was a nation in the throws of poverty. There is no public garbage service and so it is strewn around everywhere. There are piles of it, mountains of it, rivers of it and streets of it. There were literally streets that seemed to be paved with it. An interesting juxtaposition against a heaven whose streets are paved with gold.
This nation of former slaves was built on the backs of a people who had no idea what it was like to be free. As slaves it was not in any interest of the owners to educate their property Thus it was that a half million men women and children with no education, no resources and no God set out to form a nation.
With no formal training many of the former slaves retreated to the nation’s interior where they farmed small plots with little outside investment. They settled into subsistence farming techniques that continue to this day. It’s those very farming techniques that have played a huge role in stripping the land and have prompted an ecological crisis. In a year like 2007 when 4 major hurricanes blew through it is cataclysmic.
It is recorded that Haiti is the first nation that was ever established by a group of former slaves. This is not entirely true. Israel holds that title. Israel had been living in slavery for 400 years under the brutal Egyptian government. Like our brothers and sisters in Haiti, Israel was the economic engine for the prosperity of their owners.
When you consider this it begins to make total and perfect sense why one of the first things that God would do is to park them in the desert and give them The Law. It comes into focus why God would tell them to farm the land for 6 years and every 7th year to give the land a break. (Lev 25:1-2) It makes sense why He would take the time to tell them to go outside the camp and bury it when they have to go to the bathroom (Deut 23) It’s clear why He would tell them to stay away from certain foods that we know today have the dangers of carrying disease. (Lev 11)
It wasn’t a God trying to set up some sort of cosmic buzz kill system but rather a merciful God that knew what it would take for a people to coexist in a new land. It makes you wonder if Israel would’ve found themselves in the same condition as Haiti if God hadn’t taken the time to give them an education.
Many experts believe Haiti is not beyond hope. It has a relatively small population and is in a stable region. By some accounts there is about $1B in foreign aid immediately available that could be invested in hospitals, schools, health care, electrical systems and vital infrastructure. And yet that isn’t happening.
John Currelly, an agronomist with the Pan American Development Foundation in Haiti says "If you had covered these mountains 100 years ago with high-producing fruit trees and various other perennials, this country would still be richer than Canada. Haiti is extremely productive and has a tremendous recuperative capability ... The land itself, if left alone, comes back very quickly."
But the land has never been left alone. Its riches once fueled an empire, just as poverty now powers its collapse. And so what to do?
The government has failed dramatically if not spectacularly. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a sense of hopelessness when I first arrived. How could these people in this country ever thrive? Billions of dollars of foreign aid, a UN force t visible everywhere that operates on a $580M annual budget and the direct involvement both militarily and internally from the United States have not helped. Where is the hope?
At the risk of sounding cliché, it’s in Jesus. More specifically it’s in Jesus IN you and I and our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I had been asking where is God in the face of such suffering but the proper question is “where is the Church?” When I looked in that direction I saw hope manifested in a man like Gerald Lafleur who leads the church appropriately called Restoration Ministries.
I saw hope in Pastor Rodrigue who along with his wife open their home 3 times a week so 75-100 kids can eat a meal that is more than a dirt cookie or stale rice.
Sebastian (is sponsored by Bucky and Kimmie Elliot through Conduit.) is being taught principles like giving and mercy and love.
Farrah (sponsored through Conduit as well) is being taught that her body is her property and to break the cycle of single mothers with children from multiple fathers who will never marry their mothers.
Vlo (sponsored by Philip Peters through Conduit) is being taught to be a man to not get a woman pregnant and walk out on her.
Dashka (sponsored by Theresa Swain through Conduit) is being taught that abstaining from sex outside of marriage is the ONLY guarantee they have of not contracting an evil disease such as HIV/ AIDS.
They’re not only being fed physically but spiritually as well. These well fed children will grow up, and it’s my belief that they will grow up to be part of the revival that awaits Haiti.
This is all being done in the confines of a local church in a local community. It’s all being done because of folks like you and I. THE Church, made up of believers all over the world, are coming together and bringing real hope to this ravaged nation. It will only be done if all of us will man up, do our part, stand a post.
Jesus, when He sent out the 72, told them to pray for laborers. He said that the laborers are few. Living in Nashville where there are 1,000 churches that’s kind of a foreign idea. Coming home from Haiti I saw exactly what He was talking about.
If you’re not already involved with what we’re doing through Conduit, I would ask that you prayerfully consider getting involved. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I just want your prayer support, it’s my hope that we already have that. Sebastian, Farrah, Vlo and Dashka already have laborers, I wonder if you would consider joining us.
You can click on this link http://www.unitedcaribbean.com/haiti-childsponsorship-programme.html and see some of the kids that are still waiting to be helped. By donating through Conduit 100% of your gift each month is tax deductible and 100% of it goes directly to Restoration Ministries where 100% of it goes directly to serving the child spiritually, physically and emotionally. $30 a month. Many of you are already involved in a ministry like this, but if you’re not, prayerfully consider joining us.
(If you wish you can donate directly to Restoration Ministries but their accounts are in Haiti and you do not get the tax deduction)
Blessings,
Darren
CONDUIT RETURNS TOMORROW NIGHT. 7:30PM AT JOURNEY CHURCH IN BUILDING 8 AT THE FACTORY IN FRANKLIN. WE’VE GOT SOME AWESOME VIDEO, PICTURES, ETC FROM OUR TRIP TO HAITI.
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