Causes 2009

[Kelsey Linduff]

It is our hope that in 2009 everyone connected to ACCESS218 will have a cause for which they are leveraging their life. Rather than just talking about problems in the world, we want to be part of the solutions. We want to be part of righting that which is wrong, bringing hope to the broken and light to the darkness.

What are your thoughts? Do you know what cause you are going to support? What are your ideas for how you will invest into this cause? What are your dreams for what could be accomplished in 2009? How has God already started to prepare you? What do you think the challenges will be? What are you most excited about?

[Michael Anderson]

Grace,

what i think we will be doing is going to local churches and either doing a Q&A with a lead pastor, youth director, childrens ministry, and or one or two people from congregation.... and the reason i m thinking local churches is i personally cant afford (pause) neither can access ( unpause) take me and nick to the mosaic church in california and interview s all over USA. and plus locally we can start to see change more prevelant in our own back yard.....

[Geoff W]

Mike, you can always do an interview over the phone.

[Nick Baker]

It seems I was beaten in posting my cause, but I am working with Micheal obviously. I don't think this is going to stay local just for the fact that the church is international, but for 2009 Jacksonville will be the ground of work so we can get our footing and then God willing we can take this to the churches of the world. I really think the biggest challenge is figuring out where to start, I think of it as a game of chess we can see how things are in the beginning and where we want to be in the end, but can only plan a few moves ahead and pray that we are going in the right direction for the ultimate goal, and like any game of chess in the beginning there is no way to tell how long it will last.

[Katie Ullmann]

So I've settled on three causes...
1. Silver Creek
2. Burma
3. The Sabbath

1. I decided that I've been given an infant from God that needs to be nurished and fed. I have been given a community of people that all have different struggles and hardships and stories. I have no idea where to start but I have some ideas on where I need to be going. I need to do discipleship out there. I need to structure a dicipleship program that will work out there. I have resources I haven't taken advantage of yet to help me with how to start that like Scott. I want to start doing a monthly service project with the kids. I need to find service projects that aren't just making cards but that are showing the kids that there are people less fortunate than them in the world. They need reminders that it's not all about them and I really really really want to be leading these kids into service not spoiled brattiness... Then there are just practical things like figuring out how to bridge the Church and Silver Creek together. I want to figure out what it looks like for the church to actually be the church out there. And what problems the church really needs to be involved in and which ones are really problems. I guess discovering different things people can do and sign up for is important too. Then there are huge dreams in left field that probably are not for a years time... Like moving the refugee families into people's homes and living together and serve as cultural brokers until they are able to adjust to America and get on their feet. And figuring out a counseling program for the kids that need it. Basically therapy for what they've experienced and seen. Give the kids back their childhood... One of the main challenges I'll face is having the energy and not getting burned out. Another challenge is the fact that there is no real way to measure if anything I do has any effect on these kids life. I really do want to be affirmed in my actions and struggle when I'm not. It's hard for me to do something when all I see is negative feedback in front of me, and truthfully I don't know if all that much will change in the amount of a year in a way any human can see.

2. I'm going to a conference Feb 27-Mar 1 that is going to discuss the issues of Burma. It's gunna be amazing! The goals of the conference are to learn organizing skills from expert organizers, meet and network with others in the movement, learn about how you can get more involved in our campaigns, hear from three of the Monks who organized the Saffron Revolution, and to get updates on Burma policy from those working in Congress and the United Nations. So after that conference I think I'll have more direction in what actually needs to get done. It should be interesting and I'm expecting a lot of knowledge to be thrown at me!

3. So I decided a huge problem in the western church is busyness that doesn't lead to anything productive. We never seem to stop because that's what we think God wants out of us, or at least that's what I do. So for 2009 I am determined to take a Sabbath at least once every other week, a scheduled Sabbath. And yes this cause might be interpreted as selfish, but if I don't define it as a cause I will not take it seriously. In order to be at my best to do the other two causes I need to be determined to be healthy in the way God prescribes in the Bible. I really need to start taking care of myself so I can come along side God and bring the light into the darkness. And I need to know what direction God is leading me. As of now I have no real time to just be in God's presence and see him as God and me as human. This is going to be a challenge to discipline myself. I don't know how to relax or sit still or even stay quiet for all that long. I'm excited to see how this influences my mood and energy levels, and my relationship with God.

[Anna Frederick]

Katie, I think you're just great!!! :) I love what God is doing in your life and all that I have learned from YOU! You really are a blessed daughter of the King and I love that you're learning more every day how to live like it! :)

[Jackie Tatje]

I am super excited for you Katie! You have only been working with Silver Creek for less that a year, and you have already made a huge impact! I love you lots and will stand with you in your causes. To quote this really cool guy I know, "everything you need, you already have in Christ"! Yeah, you have big goals and big dreams, but you have an immense God who would not have called you to this task if He were not planning on doing it with you. Sometimes you are going to feel incapable, too tired, or too overwhelmed. But in those times remember that God called you to this, you didn't call yourself. He will work through you. You just have to keep going and you will know that what happens is from Him because your strength was gone a long time ago! (I know I am preaching to the choir- you are alredy experiencing this!) What you have chosen is not easy, so don't expect it to be. Start seeing difficult as normal and don't be surprised by it. And I am so glad that you are going to start practicing a scheduled Sabbath! Like we were talking about the other day, God is pretty serious about that stuff. I think that will be vital for you, and I may have to follow your example. Thanks for letting God use you! You are a huge inspiration to me!

[Jackie Tatje]

I suffer from Cause A.D.D. (which is closely linked to my acute case of missionary A.D.D.) I want to do everything! Each cuase that I hear about from people sounds like something worthy and something I would love to join. But I want to exercise the discipline of focus and really let God start to work in me through faithfulness to a specific cause. So I am limiting myself to dual causes. One has been close to my heart for years, and the other has never been something I was particularly interested in, but God keeps bringing it to my attention and giving me a new heart for it. I want to devote time in 2009 towards the people of Burma, and those who are homeless.

In February Katie Ullman, Sarah Hartley, and I are going to a conference in D.C. about Burma (see her above post which gives more details), and I am looking into the possibility of going to Thailand (where there are lots of Burmese in refugee camps) in March. I have such a deep love for these people, and I want to learn more about their situation so that I can really find out what needs to be done and what I can do.

I have homeless people who live right outside of my apartment. And up to this point I have done nothing. I love history, and as I read about particular events, I always imagine that I would have been one of the ones who would have done something positive. Why, of course I would have been an abolitionist, or would have helped the Jews escape from Nazis, or would have helped the man beaten up on the side of the road like every Good Samaritan should. I find it hard to believe that Christian people of conscience would have let things like that go on in their world and could have been apathetic towards human suffering. But if history were written about today about how I handled the situation of homelessness, it would say that I was apathetic. That I ignored people in need that I passed by every day. That I was consumed by pursuing my own dreams and didn't have time for anything else. Oh, sure, there might be some good things history could say about me. I smiled and waved as I passed the homeless people. How effective. But I feel God calling me to do more. And not just try, but actually do. Not just something to ease my conscience, but to really, actively love people that find themselves in this situation, because that's what God is putting on my heart.

Sorry that was so long everybody, but I guess this is part of me processing what I have been thinking about. And please know that I am praying for all of you as you work out what God would have you devote your lives to in '09. I really look forward to hearing what you all are doing. And yes, there will be something inside of me that will hear your cause and make me want to jump in it with you! I would love to pray with you and talk about your cause too, so keep up the posting!