EFFECTIVE COMPASSION
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
James 1:27
Today we’re celebrating with Pastor Justin as he reaches a milestone in his life of completing two Masters of Arts degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary – Christian Leadership and Christian Studies. Congratulations Pastor Justin! These studies were taken up during the midst of a busy adult life, but for the sake of making a major effort to be better prepared for his calling to Christian leadership. The Redeemer family is so thankful for your gracious nature and rejoice in your diligence. We pray for your endurance in ministry, knowing that you and Molly will continue to greatly bless those you minister to.
Years ago, Justin had an assignment in one of his classes to create a ministry initiative. He came to me with the idea of creating a foster care and adoption ministry. Based on James 1:27 and the consistent Bible theme of adoption as a comparison of God’s love for us, Justin wanted to start an intentional ministry at Redeemer. The elder group approved of the idea and Justin got a B on his write up! However, Justin and Molly’s true and undying love for orphaned, neglected, and unloved children is of the Lord. In the spirit of missionary William Carey – Justin expects great things of God and by faith attempts great things for God.
Years later the passion and organization of the Redeemer foster care and adoption ministry has grown to be one of the defining aspects of our church. Proving out the true work of the Holy Spirit, beyond another church ‘program.’ Once Justin went out from Redeemer to take up the pastoral call to plant Redeemer Stafford, the ministry was taken up by another couple. Under the leadership of Nick and Alissa Bultinck, the passion to foster and adopt needy children continues to grow. Today, the call of Jesus to sacrificial discipleship – to die to yourself and take up your cross to follow Jesus – is displayed all over Redeemer by involvement in caring for orphans (Matthew 16:24-25). We are substantially contributing to make sure no child in Spotsylvania County is without a loving home.
This is a work of faith. Few people look at foster care and quickly say, “That looks like something I want to do!” Because the closer you get to the reality of it, the more it becomes clearly sacrificial. Your life will not be the same when you commit to taking a needy child into your home in Jesus’ name.
It’s a work of love. The work of love begins with an earnest love for Jesus. We love the weak and needy, because Jesus first loved us – who were ourselves weak and needy. We take the initiative to adopt orphaned children, because Jesus first took the initiative to adopt us into His family (Romans 8:15-23, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5). These children bring nothing to us but their brokenness. We bring them into our homes and love them for Jesus’ sake
It’s a progressive work. Everyone who has raised children knows that it’s a long journey. It’s a journey of discipleship. A journey of progressive love, training, discipline, and support. It’s a walk of faith, trusting in the Holy Spirit to bring spiritual change to the hearts of our children. And so it is with fostering and adopting. It’s a run of unknown distance. We pray each day for daily bread – what is needed for today. By His own hand and through the fellowship of the church all that is needed will be provided. In this way, many people in the church play vital support roles of providing respite care, meals, organizing a support closet, and praying for those amid the struggle.
This God-honoring, faith-filled, loving, sacrificial, and rewarding work has worked to bring us all closer to Jesus. If you are not involved on any level with this aspect of true religion, then I press you to get close to a family that is. Pray for them and help them as you are able. Talk with Nick or Alissa. Find a way you can personally care for the poor and needy in the name of Jesus.
I also want to bring to your attention a podcast and book related to these subjects. The podcast is: EFFECTIVE COMPASSION – Season 4: Orphan Care. It is available on Apple and Spotify. This podcast is produced by World News Group (WNG).
WNG was founded decades ago and managed by Marvin Olasky. Olasky wrote a book entitled The Tragedy of American Compassion that has many important lessons for the church when considering the ministry of foster care and adoption. Let me summarize a few of those points that are important for us to consider:
First, government can never provide personal, compassionate, accountable aid to the poor. The tragedy Olasky is tracing is the shift from personal church-based aid for the poor to government-based aid for the poor. There is much to be said here, but in short, impersonal government agencies staffed by under-paid workers can never have the same personal love, compassion, and accountability as aid provided by people in the Christian church who do the same work for Jesus’ sake from a sense of calling. By entering into foster care in a significant way, we are working to redeem this aspect of aid for poor children by infusing it with vital virtues that government can never provide.
Second, this work takes much time, energy, and effort to provide compassionate and accountable aid for the poor. In the past, the majority of this organized aid came from women’s organizations. Olasky spends much time outlining the various women’s community aid organizations that had a dramatic impact on America at the turn of the 20th century. This was a time preceding so many women choosing to leave the home and enter the workplace. There was substantially less need for government aid programs because these charitable needs were largely met by Christian women who had the calling, time, and energy to do such things. We can see this principle working its way out in Redeemer right now. It takes significant time to foster a child well. That can only be accomplished when a family makes intentional Christian choices to work and earn less, in order to serve and give more time to a child in Jesus’ name.
Third, Olasky explores the idea of “Compassion Fatigue.” This relates to two different aspects of the same struggle. First, in our information age we’re inundated with every terrible need in the world constantly. We feel like there is nothing we can do to affect such need – so we do nothing. Or we feel that we have been taxed by the government to provide aid by the government, so we have no other obligation. Olasky argues that both these ideas are non-Christian. We are called by God to obey Him personally where we are, despite what may be happening in the world at large. Our actions are meaningful! Second, Olasky urges his readers to not grow weary in doing good. Duty and guilt are the motivation of the world for doing good. For the Christian, love and faith in Jesus are the greater, proper, and enduring motivations for Christian charity.
May the joyful sacrificial love of orphans and widows continue to grow,
Pastor Vic