Leaders Who Change the Course of History

June 11, 2009 in Building Leaders, Financial Responsibility, Transformation | No comments

The Prosperity Thinking That Changes Impoverished Nations

rwanda-nov-2008-081Traveling in Africa, I see the strong hold that a culture of fatalism has on the people. “We are poor. This is our lot in life. We can do nothing to change our fate. Therefore, we hold our hand out and ask you to redistribute your resources so that we may live.” Of course this thinking keeps the people stuck in abject poverty and dependency.

 

Often I speak and teach about prosperity from a biblical perspective. God wants us to be prosperous and contribute to the prosperity of the nation. Even in times of recession and in the context of extreme poverty Jeremiah 29:4-9 says, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city…”  But what is prosperity? Let me share with you the new mindset that is beginning to transform the poverty culture of African communities.

 

To be brief:

  • Prosperity is working to earn enough to take care of your families’ daily needs of food, clothing and shelter.
  • Prosperity is each one working to provide goods and services for the well-being of the society.
  • Prosperity is working and paying taxes so that the government functions to bring stability and order to the nation.
  • Prosperity is working so that you may give generously to assist others in need and provide for the leadership of the church.

 

Are you prosperous? Let’s work to help all humankind to be prosperous.

 

Gary Edmonds

What’s Mine is Not Mine

May 28, 2009 in Financial Responsibility | No comments

In 18 months, I’ll be 60.  I’m old enough to know better, but I still use a four-letter word so frequently I don’t even know I’m saying it.  Forgive me.  When I pause to think about it, my misleading speech must make God wince, but it’s so ingrained in my thinking, my speech, my daily talk that I feel it nigh on impossible to stop.

holdinghandsIn my weaker moments, I want to blame it on my family and friends.  They all say it.  My 89 year old mother still says it, as do missionaries, Sunday School teachers, evangelists and good Christians around the world. So what hope is there for me?

 

Frankly, when I do catch myself, I tend to move on, failing to apologize or repent.  Gratefully, grace is at work and the Spirit still convicts. 

 

The word is “mine.” I talk about the house in which I live, the lap top on which I write, the car I drive, the clothes I wear – as mine.  Mine?  Hardly. 

 

Truth be told, I own nothing, but I’m constantly tempted to act as though I do.  At best, I’m an undeserving manager, given charge – for a while – over little or much. 


Guest Blogger: Randall E. Davey, President, accruWealth (www.accruWealth.com)

First, Listen!

April 28, 2009 in Building Leaders, Rwanda | No comments

042I am often asked about the best steps in developing young leaders. My answer normally astounds people. “First, Listen!”

 

Leaders by nature and gifting are endowed with hopes and dreams for a healthier and more caring society. Embedded deep inside of them is a burning desire to help others and see change for the better. Brokenness and despair trouble them profoundly. Anger over matters of injustice, sloth, abuse, indifference, disease, and greed troubles their waking hours and disturbs their sleep patterns. The status quo is not acceptable as they hunger and thirst to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

 

What do these people need most? Not someone to come and tell them what to do or how things are done in our land or to offer a seminar on leadership. Instead they need someone to listen to them. They need a discerning and caring ear, one who draws out their hopes and dreams. In the process the young leader is affirmed, honing vision and building courage to articulate the treasure that is buried inside of his/her soul.

 

This week, I listened to three young leaders of Rwanda who are dreaming of a New Generation for a New History. They see the day when Hutus and Tutsis, young and old, and men and women will live together in unity in diversity. They are in faith breathing the air of freedom when the citizens live in solidarity. They are convinced that someday their nation will no longer seek help from other nations but instead will be peaceful and prosperous, generously contributing to the development of other nations.

 

How do I know this? I took the time to listen to their hearts. I let them tell me what causes their hearts to beat fast and their eyes to be wild with excitement. This is the first step in building leaders who will rebuild nations. Listen today to another. You’ll never know what you may discover; you may be used as an instrument in bringing the goodness of God into the land of the living.

 

As I write this message, I want to introduce you to Kevin and Renée Napier who are joining Breakthrough Partners. The requests for our time multiply weekly. We need to increase our capacity. Kevin and Renée are great listeners and know how to build leaders who will give themselves to rebuild broken communities. You will want to get to know them through the bios posted on our website.

Gary Edmonds

Got Wisdom?

April 14, 2009 in Building Leaders, Transformation | 1 comment

african-boy-w-bibleOne of the great needs in our world is Wisdom. What should I do today that will be good for tomorrow? How do I navigate the unknown without experience? 

 

When Jesus was only twelve years old, Luke 2:52 affirms that he was developing in wisdom. He knew how to live in the present for long term benefit. He had a perspective on life that transcended his experience. His discernment of what was good for today was not guided by feelings, hunger for instant gratification or the latest trend. If only the same were true of our kids or, indeed, ourselves.  

How do we get wisdom? How do hungry Rwandans recovering from genocide live wisely to benefit their nation? How do unemployed Americans live with a Kingdom of God perspective? Let me offer three thoughts.

  • Fear God! Remember that there is an ultimate judge of the whole of your life. Learn and apply the principles and values of the Kingdom of God that will stand the test of time. Pragmatic decisions that simply align us to modern trends and short term gains will be exposed and found wanting. In wisdom, apply a Biblical worldview.

  • Seek the well-being of all! Test what you are doing by asking, “Is it good for all?” Unwise decisions are made by those thinking only of themselves or their organizational greatness. Much unwise mission activity is produced as we seek our own success rather than everyone’s benefit. We see that when one church or mission grows disproportionately larger than others in a community, the result is disastrous. The large organization consumes the community’s resources, like a cancerous cell, leading to its death. God created the world and its creatures and called them “good.” Let goodness be your desired outcome. In wisdom, realize that you may need to govern your own growth so that all may develop.

  • Think multiple generations! “And the things that you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2) The apostle Paul was thinking out four generations. Changing the course of history requires that future generations take the baton and build on the leg of the race that we have run. Play your role well. In wisdom, build the next generation. Transfer a vision that will go beyond your own contributions. 

 

Gary Edmonds

Leaders who Change the Course of History!

April 7, 2009 in Building Leaders | No comments

rwanda-nov-2008-139

  Breakthrough Partners works in nations where there is long-term brokenness. From generation to generation, pain, suffering and dysfunction are repeated. The sins and ignorance of the fathers are passed on to their children so that good intentions are never realized in the culture. What is required to change the trajectory of a person, a family, even a nation?

 

In the next weeks, I’d like to look at some of the key ideas and principles that we have been learning over the past 30+ years that when applied can actually change the course of history for a people.

 

Ultimately, change starts with the individual. A culture is the sum of the parts and patterns of its members. If the people are sick and operating in dysfunctional processes, the society will be ill and toxic.

 

Doctor Luke provides us with a great clue when he writes, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52)

 

Jesus grew and developed wholistically!

 

The first principle for change is to seek the comprehensive and wholistic well-being of the individual. Wisdom, physical health, spiritual depth and relational health are building blocks for cultural change. Each of these characteristics reflects patterns of behavior that will produce fruit. And note that they are interconnected. My sleep pattern will influence my spiritual health will influence my discernment will influence my social relationships. 

 

Are you developing in wisdom and physical health and in favor with God and men?

 

Gary Edmonds 

Hope for Life Ministry

March 19, 2009 in Building Leaders, Children, Rwanda | No comments

Megan and Hilliary, two blond college girls with wild dreams of changing a few lives, have in fact done just that! Last summer, the two of them went to Rwanda as interns with Breakthrough Partners. Life hasn’t been the same since they returned.

 

Boys with Josiane and ChantalThough they are both in school, their time has been filled with planning, praying, emailing and speaking on behalf of eleven street boys that they met in Rwanda. These boys captured their hearts. Over the past months, Megan and Hilliary have raised funds, hired staff, rented a house, drawn up long-term plans, partnered with local Rwandans, and now have officially rescued ten street boys from jail!

 

To quote from their latest update, “These efforts are promoting the self-sufficiency and local community involvement we are aiming for!” Indeed, this is what Breakthrough Partners is aiming for as well - building young leaders who will see the possibilities that can be accomplished when we are opened to God’s leading and His purposes! Great job, Megan and Hilliary!

 

For more information about this remarkable new ministry, or to help and encourage them, please check out their website, www.hopeforlifeministry.org.


Guest blogger, Kari Fordice

Rethinking Stewardship

March 12, 2009 in Building Leaders, Financial Responsibility | No comments

key-to-stewardshipRecessions force us to do what we should have done in boom times. We scrutinize budgets, cut excess spending and eliminate redundant staff.  All of this invites questions about stewardship. 

 

Though stewardship is a word generally relegated to the vocabulary of the church, its’ roots are far more pedestrian. A few centuries ago, a land baron would hire a steward to manage his staff, his money and his resources. Today we might think of a steward as the CEO or COO of a privately held company and come close to the genesis of the term. 

 

So, how does the board steward the pastor? How does the church steward the staff? Collectively, the staff and board are called to steward the leadership of the church as well as the rank and file members of the congregation. Is it possible that lack of funding is symptomatic of more significant issues?  

 

Perhaps the time is ripe for Rethinking Stewardship: Good News for Pastor and People.  Our message is one of celebrating abundance and not scarcity. To get from where we are to where we need to be, someone needs to be the voice crying in the wilderness:

1)      Steward your pastor and staff. Protect them to equip the saints to do the work of ministry.

2)      Steward church boards and leadership types. Call them to balance and focus. Give them permission to step down from committees and projects that render them ineffective.

3)      Steward the congregation. Call all believers to find their ministries and equip them to serve. All gifts are vital for a healthy Christian community.

4)      Steward financial resources. This is a matter of thinking differently about money. Gift donors with knowledge on ways to navigate through difficult financial times.  If you do, saints know what to do with the excess.

Are there enough resources for the church to thrive in recessionary cycles?  Absolutely!  Will the church moving forward look like it did in times of financial abundance?  Hopefully not.  Without question, the church has every resource necessary to do that to which we have been called. Where there appears to be scarcity, look more closely. There is a stewardship problem of our own making.

 

For the full article, click here.

 

Guest Blogger: Randall E. Davey, President, accruWealth (www.accruWealth.com)

 

 

Financial Responsibility

March 4, 2009 in Building Leaders, Financial Responsibility | No comments


Let’s talk about financial responsibility, that scourge of our day, with the stock market in freefall, the housing crisis and rumors of bank failures. Wait! Don’t click the delete button yet. I wanted to share an email that I received from a friend in Rwanda.

 
Theo Mushinzimana of Rwanda Partners wrote that when we taught last May in Bugesera, Rwanda, he was helped by three phrases:

Theo Mushinzimana

Theo Mushinzimana

1.       Gain all you can.

2.       Save all you can.

3.       Give all you can.


We challenged the people of Rwanda, through these thoughts from John Wesley, to take full and personal responsibility for their own development and not to look to others to bring the change. With that challenge, we asked those who daily live in extreme poverty to rise and be the agents of hope in their own communities.

 

Today, Theo reports that as a result of these words of challenge, he and his partners are weekly visiting and helping those in the hospital, assisting an orphan to cultivate his inherited land, and receiving training to manage their own financial affairs more wisely. When truth is brought with love, lives are changed.

 

It makes me wonder how the world would be changed if we all followed John Wesley’s advice.

 

Gary Edmonds

Do You See the New Thing?

February 6, 2009 in Building Leaders, Transformation | No comments

I sense that God is focusing Breakthrough Partners on the youth and young adults of Africa. More than 70% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is under the age of 30. They are showing an unprecedented openness to be the agents of change. After more than 38 years of interaction in Africa, I am experiencing young people who actually believe that change is possible with God and that they can be used in this change.

God is doing a new thing, let’s not miss it. Isaiah 43:19 says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

Norm Edwards, the chairman of our board, just told me this story: “I heard of a professor in Burundi who asked his students if they thought that with God’s help they could change the course of Africa. He said no one raised a hand. Then at the end of the course, he asked again. This time, every student raised a hand. I believe progress is being made.” So do we!

Gary Edmonds

A New Blessing!

February 4, 2009 in Children | No comments

There is so much that is new. Today Tricia and I became grandparents for the 7th time. Born to Andrew and Jennifer in Panama today is Abigail Grace. The entire family rejoices in this little girl. As her little brother says, “Baby Abi is here!”

Gary Edmonds

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