live.connect.grow
Time 2021-11-18 17:19:36Web Name: live.connect.grow
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keywords: description:This is the chronicle of the Wallace Family and our journey in France...
Last week, I wasreading a post from another "edgy" Christian, someone who, in thepast, has said some difficult, but important things for the Church to hear.Like so many others, I discovered that this person seems to be slipping overthe edge into something that can no longer be identified as Christian.
Now before I go on, I really want to make it clearthat I'm not trying to simply pass judgement on these individuals or that I amtaking lightly the pain and suffering and injustice that many have gonethrough. I'm just really sad.
My heart grieves over the loss of another potentially influentialvoice desperately needed in the Church today. These writers and artists that Imreferring to, forced believers to examine their belief system, forced them toexamine and, at times, deconstruct their worldview. I think that is needed andencouraged. Being a Christian is defined as someone who follows Christ andlives as He lived, not someone who goes to church on Sunday. In a country wherethe Church still has much influence and power, it is a good thing to have theseprophetic voices call out to us and tell us when were out of line.
The current social/politicalclimate has done little to nothing to glorify the name of Jesus. There is oneside of the Evangelical spectrum fighting against injustice and inequality inall its forms, racial, gender, social, etc. something that the Church shouldchampion. At the same time, there is another side fighting for the rights ofthe unborn and doing their best to stand guard in a society whose moral base israpidly eroding under its feet. Both of these sides in the eyes of anunbelieving, non-churched culture are at odds with one another (specificallygoing against what Jesus himself prayed for in John 17).
For many of theseinfluencers that I referred to, their path started out in the right direction,but in my humble opinion, theyve lost their way.
I dont know iftheyve become misguided because of their way of looking at things. Forinstance, did their intention to deconstruct their worldview take them too far?(In a sense, did they destroy the foundation of their beliefs as well as thebuilding that was sitting on top of it?) Or as they gained influence and popularity,did they feel less and less comfortable in confronting sin, as it is definedbiblically? Or maybe they themselves, in an attempt to explain their own painand suffering, simply abandon the faith that they had clung to?
Whatever thereason to coming to this conclusion, the response has been the same a lashingout against or abandoning altogether the Church (or at least Evangelical Christianityas they define it).
Im saddened fortwo reasons. The first: the loss and grief that I feel over their conclusions.I have been affected and positively influenced by their books and music overthe years. They have been so formative to my faith. They forced me to ask questionsthat I didnt want to ask. They forced me to explain why I did what I did andto go deeper than, Because the pastor said so They forced me to re-examine theBible so that I could really weave it into the fabric of who I am. While doingall of this, though, I have felt the amazing grace of Jesus act as an anchor tomy little boat of life. He has secured me in place through the storms thatthreaten to destroy me. I see it as though these cherished people have chosento cut their anchors when things got shaky, and now I grieve as I see thembeing swept out to sea.
The second: Ifear that weve not seen the last. While, Ive been referring to anonymous writersand artists, Ive also seen close friends walk down this path. I fear thatother believers and followers of Christ will cede to the temptation of cuttingties with Him and with the Word because they feel it is no longer relevant or expedient.I fear that they will try to interpret their actions through redefining scripture.
How do followersof Jesus respond to a culture that is moving farther and farther away from a biblicalworldview? How can we respond in love and compassion to the LGBT movement whilestill addressing the sin issue? How can we call out our leaders who claim toread the Bible and confront their immorality without using the end to justifythe means?
I am convincedthat the answer is not found in redefining or recontextualizing the Bible inorder to adapt to our society. This culture is fluid. It will change again. Iam convinced that the answer is found through the transforming message andpower of Jesus the one that we can find clearly in the Bible.
He was a radicalinfluence in His society. He called for social change. He forced people to re-examinetheir belief-system. In the end, however, He was the answer. He TRANSFORMEDsociety. Jesus is the anchor that will help us weather the temporary storms thatsurround us. He will be there no matter which direction the wind blows.
I want to urge myfriends and family (who follow Jesus) to think about their faith. We MUSTrespond to the difficult issues in our society. We cant sit on the sidelinesand do nothing. But the answer is not to cut ties. The answer is not to seekout what others are saying about any given topic. The answer is to dig deeper.To stay closer to Jesus. To pray. To study the Word. To look more like Him.
I love you and Imopen to your thoughtsNo comments: Friday, May 18, 2018 Prayer Requests - May 2018Hey everyone,
If you're reading this, it means you care enough about the Wallace Clan to see how you can partner with us in prayer, so THANK YOU!!
Ok, just to get right to it:
Please pray for Ted this weekend. He heads to Clermont-Ferrand (central France, and coincidentally the first town we visited when we came to France in 2012) tomorrow to take part in the DNJ 2018,a conference with about 5,000 young people from all over France. Pray specifically for good contacts, and for the ability to pray with and encourage these young people to engage in God's mission.Please pray for our visas. We spent most of this morning waiting around at the préfecture to pick up our new identity cards, unfortunately, we were told to come back at the end of August. This is a bit discouraging because it is holding up our application for another source of revenue (the CAF). The process has been delayed specifically because we asked for the government to change our status from "visitor" to something more long-term. There is no guarantee that we will be granted this change, so please pray that God moves on the hearts of those making this important (and highly anticipated for our part, since we originally applied over two years ago) decision. Please pray for our kids' school situation, specifically Emily and Daniel. Emily has been accepted to the music school at the University of Cork in the Republic of Ireland (Praise the Lord), and now we are awaiting the approval of the university itself. Apparently, this process might not be concluded until mid-August, which will mean a lot of big transitions that will happen really quickly. Pray that we will have wisdom in knowing how to move forward for her education. For Daniel, we learned this week that an important page is missing from his application for the high school he wants to attend next year. I have been on the phone with the school secretaries in charge, and despite all of his hard work this year and amazing performance on his tests and studies, they are now saying that it is impossible for him to apply for this high school. I know a God that handles impossibilities!And finally, please continue to pray for our financial situation here. Last summer was an amazing opportunity for us to reconnect with so many of you. We've seen many new people come on board and partner with us in ministry, but we are still at a deficit each month. Our heavenly Father loves and cares and provides for us - of this we are certain! We would just ask you to continue to lift us up in prayer in this area.Well, you've made it to the end of the prayer update! Congrats! Thank you for your love and support for our Clan. Please let us know how we can be praying for you as well. Just send us and email at ted.wallace@om.org or michelle.wallace@om.org.1 comment: Monday, May 1, 2017 Current Projects 2017 - UPDATED!
1)Increasing Monthly Support by 30%-What does this mean, and why do we need it?
When we arrived in France with came with a significant reserve that we used to supplement our monthly income. Over the past two years (the time that we planned from the beginning), that reserve is almost gone. Living in France is expensive and we simply need to augment our current monthly support by 30%.
2)The Wallace Clan US Tour 2017-What doesthismean, and what does it include?
As much as we'd love to come back home more often, the cost is prohibitive to fly the entire Clan back and forth to the US. So with that in mind, we have held off our return until this summer. We'd love to stay longer and have the opportunity to visit everybody, but we really want to keep the kids on schedule with their school, which ends at the beginning of July and starts around September 1st.
We know God has called us to France, but He has also asked to us share with the Church. We are excited to tell as many people as possible the way He is currently working in France, and we are just as passionate to share about the needs here.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 by June 1st for this trip home. This includes: passport renewals (for all 6 of the Clan), international airfare, a domestic flight (for one person), meals, hotels and fuel for the road, and a few incidentals. So far, we have raised about $2000for the project, but we need your help.
We just received a gift that will enable us to renew our passports - a major answer to prayer!
3)The Wallace Children Integration Program-What onearth does this mean?
A big part of our "ministry" here is the daily life that all of us live. Taking kids to school, volunteering for an outing, getting involved in after school programs or sports, etc. We have had multiple opportunities to meet with parents and our children's friends through getting involved in these activities. We also want our kids to truly feel at home here. The language and cultural transition is already difficult, but slowly and surely, they are making their way.
A big part of this project is the purchase of a vehicle. For the last two years, we have been privileged to be able to use the OM France Minibus, but it is really time for us to be able to get a vehicle of our own. It has been one of our prayer subjects since our arrival, and we believe that this will be a great benefit to the whole family.
The result to a hugeanswer to prayer is that we received a vehicle!!
There are still some costs to import the vehicle to France (from Germany) and to register it here, but Thank God for the generosity of a former OM family!
The other aspects of this project include registration in the different activities for the kids throughout the year - music lessons, sports, etc. - and a budget for clothing for the kids. Wethriveon hand-me-downs, but it is difficult to depend on nothing but those items to clothe ALL the kids.
Our total goal for this project is $5000.
How can you help?
2.Give - After you've prayed, ask if you feel God is leading you to give. If you feel led to be a partner in our ministry in France, you can give by clicking one of the following links.
Project #1 - Monthly Support
Project #2 - The Wallace Clan US Tour 2017
Project #3 - The Wallace Children Integration ProgramNo comments: Friday, March 17, 2017 Current Projects 2017 - Detailed info
1)Increasing Monthly Support by 30%-What does this mean, and why do we need it?
When we arrived in France with came with a significantreserve that we used to supplement our monthly income. Over the past twoyears (the time that we planned from the beginning), that reserve is almostgone. Living in France is expensive and we simply need to augment our currentmonthly support by 30%.
2)The Wallace Clan US Tour 2017-What doesthismean, and what does it include?
As much as we'd love to come back home more often, thecost is prohibitive to fly the entire Clan back and forth to the US. So withthat in mind, we have held off our return until this summer. We'd love to staylonger and have the opportunity to visit everybody, but we really want to keepthe kids on schedule with their school, which ends at the beginning of July andstarts around September 1st.
We know God has called us to France, but He has alsoasked to us share with the Church. We are excited to tell as many people aspossible the way He is currently working in France, and we are just aspassionate to share about the needs here.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 by June 1st for this trip home. Thisincludes: passport renewals (for all 6 of the Clan), international airfare, adomestic flight (for one person), meals, hotels and fuel for the road, and afew incidentals. So far, we have raised about $1000 for the project, but weneed your help.
3)The Wallace Children Integration Program-What onearth does this mean?
A big part of our "ministry" here is thedaily life that all of us live. Taking kids to school, volunteering for anouting, getting involved in after school programs or sports, etc. We have hadmultiple opportunities to meet with parents and our children's friends throughgetting involved in these activities. We also want our kids to truly feel athome here. The language and cultural transition is already difficult, butslowly and surely, they are making their way.
A big part of this project is the purchase of avehicle. For the last two years, we have been privileged to be able to use theOM France Minibus, but it is really time for us to be able to get a vehicle ofour own. It has been one of our prayer subjects since our arrival, and webelieve that this will be a great benefit to the whole family.
The other aspects of this project include registrationin the different activities for the kids throughout the year - music lessons,sports, etc. - and a budget for clothing for the kids. Wethriveonhand-me-downs, but it is difficult to depend on nothing but those items toclothe ALL the kids.
Our total goal for this project is $12,000.
Howcan you help?
2.Give - After you've prayed,ask if you feel God is leading you to give. If you feel led to be apartner in our ministry in France, you can give by clicking one of thefollowing links.
Project #1 - Monthly Support
Project #2 - The Wallace Clan US Tour 2017
Project #3 - The Wallace Children Integration ProgramNo comments: Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)The Wallace Clan
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