Shaped by the Cooperative Program

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. – Galatians 6:9-10

I may be a young Southern Baptist, but my life has been shaped by the Cooperative Program – an initiative begun by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1925 to help support missions and ministries locally, nationally, and internationally.  When people, through their churches, give to the Cooperative Program, the money doesn’t just go to one specific area or place, the money is sent to state convention missions and ministries and then a certain remainder of that (depending on the state) is sent on to the national level.  Once that money reaches the national level, it is then portioned out to five different areas of Southern Baptist life.  See the chart at the end of this blog post to understand exactly what these five areas include.  It is in some of these different areas where I see the story of my life and realize just how much the Cooperative Program has shaped me. 

Theological Education: Without the Cooperative Program, my dad would have been unable to attend seminary.  When I was six years old, my family moved from western North Carolina to Louisville, Kentucky so that my dad could pursue a Master of Divinity degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; something he had dreamed of since he was a teenager.  It was there he was able to learn and develop a passion for ministry; later passing that knowledge and passion on to me.  The Cooperative Program made it possible for tuition costs to be reduced for him so that he could attend and have a solid education at a seminary, and still be able to support and provide for me, my sisters, and my mom.

My family at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ('97)

International Missions: Without the Cooperative Program, my family would have been unable to go to the mission field.  When I was ten years old, my family was called to Hong Kong as missionaries; a calling that my parents had since childhood.  At the time, many people questioned my parents as to why they would move themselves and their three daughters to a completely different country, away from family and friends.  Their response – “It’s the best thing we could do for them.”  They were so right.  Living overseas and watching the Great Commission being literally lived out before my eyes changed my mindset and my heart most definitely for the better.  The Cooperative Program made it possible for the International Mission Board to send us overseas and provide for us halfway around the world.

My family as missionaries in East Asia ('99)

SBC Operating Budget: Without the Cooperative Program, I would not have the opportunity to be in the job in which I currently work.  I am employed by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention as the Publications Specialist, a job that I regularly call my “dream job” because of how much I love this denomination.  When I was a younger adult, I didn’t really know about the Executive Committee, but came to learn about it through attending the SBC Annual Meetings and volunteering as a Page.  The Annual Meetings helped develop my knowledge of the Southern Baptist Convention and invoke an even greater passion for it.  The Cooperative Program makes it possible not only for me to have a job here, but it also makes it possible for events like the Annual Meeting to happen so that the denomination can continue to grow and flourish.

Volunteering as a SBC Page at the 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans

It’s so humbling to sit back and look at the short story of my life and see how the Cooperative Program has shaped it.  Without the Cooperative Program, so much of what my life is today would have never been possible – I wouldn’t know the things I know, love the things I love, or dream the way I dream without it. 

We young people may not say it enough, but thank you Southern Baptists for believing in and giving to an initiative where you may be unable to see the fruits of your gifts.  Still today, your gifts are making dreams for theological education, international missions, operations of the denomination, as well as national missions and representation in the political arena, possible and able to continue. 

What kind of legacy will you leave behind? One where God is a close second or where He is number one? One where you go to church whenever you feel like it or one where you invest yourself in His work in His house? One where you keep to yourself or one where you shine His light in your words and actions? Let’s be resolute in continuing to support and uphold a legacy of giving so that the Cooperative Program has the chance to do and shape even more lives for the furtherance of the Kingdom.

Galatians 6:9-10 says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”  Your gifts to the Cooperative Program allow good to happen all across this world.  Don’t grow weary in your giving; you are making a difference, you are impacting lives for the Gospel, you are shaping lives – just like you have shaped mine – and one day we will all reap the gift of gathering together in heaven to worship the God we serve as one body, united in Him.  What a day that will be!

Thankful No Matter the Circumstance

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:18

When the Pilgrims first prepared that infamous feast and came together to unite in fellowship with the Native Americans, I wonder if they realized the impact that moment would have on generations upon generations that came after them.  Although their Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days, many of the Thanksgiving traditions we celebrate today – eating, playing games, fellowshiping, giving thanks – were all a part of that very first Thanksgiving!  It’s truly a testament to their story that an event that happened in 1621 could span the course of time and still be virtually identical for millions of others in 2014.

For the attendees to that First Thanksgiving feast, it wasn’t so much about the food, but rather the coming together of two completely different parties as they worked together to live their lives in unity with one another and through some pretty difficult circumstances - famine, harsh winter, and even death.  It was about gratefulness of not only being alive and with family, but also thankfulness of fellow man and in working together to accomplish something beneficial.  I think that especially today with all of the unrest in our nation in places like Ferguson, MO, among others, that is something we can most definitely pray for and hope happens today.

As I reflect on Thanksgiving, I am incredibly thankful for so much, but certain people and experiences enter my mind today that have made me stop and think about what I take for granted and how thankful I am to the Lord for His provisions in my life.  I hope you will take a few moments to read below and give thanks today for the blessings the Lord has given you…and pray for these particular experiences and people this Thanksgiving.

Life Itself

I’m thankful for each breath I take and each moment I am alive.  I’m thankful for family and friends that surround and encourage me, who let me cry on their shoulders, who laugh and are sarcastic with me, and who pray for me every day.  I’m thankful for experiences that have shaped me and guided me to the path I walk today.  I’m thankful for life. 

This year so many in my church and community have lost loved ones and are spending this Thanksgiving without them - my heart hurts for these sweet friends and I pray God's love to overwhelm them today.  Also within the past month or two, I’ve watched friends and fellow believers in Christ walk through the loss of a loved one who took their own life.  Of course the circumstances that led to that moment are something I know nothing about and even that the family members may know nothing about this side of heaven; but to come to a point where life itself isn’t worth living has to be a place of such intense and extreme loneliness and sadness – even if you are surround by a loving and supportive family.  It’s something that doesn’t make sense at all and my heart breaks for those, believers and unbelievers, going through the feeling today of not being thankful for life.  May they know that the one who gives eternal life is right there holding their hand ready to walk through the difficult and lonely times with them.  May they feel his peace today and every day and be surrounded by love and encouragement.

The Romeike family

I am thankful for miracles and that God hears the cries of His people and answers them.  Earlier this year, I blogged about some sweet friends – the Romeike family; check out “Modern Day Pilgrims.”  Truly the members of this family are modern day pilgrims in our nation.  Just like the Plymouth Rock Pilgrims, the Romeike family came to America to escape religious persecution in their country.  They left everything and everyone they ever knew to come to a place to raise their family in the way of the Lord, something they were unable to do in their native country.

Over the past few years, they fought legal battles and this year it came to a head as their case reached the US Supreme Court.  Would they be granted amnesty or would they be deported?  So many individuals all over the country, but most especially our community, prayed that they would be granted amnesty.  The verdict came back and stated that the final ruling stood – deportation.  It made absolutely no sense that we as a nation founded upon principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could not see the similarities of this family to that of the Pilgrims and grant them this freedom that they so desperately wanted.  So we prayed…all of us…a nation of us…that God would work a miracle even when it certainly didn’t seem like one could happen.  The very next day, God answered our prayers and the very administration who fought so hard against the Romeike family granted them indefinite deferred action status which meant they could permanently stay in the US.  Truly it was a miracle.  Today the Romeike family…with their sweet “Peanut” pictured with me below…celebrate Thanksgiving with a pretty awesome reason to be thankful.

Servant Hearts

I’m thankful to live among fellow family and friends who seek to live with servant hearts.  I’m thankful that when someone sees a need, they do their best to meet it.  I’m thankful that I am able to encourage children to live with servant hearts and that they listen and take initiative to minister to others.  I cherish the stories they share with me about having the opportunity to tell somebody about Jesus on the school bus or about how they asked for gifts on their birthdays for those less fortunate.  I’m oh, so thankful that these precious children are growing up with servant hearts because that means our future will have individuals to carry on our work and dreams to reach others with the love and message of Jesus.

Each person we touch through our servant hearts could be Jesus in disguise.  I’m ever so reminded of that because of an experience I have witnessed this week at the church.  A little over a week ago a man came to the church office and requested if he could use a portion of our parking lot to load a shipping container.  He is very hard to understand because of his Hungarian accent, but we finally gathered from him that he has lost everything here in America (as his wife and daughter have both died here) and that he has no family or friends and wants to go back home to Hungary.  Unfortunately there have been some issues with the shipping container people and he still hasn’t been able to load his things into the container; he's lonely and frustrated, but grateful for the help we have been able to give.  He gave my dad his address and said, “Here will be my address in Hungary.  I have no family or friends here, but I just want someone in America to know where I will live.”  Breaks.my.heart.  As I’ve watched others help him and as I’ve even spoken to him myself, I am ever so reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me.” 

Freedom to Worship

I am thankful for salvation and that I can worship the Lord freely and with no worries of being persecuted for my faith.  This year we have watched many of our fellow man suffer persecution for being believers in Christ, most especially in the Middle East.  From imprisonment to even beheadings – these saints have stood strong for the witness of Christ, something He told us we might have to do. 

I’ll be honest, the subject of religious persecution wasn’t really on my radar until this summer at the Southern Baptist Convention.  It was there I heard first-hand from Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Saeed Abedini, an Iraqi-American pastor being imprisoned in Iraq because of his faith.  I had seen her on TV and even read about her husband, but it wasn’t until ERLC President Russell Moore spoke about Naghmeh and her husband that I really “heard” their story.  After the presentation, I got to speak for a brief moment to Naghmeh and tell her how I would be praying for her and her children.  I blogged about this experience in “#SaveSaeed this Father’s Day.” 

Over the past few months, I have read her posts and seen her pictures of her sweet family as they go through milestones (like today’s Thanksgiving holiday) in their lives without their precious father and husband.  Through each moment, however, she talks about how she is so proud of Saeed and his perseverance in not denying Christ.  Saeed truly “would rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”  That is powerful and a testament to all of us. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Giving thanks in all circumstances is hard especially when the world around you is in turmoil, when you are mourning the death of a loved one, when you aren’t sure of your freedom, when you see someone in desperate need of help, or when you are being tortured because of your faith – but giving thanks is important because of all that Christ has done for you.  Not only did he give you life, but He gave HIS life so that you can live eternally with Him.  That fact alone is something for which to be thankful.

The 2014 world most definitely doesn’t look like the 1621 world, but the thoughts behind today span the course of 393 years...give thanks to the Lord and for all He has done for you.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

2012 in Retrospect

2012.  When I sit here and look at this combination of numbers, my mind rolls through with countless memories and thoughts of the things I experienced and encountered throughout the year.  Each year, I like to take a little time to reflect on the year as I see what God did and how He brought me through.  These blog posts are probably some of the longest of the year…and I’m warning you about that now…but I’ll try not to make this one as long as last year. (Note the word try) :)

School
“Stick a fork in me, I’m done!”  This May, I graduated with my Master of Arts in Discipleship Ministries from Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary.  What a fantastic program that I was privileged to be a part of!  The last semester of my program, I had some awesome classes with the children’s ministry professor, Dr. Michael Mitchell.  He was an excellent teacher!  He had such great advice and was one of the most helpful professors I have ever had.  I absolutely loved his book, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples…definitely a must-read for people who work with and teach kids – both spiritually and academically.  One of the funny things about the last semester was that I had some of the longest and most challenging projects that were like 20-25 pages each and I actually enjoyed doing them!

I decided to walk at graduation.  I knew from the get-go that there was going to be an insane amount of people and I wasn’t wrong.  Good thing I used to live in Hong Kong, ‘cause I would’ve been overwhelmed at the amount of graduates that there were.  We had quite an interesting commencement speaker for our graduation…Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.  It was a bit controversial that he was speaking at a Baptist school’s graduation ceremony, but I thought he did a great job…spoke to duty to faith and career, but didn’t push his beliefs at all.  Not many people can say they heard a potential presidential candidate speak at their graduation, so that was neat to be able to say that (would’ve been neater to say the future president spoke at my graduation…but alas…).  I actually didn’t officially graduate from the program until later that afternoon when I had to attend another ceremony for the seminary.  It was a long day, but it was an awesome and unforgettable experience….AND I get to experience it from the other side in 2013 as I go back to Liberty to watch my sister graduate! :)

The graduate!  Not crazy about the long sleeves, but apparently, that's especially for Masters grads...

Our special commencement speaker - Mitt Romney.

The Liberty University & Seminary Class of 2012 plus the onlookers...I didn't take the picture, but I'm  in it!

I learned so much from seminary and I am SO thankful for the experience!  The knowledge and insight I gained about the Bible, ministry, and teaching children has been so helpful and useful and I am excited to see where all of my education will take me next!

Job
Work this year has been a whirlwind!  There has been so much go on in the form of design/screen stuff for the church as well as catering with Megan’s Corner.  I’m so blessed to have these jobs and use my gifts and talents for both.  Highlights of the year: running screens for the Annie Moses Band (one of my favorite music groups) and catering for an event featuring Elizabeth Smart.  God’s really blessing both places that I work and I am excited to see what He is going to do at First Baptist and Megan’s Corner in the coming year!

Church
This was my first full year as children’s missions leader at church.  I had lots of really cool experiences in this capacity this summer!  I got to be associational VBS leader as well as teach missions to children in AWANA, CiA (Children in Action), VBS, and help organize a fall children’s missions conference sponsored by the TN Baptist Convention.  It was so awesome to be able to interact with so many kids and open their eyes to the world of missions.  If you know me, you know that teaching kids missions is my love and passion AND seeing them have a love and passion for missions brings my heart so much happiness that it is literally smiling right now! :)

Teaching missions during VBS

Volunteering in the media department by overseeing the projection screens has also continued full force this year.  From special performances to regular Sunday services...there is never a dull moment!  Seven years ago, I would have never dreamed of myself in this capacity because I never had a background in media, but I am so thankful for two special ladies who saw potential in me and invited me into the ministry - since then, life has never been the same!  The only thing I wish is that I could wear tennis shoes every Sunday morning because it feels like most weeks I am a marathon runner trying to get last minute things done before we go live on air! Ha ha!

Unforgettable Summer
So much happened this summer and it’s really crazy to sit here and process it all, but I’ll try.

In May, my sister Meredith left for Thailand to be a summer missionary.  She got to use her gifts and talents in accounting to make a difference on the mission field!  So awesome!  Meredith got to experience many new and exciting things throughout the summer.  She even was gracious enough to Skype my VBS and CiA kids – they definitely thought that was cool!  God really used her and she has so many neat stories about her time there.  The experience in Thailand was definitely God-affirming that this is what He wants her to do for a career.

In June, I was asked for the fifth year to page for the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans, LA.  This year, my entire family went (minus Meredith who was in Thailand) and so my other sister, Lauren paged as well.  I know I say this every year, but this was my favorite year to page!  I had such an incredible experience working for the convention this year.  I was copier page and I also had the honor of working on the platform this year which was very cool.  Over the past few years, I have gotten to know some of the executive staff and so it has been neat in these last couple of years to see people who I recognize and vice-versa.  I have so much respect for the men and women who run the annual Southern Baptist Conventions as these events are intricately organized, staffed, and assembled – it is definitely a team effort.  Hands-down, my favorite part of this paging experience was meeting and being a part of the nomination/election of the new SBC president, Dr. Fred Luter.  He is the first African-American president to preside over the Southern Baptist Convention which made his nomination and subsequent election the most historic in SBC history AND I got to experience it all from the very stage where it was happening!  Talk about cool!  The day after his election, I got the opportunity to meet him and get my picture taken with him.  It was definitely an unforgettable experience!

View of the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention from my perch on the platform

Myself and Dr. Fred Luter, president of the Southern Baptist Convention

On the Fourth of July, the lives of two of my friends were turned completely upside down when they lost their boys in a lake accident.  It was a tragedy that rocked not only their lives, but the lives of our church and community.  I shared my feelings about this time on my blog (see A Prayer from My Heart and Flooded with Peace and A Calm After the Storm), but suffice it to say, it was a very difficult time.  This is a valley that these families are still walking through and I absolutely hate that for them.  I don't understand why this happened and we'll never understand why this happened this side of heaven - but I do know that God has been with us through every single moment and I can't imagine how this experience would have gone without that knowledge.  Through this, however, the boys have made a lasting impact on our community as many have come to Christ or have recommitted their lives to Christ through inspirational stories involving the boys.  I had the honor of knowing both of them and feel so blessed that I was able to interact with the two of them.  Not that I didn't before...but since July 4th when a kid runs up to me with huge, open arms...I hug a little tighter, listen a little closer, and love a lot deeper.

Nate & Noah - Two awesome young men of God who have made eternal impacts on the Kingdom!  Miss them, but rejoicing that I will see them again one day!

In the middle of July, I boarded and airplane and for the fourth time traveled to my heart city of Hong Kong to teach VBS to my heart church, Clearwater Bay International Baptist Church.  This year, I had the blessing of leading the music as well as the 4 yr-Kindergarten class.  It was such a joy to interact with the children through music this year; to watch how they responded to the songs and really took them to their heart warmed my heart deeply.  This year was the largest group of children and the smallest leadership team that CBIBC has ever had for VBS!  It was interesting to see how God worked everything out for His glory during this week as there was a low teacher to student ratio as well as unexpected things happen during the week!  I blogged all about my trip and you can find all those posts underneath August 2012.  During my time there, Meredith joined me and we got to spend some time together in "the" Hong Kong...it was definitely memorable!  I'm SO thankful I got the opportunity to go back to Hong Kong this year.  This place, through some extraordinary people who I am privileged to call dear friends, has made such an impact on my life and I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to give back!!!

My adorably-cute 4 yr old/Kindergarten class!

Leading music

Favorite place in the entire world - hands-down

SO thankful to be able to serve in my heart city of Hong Kong

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Good news...I held to my word and this year's retrospective was MUCH shorter than last year!  Aren't you proud of me?  Ok, maybe not, but I'm proud of myself. :)

Through all of the experiences of 2012, God has shown me that He wants me to spend my life's career serving Him.  School is officially over and now it's time for life to begin.   I'll admit, I've been getting a little antsy as of late, waiting for God to show His plans for me....but you want to know what He's been teaching me?  Patience.  Wait upon Me.  I will not forsake you.  I have it all under control.  TRUST ME!

God knows the desires of my heart and I am following and trusting Him, day by day, knowing that in His perfect time He will provide.  Jeremiah 29:11 promises me that.  Psalm 37:4 promises me that.  And my favorite verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, promises that truth as well.  I appreciate and covet your prayers as I enter 2013 with a willing and ready heart - ready to go where God wants me to go and do what He wants me to do.

I encapsulated 2010 & 2011 with words, but this year, I’m encapsulating 2012 with a song.  This song is 2012 personified to me and I know this truth will hold true in 2013 as well.

Not for a moment will God forsake me.  He loves me...He's with me...He's got 2013 all under control.