15 September SOLIS Dinner at Zolder50

SOLIS Amsterdam is a Zolder50 initiative to help the poor. SOLIS is a non-profit organization focused on ending poverty and creating economic sustainability in developing communities.

I have mixed feelings about presenting SOLIS Amsterdam. On the one hand I’m excited to introduce you to a concrete project to help the poor. On the other hand I’ve been struggling with a sense of being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problems we’re talking about. We’re talking about poverty issues, hunger and social injustice.

I wondered how I should present this project. Should I perhaps use Bible verses, to convince you that it is good to feed the hungry? – I am sure many of you already know these verses. Should I perhaps invoke your compassion by speaking out emotionally? – But it’s not about us, it’s about what God has to say to us. This morning I struggled with these questions. I started to have an headache over all this thinking, I realised I could not really communicate what I wanted to communicate, because my mind was not at peace. So I switched on the TV.

There are moments when God seems to speak so clearly to me, and this was one of them. Our brothers and sisters of the Evangelical Broadcasting Company (EO) reported on the situation in Kenya. Persistent drought has caused food shortages. Now 3,5 million people need food aid. A woman working in Kenya for an aid organization told us about how people craved for food, how huge the needs were, not only for food but also for schooling, future prospects. The programme makers also reported on two kids who have lost their father. Elephants killed him, as they were competing for scarce water resources. Parents helplessly watch their children suffer sickness and starve...

I think it is important to understand that helping the poor is more than about giving money. We could for in instance commit time. We can also raise other people’s awareness for these issues, which is what we’ve been doing this month at our Church.

15^th of September we plan to organize a fundraising dinner at our church. All profit we make will be for business starting & community projects by the Village Enterprise Fund. Of course, we will have great food, but also performances and a DJ.

We hope to raise funds for the micro-enterprise fund and community grants.

Micro-enterprise funds help to create sustainable small businesses in developing communities in Kenya. The Micro-Enterprise fund will provide small loans to help people to start small businesses for instance metal recyclers, farms, taxi services, retail shops, etc.

Community grants are invested in community development. An example would be helping churches that have to take care of adopted aids orphans.

To organize this dinner we need your help. We need to fill the following tasks:

• Food and Beverage: choosing recipes, preparing food, serving
• Entertainment: performances (DJs, bands, …)
• Decorations: tables, cutlery, etc.
• PR: making and distributing brochures, making menu cards
• Prayer
• Sponsors: buy food and decorations.

In the orange room at the Zolder you will find lists where you can sign up I you want to volunteer the 15^th of September. Please sign up if you feel you could contribute something. For more information you can mail or phone me.

Long-term Commitment

Finally there are a couple of things I would like to mention shortly. This year some people in our church will visit Kenya, to see what happens with our projects. We want to build a long-term relationship between our Church and a Kenyan community. We think we will better understand the needs of people as we get to know them better. We also think a long term relationship will raise our awareness for poverty in this world. So, as we are ending our May Awareness month, the raising of awareness still goes on. In June we will organise Rich Man Poor Man dinners at the Home Groups of this Church. The idea is that the dining table represents the world, some people get food in abundance, others will have to do with a spoon of rice. Maybe you’d feel uncomfortable sitting at that table, but then again I think we should not feel comfortable about social injustice in this world.

Eric's Images from Nijmegen

These are my five favorite photos from the Nijmegen weekend...


"Ani B" -- street smart in Centraal Station...


Marco's fashion statement -- this photo is destined to become a classic...


Jason, Nicole, and Geert Jan in Nijmegen...


H. Maria Geboorte Kerk (I felt a little guilty taking the picture in the middle of a church service, but I'm kind of glad that I did it).


The crazy group shot... You can see my blog for the "regular" group portrait, if you want...

I was going to try and upload some more photos to the Flickr account, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. Could anyone offer some advice? Either way (whether we do it through Flickr or through posting things directly to this blog or something else), I'd like to see some of the pictures that other people took as well.

Live from Nijmegen

I'm typing this post from the living room of our host, Henrita, here in Nijmegen. We're getting ready to have breakfast and head to the H. Maria Geboorte Kerk. After that, we'll eat lunch together and then head back to Amsterdam...

It's been a good weekend.

In many ways, you could say that we have spied the land and found it to be incredibly fruitful. Yesterday's conversations with other ministry leaders from around the city yielded very positive reports about the need for further ministry in Nijmegen -- at least 150,000 people, even in this more traditionally "religious" part of the Netherlands, who are outside the reach of one of the existing churches. One of the leaders (Diedrick Eikelboom, from the Evangelical Alliance of Nijmegen) said that there is especially a need in some large neighborhoods of the city and in populations such as the university students, the artistically-minded community, the nature lovers, and the sporters (which is cool, because Zolder50 seems to have a particular affinity for these areas of ministry). Our conversations with random strangers in the parks, pleins, and streets of Nijmegen were very interesting and provocative. Many people seem to want desperately to believe but find themselves shackled by doubt and dogma. And among those who choose to be open to spiritual things, there seems to be a definite hunger for the gospel.

But, to be sure, there are also some "giants" in the land and some fortified cities that could be challenging if a new church were to be started in Nijmegen. It sounds like New Age spirituality and Paganism have a very strong influence in the area; several individuals mentioned that Wicca is big here and that spiritual battle is a very real and present phenomenon. Entrenched models of ministry also seem to create challenges for reaching the average unbeliever, who assumes that church is something boring, hypocritical, and irrelevant. The area is definitely more Dutch-speaking than Amsterdam, and even Amsterdammers who would move to Nijmegen would be considered "allochtonen" (foreigners).

Nevertheless, the weekend has been very encouraging and stimulating. We want to continue to pray for God's guidance as we process our experiences from the last days. We want to hear God's voice clearly, and if God's voice is urging us to "take the land" then we want to respond not in fear but in faith -- like Caleb son of Jephunneh, who said, "we should go up and take posession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (Numbers 13:30).

We look forward to posting more reflections and photographs from the trip, as time goes on...

Evangelistic dos and don'ts with Muslims

Do:
-love and respect your Muslim friend(s).
(90% of Muslims who converted to Christianity said it was because of love)
-pray with them, with their permission, and pray for them.
-consult the Bible often to explain and support what you believe. This will expose your Muslim friend to the Bible's ring of authority and authenticity. At an appropriate time, offer to study the Gospel according to John with them.
-meet with them individually. Witnessing to Muslims is best done one-to-one. When you meet Muslims in a group, they will dutifully defend their religion in front of others so as not to expose the doubts they might have.
-point to Jesus and your relationship with him as often as you can without being offensive. A former Muslim said, "It is absolutely vital for the Muslim to see Christianity not as a religion but as a living, new relationship with God".
-use Jesus' parables and stories. Muslims are more influenced by stories and parables than they are by logical arguments. (Especially the story of the Prodigal Son is meaningful to Muslims.)
-read at least a few portions, if not all, of the Qur'an so that you will become familiar with the Muslim concept of God with the "flavour" or their religion.
-be patient, persistent, and prayerful. Muslims in general are slow in turning to Jesus Christ for salvation. (If it takes years and you still see no results, do not be discouraged or give up hope!)
-handle the Bible with respect. The custon in Islamic countries is to not lower the Qur'an below the waist. Muslims also keep the Qur'an on the highest shelf in the house, for nothing should be placed above the Qur'an. Allso, they consider it a sign of disrespect to write in the Qur'an or the Bible.

Don't:
-be critical of Islam, the Qur'an, or Muhammad. In fact, try to avoid such subjects altogether. Instead, focus on sharing the Good news of the Gospel.
-take your Muslim friend to church until you know that they are ready for it. There is much that could happen during a church service that the typical Muslim would find dishonouring to God and therefore offensive to him or her (for instance, men and women sitting together and casually touching each other). If you do take a Muslim to church, discuss with him or her what to expect beforehand. It is best to introduce a Muslim slowly to the Christian culture by taking him or her to Bible discussions (home group).
-argue with your Muslim friend. Understand that a Muslim cannot lose an argument, because he or she would then lose face. Try to sensitively stimulate your friend's thinking instead.