Kevin Twit: How important is adoption to understanding Christianity?

The ultimate end of the gospel is to not just make us his friends, but to make us his sons.

Father of the Fatherless: Women Approaching God as Father

Back in 2000, Mary Kassian wrote this article for CBMW titled "Father of the Fatherless: Women Approaching God as Father." Here are a few brief excerpts.

Does every child need a father? Increasingly, our society's answer to this question is no, or at least not necessarily. Each night, about forty percent of American children will go to sleep in homes in which their fathers do not live.1 And not only have we as a society lost the presence of fathers, we have lost something more fundamental: We have lost our idea of fatherhood. We are living in a culture of fatherlessness.

The human need to be well-fathered is illustrated by the enormous response to Bob Carlisle's ballad, Butterfly Kisses. Butterfly Kisses is a song that speaks of the tender love between a father and his daughter. Reflecting upon the song's phenomenal success, Bob Carlisle said, "I get a lot of mail from young girls who try to get me to marry their moms. That used to be a real chuckle because it's so cute, but then I realized they don't want a romance for mom; they want the father who is in that song, and that just kills me."

CJ Mahaney - Part 5

CJ Continues his series on adoption by quoting J.I. Packer

But contrast this, now, with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship—he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with the God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.*

Miracle in Franklin

Powerful.



HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

The Facts

Orphan Sunday - November 8

Orphan Sunday is November 8th. Your church should recognize it, and I hate to say that.

I hate to say it not because I don’t believe in the mission of Orphan Sunday, churches from every denomination and tradition calling us to orphan care and adoption. I do, enthusiastically. I hate to say it because I know the probable reaction of many of my fellow preachers and church leaders when they see another special emphasis Sunday, especially one that’s part of parachurch ministry: slack jaws and glazed eyes.

After all, our church calendars are marked up enough as it is with everything from, it seems, “Clown Ministry Awareness Sunday” to “Week of Prayer for the Wives of Retired Interim Pastors.” Our “special emphasis” days are so usual that they’re neither special nor particularly emphatic.

But this one’s different.

Orphan Sunday isn’t an emphasis on a program or a “cause” or a special interest group. It’s not an offering or a volunteer recruitment tool. Orphan Sunday could be the Pearl Harbor for spiritual warfare in your church.

Orphan Sunday reminds us all that orphan care isn’t a special emphasis at all. Every Christian is called to care for the fatherless (James 1:27), in different ways to be sure. No one is exempt from this mark of the Christ’s followers. Orphan Sunday carves out a space for us all to encourage one another, together, toward that end.

You don’t have to have a huge program in place for Orphan Sunday, now just a little while away. Go to the website, www.orphansunday.org, and pray through some of the ideas there, to see which, if any, would work in your context.

HT: Russell Moore

Understanding adopting grace will protect us from the enchantment of legalism.

C.J. Mahaney continues his series on Adoption with this entry...

Over the years I have become aware of how easy it is to focus on justification and fail to prioritize the doctrine of God’s adopting grace. Historically, in my own ministry, and in Sovereign Grace in general, we have tended to emphasize the doctrine of justification over adoption. Please don’t misunderstand; we must never teach less on justification. The doctrine of justification must always remain primary because all the saving benefits (including adoption) depend upon justification by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone.

Justification provides the foundation for adoption. And, rightly understood, justification positions us to fully appreciate adoption. We cannot speak of the Fatherhood of God apart from the cross.

But adoption is also distinct from justification. Without separating them, we need to distinguish between them.

Lauching a Church Adoption Webinar - Oct 8

The Abba Fund is presenting a free webinar on October 8th called "Launching a Church Adoption Fund. You can register by clicking the image below.

10 Ways to Care for Orphans Poster

Hope for 100 has created a poster called "10 Ways to Care for Orphans" and made it available for free.

Hope for 100, a ministry of the Abba Fund, exists to challenge and support local churches to obey God's Word by providing loving, Christian homes for 100 children through adoption or foster care.

Check out the poster here:
10 Ways to Care for Orphans

Myths & Realities

Adoptive Dads has a series of posts called "Myths and Realities."

For example:

Myth: All adopted children will experience problems and issues.

Reality: While some adopted children will experience problems and issues, the pervasiveness of such problems is not as significant as is generally assumed. The heart of the matter, however, is that adoptive families have an opportunity to provide a child with unconditional love for a lifetime – and that love has the power to transform the lives of everyone involved.

Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption.

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.

For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption.”

—J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: 1993), 201-202

HT: First Importance

Shaun Groves

Shaun Groves, in a recent blog post, asks the question "Individual (only a select few are supposed to do it) or universal (every Christian who isn’t nuts or destitute should do it)?"

Here's the background...

What if God’s will comes in two brands: Individual and Universal.

The first answers the questions we’re asking: What should I study? Who should I marry? Where should I live? God’s individual will is for my life only. It’s often grainy, hard to get at, often not making sense until in hindsight.

The universal will of God answers the questions God most wants us to ask. Care for your enemies. Don’t steal. Take only your daily bread. God’s universal will applies to all Christians everywhere, regardless of age, denominational bent or nationality. God’s universal will is frighteningly clear much of the time, hard to wriggle around.

God wills that some Christians get married (individual will) but that every Christian respect and protect marriage (universal will).

God wills that some Christians move to Africa (individual will) but that every Christian care for the poor in some way (universal will).

God wills that some Christians become teachers (individual will) but that every Christian pass on what they know about God to others (universal will).

So where does adoption fall?

Individual (only a select few are supposed to do it) or universal (every Christian who isn’t nuts or destitute should do it)?

I'll attempt to give my answer to the question. Though, I do have a substantial caveat. I struggle with the concept of an "individual will" of God. I won't go into that here. For more information about that, check out Greg Koukul's "Decision Making and the Will of God." At $10, it's a little of an investment, but well worth it.

So... My Answer:
Both.

My good friend Dennis said to me "Adoption is not for every Christian family, but is something that every Christian family should consider." Now, we are called to care for orphans (James 1:27), but does that mean that as a Christian, I'm automatically called to adopt? No. Yes, there clearly are some who are to adopt -- an that greatly honors God. (If you are considering adopting, check out this list of "diagnostic questions" prepared by my church.)

But, what about the rest. Christians should be involved in orphan care. That can take on as many different forms as there are Christians, but be involved. What does this look like? Here's some ideas...

• Foster Care
• Respite Care (For Foster Care families)
• Financially supporting an Adoption Agency
• Financially supporting a couple who is adopting
• Helping at a Crisis Pregnancy Center
• Helping a foster care family buy clothes for their foster kids
• Pray for orphans, foster care families, and families adopting
• Learn about the Doctrine of Adoption
• Volunteer at a Rescue Mission

There are countless ways to, being motivated by grace, care for orphans. So, adoption is for all to consider and some to do, but caring for orphans is for all to do.

Adoption (2) - C.J. Mahaney

C.J. Mahaney continues his Multi-Part series on Adoption. Today, he points us to the outstanding Russell More book "Adopted for Life." Here's a particularly powerful excerpt.

Moore tells the story of leaving the orphanage in Russia with his two newly-adopted boys.

They’d never seen the sun, and they’d never felt the wind. They had never heard the sound of a car door slamming or felt like they were being carried along a road at 100 miles an hour. I noticed that they were shaking and reaching back to the orphanage in the distance. Suddenly it wasn’t a stranger asking, “Are they brothers?” They seemed to be asking it, nonverbally but emphatically, about themselves.

I whispered to Sergei, now Timothy, “That place is a pit! If only you knew what’s waiting for you—a home with a mommy and a daddy who love you, grandparents and great-grandparents and cousins and playmates and McDonald’s Happy Meals!”

But all they knew was the orphanage. It was squalid, but they had no other reference point. It was home.

Read the whole thing...

Matt Chandler and the De-Churched

A little off-topic I know, but too good of a video to pass up...

Prayer Request

I don't know how many people actually read this blog. That's OK. Last time I looked, it wasn't that many.

However, if you do happen to read this, please consider praying for our friends Doug and Jennifer. A few years ago, they were given custody of their two nephews. This became permanent after a long court battle that ended about two years ago. The boys have flourished in their home, and are doing great. They play football and love to have fun. I think the oldest is 13.

Doug and Jennifer have found out that the biological mother wants custody back, and there is a court hearing tomorrow. She has (according to our friends) made very little attempt over the past 5 years to be in the boys lives. Any times she's scheduled, she has not shown up for. If the court were to rule in favor of the mom, it would be devastating, both for our friends, but mainly for the boys.

If you read this, please pray for our friends, and the right outcome of this situation.

Thanks!

C.J. Mahaney on Adoption

From "C.J.'s view from the cheap seats"...

My 27 years as the senior pastor of Covenant Life Church were filled with countless joys. Among my happiest memories are the times parents introduced me to their newly adopted children.

Covenant Life, like so many churches, is filled with stories of parents willing to travel to distant lands, to invest thousands of dollars, and sometimes to enter dangerous and impoverished countries with one purpose in mind: to adopt a child.

Meeting these children was a unique joy. Each time I met these adopted children, I felt God’s pleasure. Each time I admired the selflessness and compassion of these parents. And each time I was reminded of the Savior “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Over the next few weeks, C.J. Mahaney will study the Doctrine of Adoption in his blog. I'm sure it'll be well worth the time to read.