» Missions

Lunch Hour

David Roth — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:57:13 +0000

We are busy aren’t we? Our lives are full. Our work demands more time than we have or want to give. Yet, something in us calls us to find a way to serve. To help someone in need. But it’s just one more thing…

Lunch is sometimes used for business meetings, or maybe to work out. Or, perhaps your lunch is simply a time for, well, lunch.

Have you ever considered using your lunch time as serving time? I discovered recently that my church in Fayetteville, AR, Central United Methodist Church, serves the hungry every Tuesday and Thursday. I went once during lunch, just to check it out. Now, I can’t quit going. It’s simple. The night before I empty a few things from my closet and throw them in the car. Then, I just show up and encourage.

I am amazed at the relationships God had led me into. Today, I took my 16-year-old son Dylan with me. He met Shariee (see picture), who has at least 60 poems she has composed. Each committed to memory, never written down, and delivered with incredible passion and heart.

Do you have a lunch hour to spare? As marketplace leaders, as believers, we are called to serve the sick and the poor. Give it a try. You will be amazed at the impact it will on your life and your leadership at work!

“There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Corinthians 12:5-6

P.S. If you know of any marketplace leaders who may have a heart, skills, or resources to help Shariee copyright and publish her poems, please let me know!

Sacrifice @ Work?

David Roth — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:01:26 +0000

This weekend my family had to miss church to attend our son Tyler’s competitive baseball game. I really don’t like that…but God had a better plan.

We got home Sunday morning just in time to gather around my laptop and hear God speak. David Platt was preaching at The Church at Pinnacle Hills. David is only 31 years old, and God is using him in a powerful way.

Can you “sacrifice” 30 minutes to change your life? Watch this message and be prepared to hear a simple, but radical word that we all need to hear. As you listen, I want to challenge you to think hard about how you can leverage your work for God’s glory.

http://pinnacle.reachforlife.tv/category/media/videos/

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:21-22

Seize the Day!

David Roth — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:05:38 +0000

I know this sounds strange, but I sometimes take notes at a funeral. It seems it is a time where all that is good, all that is important, all that transcends a life…gets shared by people who care the most.

Yesterday, we celebrated the life of Carl Carpenter, whose son Rick is a close friend of mine. Rick is the CEO of Central States Manufacturing, the company his father founded. Rick and I have met with several other leaders every two weeks for the last four years in a WorkMatters executive small group. We can all benefit greatly by contemplating some of the powerful lessons from Mr. Carl Carpenter’s life:

“Carl leveraged his business for Kingdom purposes.” Wow…I could stop right there!
“My grandfather taught me the lesson of hard work.” From grandson Brock.
He was a missionary. He was the stimulus behind Honduras and Mexico schools, medical facilities and over 50 churches planted over 25 years.
He was a “spiritual entrepreneur”. He was passionate about the Word of God, understanding it’s meaning and living it out.
He loved to laugh and have fun.
Had had a hobby…fishing…and he “worked it in” to almost everything he did.
He was a man of action…”just do it” fit him well.
He was an extremely generous man.
He lived Matthew 25…he loved God and he loved people.

Jim Hall summarized Mr. Carpenter’s life with “seize the day”! To be intentional; to remember that life is short, but eternity is long; and above all, to remember that what REALLY MATTERS is that we love God and love others.

I know this is an incredibly difficult time for Rick and his family. Let’s honor a life well lived by learning and applying lessons from that very life!

Father, please bring a sense of peace to the Carpenter family. But also Father, use this man’s life to help each of us reading these words to love you and love others more intentionally, especially through our work. Amen

Make a Difference Today

David Roth — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:34:08 +0000

One day I asked Mr. Ron, “Mr. Ron, all these white folks be inviting us to their Bible studies?” How come none of ‘em’s inviting us to their Bible doins?”

I ain’t sayin it ain’t all right to study the Bible. You got to study the Bible to know the rules of life. But I notice a lotta folks doin more lookin at the Bible than doin what it says. How we gon’ know God for real lookin for Him in some kinda religion, in some kinda system? I don’t mean know about God. I mean really, honest know who God is?

Jesus said God gon’ separate us based on what we did for folks that is hungry and thirsty, fellas that is prisoners in jail and folks that ain’t got no clothes or no place to live. What you gon’ do when you get to heaven and you ain’t done none a’ that? Stand in front a’ God and tell Him, “I didn’t feel led”? You know what He gon’ say? He gon’ say, “You didn’t need to feel led ‘cause I had done wrote it down in the Instruction Book.”

Denver Moore, co-author “What difference do it make?…Stories of Hope and Healing” from the authors of “Same kind of different as me”.

What a powerful message! That from a former homeless man who could not read or write until recently!

Our heart at WorkMatters is growing daily for the “sick and the poor”. Our vision has been expanded greatly to help those in need. The Joseph Project is our first major initiative to do just that. There will be more in the future.

As marketplace leaders, what can we do? Sometimes we feel we have to do something major. Maybe we should just keep it simple and say…”make a difference today”!

Father, will you give me the wisdom to know how to “make a difference today”, and the courage to “make a difference today”, even when it’s hard? Amen

Every Tribe, Tongue and Nation

Sam Bates — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:31:43 +0000

I have been reading through Acts this month. I love this book and its discussion of the early church beginnings. Thinking about the history of the church and the efforts put forth by the first apostles just amazes me. I love that our Lord specifically called Paul to reach out beyond the Jewish people and to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (or the rest of us). Acts also paints a beautiful picture of ministry life and the struggles we have with getting people to accept the Gospel, especially those who are from cultures totally different from our own.

I spent most of my morning helping a local ministry ISCA (International Christian Student Association) set up for their Christmas banquet tonight. They were expecting anywhere from two to three hundred students to attend. The evening consists of a nice meal, some entertainment and will end with ISCA Executive Director, Clark Lasse sharing the Gospel with these students as he so often does. I was so moved to think that just as Paul did on his missionary journey’s, the Gospel is still being shared internationally through this tiny ministry here in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Please pray whenever you read this that someone will hear the Gospel as a result of attending this dinner and come to saving faith in Christ. I was told there would be people from all parts of the world attending tonight.

Lets continue praying for the right things this month. Please pray that during December there will be those who will hear the Gospel message and that Christmas will mean something completely different to them from now on.

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:38-29

Lord, may we be part of bringing the Gospel to those whom you have called. Please help us to be supportive of those who are bringing your Gospel to those in foreign lands, especially during this season of the year. Amen.