http://www.sethbarnes.com Radical Living in a Comfortable World - A Blog by Seth Barnes en-us Mon, 8 Feb 2010 17:09:07 GMT 30 http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=my-dumpster-diving-career http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=my-dumpster-diving-career 33 years ago I began recycling garbage. I don't know if we helped invent dumpster diving, but David and I were the first ones I ever knew to do it. Here's the story.   My friend, David Wroughton, and I were born entrepreneurs. My lawn mowing business in high school was a good start and we took it to the next level in college in the form of a janitorial service that David and I owned.   One night as we were cleaning up a commercial enterprise, we got a bright idea, "What would we find if we looked through the garbage at a restaurant?" So we went behind a seafood restaurant we liked.   What we found was a lot of food, but on the whole, it was pretty gross. Not anything you'd want to eat. So then we thought, "What about at the local grocery store? What do they throw out?"   We drove over to the Jewel Grocery Store and what we found in the garbage bins blew us away. It was all still in its packages, thrown out because its date had expired, but still quite Mon, 8 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-survival-packs-make-send http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-survival-packs-make-send Sometimes, overwhelmed by a tragedy on the scale of the Haiti earthquake, we feel impotent. We ask, "What can I do that would make a difference?"   The fact is, you can make a difference. Over a million people are homeless - they've lost everything. If you'll just take a quick trip to the drug store, you can put together a pack of basic toiletries that will help a Haitian family put their lives back together.   Some of you may want to do one bag and some of you may want to go crazy fill up a duffle bag with these. I have three I'm taking so far on my trip next week. Every survival pack makes a difference to a family. It lets them know that someone cares. And, if you can get it to me by next Thursday*, I'll hand carry it to Haiti and make sure it gets to someone who needs it. Marcia Borg, a nurse who has been to Haiti, put together this list. Here is what to buy:   Pack #1 Adult Pack Pack the following items in a large (gallon size) Ziploc bag: 1 Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=jesus-the-original-wounded-healer http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=jesus-the-original-wounded-healer We're all in the process of going from weakness to strength, from wounding to health. Henri Nouwen understood and exemplified the healing power of weakness. As a Yale professor, he was powerful, but as a volunteer who served the handicapped in L'Arche, he relinquished his power and became a healer. His insights on the subject are profound: Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people. The main question is not "How can we hide our wounds?" so we don't have to be embarrassed, but "How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?" When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. Jesus is God's wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed. Jesus' suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others. To enter into solidarity with a suffering person does not m Sat, 6 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=watching-god-work-in-haiti http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=watching-god-work-in-haiti Have you ever been in the midst of something that God was doing - watching it unfold almost in slow motion? You want to hold your breath, because your rational mind says, "What's happening now is supernatural, so don't do anything to mess it up." It's an awesome and holy thing.   Well, that's how I feel about his guidance in our response to the earthquake in Haiti.   Having seen him work powerfully as we responded to other calamities (most recently, Hurricane Katrina), my faith has grown. And so, what's happening now has the smell of familiarity to it. I've got a tingle of recognition - my experience has disarmed my natural cynicism.   Ironically, though Haitians need food, water and medicine, at this point the issue is not supply, it's distribution. The food and the medical supplies pile up on palates on the Port-au-Prince docks, but it's not getting in the mouths and bodies of those who need it. We need networks of people we trust and we need trucks that get Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=join-me-on-this-haiti-blog-tour http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=join-me-on-this-haiti-blog-tour In a week, Clint and I are taking a team of bloggers to Haiti's ground zero, Carrefour. We've been invited by the pastors there to partner with them in rebuilding their country. Everyday, we'll be sharing Haiti's stories with you and bringing dignity to the people who lived them in the process. We're thrilled by the quality of the team. They are key influencers in the world of youth ministry. Together we have the opportunity to share with the Church how we can make a difference in Haiti. Please follow their blogs as they chronicle their journey: Anne Jackson is a speaker and author of the books Mad Church Disease and Permission to Speak Freely. Tim Schmoyer is a full time youth pastor for Alexandria Covenant Church and author of Life in Student Ministry (published by YS/Zondervan in early 2011). Adam McLane is the Digital Czar for Youth Specialties. Mark Oestreicher is a writer and former President of&nb Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=do-opposites-really-attract http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=do-opposites-really-attract Em Griffin was one of my favorite professors in college, but he said something that caused me a lot of heartache. Karen had a boyfriend for four years before meeting me. She was wrestling through what to do with that relationship when she started falling for me.   Perplexed, she heard Griffin make the point in a lecture that "opposites attract." She thought to herself, "Seth and I are alike in a lot of ways, and this other guy and I are opposites." Armed with that thought, when the guy proposed, she said, "yes."   Fortunately after a month of thinking it through some more, she broke off the relationship and I didn't waste any time in showing her that whatever anyone else said, we were meant to be together (if you'd like to read the story of our relationship, here it is).   Because we now have five children of marriageable age, this issue of opposites attracting is once more a hot topic in the Barnes home. In what way do they attract? Well, first of all, couples Wed, 3 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=creating-an-awesome-workplace http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=creating-an-awesome-workplace I've always tried to make the office a fun place. When we first moved to Gainesville, my coworker Erin Drew perpetually instigated rubber band wars. We were an active, fun bunch. We worked hard and played hard.   More recently, our Gainesville office has tilted too far to the serious-focused side of things. We've needed more life. Some days I wondered if the DNA had been irretrievably diluted as my role changed and I've spent more time on the road.   But then a delightful thing has happened - people have started taking the place back. The atmosphere has become light again. Small, surprising things have happened; for example, the accounting dept. and the HR dept. started collaborating to bring fun into the place. They went crazy over Christmas, holding a contest among departments to see who could best decorate their office area. And they've organized lots of small things as well (i.e. a puppy shower for Asha).   As I type, World Race reunions are taking place som Tue, 2 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=photo-in-need-of-a-caption-4 http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=photo-in-need-of-a-caption-4 Wes Nelson:  "Pic 1 - I don't think this mail-order bride thing is all it was cracked up to be."   Photo Caption Contest Rules: 1. Add a caption as a comment. 2. It can be a "title" for the photo, or a "comment" made my someone or something in the photo. 3. The winner is selected by me. 4. The prize for winning is our gratitude for your wit.         Mon, 1 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=learn-listening-prayer-our-gift-to-you http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=learn-listening-prayer-our-gift-to-you One of the surprising things about this blog has been the sense of virtual community it has fostered. Many of us first connected through the blog, but then went much deeper in a variety ways beyond the blog. For example, we've formed online discipleship group for men and for women that help their members learn how to hear God's voice. Heidi Landes write the following about her experience: .   Last summer, I signed up to be part of an online discipleship group through thisblog.  I had no idea what I was getting into, but I just knew that I was craving community and challenge with other women.  Kathy Lucas was the leader for this first group, and soon we began the introductions (over email) of 8 women from all over.  Our ages, backgrounds and experiences varied widely.  We set out to go through the book Listening Prayer and agreed to do a conference call  and emails each week. So... the first four weeks of conference calls.  It was awkward and a Mon, 1 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=one-million-orphaned-children-in-haiti http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=one-million-orphaned-children-in-haiti Just saw this article. The question is, how will we respond? Hundreds of thousands of other hungry and thirsty children are scattered among Port-au-Prince's squatter camps of survivors, without protection against disease or child predators - often with nobody to care for them. "There's an estimated 1 million unaccompanied or orphaned children or children who lost one parent," said Kate Conradt, a spokeswoman for the aid group Save the Children. "They are extremely vulnerable." The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, has established a special tent camp for girls and boys separated from their parents in the Jan. 12 quake, and who are in danger of falling prey to child traffickers and other abusers. The Connecticut-based Save the Children has set up "Child Spaces" in 13 makeshift settlements. The Red Cross and other groups are working to reunite families and get children into orphanages. The post-quake needs of Haiti's children have outrun available help. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=secrets-of-spiritual-fathering http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=secrets-of-spiritual-fathering If you're like most people, you've never had a spiritual father. And because, as Paul says, "you don't have many spiritual fathers," it can seem like a mysterious subject. That's a shame, because we need a spiritual father. They help us sort through our identity issues. They help us see the kingdom and where we fit into it.   I personally feel as though the last third of my life is to be primarily about fathering. But I'm not interested in folks who just want a one-off from me. I'm not here to give you an "Aha!" moment and then move on. I want to know that you'll ask questions, listen, apply what we've talked about and press into whatever I may have to help you. Only about 2-3% of people ever seem to do that. The rest just keep on moving on down the pike and out of my life. Not that I don't have some great spiritual sons and daughters (a blog on the guys here).   Some things I've learned over the years about spiritual fathering:   1. A spiritual father will see Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=how-jesus-awakens-his-disciples http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=how-jesus-awakens-his-disciples This Haiti earthquake is a horrific nightmare, but God will use it to bring his kingdom. How is it that a woman buried for days comes out of the rubble singing and praising God? How is it that revival is breaking out in a land racked by such pain?   It has to do with the way Jesus redeems pain. If you let him, he'll use it in your life as you respond with compassion to Haiti. Maybe your life is working for you and helping with a national disaster isn't on your radar. But if you do, don't be surprised if it's not a disorienting experience. Don't be surprised if it doesn't mess with your value system and priorities. And if it does, it could be a good thing. It could be that Jesus is in the process of growing you up as he did his 12 disciples.   Over time, I've seen that he doesn't just want to save me from my sin, he wants to dance with me. He wants to move in tandem with you and I through life. But to get us there, he has to break us of the bad habits we've Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-video-show-it-help-us-raise-funds http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-video-show-it-help-us-raise-funds Kim Daniels put together this video. We're asking people to show it groups and churches to help raise money.   Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=teri-gunnink-in-relevant-magazine http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=teri-gunnink-in-relevant-magazine Teri Gunnink is helping coordinate our relief efforts in Haiti. Her story as it appears in Relevant Magazine is partially excerpted below.   For this generation of believers, the inevitable reaction to a national disaster is talking. Young people are blogging about what leading Christian voices said. They are trying to understand why God would allow such a devastating event to occur. But such a response is really no different than apathy, if nothing gets done.   Three years ago, blogging and discussion might have also been Teri Gunnink's reaction to the cataclysmic earthquake that struck the Republic of Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, killing thousands of men, women and children. Back then, she barely knew the country existed-it was merely an island on the map. Gunnink had absolutely no clue that God had already arranged for her to unveil His kingdom to the Haitian people. In fact, she had other plans. Growing up in tiny Aztec, New Mexico, Gunnink always dreamed Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=most-difficult-relief-effort-in-history http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=most-difficult-relief-effort-in-history Great article from the New York Times on the complexity of the relief efforts in Haiti. For a reporter's slides and report of the mass exodus, go here.  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The relief effort in Haiti could end up being the most difficult, faith-testing recovery from a modern disaster, perhaps even exceeding that from the 2004 Asian tsunami, according to United Nation officials and aid groups with experience in large-scale catastrophes. Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, was barely showing signs of recovery from the 2008 hurricane season when the earthquake flattened its capital, Port-au-Prince, crippling the country's already weakened transportation and service delivery network. Local aid groups that would normally help guide international efforts were damaged themselves, while the United Nations lost at least 70 staff members, and 146 more remain unaccounted for. "You're talking about a country that pre-earthquake had limited res Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-you-join-with-us http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-you-join-with-us This morning Marcia Borg reported from near the Hatian border: I am heartbroken for the Haitians. We have talked and prayed with many. Last night spent time in the hospital. Most people have something amputated. It is a pitiful sight. Every age group, both genders, just fill the place up with casts and stumps, dressings and pain. They look lost and devastated. They are homeless and still dont know where their family members are. There are many children here on the street with one small bag of their lifes belongings. When you ask about their family they immediately say, My father  died,or My mother died, and on and on. Their stories are horrific of grabbing the children and running for the door when they felt the shake. Some made it and some didnt.   One girl we helped last night was crying out in pain and holding her stomach.  She was just sitting on the sidewalk outside of the hospital along with her sister and some family. It seemed to get worse as we talked and Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=awesome-story-pic-from-haiti http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=awesome-story-pic-from-haiti   Out of the utter horror of Haiti, comes a picture of incredible joy. Meet Kiki, Boy Wonder, alive and well after 8 days under the rubble of earthquake-blitzed Port au Prince. Can you see the joy in the eight-year-old's eyes ... he never gave up hope that he would be freed. The rescue - and a picture that will bring tears to the eyes - defied the myth that people only survive being trapped for a couple of days or so. Kiki was saved after an incredible operation, in the Nazan district of the Haitan capital, mounted by US earthquake experts. The heroes and heroines were members of urban rescue squads from New York and Virginia, some of whom had been involved in the 9/11 horrors of New York in 2001.Kiki Joachin smiled with delight with his arms outstretched as he was pulled out of the wreckage of crumbled buildings in Port-au-Prince. Kiki told the broadcaster he felt "happy" to be rescued and said he cried when he was reunited with his parents. Asked h Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=brittany-sells-her-dream-to-help-haiti http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=brittany-sells-her-dream-to-help-haiti Tuesday night we were on the skype conference call with Miguel. His story was breaking our hearts. A bunch of us were crowded in the room at the Hylton's house. Brittany, Jeff and Alycea Hylton's ten year-old (w/ the cowboy hat in the picture), was listening.   Miguel told the story of the Haitian mom who had to take her daughter whose leg had just been amputated back with her to Port-au-Prince to find her other two kids. And it hit Brittany in a way that she just had to do something. But what?   Then she realized what she could do. Brittany has a dream of owning a horse. For five years she has been putting money in a jar to save up and buy a horse. She has been a great saver. Everything goes into that dream.   And Brittany realized, "I can help the people of Haiti by trading in my dream of a horse and giving the money to them." So she emptied her piggy bank and gave everything she owned to the people of Haiti.   Her example preaches a sermon to my so Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=aims-plans-to-help-haiti-are-taking-shape http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=aims-plans-to-help-haiti-are-taking-shape Last night on a skype call from near the Haitian border, we heard the tragic story of a mother with three children. Her three year-old had her crushed leg amputated at the hip. But even as she clings to life, her mother has to take her on the hard ride back to Port-au-Prince to search for her two siblings who are still lost and possibly dead in the rubble.   She represents the hundreds of thousands, still in a state of shock, trying to cope with the trauma. They desperately and urgently need our help. And we have to ask, how does the church respond?   I work with a group of people who listen to the heart of God and know how to run to where the spiritual battle is most intense. When people were fleeing the burning towers of 9/11, the courageous response of the NYC firemen was to go running in the opposite direction - toward the fire. That's our kind of DNA.   Today and tomorrow, our team is flying to Santo Domingo, D.R., and traveling up past our base in San Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=how-god-feels-about-haiti http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=how-god-feels-about-haiti God weeps for his children. He sees the horror they're experiencing in Haiti and he feels a grief that human words cannot describe. He sees the woman holding her crushed child and he feels the sorrow coursing through her being. He wants to hold her in the same way.   The sovereignty of God is a mystery that seems at odds with a tragedy of this scale. As humans we struggle to explain how a good and omnipotent God can allow it.    Worship is the proper response, not speculation or theology on the cheap. For a Christian leader to speculate on national television, for example, about the linkage between the country's leaders' pact with the devil centuries ago and this calamity is irresponsible and grossly insensitive. It's an anthropomorphic syllogism akin to Peter asking Jesus for permission to build booths on the Mount of Transfiguration.   Too often we Americans let our rational minds spin with speculative and convoluted proof-texting. And I want to say, Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=a-thousand-children-killed-in-this-school http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=a-thousand-children-killed-in-this-school Maybe it's a thousand, or maybe it's just hundreds, either way, it's horrific. AIM's country director, Miguel Shaul, was just in Port-au-Prince. Because we work with local pastors, we can go to the places that are hardest hit and address the needs that are there. But what can you say or do when you encounter a situation like this? In it you here a local pastor say that a thousand children were crushed when their three-story building collapsed.   AIM is mobilizing to bring food, medical teams, relief teams, and eventually reconstruction teams. If you're interested in going, let me know and one of our staff will talk with you about it. If you'd like to give, here's how. I just got off a phone call with a church that had taken an offering - we'll be sharing their funds quickly at the point of need.   Please join with us and talk to your church about helping. Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=in-the-midst-of-death1 http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=in-the-midst-of-death1 I have spent the past five days with the Searchlight participants urgently praying for Haiti. Our prayers are being answered. Light is infusing the darkness as we speak. This article from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries illuminates the faith rising from the rubble. CNN and other networks went to church today. In Haiti, that is. Because the faith celebrated there today has become part of the story of Haiti's darkest hour. It's not a surprise to those of us who have been with these precious brothers and sisters. Some of them live every day with a tenacious faith that sustains them through their grinding poverty. And when they worship, it's not all buttoned down like so many American churches. It's exuberant! That's why the CNN reporter at a Haitian Sunday service had a hard time hearing the anchorwoman on the other end. Yes, their church was destroyed by the earthquake. But that didn't stop them. They worshiped in a nearby park, patching together a platform from wood scraps and som Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-earthquake-how-to-make-a-difference http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-earthquake-how-to-make-a-difference 1/16  Working on AIM's strategic response to Haiti's situation. We'll be taking groups in there this spring and summer. We'll be taking volunteers for certain specific tasks beginning next week.   We're developing plans to ship in food, water, and shelter. We'll need people to distribute them and people to pray along the way. Please continue to sign up below if you're interested in going or how you can help activate the church to go.   --------------------- 1/15  Miguel Shaul, made it all the way to Port-au-Prince and back to our base in the Dominican Republic. He was able to see first hand what many of you have been watching on the news. While it was a heart wrenching day for him, he made some solid contacts and now have specific people and places to help. Reports from other parts of Haiti are grim: "Friends who were in port today said it is horrific.  dead bodies are everywhere.  there is nowhere to go. millions homeless and starving Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-heartbreaking-report-from-miguel http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=haiti-heartbreaking-report-from-miguel I talked to our country director, Miguel Shaul. He just returned from Port-au-Prince with this report:   Miguel passed by a school that was full of students at the time of the earthquake that completely collapsed, killing most of the students. He said the stench was unbearable. They had turned the large cement slab in front of the school into a triage center for the living right next to that place of death because there was no more space to put them.   A pickup truck with four crushed but living people showed up. There was no room for them there. The man driving it said, "Where else can I take them?" There was a woman crying beside the body of her sister who couldn't get treatment and had just died. A mass of people is fleeing Port-au-Prince. It was hard to move. People are being tended for medical needs all along the way from the capital to the D.R. border.  The capital is becoming like a war zone. Last night, for example, according to unconfirmed re Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=responding-to-the-haitian-earthquake http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=responding-to-the-haitian-earthquake Haiti has always needed help, and it especially needs help in the aftermath of the earthquake.   In times of calamity, we see the church's stripes. The church was born in calamity - a persecution that scattered the believers.   How will you respond? AIM wants to help you respond, just as we did after the Tsunami, Katrina, and other natural disasters.   So, please consider giving a gift, or the gift of your time on a mission trip.   Our missionaries, Miguel and Kristen Shaul are just across the border in the Dominican Republic. We're mobilizing money and teams to send them to help. Here is their report: Thank you to everyone who has been praying and sharing concern for our neighbors in Haiti.  As we speak we are coordinating with other NGO's here in San Juan to mount an emergency response to those affected by the earthquake that occurred yesterday evening (see previous posts).  Four hours Southwest from our home of San Juan lays the Do Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=dont-confuse-your-identity-with-your-role http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=dont-confuse-your-identity-with-your-role Here's a fact that you may struggle to believe sometimes: You are valuable. People may not appreciate you as you deserve to be appreciated, but that doesn't change your intrinsic worth. You may be limping through life, feeling under-encouraged, but the fact is, you have inherent value as a son or daughter of your creator. Unfortunately, most people seem to struggle to embrace this fact. So when Jesus came to set the captives free, it wasn't just from the power of sin, but from all sorts of misperceptions that keep us from seeing ourselves as God sees us. As we hurtle through time, we just want to be OK, to be accepted, to be safe. And God wants to help us get there too. So, how are you doing? Periodically, it's a good idea to take stock and assess how you're doing and if you're trying to do too much on your own. Do you sometimes feel like you're battling to get to a safe place? A place where your identity feels secure? If you too frequently find yourself becoming defensive, then Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=dreaming-gods-dreams-is-a-thrill1 http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=dreaming-gods-dreams-is-a-thrill1 I've been teaching a group of World Race alumni in a new program we're calling "Searchlight." The key lessons I shared:   1. God's a dreamer. He makes us to be dreamers too. We dream all the time. We even day-dream. 2. He gives his dreams to his children for safe-keeping. We need to steward them. 3. He equips us with the resources to make his dreams live - we need to trust him. 4. The world and it's pain kills our dreams. We need to hang out with dreamers to learn how to dream again. 5. We need to practice dreaming by serving another person's dream. God gave us an incredible illustration of how this works in less than an hour yesterday afternoon through three people I mentor. I've been helping them learn these principles about dreaming and praying with them about their dreams. Here's who they are, what their dream is, and how God is helping fulfill the dream he gave them.   Scott Molgard - Has a dream of a ministry that will call men to discover t Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=photo-in-need-of-a-caption-3 http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=photo-in-need-of-a-caption-3 A 3-way tie - you can vote from here on your favorite if you want:   1. Crista Darr: To mount up with wings like eagles gets a whole new meaning. 2. Rozy McCormick: "No please, I don't want to be a leader, I'm a chicken not an eagle, I'm a chicken!" 3. Mark Lucas: "CUT!"     Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=what-were-the-results-of-your-fast http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=what-were-the-results-of-your-fast I broke the fast last night. What better way to do it than with chili and cornbread on a cold night? And over that meal, we launched a dream of mine, a program called Searchlight, a 2-week experience that will catapult World Race alumni toward their destinies. The fast was a fitting exclamation point on a process that has taken at least six months of dreaming and work.   Fasts do that - they are electrical chords we plug into divine current. We may have all the machinery to accomplish the assignment Jesus gave us, but we need some spiritual juice to start them up.   I don't about your fast, but I felt like there was some good fruit from mine. Some focus returned to my morning quiet time. Yesterday I got some good stuff to share from the book of Acts when I teach the racers on "finding your voice." In Acts 9, God showed me how he got Paul in motion. It was a very practical series of interactions. First he'd do something and then he expected Paul to respond. It was neve Sat, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=responding-to-a-ridiculous-criticism http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=responding-to-a-ridiculous-criticism Have you ever been unfairly criticized?   Once, because one of our mission teams went on a one-month media fast, the rumor circulated among some parents that AIM is a cult. Anybody who knows us understands that AIM is all about empowering young people to discover their calling. Our objective at AIM is to thrust over-protected young people out into the world to formulate their own world view and collide with their destiny. It's actually the opposite of what cults do as they seek conformity and control.   Thinking about the criticism, I wanted to blog about it. But Michael Hindes had a more prudent perspective, "It's not worth your time," he said. He was right; it's a lesson I've been learning for a while now. In life if you're going to ever do anything significant, then you're going to have critics. The right thing to do is to honor them.  When I was a younger man, after a really difficult and mistake-filled mission project that I led, one of the partic Fri, 8 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT