Author: Seth Barnes

Men need to fight for what they love

Written by Seth Barnes on June 1, 2010. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 8 Comments on Men need to fight for what they love

Most of us have lost a lot in life. As kids we get picked on and we lose our sense of safety. As teenagers, we get acne and lose our clear skin. As adults, we may lose our jobs or...

This Haiti video keeps replaying in my mind

Written by Seth Barnes on May 31, 2010. Posted in Haiti. No Comments on This Haiti video keeps replaying in my mind

Haunting video above from Doug Pagitt. Springsteen’s song captures Haiti’s reality. And Doug’s radio program did a good job too. Back home now. Again I say, “We...

At ground zero during the earthquake

Written by Seth Barnes on May 30, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 4 Comments on At ground zero during the earthquake

Aaron Bruner tells the story of an AIM volunteer (we’ll call him Steve here) who was in Haiti during the earthquake. He’s still traumatized by what he went through. Steve...

Dreams while Beethoven slept

Written by Seth Barnes on May 29, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 7 Comments on Dreams while Beethoven slept

The rain began to fall soon after we arrived at Marassa, a tent city on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. We were talking to the community leaders we first met in February. In those...

Magdala

Written by Seth Barnes on May 28, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 9 Comments on Magdala

Down muddy, potholed streets, behind a high wall is the Son of God orphanage. We walked through the building and into the back courtyard, 126 orphans sat in rows doing school under...

The importance of accountability to donors

Written by Seth Barnes on May 27, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 4 Comments on The importance of accountability to donors

We’re here in Port-Au-Prince. One of our team members said it was, “the most pitiful sight I have ever seen. There were children begging for money against the van...

Churches helping churches in Haiti

Written by Seth Barnes on May 26, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 4 Comments on Churches helping churches in Haiti

We land in Haiti today. AIM has established a base in Port-au-Prince. Our team of Haitian and American staff and volunteers are serving communities through church partnerships...

Life in a flooded tent city

Written by Seth Barnes on May 25, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 4 Comments on Life in a flooded tent city

I’m hopping a plane today. And, along with a small team of bloggers, I’ll spend the rest of the week in Haiti. As we go we’re asking the question, “What...

Escaping a prison of my own making

Written by Seth Barnes on May 24, 2010. Posted in Identity issues. 5 Comments on Escaping a prison of my own making

This is the last in a series on identity. You have two main tasks to fulfill while you are on earth before you move on: To discover that you are beloved. To realize that...

Cultivating the habit of thankfulness: Week #3

Written by Seth Barnes on May 23, 2010. Posted in Blog Community. 9 Comments on Cultivating the habit of thankfulness: Week #3

Sundays are a slow day on the blog and I have a feeling folks may be tiring of this exercise of turning the thankless parts of our lives into points of thankfulness. But I’m...

No pillow for their heads

Written by Seth Barnes on May 22, 2010. Posted in Orphans. 5 Comments on No pillow for their heads

Loved this tender post by Marc Schifano: The pictures I took in Swaziland still rock me every time I look at them, more each time in fact. I was looking at this picture and my heart...

Recovering from a bad case of mistaken identity

Written by Seth Barnes on May 21, 2010. Posted in Identity issues. 6 Comments on Recovering from a bad case of mistaken identity

What do you do when you’ve become aware of the false self, when your discontent has risen to a place of critical mass? Something has to change. The danger is that...

Looking for identity in broken places

Written by Seth Barnes on May 20, 2010. Posted in Identity issues. 5 Comments on Looking for identity in broken places

2nd in a series on identity A soul under pressure goes looking for safety in what are often broken places. We look for release in relationships, jobs, hobbies, video games,...

Looking for a safe place

Written by Seth Barnes on May 19, 2010. Posted in Identity issues. 12 Comments on Looking for a safe place

As I coach young people, helping them work through their junk and move toward the greatness God has deposited in them, I find that over and over again, they struggle with foundational...

Becoming like little children

Written by Seth Barnes on May 18, 2010. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 10 Comments on Becoming like little children

What do you suppose Jesus meant when he said, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”?...

Join this Haitian church in their struggle

Written by Seth Barnes on May 17, 2010. Posted in Haiti. 8 Comments on Join this Haitian church in their struggle

I’m headed back to Haiti with a group of eight leaders on May 26. Since the earthquake hit, we’ve found that the best way to help is by working in partnership with local...

Jesus is still in the healing business

Written by Seth Barnes on May 16, 2010. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 7 Comments on Jesus is still in the healing business

What do you believe about healing? A lot of folks who have never experienced God’s healing power explain it away by saying that those gifts have ceased. Tell that to Dan and...

Cultivating the habit of thankfulness: Week 2

Written by Seth Barnes on May 15, 2010. Posted in Blog Community. 13 Comments on Cultivating the habit of thankfulness: Week 2

Last weekend was for me an encouraging time on this blog. I proposed that we’d come together as a blog community and practice the habit of thankfulness. It doesn’t come...

20 years-old and running an orphanage

Written by Seth Barnes on May 14, 2010. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 39 Comments on 20 years-old and running an orphanage

All Katie did was say “yes” to God. What would happen if we were to say “yes” to what he’s asking of us? Here is Katie’s story in her own words. I...

God uses what we have

Written by Seth Barnes on May 13, 2010. Posted in Listening prayer. 9 Comments on God uses what we have

On Monday I wrote a blog called Activism is necessary for understanding. The point of it was, we don’t have to become perfect to serve God, we just have to put ourselves in...

A critical mass of redeemed pain

Written by Seth Barnes on May 12, 2010. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 13 Comments on A critical mass of redeemed pain

Pain teaches us the value of things. Some folks have to go bankrupt before they live according to a budget. Endure a few months of unemployment and you’ll be thankful for whatever...

Ungrace will kill you

Written by Seth Barnes on May 11, 2010. Posted in Justice issues. 9 Comments on Ungrace will kill you

Phillip Yancey coined the term “ungrace” in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace. It’s the response of unforgiveness, judgment, and combativeness. Bad stuff...

Activism is necessary for understanding

Written by Seth Barnes on May 10, 2010. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 21 Comments on Activism is necessary for understanding

I remember encouraging the pastor of our white, upscale church in West Palm Beach to send members of the congregation with me to the nearby town of Belle Glade, AIDS capital of America....

Cultivating the habit of thankfulness

Written by Seth Barnes on May 8, 2010. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 29 Comments on Cultivating the habit of thankfulness

I’d like to propose that we start a group project to change our lives in a simple, but potentially profound way. Every weekend, I’d like to meet you and some other blog...