Welcome to the homepage of the traveler!!

Over the past 7.5 years I have been able to do some traveling. There are some people who have traveled way more than I; but I have been to, (in my opinion) several countries within this last 7.5 years. I have had the privilege to go to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Costa Rica (twice), Nicaragua, Nepal, India, Guatemala, and Canada, Jordan, Israel, Thailand (very short time), S. Korea (very short time), and of course, the U.S.A.

Anyways, as time goes on, I will attempt to be putting up more and more stuff on this blog. Enjoy what I have so far!!!

The Traveler

Friday, December 19, 2008

What is community transformation?

When you think of community development, what do you think of?....Some people think of building buildings, digging wells, building roads, etc. All of those thoughts are good and true, but community development goes much deeper than that.Back in the old days; like Adam and eve days, in Genesis, God created the people wholly. And there were three perfect relationships that were created. One, was between God and Man (they walked in the garden together), another relationship was that between Adam and Eve, (they were naked and unashamed, there was a good relationship between them). and there was also a relationship between man and the land; (God gave Adam dominion over the land, and gave him charge over it.) In my opinion; I don't think that it was hard work to take care of the land before the fall.
After the fall; there was brokenness between the relationships. First; there was the separation from man and God. When Adam hid from God because of fear.
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of
the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they
hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to
the man, 'where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was
afraid because I was naked; so I hid'"
.
(NIV Gen.
3:8-10
).
Second; there was a separation between man and man (woman); when God asked Adam if he ate from the tree that he commanded him not to eat of. Adam quickly blamed Eve;
"The woman you put
here with me-she gave e some fruit from the tree and I ate."(NIV Gen.
3:12)
So even there, there was a separation that took place between people. Finally, there was a separation between man and the land.
"Cursed is the ground because of you; through
painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce
thorns and thistles for you. and you will eat the plants of the field. By
the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will
return."(NIV 3:17b-19)

As we can see, there was a separation in those areas that took place, (not a complete separation, but one none the less). My purpose in sharing these things with you; is to give you a big picture of what community development is all about, it is bringing restoration back to those areas in a broken community.
That is one aspect of community development. Another is this; we are called to disciple. No matter where we are, that is what God has commanded us to do. It is not an option, it is a must. Part of discipleship, is teaching people, and showing by example the way we must live. As we all know, God created us for a purpose and he created principles to help us live. Those rules and principles we are to follow, are to help us and is for our good; not to do us harm. So, we as believers are to help people understand God's heart for them, in ALL areas of life. those areas in life are as follows
-Spiritually
-Physically
-Socially
-Wisdom/intellectually

Community development is about bringing transformations to ALL AREAS OF LIFE!!!! God is interested in the "whole being" not the "partial being".

Community Development does not just include, building houses, digging wells, purifying water; but it includes everything that makes up a community!! Government, Education, Churches, Health, Building, Water, Relationships; you fill in the rest....

God cares about everything. He is not a partial God, but a whole God!!

It is important for us to remember that giving the gospel message, is just as important and as spiritual, as interacting with your co-workers, or teaching your friends to obey all that God has commanded. We need to remember that it is important for us share/preach the gospel (evangelize!), but it is as equally important to take care of our health, or to take care of our "land"-(property or possessions).

Community development starts with the individual. It is allowing God to work in our hearts first, so that we can be more effective in what he is asking us to do. I am not saying we need to be perfect before God can use us; but we do need to be teachable, and willing to be changed. Then I believe it goes to the family. The families are what makes up the actual community. We need to make sure that God is still the center of our families, because if the family structures are weak, then the community will be weak. then it goes through the churches. The local churches are to be transforming agents in communities. What goes on in the church, is typically a reflection of what is happening in the community. The same people who go to church on Sunday, are the same people who work in the banks, in the schools, in the government, in all areas of society. The church needs to be the transforming agent!! Who is the Church we are!! We, as believers, need to be the transforming agents. We need to get into the media, the government, the educational systems, we need to take over those areas. We must not let them take over us!! We are God's chosen people!!

It does not matter where you are; or what you are doing; what kind of background you have; or even what you look like. It is our responsibility as believers to DISCIPLE THE WORLD. We must not be discipled by the world, we must disciple the world. There is a difference. Something that I really think is key for us to remember, is that there should not be a separation between "sacred" and "secular". Just because we are at work, does not mean we have the "right" to do something that is not godly. We need to make sure that we walk in integrity. We are not skitzo. So why would we live that way. Like I said before; God IS interested in ALL areas of life not just what we do on Sundays.

Community development is not FORCING our way or our view on people. It is, giving people the opportunity to discover what God's heart is for them specifically, with regards to ALL areas of life. USING THE BIBLE FOR OUR BASIS OF WHY WE DO THINGS!




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