echoes of redemption

The global response over the past 24 hours to the cry for help out of Haiti has been nothing short of encouraging.

From the over $1,000,000 raised by the Red Cross through a text messaging campaign to the organizations rallying support, it is amazing to see the people of the world dig in to help the most impoverished land of the western hemisphere.

ONE.org emailed this out this morning:

Disasters like this one are especially devastating when they strike places that are already struggling  to provide the most basic of services for its population. With weak government and private sector institutions, and with uncertain security conditions, Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, and the majority of Haitians live in poverty. The sheer scale of poverty in the country means that the government has limited capacity to meet even the simplest needs of its people, let alone address a disaster of this magnitude. Haiti’s lack of development—which translates into a lack of government capacity for emergency preparedness—magnifies the impact of this tragedy…

This situation demonstrates how investments in long-term development, especially in fragile and disaster-prone states like Haiti, could help countries deal with disasters, and also keep them on track to develop.

There is so much to do, and so much more will be needed even to restore the basics of life (which were uncommon even before the earthquake) – and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

But we have to stay focused.

We have to commit our resources.

We have to commit our prayers.

Everyone who can afford the technology it takes to read this blog can afford to text “Haiti” to 90999. By doing that you will contribute $10 to the Red Cross’s emergency relief fund for Haiti.

If you are interested in doing more, check out this list of organizations, or look at the website of a charity you already have a relationship with to see how they are responding.

Quick note: Our hearts and prayers are with those devastated by the massive earthquake in Haiti. Over the next few days, as aid organizations make public their plans for recovery, we will post them on this site.

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Washing someone’s feet is a Biblical act of servanthood – a visceral example of what real servanthood looks like and a model for how we should serve other people.

Of course our problem comes in when we stop with the idea of foot-washing as an example and fail to practice it as a model.

I have been part of a few foot-washing ceremonies. We would all take off our shoes, pick someone in the room and wash their feet. It was challenging to push past the awkwardness and touch someone else’s feet, and we were told that’s what servanthood looks like. However, pushing past the awkwardness is only the beginning of what servanthood looks like.

If we were really serious about serving one another in sacrificial ways, we wouldn’t need foot-washing ceremonies. They are facade’s at best.

In our culture we don’t wear sandals (like they did in Jesus time), we have sewage and animals live in different places that humans (so we’re not stepping in feces) and hygiene is (generally) a standard practiced by the people in our culture.

So what good is it to someone to wash their feet in the modern west?

None.

There are, however, needs all over the earth that desperately need to be met… and meeting those needs will take true sacrifice, true servanthood.

On top of that, there are also needs right where we are. If you gathered a group of people together now, someone would be in deep financial need. Someone else would be struggling with infertility. Anther with cancer. Another with an oppressive boss. And all of these needs could be met by the people in the room, all of these people served – if we were willing to sacrifice by living lives that wash people’s feet.

So maybe the church should stop literally washing feet and start washing the feet of the world.

With 1 in 6 people globally lacking access to clean water, there is already a crises. But the future doesn’t look any better.

60% of the world is in danger of water shortages or contamination.

And here’s why:

You can also learn more  here. And do something about it here: