Leaders 4 Life

Values 1 of 3

2011-12-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

“Values” are demonstrated in behaviors. Leaders 4 Life has three main values: 1) preaching the gospel and building the church; 2) leadership; and 3) expertise. Below is an explanation of the first of these three, along with a few additional aspects which flow out of this first value.

First Presbyterian Church, Freetown

· Preaching the Gospel & building the Church – We preach the gospel. It is the only thing which can remedy the basic problems of humanity by changing the human heart. We build up the church. The church is the vehicle which God has ordained to bring redemption to the world. Out of this value flows the following traits …

o Prayer – Prayer is woven into who we are and into everything we do. We cannot produce true and lasting transformation without God’s help, so we pray.

o Discipleship – The “Great Commission” of Matthew 28:19 does not prescribe evangelism per se, but commands that we “make disciples.” The preaching of the gospel and the making of fully-committed followers of Christ is the essence of the church’s mission.

o Compassion – We strive to be people who exude compassion and love in both our attitudes as well as our actions. We seek to be compassionate whether we are engaged in evangelism, leadership training, or providing clean water.

o Responding to the Holy Spirit – Just as the Holy Spirit empowered and guided the early church (Acts 2), so we seek to be sensitive to the Spirit, submitting to His leading and relying upon his power. This means we submit our plans to the Spirit but we are also flexible enough to capitalize on un-planned for, Spirit-led opportunities.

o Integrity – Integrity (honesty, truthfulness, uprightness) is basic to the Christian faith as well as to the running of any organization. Integrity instills confidence in those who partner with us. Unfortunately, corruption is rife in Sierra Leone. The lack of integrity in some charities also causes mistrust. Therefore, we seek to be transparent in our dealings, especially with our finances, and we refuse to participate in bribery or corruption of any kind (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19). In addition, we seek to have integrity in dealing with the vulnerable, especially children.

Mission

2011-12-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Our mission statement: “To provide access to the highest caliber leadership and expertise in the world in 4 areas—spiritually, physically, socially and intellectually—in order to transform local communities in one of the most challenging places on earth.”

The Cotton Tree has been a national symbol of freedom in Sierra Leone since the late 1700's.

Our mission is to create life in Sierra Leone by providing access to leadership in 4 areas: spiritually, physically, socially and intellectually. Jesus addressed these 4 basic aspects of humanity in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart (social) and with all your soul (spiritual) and with all your mind (intellectual) and with all your strength (physical).” We believe, therefore, our mission is not complete unless it is holistic, addressing each of the basic facets of humanity.

Vision

2011-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Our vision statement: We exist to create life-giving Christian leaders and to transform local communities in one of the most challenging places on earth.

Simply put, the vision of Leaders 4 Life is to bring heaven to earth in Sierra Leone—to bring God’s goodness, peace, truth and healing to this country. We want to bring high-caliber Christian leadership and expertise to bear upon one of the most challenging situations in the world. We exist to create life-giving Christian leaders in Sierra Leone.

Scriptural Justification

2011-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Why should Christians be concerned about a country like Sierra Leone? What does Scripture have to say regarding mission work to such a country?

A first justification for such mission work to Sierra Leone comes from Scripture’s numerous statements about the believer’s responsibility towards the poor. For example, God’s people are to care for the poor through charitable provision (Leviticus 19:10) and through providing justice to those who are defenseless due to their poverty (Leviticus 19:15). God’s ideal is that there be no poor among His people (Deuteronomy 15:1-11), and the early Christians demonstrated this by sharing their goods with one another so that no one was in need (Acts 2:44-45). Sierra Leone has consistently been ranked among the poorest of poor nations in the world. If ever these Scriptural commands concerning poverty applied to a nation, Sierra Leone fits the mould.

Second, one might simply note that mission work is the primary focal point of the early church. The church’s birth and its first efforts are rooted in mission. It is no accident that the stories about Jesus in the gospels are followed in the Christian Bible by the book of Acts: Jesus’ coming (and the coming of the Holy Spirit) gives birth to the missionary work described in Acts. The first leaders of the church—men such as Peter, Paul, James and Jude—were all missionaries, preaching about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead and planting churches. This is what the church in every age should primarily be about: the making of disciples of Jesus and the building up of the church. As such, the church should be putting its best and brightest on the mission field.

One final instance from Scripture will suffice. In writing to the Corinthians who were confident in their own wisdom and strength, Paul explains God’s thinking on human power:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:25-29)

Similarly, James writes that God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith (James 2:5-6). Jesus’ message is in fact good news for the poor (Luke 4:18-19). In short, Sierra Leone—humbled by its poverty and its civil war—is ripe for the gospel and for genuine Christian service. And, as the gospel takes stronger root there, one can be confident that Christians in this country have the potential to be very ardent and faithful believers. Indeed, our experience in the country has proven that there are some amazing Christians in the country, however small in number they may be.

The Challenging Context of Sierra Leone

2011-11-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

When starting a new venture it is crucial not only to assess your strengths, but also to take stock of the challenges and potential obstacles. But being wide-eyed about the obstacles can help us overcome them. The major challenge for Leaders 4 Life is the context in which we are called to work. It will take a Herculean effort to prevail in a place like Sierra Leone. Here's why ...

Corruption is rife in Sierra Leone and recent efforts to root out corruption in the government, army, and police force are slow-going. The main airport, Lungi International, is notorious for bribery and corruption. The infrastructure of the country was decimated during their 11 year civil war and it is only beginning to be rebuilt. For instance, although the war ended in 2002, consistent 24-hour electricity in the capital city of Freetown was only just restored in 2010 along with the city’s hydro-electrical plant being put back on track for completion. Roads are just beginning to be rebuilt so that travel remains slow and difficult. The postal system is notoriously unreliable so nothing can be mailed in or out of the country except by UPS, which is extremely expensive. Less than 1% of the people in Sierra Leone have Internet access, and it is one of the few countries left which is wholly reliant upon expensive satellite bandwidth. (The World Bank estimates that Sierra Leone pays 10 times as much as East Africa and 25 times higher than America for Internet access.)[1] Clean water is a substantial problem in the country (although bottled water is plentiful enough). Food is scarce as subsistence farmers struggle to obtain the skills, equipment and raw materials to improve their food supply.

The rainy season in Sierra Leone—May to November—makes travel and construction slow and difficult. This large amount of water in the country is, however, also a potential resource for power, etc.

For many people, gathering firewood to sell is the only way to survive.

Unemployment remains high at 74%. Besides contributing to a depressed economy, such high unemployment is a potential threat because it has the potential danger of creating civil unrest. Many of the unemployed or under-employed are youth, and some of these youth are former child soldiers (an estimated 10,000 child soldiers were forced into military action during the war). Such frustration and “idle hands” among the country’s youth is a continuing security threat.

Sierra Leone has been consistently ranked near the bottom of the human development index for the past 20 years.[2] Due to the extreme poverty, the crime rate in Sierra Leone is very high with the most common being petty theft, burglary and muggings. Pick-pocketing is also common in highly populated areas such as the ferries or major city centers. More high profile crimes in Sierra Leone are drug and human trafficking. Along with Guinea and Guinea Bissau to the north, Sierra Leone is considered a “weak state” or a “narco state.” Drug traffickers from Columbia and other drug-producing countries in South America use these West African countries as hubs en route to Europe, often bribing airport officials to refuel and make their passage. In the process, drugs often filter into these countries themselves. Women and children are also often taken from the rural provinces of Sierra Leone and trafficked for the purpose of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

Children at a school in Lungi.

The effects can still be felt in the country from its history of colonialism and poor governance, leading to a brutal civil war. The education level in Sierra Leone is poor, with only a 40% rate of literacy among adults, 66% among male youth (15-24 yrs) and 46% among female youth (15-24).[3] Tribalism makes social cooperation, in general, difficult. The fair and equal treatment of women is also an issue.
The level of health in Sierra Leone is poor. Malaria and yellow fever are common as is tuberculosis and HIV. Polio is also present. Sierra Leone’s mortality rate for children 5 years old and under is the 5^th worst in the world and the maternal death rate the 4^th worst in the world.

The tools of witchcraft for sale at the local market.

Secret societies and witchcraft remains prevalent religious influences in Sierra Leone, keeping the country in spiritual bondage. The practice of female circumcision related to such religious practices occurs in 95% of women in Sierra Leone and often creates health problems such as severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later, potential childbirth complications and stillbirths.

Sierra Leone is not an easy place to operate and initial progress may be slow. However, it is in light of such challenges that we have chosen our particular tactic. The first phase in building our L4L Communities addresses—at least on a small scale—many of the infrastructural challenges (more on this later). Later phases address spiritual issues such as corruption and witchcraft through the planting of churches with the preaching of the gospel; health challenges through the building of clinics; and tackle social and educational issues through the starting of orphanages and schools. The L4L Institute aims to raise the level of technical and leadership expertise (again, more on this later).

I don't know what kind of emotions are evoked in you when you read about these challenges, but I get an adrenaline rush thinking them. I get pumped because I dream about the day when Sierra Leone is rebuilt, revitalized, and renewed.

[1] This situation will hopefully soon change; in 2011 Sierra Leone—with a grant of $30m from the World Bank—connected to a submarine fiber optic cable which will run from France to South Africa. See http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/sierraleone-fibre-idUSL5E7LA2W920111010 and http://www.theafricareport.com/201110105174258/reuters-feed/sierra-leone-gets-fibre-optic-link-to-internet.html: both accessed October 10, 2011.

[2] See the United Nations Development Programme’s statistics on Sierra Leone here, http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SLE.html: accessed October 11, 2011.

[3] Statistics from UNICEF’s website, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sierraleone_statistics.html#77: accessed June 26, 2011.

The Calling

2011-11-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Chris and Lisa Chandler had never heard of the West African country of Sierra Leone until one evening in 2001, when Chris watched a documentary on MTV in which a well-known Canadian rap group called the Rascalz traveled to Sierra Leone. The documentary explained that since 1991 the country had been embroiled in a bloody civil war between an emerging democratic government and rebels from Liberia and Sierra Leone. At a key point, Sierra Leone attempted to hold a democratic election. One candidate’s political slogan was, “the future is in your hands.” In an effort to derail the political process, rebels began performing forced amputations on people’s hands with machetes. This was brutal political warfare. (One woman--pictured below in the wheelchair--Chris met on a 2008 trip to Sierra Leone recounted how the rebels, “told me that I danced when the President was elected, and so they cut off both of my legs.”)

The documentary also detailed the political struggle of this war: rebels terrorized villagers in order to gain control of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone because whoever controlled the diamond mines controlled the country’s wealth. It was during this time that many groups in the US and Europe began warning Westerners of purchasing “blood diamonds.” (The movies “Lord of War” with Nicholas Cage about the gun trade and “Blood Diamond” with Leonardo DiCaprio give some idea of what this country has been through.) If you keep up on international news, Charles Taylor—who not only trained rebels in these terror tactics but who also supplied rebels with arms in return for diamonds thus fueling the war—has been on trial since 2003 for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sierra Leone’s conflict.

Lisa's ring.

The next day after watching the documentary, Chris asked Lisa if she would be willing to give up her diamond wedding ring to help the victims of war in Sierra Leone. She enthusiastically agreed. A calling and a dream was born. To date, Chris and Lisa have received 15 rings totaling 136 diamonds without ever asking for a ring or a diamond.

True empowerment in Africa

2011-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

In my last post I announced a new series of blogs and provided a summary of our mission work. In today's post, I want to address the issue of colonialism in mission work in Africa.

The colonialism of the past caused big problems in Africa. When a Western power left an African region, it was often the case that an ill-equipped African leader came to power. Many of these leaders were simply not ready to lead. They had neither the character nor capacity to lead well. This often created chaos and/or corruption. (Witness Idi Amin of Uganda, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe or Charles Taylor of Liberia.) This dynamic has happened in government, but this also happens on a smaller (but no less important) scale in the realm of mission work. In Sierra Leone, missionaries of the past quite often led everything and nationals were given little responsibility. When Sierra Leone’s civil war broke out, many (but not all) white missionaries left and this created a leadership vacuum.

Bill Roberts (a missionary who did not leave during the war), talks with David Musa.

The problem with a colonial style of leadership is that it is crippling, rather than empowering. Today there is much talk about “empowerment” in Africa. At the same time, however, people from the West are flocking to Africa to “help.” Are we really helping? If we’re still doing everything for Africans rather then helping create an environment in which they themselves lead, the problems will persist. Such help, while well-intended, often makes people dependent rather than creating ownership and an attitude of taking it upon their own shoulders when it comes to their countries, their hospitals, their ministries and take responsibility for the success or failure of these entities. We believe a better style of leadership, and one which is more morally responsible, is one which empowers others to lead. Leadership which is truly life-giving raises others up so that they are ready to lead. Needless to say, the style of leadership we promote is therefore diametrically opposed to colonialism.

We speak of “experts,” often in the context of those we would like to bring to Sierra Leone from the West to teach or serve as leaders in their field. Its tricky to talk in such terms, since this can easily be misunderstood in colonial or paternalistic terms, as if those from America or Britain or Europe are morally or ethnically superior to Sierra Leoneans. Such a notion, of course, is a stench in God's nose since God values all people and is partial to none (Acts 10:34-35).

We do recognize, however, that there is a high concentration of experts in the West upon whom to draw for resources. Our bottom line is that we draw upon the best, most qualified people—whether they are American, Sierra Leonean or otherwise—in order to build up and empower Sierra Leoneans who, generally speaking, currently have a low concentration of leaders and experts.

Meeting with established leaders Donald Manley and Emerson Thomas.

Our motive and mentality, then, is to give to, encourage, and build up Sierra Leoneans so they can stand on their own two feet rather than take from, oppress or keep Sierra Leoneans dependent as forms of colonialism in the past have done (including evangelical missionaries). Such empowerment creates dignity. I want those in Sierra Leone to be able to stand tall and be able to choose whom to partner with rather than being forced into dependence upon the charity of others. Creating such capable and confident leaders is true empowerment.

New Series of Blog Posts

2011-11-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

One of the most rewarding things for me as a leader is when I hear many of you get excited about what we're doing. I've also found that the more details you have, the more excited you become!

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I have been working on our Strategic Ministry Plan (aka Business Plan). I want to share in bite-sized bits the main points of our plan with you: our calling to the country, the context of Sierra Leone, our vision, mission, values, our two main goals and a few other things along the way.

Worshipping in the village of Kenema

Today is the "executive summary" which gives a good overview of the plan:

When pastor Chris Chandler asked his wife Lisa to give up her diamond ring to help the war-torn country of Sierra Leone, they had no idea where it would take them or what it would turn into. Over the next decade, God would develop leadership in them through a leadership mentor named Danny Golich and take Chris and Lisa to St. Andrews Scotland so Chris could obtain his Ph.D. in the New Testament. They would also visit Sierra Leone and build an extensive network of both nationals and expatriates engaged in ministry in the country.

This team of three now has a powerful calling, a unique leadership style, a high degree of theological expertise, and an extensive network. Sierra Leone is an extremely challenging context in which to work. A desperately poor country before its 11 year civil-war, this conflict witnessed some of the most brutal atrocities in recent memory. The country is now devastated in its infrastructure, in dire need of healthcare, battered psychologically, behind in education and lacking in many other areas such as clean water. Through our nonprofit efforts based in Phoenix, AZ, we seek to breathe life into the West African country of Sierra Leone through our commitment to the gospel and our effective leadership philosophy.

The aim of Leaders 4 Life, as our mission statement says, is “to provide access to the highest quality leadership and expertise in the world in 4 areas: spiritually, physically, socially and intellectually.” We will do this in two primary ways. First, through The Leaders 4 Life Institute we will bring experts from around the world in the fields of leadership, theological education, the medical field, and beyond. This Institute will also create a network of Christian organizations in the country to rally and focus existing efforts. Second, we will create Leaders 4 Life Communities throughout the country. We will work with locals to adopt communities, build a basic infrastructure for them, and then build a 4-fold community consisting of a church, a school, a clinic and an orphanage. Leading these communities will be high caliber leaders alongside nationals. But these expert friends are merely there to help; Sierra Leoneans will eventually lead these communities and continue to receive training from the Institute.

There is a high degree of risk in a venture of this kind. It is a new concept in a challenging environment. But we are taking every precaution. We approach our work in Sierra Leone cautiously and prepared.

We believe that the current state of mission work in Sierra Leone can be much better, and we seek to make drastic improvements. By telling the inspiring story of our calling and telling of the amazing faith of Sierra Leoneans, by training people in our unique leadership style, and through training from the world’s leading experts, we believe we can prevail in Sierra Leone.

Meeting the Chief with Victor and Tony

LOGO

2011-09-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

The name "Sierra Leone" dates back to the 15th century when a Portuguese explorer sailing down the coast of West Africa came upon the hilly coastline, heard the roaring thunderstorms over the mountainous peninsula, and described the place he saw as Sierra Leone--or "Lion Mountains" in Portuguese. Below is Sierra Leone's coat of arms depicting two lions as well as a picture I took of some mountains in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone's Coat of Arms

Sierra Leone's hilly mountains in the background.

We have often described the leadership concept of working in a team in terms of a lion pride (lion's always win because they work together), and one can appreciate the strong image of Jesus as the "Lion of Judah," so the concept of a lion's head for our logo was born! I'm really pleased with it and I can't wait to see this image multiplied in villages throughout Sierra Leone as a symbol of Christian service and transformation! Here's our new logo ...

Baptizing "Leadership"

2011-09-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time a Christian leader encouraged me to engage in the leadership skill of "networking." I was a bit shocked that this godly minister would suggest I participate in what I understood to be such a "worldly" tactic. But as I observed my friend, I noticed that he used his networking skills often to benefit and uplift others rather than himself. It was then that I became convinced that it was okay for me, as a Christian, to engage in networking. After all, I concluded, if my networking can help build up God's Kingdom, wouldn't that be a good thing? (This friend, by the way, is Bruce McNicol--a true networker and President of a ministry called Leadership Catalyst/TrueFaced).

Quite often I've gotten the distinct impression that--just as I had my hesitations about networking--many Christians are skeptical when they hear the word leadership. Such uneasiness about something which is usually associated with "business" is understandable. I've often heard people say, "a church isn't a business"--to which I reply, "yes and no." While the bottom line of a business is often to make money or even to contribute to society (with making a profit a mere by-product), churches and ministries often do have radically different goals than most businesses. Ministries feed the homeless, help orphans and widows, or preach salvation (hence the "non-profit" nature of what we do). But shouldn't these efforts be run as well as if not better than a business, especially if we ministers claim that our goals are among the most noble of efforts? Employees and volunteers in the church are managed just like in any organization. Shouldn't they be managed well? Each church is headed somewhere. Shouldn't a church set goals and regularly revisit them to maintain disciplined direction? Pastors perform multiple services for the church. Shouldn't they be evaluated on their performance so their weaknesses can be shored up and their strengths be accentuated?

Stained-glass window of St. Augustine reading.

The hesitation to adopt leadership practices within the world of ministry is understandable. But the church has had to wrestle with such issues before. In the first few centuries after Christ, many Christian thinkers struggled with how to handle the Greek philosophy so prevalent in their world (think "Aristotle" and "Plato"). Some rejected it altogether thinking the philosophers too pagan to be a good influence in the church; others embraced philosophy whole-heartedly, believing these pre-Christian philosophers to have discovered truth which Christians could build upon. It was the church leader Saint Augustine who finally provided a helpful way forward. Augustine said that just as the ancient Hebrews had plundered the Egyptians on their way out of Egypt, so Christians could "plunder" secular philosophers by carefully taking what is good and true from philosophy but rejected that which is bad or in error.

Bill Hybels interviewing Jack Welch.

This same approach suggested by Augustine regarding secular philosophy can be adopted regarding modern leadership principles. Should the church uncritically appropriate "all things leadership"? Of course not. But can the church benefit from listening carefully to wise leaders--be they Christian or non-Christian, secular or sacred--taking that which is good and rejecting that which is bad? I believe so. I'm a fan of Bill Hybels and his annual Leadership Summit has been a great example of this. Each year the Summit hosts both church and business leaders. The speakers include Christians, agnostics, and even those of other religions. In the 2007 video below, Hybels does a great job of helping those who "get their underwear in a bundle" navigate the issue of appropriating leadership principles for ministry. Enjoy!

A Plan

2011-08-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Over the past 2 months I have been writing up a Strategic Ministry Plan (Business Plan) for Leaders 4 Life. This past weekend our little team got together and poured over its 30+ pages. Although it still needs many edits and revisions before it's ready for public consumption, a basic plan has been written.

Pastor Tony considers a space for a church which was never built. (Notice the cross to his left.)

I've always known the "why" of Leaders 4 Life: in Matthew 28 Jesus commands his disciples to further his mission by making disciples of all nations, to carry on his work "to preach good news to the poor. ... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19). The "why" is that God has called us to carry on the mission Jesus began while he was on earth. But Jesus' vision is pretty broad and he also did a lot of specific things. So, within the overall scope of this mission of Jesus and the church, what should we--Leaders 4 Life--be about?

A well in Cambia.

Writing up a plan has helped us fine tune the "what" and the "how." It has forced us to think through exactly what it is we want to do and how, concretely, we might make it happen. Drafting it has been a good exercise for me. I've had to ask myself, "What do we really value?" and "How can we create something in an environment as challenging as Sierra Leone?" We've had to consider the differences in our own culture versus the culture in Sierra Leone. I've had to assess our strengths and weaknesses and set some goals. I've had to think through the "steps-before-the-steps" which we'll need to take before we can reach our goals, and I've pondered possibilities for our future. I've had to ask how we will get the word out about what we're doing and how to pay for what we do. And in all of this, our basic core commitments remain: a commitment to the gospel and the church, to leadership, to expertise, and to holistic ministry in Sierra Leone.

A school for children in Kenema.

No plan is perfect, but putting something on paper has already given direction for our team and created some excitement. It is our road-map, our compass. The writing process has helped crystallize things.

I won't bore you with the details here, but I will say this: the vision and mission of L4L flows out of who I am: a directionless young man from "sin city" with a radical conversion to Christianity, an amazing purpose and calling to Sierra Leone, a New Testament Ph.D. of high caliber, and a passion for high-level leadership.

More to come later ...

Leading 4 Life,
Chris

From the Gut to the Shoulders

2011-07-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I talked about going with your gut. Just to be clear, going with your gut doesn't mean we rule out the Holy Spirit's work in decision making. But our responsibility in the process should weigh heavily upon us. Too often we blame God for our bad decisions. We say, "it must not have been God's will" rather than admit we've failed. We justify our decisions based upon "the Spirit's leading" instead of taking full responsibility for our choices. This leads me to today's post ...

If you want to be a leader, you must be willing to take the responsibility upon your shoulders. Although God empowers us, guides us, and gives us wisdom, he has also placed us in a position of responsibility and therefore it is our job to make it work right.

When I first started in full time ministry, I operated as if I was powerless to effect change around me. Rather than seeing the problem and the solution as residing within myself, I blamed my circumstances or I blamed others. I just wasn't being honest with myself. I meet people all the time who function like this. "Our seminar was a flop because of the venue on the other end." "The church service was flat because the crowd was dead." Or my personal favorite: "My child keeps getting in trouble because the teacher doesn't like my kid." On all accounts, What a crock! (Oops, did I say that out loud?) Are there circumstances which are genuinely out of our control? Sure. But more often than not, we can do something about it.

When you step into the arena of leadership, the responsibility rests upon your shoulders. Your organization, your department, your family is a reflection of you. "What about my boss?" someone might say, "he's difficult to work for." Someone who thinks this way should ask himself, "How can I make it work in my little world?" "But I've got lazy people working for me." Really? Isn't it your job to make sure you have people who do their job with enthusiasm and energy? Why settle? Make it happen.

If you are blaming everything and everyone else like I once did, Stop it! The day you stop complaining about your circumstances or the people around you and take it upon your shoulders to start creating change in your little world is the day you start leading.

In the 3 minute video below Ernest Bai Koroma, the President of Sierra Leone, reflects upon the country's rich natural resources and asks, "Why are we poor when we are not supposed to be poor? What are we doing that is wrong?" Perhaps some people in Sierra Leone are beginning to take the responsibility for their country upon their own shoulders ...

Going with Your Gut

2011-06-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

One of the core competencies of a leader is the ability to make wise decisions. Often times, the decision-making process is clouded by a host of relational issues: How will people look at me if I make this decision? Will I make friends or enemies? Frequently we become paralyzed by what may or may not occur as a result of the decision: How will this affect my career? Will I be promoted or fired? With so much riding on the choices you make, how do you make wise decisions, especially when the issues swirling around a decision can make your head spin?
It's been called listening to your intuition or following the blessed impulse. Most often it is affectionately referred to as going with your gut. It's an inner compass--a hunch, an inkling--based upon a mysterious mix of our beliefs, our experiences, and our conscience which gives us the ability to choose wisely. It's that innate ability all of us have to make choices without all of the facts or without knowing how a decision will affect the future. Leadership books and coaches talk about this idea. And while it's nice to learn about it, knowing about this concept in your head is miles apart from actually using one's gut to make a decision--especially a difficult one. Going with your gut on tough decisions can cause you to do a lot of soul-searching and can often be quite gut-wrenching!

Going with your gut is an art. The discernment it takes to make wise decisions doesn't come naturally. It must be developed. Sometimes we're right in the decisions we make and sometimes we're wrong. But through this decision-making process we learn from the choices we make--whether good or bad--and our instincts to make wise decisions are honed. When asked what one thing he would do differently if he could start his business career over again, long-time successful CEO of General Electric and leadership guru Jack Welch says he would act upon his gut instincts sooner.

When I was working on my PhD, I observed a process in which we doctoral students came to a point of saturation in our field and we felt competent to "hang" with the established scholars. We were no longer students: we were equals (if less experienced equals). It's the same when it comes to good decision-making. When you've been involved in enough decision-making situations to see the same patterns emerging over and over again, you start to feel less intimidated by the prospect of making a bad decision and more confident you'll make the right one.

I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that I feel comfortable with the decisions I make. In situations past, I've spent months wringing my hands before making a decision I knew in my heart of hearts was the best thing to do. I'm learning to make decisions quicker--to go with my gut sooner. And I'm also learning that going with my gut gives our team a renewed sense of energy and vigor and refocuses us on our mission, especially if we're bogged down in the decision-making process.

So the next time you have an important decision to make and you're worried about the social fallout, or you're experiencing paralysis by analysis, just dig deep into your heart and soul and honestly ask yourself what the best decision to make is ... and then just GO WITH YOUR GUT!

Sierra Leone's 50th Anniversary of Independence

2011-04-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, Sierra Leone celebrated its 50th year anniversary of independence from British rule. Sierra Leone has been making great strides forward in recent years. Here are two videos celebrating this, the second featuring the Sierra Leone Refugee All Star Band (whom we'll see in concert tonight here in Phoenix thanks to Chuck and Donna Riser!).

Following the videos are the words to a popular Sierra Leonean Christian hymn sung in Krio.

Tεl Papa Gɔd Tεnki

Tεl Am tεnki, tεl Am; Tεl Papa Gɔd tεnki
Tεl Am tεnki, tεl Am; Tεl Papa Gɔd tεnki
Wetin I du fɔ wi; Wi go tεl Am tεnki
Wetin I du fɔ wi; Wi go tεl Am tεnki
Tεl Am tεnki, tεl Am; Tεl Papa Gɔd tεnki

(In English ...)
Tell Father God Thank You

Tell Him thank you, tell Him; Tell Father God thank you
Tell Him thank you, tell Him; Tell Father God thank you
For what He does for us; we're gonna tell Him thank you
For what He does for us; we're gonna tell Him thank you
Tell Him thank you, tell Him; Tell Father God thank you

Just imagine what Sierra Leone could become in the next 50 years!

Trust

2011-04-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

One evening in Sierra Leone, I had an interesting conversation with a guy who is in the diamond mining business there. Minutes into our talk, he learned I am a pastor and I learned he adheres to no religious beliefs in particular, although he is bothered by the poverty in Sierra Leone and tries to help where he can. After learning that I'm a pastor, he related his only other experience with a minister. Some years earlier, he told me, the high-profile televangelist Pat Robertson had come to Sierra Leone and convinced him to work in a program called "Jewels for Jesus." After a few tricks and slips, however, Robertson left my new friend high-and-dry, having stolen $40,000 in equipment from him and, needless-to-say, leaving a bad taste in his mouth for religious leaders. "We were sitting by a river eating MRE's [that's 'meal-ready-to-eat']," he recounted, "when Robertson complained about how bad the food was and flung his food into the river behind him." He was astonished that such a well-known religious leader would do this while sitting among a group of very poor children. Pat Robertson's business dealings with dictators in Africa in order to get rich off of Africa's diamonds and gold is not well-publicized in the West or in Christian news, although in 1995 Time ran an article about his dealings with Zaire's Mobutu in order to get gold (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982593,00.html). Robertson's business affairs with Charles Taylor in Liberia (who's soldiers taught rebels in Sierra Leone the tactic of forced amputations) in order to get diamonds is also not well publicized but is not unknown (http://groups.google.com/group/misc.activism.progressive/browse_thread/thread/e1ac779193b21dbd/a5426da333b2a822?lnk=gst&q=pat+robertson#a5426da333b2a822).

I sat around a table with a group of twenty or so Sierra Leonean pastors and told them our story of setting Lisa's diamond ring aside and how people had been giving us their wedding rings and diamonds to help. After the meeting, a wise friend told me that the history with Pat Robertson in their country would automatically create some skepticism towards what I am doing, since Robertson came only on the pretense of doing ministry when his real motive was to make money off of diamonds.

Wow. In a country scarred by civil war, with an unemployment rate of roughly 65%, a long history of government corruption, and to top it all off a well-known "Christian" televangelist who has burned the people of Sierra Leone in a big way, how can we build an enduring ministry? Only one word comes to mind: trust. It's that slow process of building trust over time as our friends in Sierra Leone get to know our character and integrity and we get to know theirs. We've got to get to that point where there is no "us" versus "them" but only "we."

As a leader, trust is not something you or I can manipulate or squeeze out of people. In fact, I have found that the more I squeeze the less trust I get out of a person. Trust is something that can only be given and received, but never taken.

I hope and pray I am modelling trustworthiness among my family and friends and those partners in ministry with which I work. I pray you are doing the same!

Gadhafi's influence upon Sierra Leone's war

2011-03-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

Vaclav Havel, leader of the "Velvet Revolution," talks about the revolution going on in N. Africa. This video also details how Gadhafi influenced the brutality demonstrated in Sierra Leone's war.

Work from the Center Out

2011-03-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

In this post I want to discuss a leadership concept we refer to as working from the center out.

When a leader is starting something new or is trying to extend his influence, often times he will personally spread his influence and message as far and wide as possible and as quickly as possible. Seems like the logical thing to do, doesn't it? But at a certain point, this approach actually begins to diminish a leader's effectiveness and influence. In taking such an approach, we can become so busy gaining and maintaining a multitude of relationships that we actually gain little traction with any of them. Spreading the vision too far too fast can also create the added difficulty of attracting so many voices that a leader's own voice is in danger of being drowned out.

A more focused approach is to work from the center out. Rather than spreading the message far and wide with many people, you go deep and long with a few like-minded individuals. You build relationships and trust with a select team of people. This is a more difficult route to take and it's also much slower. But the results are worth it.

Rather than one leader spreading her influence by herself, a team extends its influence with one voice. One person can only go so far. But a cohesive team of people who create a web of cohesive teams, who in turn create more teams, has no limits. Rather than the leader's vision getting drowned out, it is preserved and passed on through this web of relationships. The difference between the two styles of leadership is a flash-in-the-pan impact versus slow, steady and sustained growth. It's the mushroom verses the oak tree.

How do you know when your core team is ready to extend its influence? A team is ready when the leader can hear his own voice in his team.

Lisa's Reflections on the Trip

2011-02-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

We thought it might be helpful for everyone to hear Lisa's perspective on the trip, since many have been asking how it went for her. So here's a note from Lisa ...

I'm so excited to share with you my reflections on our recent trip to Sierra Leone! First off, the people of Sierra Leone whom I met were so warm and welcoming. When I would encounter a new person, I was often greeted with, "You are welcome! You are very welcome!" I had never been greeted in such a way and I genuinely felt welcome! This was evident to me again when we met a friend and pastor of Chris' in London, Victor Zizer, who greeted me, "Welcome! Let me welcome you to London!" We all laughed at the thought of a Sierra Leonean welcoming two Americans to Britain!

If you know me well enough, you know that my mind is a functional calendar. Dates, especially birthdays and anniversaries, are important to me because of the people represented by these special days. So I'm a bit conscientious when it comes to time and schedules. On the trip I had to grow in this area and learn flexibility when it came to being on time for things. (Although our driver, Abu, was always early!) So if we were delayed 30 minutes or 3 hours, I had to learn to wait--not easy for this time-conscious momma. That's why I said I'm growing and learning ... That being said, Chris and I stuck to our itinerary and accomplished all that we set out to do.

(We had to wait 2-3 days for the clothes to dry ... )

Schools--we were looking for options of schools for our children in Freetown and didn't come away with any viable options. Home-schooling is still being considered, of course, but please keep this covered in your prayers. Eventually, starting a school for orphans and educating our children (and the children of other missionary families who might partner with us) alongside them will happen, we just don't know how soon.

Chris has already mentioned our visit to the school at Mile 91 being a highlight and a perfect ending to our trip. As a mother, I saw such hope in these 53 students' lives. I even had the opportunity to stand before these students in their classroom and speak to them (yes, me!) and encourage them to persevere and never give up, not matter how hard it gets. I felt so proud to see these students fulfilling the dream of geting an education--something their parents never had the opportunity to do. I was overcome by emotion and teared up as I saw their hope-filled eyes and smiling faces.

(Lisa speaking to the school children at Mile 91.)

Both at Mile 91 and at the orphanage where we stayed I realized that dreams, a desire for a good education, and hope for one's future are universal. I heard stories from a few of the girls at the orphanage of how they wanted to help others after college (if they get the chance to go), such as being an advocate for women and children, or becoming a lawyer. The dreams of one 17 year old girl named Mabinty were striking to me. She aspires to be a gospel singer and wants to bring praise and glory to God through her voice! Christ's love exudes from her and the day we said goodbye to these girls, Mabinty asked if she could pray for us and our journey home.

(Lisa, Mabinty, Mamoud, and Dave.)

A lasting impression for me from this trip is that although so many in Sierra Leone live simply, without many material possessions, many are still full of joy and peace.

(Lisa with the girls at the orphanage.)

I will wrap up by saying this: I survived!!! Not the trip--that was the "easy part." Being away from the children for so long for the first time was the difficult part. Being away from the children was another growing and learning process for me. But I feel encouraged and in awe of the many friends and family coming together to support our family prayerfully, financially, and especially looking after our children while we were away. Thanks to all of you for your on-going support!

With love, Lisa

More Trip Highlights

2011-01-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Many of you have been asking for more details about our recent trip and about Sierra Leone in general. So here's a post in response to that.

In Sierra Leone many people get drivers to take them where they need to go, which is great because with the lack of street signs, the rough roads, and so many pedestrians in the streets, a person can get lost very quickly! Our driver's name was Abu, pictured below. He got a kick out of when we made fun of phony Christian televangelists and when I asked him where all the prostitutes hung out ... hey, didn't Jesus do the same things?

But you have to have a good driver ... we happened upon the accident pictured below. The driver had fallen asleep. I kept pinching Abu to make sure he stayed awake after we saw this!

We went to the "big market" a couple of times to get souvenirs. You can buy lots of traditional African wood carvings, batiks (dyed cloths with pictures), materials for sewing, and even ingredients to perform witchcraft. You're greeting with "hey friend," as a way to get you to come look at a shopowner's goods. It's very hot (no AC) and you have to be prepared to barter: they usually name a high price; you offer 75% lower; then you settle somewhere in the middle. Below Fodie's playing a drum we bought for our son James--the base of which is made out of a hollowed-out coconut.

Security is a very important issue in Sierra Leone. On a day-to-day basis, things like vandalism and minor theft can be a regular occurrence. To prevent this, it is very common to put up barbed wire around one's property or cement broken glass onto the top of the perimeter wall (pictured below). It is also very common, for those who can afford it, to hire a security guard to patrol at night and guard the entrance of the property. Pictured below is our security guard Joseph, who is also studying to become a pastor.

A traditional Sierra Leonean dish is cassava leaves and rice. The girls at the orphanage made us some for dinner one night. Step 1) pound cassava leaves in a mortar and pestle; step 2) cook leaves, adding colorful but very hot peppers; step 3) boil the rice after picking out the hard bits. I'm sure I've left out lots of steps in-between, but you get the idea. Bintu (blue sweater) and Mariama (white t-shirt), the two oldest girls at the orphanage, did most of the cooking in a large pot cooked over a coal fire.

Sierra Leone has some of the most picturesque beaches in the world. We spent a low-key day at Sussex beach. We soaked in the warm sea water and relaxed in the warm sun. A few of the local boys tried to con us into giving them money for school books (you tend to notice a trend after the 4th or 5th kid with the same story). We heard monkeys in the trees nearby and saw the branches swaying back and forth. A couple of vultures paid us a visit, probably looking for some scraps. But to me, the most interesting part of our beach experience was the whale skeleton suspended above a car. It looked like something out of Jurassic Park.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of Sierra Leone!

Leaders 4 Life's 3rd Anniversary, Trip Report, & Looking Ahead

2011-01-06T09:10:00.001-08:00

Leaders 4 Life's 3rd Anniversary

Today mark's the third anniversary of Leaders 4 Life. Some will remember that I was commissioned at the Church of the Holy Trinity in St. Andrews on January 6th, 2008 to go to Sierra Leone for the first time. It was only after I entered the country that I learned of the significance of this date for Sierra Leoneans: it was January 6th, 1999 when rebels entered Freetown and began, "operation kill every living thing." There's redemption in the fact that God has chosen this date to be the anniversary of this ministry.

Much has happened since that first trip to Sierra Leone. I've finished my Ph.D. Lisa and I have returned from Scotland to the U.S. We're settling down and creating a base of operations in Phoenix. To date, we've received 15 rings comprising 136 diamonds. And, with the help of friends and family to watch our three children, Lisa has even had the opportunity to travel to Sierra Leone ...

Trip Report

Our trip this past December was short but productive. While there, we held a meeting of about 30 pastors and ministry leaders with whom I was able to share the vision of Leaders 4 Life. We had a good roundtable discussion about the importance of teamwork and discussed past mission work by Westerners in Sierra Leone. Later in the week, we blessed a handful of these Christian leaders each with a laptop to enhance and further their ministry (thanks to Neil Cooper's laptop ministry and those of you who donated laptops). I was invited by Pastor Patrick Williams to preach at the Agape Bible Church Headquarters in Kissy, which is a very poor part of Freetown. I closed my sermon with the story of John Newton's giving up his slave ship to become a pastor and his influencing William Wilberforce to abolish slavery in the British Empire and create "Freetown," Sierra Leone for freed slaves. Singing is very important in Sierra Leonean culture, so I left the stage by leading the congregation in "Amazing Grace" (first penned by John Newton). I know ... can you imagine me actually leading in song?

Pastor Patrick Williams (red tie), Fodie and the rest of the team.

I have to give Andy and Abby Walker credit for travelling well. They hung in there despite our 36 hours of travel time to get from Phoenix to a bed in Sierra Leone. Once there, they spent a good deal of time loving on the children at the orphanage where we stayed. We did, however, visit the hospital of Dr. Sylvester Nicol to deliver medical supplies which Abby had been collecting. Dr. Nicol has his Ph.D. from Cambridge and is a big-souled man with a great sense of humor.

Andy and Abby reading to Effie with Mariama.

Lisa and I often ventured out in search of schools for our children and to meet with ministry leaders. A highlight for Lisa and I was definitely visiting "Mile 91." Ninety-one miles out of town in a small village, Pastor Patrick Williams' small church in Kissy has built a school for children. It is truly amazing that these poor village kids in the middle of nowhere are learning English and computer skills!

Visiting students from "Mile 91" school.

Our trip was stopped short in London. Lisa and I had planned to spend some time up in St. Andrews, Scotland but the snow prevented this as nearly all flights out of London were grounded for a few days. We did, however, see a church in Freetown called "St. Andrews Church" with a Scottish flag on it, founded in 1820. Now how neat is that!

Looking Ahead

As we enter 2011, it feels as though we are turning the last bit of the corner from the "preparation-phase" to the actual "mission-phase" of what we're engaged in. Lots of networking and vision-casting has been done over the past three years (and, of course, this will continue). A ton of "educating" has been accomplished--education in the Bible, in the culture and history of Sierra Leone, and especially in leadership (and the educating of ourselves will not cease).

But now the real work begins, the kind of work which can be really tough but which can be equally exhilarating. I'm talking about things like developing teams, training leaders, raising funds, and partnering with people and organizations. These are some of those essential but "behind the scenes" kind of things which lay the foundation for good future ministry. It's a time of high energy and excitement, but also a time of crucial initial decisions. It is also a time when those involved will be challenged and stretched.

We have some good momentum as we move into 2011. Let's keep pushing together some more and praying so that we can keep this positive movement forward going!

In Jesus' Name,
Chris

You did it!

2010-12-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

We recently asked a number of you to step up to help make it possible for Lisa to make her first visit to Sierra Leone and ... YOU DID IT! Lisa and I, along with our friends Andy and Abby Walker, will visit Sierra Leone this month. The primary goal of the trip is to get everyone more oriented to the country--shops, schools, culture, food. Lisa and I are especially concerned to find an adequate place to educate our children once we relocate to Sierra Leone sometime in the future. In addition to this, however, we'll serve at an orphanage, work in a clinic, I'll preach, and we'll spend some time with pastors and ministry leaders in a time of fellowship and mutual encouragement. All of this has been made possible by your prayers, encouragement, and support.

I want to share part of an email I recently sent out to those who stepped up in especially big ways to make this trip possible (it's worth repeating for those of you who've already received this):

Yesterday Lisa shared something with me that I knew I had to share with you: "If you want to go fast, go by yourself. If you want to go far, go with others." ... My friend who has done a lot of mission work in Africa likes to ask this question: If a tiger and a lion were to get into a fight, which one would win? Answer--the lion. Why? Although tigers are bigger they work alone, but lions always operate in prides. ... Team takes time. It requires patience and faith. Mushrooms spring up overnight; oak trees take a lifetime to grow. We don't just want to be a flash in the pan, here today and forgotten tomorrow. We want to make a LASTING IMPACT in Sierra Leone. We want to grow an oak tree. "If you want to go fast, go by yourself. If you want to go far, go with others." We want to go far so we are "going with others"--with you!

I've said before that organizations don't change the world, people do. Chris Chandler can't change the world. But with a team of committed people, we can transform Sierra Leone together! We are privileged to serve the people of Sierra Leone and we deeply appreciate those of you who sacrifice in serving alongside us. So thank you for being a part of our team, our "pride"!

To get everyone in the spirit of Sierra Leone, here's a short video clip of a wonderful African worship service I experienced on our first trip in a village called Kenema ...

Connecting

2010-11-02T06:39:00.001-07:00

Last month I asked you to pray that we connect with the Sierra Leone Refugee All Star Band in December.

Well you prayed, and God did even better than what we asked for.

We found out that one of the band members--Jahson Bull--was visiting Flagstaff in October. So Andy flew me up to Flagstaff, we picked up Jahson, and he ended up staying at Andy and Abby's house here in Phoenix for a couple of weeks. In the time we spent with Jahson, we found out that the majority of the band members are Christians! Thank you, Lord, for prayer answered beyond our meager asking!

Sierra Leone Refugee All Star Band

2010-10-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

September has been a wonderful month! Many positive things are happening. Allow me briefly to share just one.

During Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war, many people were displaced as refugees in neighboring Guinea. Life as a refugee is "bana" (this Krio word means "difficult"). Refugees live in hot tents, are away from their families and communities, and are uncertain about when their lives will return to normal.

Out of this situation, a man named Reuben decided to start making music to lift people's spirits. He and a small band gathered up what they could (like a hubcap for a cymbal) and started playing. This is how the Sierra Leone Refugee All Star Band was born. A musician visiting Guinea discovered Reuben and his band and offered to help them out. Since then they've cut 2 CDs, made a DVD, and are now on tour in the US. Now comes the neat part ...

A couple of weeks ago, I had been thinking about Reuben and his band and decided to lend our Sierra Leone Refugee All Star DVD to Andy and Abby Walker (you know, our friends going to Sierra Leone with us in December). But before they had a chance even to watch it, they flew to Chicago to visit Andy's brother Rob and to see a Dave Matthew's concert (yes, I'm jealous!). A few days after they returned from Chicago, Andy's brother texts him and says, "You're never going to believe who I'm hanging out with right now ... the Sierra Leone Refugee All Star Band!" Now, how cool is that?!? I'm told that the band will be in Sierra Leone in December while we're there. Please pray that somehow we might connect with this fun, hope-filled band in December.

When we step out on faith as Andy and Abby have, our God does amazing things.

REMINDER: Sunday, October 3rd we are fasting and praying for our trip. Please join us.

Now for the good stuff! Click here to experience the music of Reuben and the band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSgY6n_ek_g

Prayer

2010-09-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

In this brief post, I am simply asking each of you to take a moment to pray for the following:

Plans for our trip to Sierra Leone in December are coming together nicely. Praise Jeezus!
Pray for our friend Fodie Konneh who will host us during our trip. Health is a big issue in Sierra Leone and he has been struggling lately with his health.
Ask the Lord to provide Lisa and I with the right house soon in a good location (Phoenix is just massive).
I have been praying regularly that God would raise up for Leaders 4 Life a fantastic board of directors. Will you join me?

(Sierra Leonean children praise God at the opening of their school built by Bethel World Outreach and S.A.V.E.)

I am utterly convinced that God responds in powerful ways to our prayers. Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him" (Mark 11:23). While I don't fully understand what Jesus means by this, I do know that prayer was central to Jesus' life and ministry. E. M. Bounds once wrote this: "What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer."

Let's pray together and see how God responds!

A Widow's Offering

2010-08-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

A fortnight ago (that's 2 weeks for us Americans), I received the two rings below which were accompanied with a letter. It read: "I haven't met you, but I feel like I know you with all your parents talking about you and your family. ... It sounds to me like you are a wonderful servant for God and helping others. Please accept these 2 diamond rings that were my husbands'. ... Thank you for making a difference in the lives of others."

This note and these rings come from a friend of my folks who is a widow. We are continually amazed at the people God brings into our lives and the ways in which He provides. Although we've never asked for a single diamond ring, the Lord continues to move in the hearts of his people in this way. What a blessing and encouragement for the people of Sierra Leone who have lost limbs and loved ones over diamonds.

Please pray for our mission trip in December. Lisa and I, along with Andy and Abby Walker, will be on the ground for 8 days in Sierra Leone just before Christmas. Pray for safety, guidance, and that the Lord would use this trip for his glory. Please also pray that Lisa and I might get ourselves into a house soon!

Foundation, foundation, foundation

2010-07-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

When you're talking real-estate, the mantra is, "location, location, location." When it comes to studying the Bible, "context, context, context" is the rule. But with leadership, another word comes to mind: foundation.

I'm a consummate dreamer and I'll never apologized for that. As much as anybody, I love to imagine a better world or a grand vision. I dream big. But over the years, I've realized more and more that in order to actually make those dreams come to fruition, there are a lot of challenging, concrete tasks which must be accomplished. For some, this transition from dream to reality can be a vision-killer. I've seen it time and again: a friend wants to plant a church or start a business, but after a few years of frustration, exhaustion, or both, the dream fades and those good intentions become just that, good intentions. Some people may even get their plans off the ground, only to sputter out a few miles down the road. I know this well because a few of my dreams have been sacrificed on the altar of hard-cold reality. I'm sure we've all had those experiences.

But I'm beginning to learn. Two key factors to actually creating a dream and carrying out a vision have hit home with me lately: foundation and relationships. The two are actually intertwined. When I say "foundation," I think stability, consistency, faithfulness, strength. Builders of buildings know this well. Without a strong foundation, what is built will come crashing down in the face of adverse weather (just read Matthew 7:24-27).

(A budding friendship: Andy and Abby Walker are going to Sierra Leone with Lisa and I in December.)

Foundation has a lot to do with relationships. The stronger my relationships with those around me, the stronger my foundation for leadership. Organizations do not change the world, people do. The ability of an organization to be effective is directly related to the quality of relationships among the people in that organization. As you think of where you work, live, or serve, ask yourself, "Do I honestly trust those around me to come through for me and can they trust me to come through for them?" If not, why not?

The best indicator of the level of a relationship is "the honesty test." I once heard a pastor tell his friend, "If you're not willing to be honest with me about my faults, then I don't want to be your friend." Whoa! That pastor has a serious thirst for honesty. Do you have people around you who can--no, will--speak truth into your life in order to benefit you? Do you have people who are willing to tell you the tough things about ... you? I have a few friends like that and I cherish them. Proverbs 27:6 says, "Trustworthy are the wounds of a friend, but many are the kisses of an enemy." Max de Pree, CEO of the Hermann Miller and one time chair of the board of Fuller Seminary, says, "trust multiplies with truth." Even bad news shared between friends can strengthen relational bonds. Good relationships also help us weather the difficult storms every leader inevitably faces. Of course, gentleness is required to speak truth effectively into another person's life, but let's not sacrifice truth so we can remain comfortable.

It's easy to become impatient when working towards a dream. I know I've felt this way in building Leaders 4 Life. But if we want our dream to actually become reality, and even to be better than we could imagine (Ephesians 3:20), we must be patient. We must be patient in building those key relationships and the rest will more easily follow. I remember what former President of Princeton Theological Seminary Tom Gillespie once told me. He told me he had raised more money in the last 5 years of his presidency than the previous 15 years combined. Why? Relationships. He had built strong relationships of trust with his donors over all those years.

So when I feel I want my board formed yesterday, more trips to be made to Sierra Leone more quickly, or I'm frustrated that we're not "up and running" already, I have to be patient and remember: foundation, foundation, foundation!

Global Liberation

2010-06-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

Many of you will remember a couple of years ago when I preached at Paradise Valley Community Church (PVCC) in Phoenix and began receiving diamond rings in support of our mission. (See: http://leaders4life-sierraleone.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html) Since moving back to Phoenix over a year ago, we have made PVCC our home church. Besides getting to listen to our dear friend Frank Switzer preach each week (Frank and I studied for the ministry together in both college and Seminary), and getting to be a part of a community that genuinely cares about and is deeply involved in mission, I have the opportunity to preach at our church now and again. This past month I was asked to share with the congregation about Global Liberation. (For those who didn't get a chance to listen, you can download the message here: http://www.paradisechurch.com/explore/messages/audio/677.mp3).

(Frank and his wife Jackie ... yep, God called THEM into ministry!)

As a part of the message, I shared briefly about our mission to Sierra Leone, the war over diamonds, and how we had received diamond rings at this church when I spoke two years earlier. After the second service, a woman from our congregation came up to me with tears in her eyes and said, "I've been carrying around ten small diamonds from a broken marriage and now I know why." She then handed me a small plastic baggie with the diamonds you see below.

We are amazed, affirmed, and humbled at all that God continues to do. God has already done so much and yet we realize that this is just the beginning!

It's like hacking through an overgrown jungle ...

2010-04-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

As I've talked lately with missionaries who've done extensive work in Sierra Leone, I've learned just how challenging ministry there can be. I knew the roads were rough, the toilets didn't flush (if there was one at all) and that the electricity was spotty (although I've heard it's much better now). But more than those things, one of the biggest obstacle seems to be the obliteration of a solid network of missionaries in the country due to the war.

Before Sierra Leone's war, if there was a white person in the country he or she was a missionary. The country was neatly divided up, with Anglicans working in this area, Wesleyans in that area, and so on. But the 11 year civil war drove most of the missionaries out of the country or severely limited their work inside the country. Ministry is done in, through, and by people. No people means no ministry. These missionaries once provided "well-worn paths" so-to-speak. If a person felt God's call to Sierra Leone, he or she could get connected to some of the missionaries already operating in the country and get a head-start by learning the ropes from some seasoned veterans. Today, this is just not the case. It's like hacking through an overgrown jungle. We have to cut our own paths and that takes time, effort, and persistence.

To complicate matters, after the war a host of non-government organizations (NGOs) flooded into Sierra Leone. Today if you see a white person in the country he or she is most likely not a Christian missionary but rather someone working with an NGO, many of which are not Christian in orientation. The mission of most NGOs is not to make disciples of Jesus Christ, but to provide much needed material aid. Their presence is a blessing and a curse. The missionary in Sierra Leone (or Sierra Leonean pastor, for that matter) has much more material aid at his or her disposal than before the war. However, working with organizations which are not gospel-centered can prove to be a great temptation to center one's ministry entirely around such material aid rather than around the gospel.

So we are forging ahead, cutting a new path. This overgrowth is part of the reason things will take longer than usual than is the case for missionaries in most other countries. We have to create a network of ministry partners basically from scratch and figure out the best ways to operate in the country with less help from those who've gone before. Part of this path-cutting will happen as we take some initial trips to the country. We hope to travel there during the dry season this winter. We are taking a small team and a couple of friends have even already graciously offered to pay for our flights! There are also some other very positive funding developments happening which should come to fruition in the coming months. So things are happening ... slowly but surely we will hack our way through this jungle and accomplish that which God is calling us to.

Blessings and may you feel the presence of Jesus' resurrection this Easter season!

" ... as of first importance ..."

2010-03-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

For the past two years I have expressed our desire to build a hospital specializing in prosthetics, create an educational orphanage, and build a seminary to train pastors in Sierra Leone. Whenever I have shared this vision, I have inevitably gotten the question, "What will you start with first?" I have to confess, I haven't had an adequate reply to the question of "What's first?" But my thinking has developed significantly regarding "what's most important," and I expressed this in part when I recently wrote about my strong belief in the power of the gospel to change the human heart (see: http://leaders4life-sierraleone.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-believe-in-gospel.html). In this post, I want to elaborate on the theme of the gospel and answer the question of "What's most important?" or "What's first?"

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians expresses perhaps in the most concise way in all of the New Testament what "the gospel" actually is. Paul says,

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised
on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and
then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers at the same time, most of them are still living, though some have
fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of
all he appeared to me also, as one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, NIV).

I have rehearsed this passage in my mind many times over the years. But it wasn't until recently that a little phrase Paul uses here struck me as crucial to understanding the place of the gospel in Paul's mission work. Paul says that he passed on the gospel to the Corinthians, "as of first importance ..." In first Corinthians, Paul deals with the many issues and problems which the Corinthian Christians had. There was controversy in Corinth over virtually everything: sexual immorality, marriage, money, lawsuits ... they even fought over who was the better preacher! But after speaking to these items at length throughout this letter, Paul reminds them of what is most important, what is foundational, what is "of first importance." He reminds them of the gospel by way of a sketch of what he first preached to them. The preaching of this message took first priority in Paul's mission work. It is what he did when he first came to Corinth and he reminds them that their priorities too should be centered in the truth of the gospel.

I have friend who has done mission work on the Thai-Burmese border. After preaching to them from Galatians for some time, they asked my white friend, "When are you going to give us some money? We need a generator." His response was, "This message is all I have." Another (white) missionary friend of mine recently gave a group of Sierra Leoneans a Bible Study to work their way through. Their response was, "All we get is Bible, Bible, Bible. When are you really going to start helping us?" What I think both groups were saying is, "This Bible stuff is good and all, but it's not tangible, it's not practical, it's not as important as things like food, clothing, and generators." When one considers the admittedly difficult situations in places like Burma or Sierra Leone, one's knee-jerk reaction is to offer help, to give, to alleviate the suffering. I know that has been my initial response.

We naturally tend towards the practical, material things of this world. We ask, "How can I make a living?" We worry, "What if I lose my job?" And in many places in the world people wonder, "Where will my next meal come from?" Jesus too suffered the poverty and hunger which many in the world face. Yet Jesus speaks directly against the mindset which is focuses upon the things of this world. Matthew 4:1-4 says,

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the
Devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (NIV)

Jesus teaches that food and clothing is not all that is required for us to live. There is something far more important than having our material needs met. Again Jesus says in Matthew 6, "Seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness and the material needs will naturally follow." Paul likewise counsels the Christians at Colossae, "seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not upon the things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

In dialoguing with missionaries who've spent many more years in Sierra Leone than I, the one question I often ask is, "What is the greatest need in Sierra Leone that is not being met?" What I have discovered is that the material needs are so vast in this, "the most underdeveloped country in the world," that there are already hundreds of NGOs and ministries seeking to address these needs. Hospitals have been built. Experts in prosthetics have come. Seminaries have been created. Orphanages have taken in the fatherless. And there is, of course, much more to be done. But with all of this aid and help being funneled into Sierra Leone, one would think that this land would have been well on her way to recovery today--eight years since the end of the war. So why has Sierra Leone remained at the bottom of the human development index?

It is, I think, not a coincidence that the one area many missionaries indicate that is extremely lacking in Sierra leone is the preaching of the gospel and good solid teaching from the Bible. Could it be that in all of our providing material aid that we have been focusing upon the opposite of that which God says we should focus upon? So what is the most important need in Sierra Leone, Burma and everywhere else in the world? What should come "first" in our mission work? The gospel. As counter-intuitive as it may sound, God asks us not to focus upon the things of this world, but to focus upon the things of heaven. And oddly enough, God says, the material needs will follow.

You're building a what, Noah?

2010-02-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Noah must have gotten some strange stares as people discovered what God was calling him to do. "You're building a what? Hey man, don't you know we live in a desert? Why don't you dig a pool or something?" I'm guessing that the only response Noah could give to those who questioned why he was building a boat was, "God told me to."

(A broken down barge in Sierra Leone which once carried people from Lunghi to Freetown.)

As I've explained our vision for Sierra Leone to people over the years, I've gotten some blank stares and cock-eyed looks. I remember once, after explaining with enthusiasm our plans to one African gentleman, he said with more than a hint of sarcasm, "Interesting culture in Sierra Leone" before he walked away in disgust. Another man, this one a white Anglican minister and scholar from South Africa, asked if by going to Sierra Leone I had a death wish. I couldn't help but smile and ask him how he deals with the numerous murders in South Africa where he lives. So I've learned not to expect others to understand why we're doing what we're doing. If others cannot see that God loves all countries and all peoples or that he has overcome death itself so that the Christian has nothing to fear, these are hangups between them and God. But as for us, we're building a boat.

(A smaller boat locals use to cross the same stretch of water.)

In the movie Master and Commander, Captain Jack Aubrey had to deal with a lot of morale issues. Faced with a battle against the newer, bigger, faster Acheron vessel, and frustrated by a streak of the worst luck they'd ever had, the men were loyal but fearful. They often raised their eyebrows when Captain Jack told them to steer the ship through huge swells or when he refused to quit after their ship took heavy damage in an early battle. I'm sure many of Captain Jack's sailors would've quite were it not for the fact that the boat was their only way home!

In many ways, starting a mission can be very similar to building a boat in the desert or commanding a battleship against great odds. To many, attempting to transform a place like Sierra Leone makes little sense, takes too long, or is just way too risky. Others may be on board but are wary of the journey ahead or frustrated by lack of a clear navigational route at present--loyal but fearful. But in the end, Captain Jack proved his leadership intution was right as he defeated his opponent and took the Acheron--the great Goliath of the sea. And Noah built an ark and saved humanity from utter ruin because, no matter how crazy people thought he was, God had told him to do this.

Question: What if you could see the destination before you started the journey? Doesn't a picture of the Hawaiian islands tempt us to book a vacation there so we can see it for ourselves? If you could look into the future and know that a certain stock was going to skyrocket, wouldn't you invest? If you had the assurance that your unpleasant job was going to lead to promotion after promotion, wouldn't you be apt to stick around? The reality is that God calls us to trust Him and step out on faith even if it might cause us pain, embarassment, or put us in a position of uncertainty. Noah trusted God. It may not be easy to trust God, but when we do He never fails to deliver us and accomplish what He calls us to.

The planning process for Leaders 4 Life is progressing steadily and nicely. And while it may seem a slow process of chipping away piece by piece, while it may at times even seem like a foolish endeavor to press on when there's not cloud in the sky, we must keep our hammers moving because God has called us to build this boat and only He knows when the rain will come!

Looking Ahead

2010-01-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today we mark the 2nd anniversary of Leaders 4 Life. Year two was a quiet year of transition as Lisa and I moved from Scotland to Phoenix and I completed my PhD. The upcoming year should be an exhilirating journey. We will be developing a strategic ministry plan to guide us through the foreseeable future which will include some small trips to Sierra Leone hopefully in the near future!

As we look ahead to what is sure to be an exciting and challenging year, I am reminded of a simple but profound truth. At our church in Phoenix, Paradise Valley Community Church, we have been in a series of Sunday morning messages based upon the Gospel of John. The series is called, "What no man can do." The basic premise is that God is in the business of doing things that we mere mortals cannot. (You can even hear me contribute to the series here: http://www.paradisechurch.com/explore/messages/audio/601.mp3) As we mark our 2nd anniversary, I am keenly aware that if we are to accomplish all that we need to this year and in the years to come we will need God's direction, power, provision, and supernatural blessing. We cannot do it in our own strength; it is beyond us. Engaging in God's work requires, rather, that we rely upon God to do "what no man can do."

(Above: First photo I took in Sierra Leone. A boy sleeping on the Ferry.)

Acquiring such other-worldly direction and power can only come by pleading with God that He would stretch out His hand and do the miraculous. So I would ask you to join me in this prayer: "Father, only you can do what no one in heaven or upon the earth can do. We fervently ask you to restore and redeem Sierra Leone and, in your grace, allow us to contribute to your work in this country. We ask for wisdom, direction, and humility for those who will serve as leaders of this ministry. Father, please guide me in how I might most fruitfully contribute to the redemption of this country that you love. In Christ's name we pray. Amen."

I Believe in the Gospel

2009-09-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

It has been many months since my last post as we have been busy, busy, busy! The beginning of 2009 saw us packing up our house in St. Andrews and moving from cold and rainy Scotland to hot and sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Being nearly finished with my PhD, we decided that since we had significant relationships in Phoenix and the Southwest from living there for many years while in college and seminary, that this would be an excellent base of operations from which to begin building Leaders 4 Life. Lisa secured a job there with Leadership Catalyst, Inc. This is an exciting time for this ministry as they have just published a book in the same spirit as The Shack called Bo's Cafe, so be on the look-out for it. You can pre-order a copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Bos-Caf%C3%A9-Novel-Bruce-McNicol/dp/193517004X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247685058&sr=1-1. As for me, I made one final push and completed my thesis, having submitted it at the end of June. I flew back to St. Andrews the last week in August to defend my work and passed my oral exam with some minor revisions. For now, we are in need of some major REST and RECOVERY.

(Our last picture in St. Andrews ...)

But all of this is very good news. For that which God has been calling us to can finally begin to take fuller shape. In view of this transition from PhD to full time missionaries, I would like to write about some convictions which God has been working into Lisa and I about the gospel and the church.

As our calling to Sierra Leone has developed over the past eight years, we have said that we want to create a wholistic ministry which would restore people in 4 ways: physically, spiritually, socially and intellectually. Thus the "4" in Leaders 4 Life. To build a hospital and minister to amputees would obviously meet some physical needs, an educational orphanage would fill a social gap, and a seminary to train pastors would be, largely, an intellectual endeavor. All of these, done in the name of Jesus, would be good things. But over the years, I have felt increasingly uncomfortable with the lack of a "spiritual" component which has caused me to ask more and more in my prayers, "Lord, what about the role of the gospel in our mission to Sierra Leone? What about the role of the church in our efforts?" In answer to those prayers, two central convictions have re-ignited themselves in my soul over the past months.

First, I believe in the gospel. I didn't grow up in the church. I had never read a page of the Bible before my teenage conversion. Rather, I spent my days sliding deeper and deeper into all that the world has to offer in "sin city"--my hometown of Las Vegas. I lived a life of decadence and depravity, smoking drugs, breaking into cars, and a whole host of other activities which are well beyond an "R" rating. But when my sister Heather shared the gospel with me--how Jesus had died for my sins and was raised to life to reconcile me to God and that I needed to make a decision to receive him and follow him--after a season of resistance, I believed. I had a radical conversion to Christianity and had peace in my life for the first time. And I have never looked back. If it weren't for Heather sharing God's gospel of peace and reconciliation with me, I wouldn't have a PhD in New Testament, I wouldn't be headed for the mission field in the world's poorest country which has been wracked by an 11 year civil war. If it weren't for the gospel and Jesus coming into my life, I'm positive beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would either be in prison or dead. Most people who meet me today actually don't believe me when I tell them of my past. Such is the power of the gospel to change a person's heart.

Second, I believe in the church. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek has a great phrase about this. He says, "The local church is the hope of the world." I truly believe that. It's not education or medicine or technology which will ultimately solve the problems of this world. Nor will our universities, businesses, or governments save us. The Bible declares that the problems of our world ultimately stem from within the human heart. James 4:1 asks, "What causes wars and conflicts? Don't they come from your desires which wage war within you?" Likewise, Jesus' declares that, "out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, blasphemy" (Matthew 15:19). Microsoft cannot solve the problem of evil in the world. Neither can George W. nor Obama can change the human heart. Only the gospel can do that. And it is the church which is the steward of this life-changing message of redemption. The church, while not perfect, nonetheless carries the message of the gospel and gathers those who have believed. The church truly is the hope of the world.

Eighteen months ago these two convictions--belief in the Gospel and in the church--began to shape our mission to Sierra Leone which is now on the horizon. A year and a half ago Lisa and I began to square my gifts of teaching and preaching, my training as a New Testament scholar, and my calling as a minister of the gospel with the mission as we had outlined it--to build a hospital, orphanage, and a seminary. The conclusion we came to was that if I was to be faithful to my calling as a minister that the gospel and the church would have to be central to our mission efforts.

So, you might be wondering, "Chris, you went to Bible school, Seminary, you now have your PhD in New Testament and you're just figuring this out?" Well, not exactly. I think when a person is beginning something such as a mission to the most underdeveloped country in the world, it's important to think through exactly what you're all about so that you can be as effective as possible. I have researched NGO's, I have observed parachurch ministries, and there is a centrality about the church and the gospel which I think is missing in many of these organizations. Yet at the same time, I have found that much of the church's mission efforts (at least in the Protestant tradition in which I came to faith) is sadly lacking in any kind of socially oriented expression of the gospel. It seems that the church has a difficult time striking a healthy balance between sharing the gospel with people and more socially oriented gospel-acts such as feeding them physically. Hybels recently talked about how when their church began they were very high on evangelism and how years later they swung way over to racial reconciliation and the feeding of Chicago's homeless. They have recently swung back over towards evangelism and are trying to find a balance between the two poles. Likewise, Rick Warren's unabashedly evangelical message has of late been supplemented by his work in African with AIDS, education, and the like. Franklin Graham began his ministry with the relief effort of sending practical necessities, toys, and Bibles in shoeboxes to needy children during Christmastime in "Operation Christmas Child." Roughly a decade later he began focusing upon evangelistic campaigns on par with his father's ministry. For me personally, I think I've come full-circle. I began my Christian journey with a powerful Gospel-conversion. My study of the Scriptures over the past 15+ years awakened in me God's very large concern for justice, physical healing, and the like. So where as we began with a vision to do lots of socially oriented ministry, this is now being balanced with a vision to preach the Gospel and to do so in and through the church.

So what does all of this mean for our mission? It means we must be church-based and Gospel-centered.

About six months ago, a friend of mine sent me the best article I've ever read on how to help Africa. The title says it all and sums up what I'm getting at: "As an Atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God: Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset." Read it here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece. What struck me in the article was how the author--walking through various mission compounds around Africa--could see a change upon the peaceful faces of those who lived there. And this even an Atheist could recognize--the power of God changing people's hearts with the gospel. Or, in the words of a missionary on the ground in Sierra Leone, "I am convinced that Sierra Leone will remain the poorest country in the world by UN standards as long as the hearts of the people remain the same. ... What is the solution for Africa? It is found in Jesus alone." Without a central core of the gospel and the church, we wouldn't have a mission ... it would only be yet another humanitarian effort done in merely human power. But by drawing upon God's power by preaching the gospel and by building up the church, I believe we can truly transform Sierra Leone.

Anniversaries

2008-12-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

Today, the 6th of January, 2009, is the 1 year anniversary of Leaders 4 Life. I want to take a moment to look back over this first year and thank two people who've been key-leaders in year one.

It was on January 6th, 2008 that I was commissioned at Holy Trinity, St. Andrews to head to Sierra Leone for the first time. It was on this trip that I learned of the significance of this date for the country--a day when rebels entered Freetown and wreaked havoc on so many (see my early post here: http://leaders4life-sierraleone.blogspot.com/2008/03/january-6th.html). When our son James was only 6 weeks old, I headed to West Africa for the first time, beginning to live out this dream which God had placed in our hearts several years ago. I returned home from Africa three weeks later only to move our family into another house a few days after my return, just in time to host Tom & Ninie Hammon of Young Life. Needless to say, it was a whirlwind Winter. Much of the rest of the year has been spent bearing down upon my thesis in an effort to finish the Ph.D. In the Spring, however, I did have the opportunity to present our vision for Sierra Leone a number of times, including speaking at Paradise Valley Community Church in Phoenix where we began receiving diamond rings in support (See this post: http://leaders4life-sierraleone.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html). God has done some amazing things ... not bad for year one!

Lisa and I also celebrated 12 years of marriage a few weeks ago. Over the years as this committment to Sierra Leone snowballed into a life's calling, I had long forgotten much of how it all began. As an anniversary gift, therefore, Lisa did some sneaky fact-finding in order to recover which documentary I first watched about Sierra Leone. She discovered (or re-discovered) that it was a well-known Canadian rap group called the Rascalz which travelled to Sierra Leone in 2000 and produced a documentary about their journey which was aired on MTV in 2001. You can see short clips of the program here: http://www.getloud.ca/en/gpi_av.asp?ID=4. It was this program which God first used to inform me about Sierra Leone and through which He began calling us to this country. Yes, God can even use MTV and a rap group to call people as missionaries! I guess it is fitting that God would use a rap group to call us to this country since the rap culture has always been big in Sierra Leone. I have to admit, being able to watch the documentary where it all began for us eight years ago was pretty nostalgic. Besides providing great memories, Lisa has also been key in helping keep Leaders 4 Life organized. As many of you know, Lisa is amazingly gifted with names, dates, and details. And of course, she keeps our busy household running smoothly by wiping noses, changing diapers, teaching colors, and helping with homework. She is an invaluable member of our team. Thanks for who you and and all you do, Lisa!

I also want to highlight another member of our team who has helped us tremendously over this first year. My long-time mentor Danny Golich travelled with me to Sierra Leone back in January. Danny has no Ph.D. nor does he hold a seminary degree. Danny is not a pastor, nor a big name in the Christian community. But it's for these and many more reasons why I like him. Danny helped start and run six different businesses in his years. But it's not his business experience per se why he is so valuable to me and to Leaders 4 Life. For the things Danny has gone through in his years have been, in his words, merely "preparation for promotion." You see, God has been working on Danny's heart to use his wisdom in leadership for God's kingdom, and we are blessed to have him as a part of our team. As I have read leadership books over the years, I have always found something lacking. They weren't practical enough; they didn't show the reader how to actually lead, how to actually do it. Experience is, of course, the best teacher and Danny has plenty of it. But not all gifted leaders have the ability to translate their experience into teachable insight. But God has not only given Danny tremendous insights into leadership, but also the ability to communicate these insights in ways which cut straight to the heart of the matter. Over the years Danny has coached me on creating "consistent consistency" and a sense of "team." I have learned about prioritization, organization, and delegation. While I have focused upon the big vision, Danny continually reminds me of "all the little steps in between which nobody thinks about when they're starting out." But most importantly, Danny has taught me about patience, faith and balance and has helped me to order my life in a way which honors the calling God has placed upon me. Danny is another invaluable member of our team. Thanks for who you are and all you do, Danny!

This has been a year of learning for us. We have learned that balancing a Ph.D., 3 children, beginning a ministry, along with other committments of Christian service can be challenging at times. We have been learning how to "clear away the clutter," and stay focused upon the single mission and calling God has placed upon our lives: Sierra Leone.

As Lisa and I continue to process the years ahead, Danny will be right there guiding and helping us along the way. And I look forward to the future as we sharpen our vision and begin taking, in Danny's words, "all the little steps in between," to get where God is leading us. At the finish of year one this is just the beginning folks, this is just the beginning ...

L4L Summer Update

2008-09-04T04:03:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, we received two more rings, bringing the total number to 7!

God has been working some convictions into Lisa and I about the gospel and the church, but more on this another time ...

Come live with children in Sierra Leone for 3 minutes by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zig3Eqpf6ek

Reality Check

2008-08-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

Some alarming news came to me recently from Kathy, a missionary friend in Sierra Leone, about a plane which had landed at Sierra Leone's Lunghi Airport a little over a week ago without permission. The plane was carrying over 1,500 pounds (700 kilos) of cocaine. CNN picked up the story, explaining that the illegal trafficking of drugs from South America through West Africa is booming, with most of the drugs ending up in Europe. This has officials at the U.N. worried that such illegal smuggling (not only of drugs, but also of guns and people) could spark off violence in the region, undoing the stability created in West Africa after years of conflict. You can read the article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/31/africa.drugs.trade.ap/index.html. Sadly, Kathy pointed out, there are local Sierra Leonean government officials in partnership with the drug traffickers. Please pray that the region remains peaceful. While in Sierra Leone back in January, we visited a Christian children's school near the Airport where this plane full of cocaine recently landed. Here are some pictures from that school.

On a more positive note, Kathy also reported that the litter on the streets of Freetown is being cleaned up, improving both the health and beauty of the capital city. She is also involved in a Bible study prayer group held at the home of the President, as the First Lady is a Christian. Below is a picture of Kathy at the home of Dr. Modupe Taylor-Pearce (he's on the left). Also in the picure is our team: David Musa of S.A.V.E. in the middle, Danny Golich, and myself. You can learn more about Kathy's ministry in Sierra Leone here: http://missions.beavertonfoursquare.org/

Kathy also speaks of the fervency with which those in her Bible study engage in prayer. While in Sierra Leone, Danny and I were struck by the importance placed upon prayer by the Christian leaders in Sierra Leone--Dr. Taylor-Pearce and David being two of them. When I think about this, James 2:5 always comes to my mind: "Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to be inheritors of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him?"

So, as alarming as the contrast of a large shipment of cocaine landing near a children's school may seem, the believers in Sierra Leone have something even more powerful than drug trafficking on their side. They have the ear of the Creator of the universe!

What does Young Life have to do with Leaders 4 Life?

2008-07-25T02:31:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago, a young Texan girl named Bonnie went to a Kanakuk summer camp. This was a transformative week for Bonnie, as a Young Life staffer named Stacy had the opportunity to pray with her as Bonnie gave her heart to the Lord.

Fast forward about 10 years. Although Bonnie had lost touch with Stacy, she continued growing in her faith. She attended Baylor University where she charmed a guy named Steve Mason with her dance moves. Besides both being avid dancers, they had in common the fact that Steve was also introduced to Jesus through the ministry of Young Life. Steve and Bonnie married and after seminary, Steve felt that a Ph.D. in theology was the next step for him. Bonnie, being the fervent prayer-warrior that she is, was excited about the venture. So they packed up and moved to a quaint little town in Scotland called St. Andrews (where Steve resisted golf long enough to complete his degree).

It was in St. Andrews that Lisa and I met Steve and Bonnie and instantly became good friends. But it was as the Mason's were leaving St. Andrews, that something amazing happened in our relationship with them. (If you've already heard this story, keep reading ... its better than the first time you heard it!) As Steve was applying to teach at LeTourneau University back in Texas, we learned that LeTourneau has a L.E.G.S. program which designs low-cost prosthetics legs for people in third world countries. And even though we'd known Steve and Bonnie for a couple of years, oddly enough we hadn't told them about our amazing calling to Sierra Leone involving prosthetics. When we finally sat down to talk about everything on our way to the airport for Steve's interview, we realized that this was a God-thing! After Steve got the position, we found out further that the next country LeTourneau's L.E.G.S. programe wanted to focus upon was Sierra Leone. Pretty amazing stuff. But it gets better ...

Back in St. Andrews, I had an inkling. For three years since we had moved to Scotland, I kept hearing church leaders talk about the dire need to reach the lost youth of St. Andrews but I never saw a comprehensive outreach to kids get underway. So I got this inkling from the Lord to help bring Young Life to St. Andrews. (And keep in mind, at this time I didn't know Steve and Bonnie had come to Christ via Young Life.)

I got in touch with a fabulous guy in London named Tom Hammon who has worked for Young Life for over 35 years. Tom worked to bring his good friend Randy Nickel, who is currently serving in Tanzania, to oversee what is happening with Young Life in Scotland. (Randy is on the left in the picture below, with Graham from Holy Trinity, St. Andrews.) Now here comes some more amazing bits ...

Tom and Randy suggested I get in touch with their friends doing Young Life in Liberia, next door to Sierra Leone. So I begin praying that Young Life would start in Sierra Leone and commit myself to help Young Life get started there when I become more active in the country. Low and behold, a couple of weeks later I get an email from James Davis of Liberia who had recently travelled to Freetown, Sierra Leone to hold a Young Life club meeting. Wow. I guess God beat me to the punch, but He did answer my prayers! Here are some pictures of the Freetown meeting below ...

Not amazing enough you say? Okay, how about this: As Randy contemplates shifting his focus from Tanzania to Scotland, he receives an email from his good friend "Stacy" who is praying for him. Here is some of the ensuing email correspondence:

Stacy: In the midst of praying for you, I get a call from an old Kanakuk camper that was in my cabin 20 years ago. I was able to pray with her to receive Christ, and so as a result, she talks about me every time she gives her testimony. Just this week, she was giving her testimony and decided to hunt me down. Through a long, strange course of events she was able to find me. We obviously talked for hours, but when she told me that she and her husband had lived in St. Andrews from 2002-2006, I couldn't believe it. I shared with her your story, and realized what a huge affirmation this could be for you. Her husband became a Christian through Young Life in San Antonio, and still remains very close to Tiger Dawson.

Me: This brings tears to my eyes ... Steve and Bonnie are close friends of ours from St. Andrews. When Steve finished his Ph.D. here in St. Andrews, he applied to teach OT at LeTourneau Univ. in Texas. In the process, we learned that LeTourneau's engineering department (called L.E.G.S.) is developing a low-cost prosthetic leg for people in third-world countries and that the next country they decided to focus upon is Sierra Leone. Steve and Bonnie are big champions of our work in Sierra Leone and an important part of the story of how God has been bringing everything together for us ... Randy, this is a nice confirmation for us both that God is indeed working not only in Africa, but also in Scotland!

Bonnie: WOW! Isn't God amazing...this is an Ebenezer for sure. Praise the Lord that Tiger Dawson and Stacy Santen heard the call to share Christ with Steven and Me many years ago....and now for his kingdom, things continue to grow and come full circle so that others may know him...awesome God indeed.

Randy: Chris that is crazy how God works. Stacy leads Bonnie to Christ at camp, Stacy and Matt become our great friends, Bonnie and Steve become your friends. This is what heaven will be like.

I've said many times before that Leaders 4 Life is about bringing heaven to earth. I cannot yet tell you specifically what Young Life has to do with Leaders 4 Life. What I can say is that it is amazing to watch God work and it is encouraging to see the Body of Christ work the way it should--each part functioning to help the other build the kingdom. What does Young Life have to do with Leaders 4 Life? The only answer I have is, "This is what heaven will be like!"

My experience in "Paradise"

2008-05-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

This may be my most amazing post yet ... Yes, just when I thought God couldn't top himself, He goes and does it again!

We recently spent a few weeks in the U.S. where we spent some time with family and I spoke about Leaders 4 Life. At the invitation of our friends Jake and Trisha Posey, I spent some time at John Brown University learning about their Institute for Biblical Community Development which is training missionaries to do holistic mission work via basic engineering skills (see: http://www.jbu.edu/academics/ecm/accomplish.asp). Lisa and I also sat down with other mission-minded folks--doctors, pastors, and business leaders--to share the vision of L4L. We had a tremendous response from everyone and were really encouraged by our visit. If this was all we had done and experienced, I would've considered our trip a success. But it seems God had other plans ...

The initial reason for our trip was to speak about Sierra Leone at Paradise Valley Community Church in Phoenix, AZ (http//www.paradisechurch.com/) and to celebrate Lisa's birthday with her twin sister Lyn. This church is led by good friends and mentors of ours, Frank and Jackie Switzer. Lisa and I were the first couple Frank ever married as an ordained minister. Frank and I went to University and Seminary together and have always dreamed and prayed about doing ministry alongside one another. But we never envisioned it would look like this ...

As I spoke at PVCC's two Sunday morning services, I shared the stories and pictures of utter poverty and despair in Sierra Leone. I also told of the amazing ways God has led us to this country, beginning with our dedicating Lisa's diamond wedding ring to help the people of Sierra Leone who had lost limbs over the diamonds. And then God began to move in people's hearts. This is such a difficult thing to describe when it happens, but those who have had such experiences can relate. Frank was crying, I was crying, people in the congregation were weeping. A few times in my life I've been a part of such amazing movements of God, but this is the first time I was involved in leading one.

After the two services were finished, an offering which had been collected for Sierra Leone was counted up. And for the first time ever, someone had put a diamond ring in the offering plate. Frank, Bruce McNicol, along with Gene and Terry Ratley and I huddled around it, ooing and aahing and smiling--not at the diamond--but at how powerfully God had moved and how filled with faith such a response was. And then, after the service, some good friends of ours who we've known from our seminary days, who hadn't seen the diamond ring from the offering plate, handed me their wedding rings. How does one receive such a gift, even on behalf of others? It seems God's Spirit was prompting people to give their diamonds, and people responded.

Sunday afternoon I called David Musa (the Sierra Leonean who took me to the country back in January) to share with him what God had done earlier that day. Giving money to someone in the world's most underdeveloped country in the world is one thing, but for Sierra Leoneans to hear that people are giving their diamond rings--even their wedding rings--to help those who have lost limbs over diamonds is redemptive on so many levels. What else can I say ... God has done it again!

Here is a link to my message, which you can download as a podcast: http//www.paradisechurch.com/explore/messages/audio_archives.php. It is more powerful to listen to the message live and see the pictures, but if you've never heard the whole vision in one shot, it's worth a listen.

Theological Education in Sierra Leone

2008-04-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

Having had a wonderful experience at Fuller Theological Seminary (http://http//www.fuller.edu/) and being months away from completing my Ph.D. in New Testament at St. Mary's College at the University of St. Andrews (http://http//www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/), theological education is something which I am, of course, passionate about. However, while ministers in the West like myself have been able to benefit from some of the best evangelical scholarship in the world, many pastors in second and third world countries are much less fortunate. It is encouraging, therefore, to see some organizations facilitate missionaries who want to teach theology on the mission field. For instance, my friend Kelly taught at a seminary in Costa Rica for 4 years with an organization dedicated to theological education in Latin America called ESEPA (http://http//www.esepa.org/). Or consider the neat work Geoff Pound is doing through Theologians Without Borders in connecting seminary teachers with institutions on the mission field, mostly in Asia (http://http//theologianswithoutborders.blogspot.com/). Like everything else in Sierra Leone, theological training began to suffer beginning with the onset of the war and continues to suffer today even though Sierra Leone is at peace.

We visited two main centres of theological education in Sierra Leone. Fourah Bay College began in 1827 as an Anglican missionary school and is the oldest western-style academy in West Africa. (Their JFK building is in the picture on the right.) From 1867 it began an affilliation with Durham University in England (which today is still a powerhouse for theological education) and in 1966 became a constituent of the University of Sierra Leone. Fourah Bay College gained a reputation for training in theology and education, churning out missionaries who went into other parts of Africa and garnering the epithet, "The Athens of Africa." Fourah Bay trained many influential leaders including the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Sir Milton Margai, as well as the current President, Ernest Bai Koroma. Today, however, many evangelicals in the country feel the college has lost its missional roots. In addition, although the campus has an active InterVarsty Christian Fellowship as well as an Anglican chaplain dedicated to the faith, the Muslim influence there seems to be gaining dominance.

The college chaplain, Canon Emmanuel Thompson, is sitting on the right in the picture to the left.

The second place ministers go for theological training is The Evangelical College of Theology or TECT. This college was started by Wesleyan and Baptist missionaries. The Christian leaders I met seem to feel TECT has stayed grounded in its evangelical and moral roots. It survived the war admirably, but its academic rigour has suffered since. The missionaries who began the college left during the war for reasons of safety, and with them went precious funding. During this time the college also stopped receiving up-to-date journals and books. TECT learned a valuable lesson from the war which they kindly passed on to us: mission work must empower nationals. Western missionaries are appreciated and needed, but they must train and empower nationals to stand on their own. Just above on the right is a picture of me talking theological education with the Dean and other administrators of TECT.

Most pastors in Sierra Leone have barely finished secondary/high school. It is rare for a pastor to have bachelor's degree, much less a master's or Ph.D. What if Leaders 4 Life could provide a high calibre of leadership training and bring an intellectual and spiritual vigour back to Sierra Leone by providing some of the best theological education possible? Wouldn't it be an amazing act of empowerment to unleash an explosion of highly trained leaders who could not only stand on their own but also empower others?

The Kingdom of Heaven Comes Not by Violence

2008-03-31T04:44:00.000-07:00

One of the first places we visited was an amputee camp in the Jui section of Freetown. Camps for amputee war-victims and their families like the Jui camp were set up by the government all over the country after the war. The children came right up to us, held our hands, and sat in our laps! You can tell they are loved.

We sat and listened to the horrific stories of these people from the war. The lady in the middle of the picture below in the wheelchair is the matriarch of the camp. She is affectionately known as "the Chairlady." Part of the psychological tactics the rebels used when they attacked her village was to tell her and the ladies she was with that they were 'politicians' because they danced when the president was elected and, therefore, deserved to have their feet cut off. The rebels left her and the other ladies upstairs bleeding and set the ground floor of her house on fire. They were told that the first one who came out of the house would be shot. Choking on smoke, they were forced to crawl out only to realize the rebels were long gone. The Chairlady didn't get medical help until 2 or 3 days later, resulting in her having to be amputated above the knees. She told her story with an amazing amount of dignity and courage.

At first, the Chairlady was reluctant to recount her personal history because, she reasoned, many people had come to see them before, taken pictures of them, and left without returning again to help. It was only because we were with Pastor Victor (whom she trusted) and had promised to buy them a bag of rice that she deemed our motives less self-ingratiating. Out of all my experiences on my first trip to Sierra Leone, the Chairlady's words struck me most deeply and have lingered with me the longest.

Although the government created these camps with basic houses, some land to farm, and arranged for amputees to receive prosthetics, a failed government has not been able to sustain them. The farmers cannot feed everyone in the camp year-round. As you can also see, the amputees aren't using their prosthetics. These two realities are related: they do not have enough to eat; therefore they beg for food; they get less money when they beg wearing a prosthesis; therefore they beg without their prosthesis. The other thing about prosthetics is that they need regular maintenance and adjustment for practicability and comfort--which does not seem to be happening. To add to these difficulties, members of this community also have to hike to the river and back for water, 1/2 mile each way. The rebels tried to build a better government by violence and all of this is the result.

We learned that ministry in Sierra Leone is slow, difficult, and complicated; so we want to start small. We also learned--especially from the Jui camp--that ministry needs to be holistic, addressing the physical, spiritual, intellectual and social needs simultaneously. Therefore, as our first, smaller project, I have been contemplating adopting this camp. Please pray for these people and this potential project. Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing to bring the peaceable, life-giving kingdom of heaven to earth by transforming this camp of about 100 people by providing a new school for children with laptops, a church, sustainable farming, a water well, and a clinic which prosthetists can work in conjunction with? Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if we could give the Chairlady a reason to dance again?

Leaders 4 Life exists to bring the best in the world to bear upon this situation. I leave you with this amazing 5 minute prosthetics video by Dean Kamen--creator of the Segway--for those who have a few extra moments to be inspired to that end: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/82

Trash Talkin'

2008-03-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

I remember one day, shortly after I had become a Christian, in which I threw some rubbish out of my car window while sitting in a fast-food parking lot in Las Vegas. My meal was rudely interrupted when a war veteran picked up the trash and threw it back into my car and upon my lap with some choice expletives. Who could blame him? He had risked his life for his country and I was de-beautifying it.

The 10 year war in Sierra Leone has left all systems in the country broken. The postal system is unreliable and "recycling" is not even on the radar map. I learned that some rubbish trucks were donated by Germany (I believe), but that trash collection was sporadic and generally unreliable. This is not to mention the terrible road conditions which muck up the matter even more.

I can’t help but think of how demoralizing living with such waste must be. Besides the potential to spread disease, apart from the watery eyes caused by the constant burning of garbage, it is not pretty to look at. I wonder how much Sierra Leoneans dream of re-capturing the beauty of their country …

January 6th

2008-03-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

Some dates are unforgetable. They mark the undulations of our collective humanity. Dates like 9/11 and 7/7 have become part of our everyday vocabulary, triggering images of horror and grief.

On January 6th, 2008, I was commissioned at the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity in St. Andrews to enter Sierra Leone for the first time. After 10 years of watching and waiting as God continually and profoundly put this country before me, it was a much-anticipated trip. Being commissioned on January 6th was a memorable event, not least because January 6th is also my father's birthday.

When I got into Sierra Leone and began meeting people , I kept hearing them talk about this date. "On January 6th rebels cut off my feet ... " "On January 6th I saw someone die right in front of me ..." I finally caught on and asked the significance of this day. I was told that while Sierra Leone's war had been going on for 8 years out in the countryside, for the people in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, there was little thought that the war would ever reach them. I discovered that January 6th (1999) is the day the rebels entered Freetown to take control of the government and the country. Many terrifying things happened to the citizens of Freetown on that day. The 6th of January is Sierra Leone’s 9/11 or 7/7. Before entering the country, I had no idea what had happened on this date 9 years earlier.

Victor Zizer is the minister of First Presbyterian Church in Freetown. He told me of his experience on January 6th. Rebels came to his house and held his family at gunpoint. They took half of the food in Victor's house for supplies. His wife and children were terrorized. When they left, his family was relieved just to be alive. A total of five groups of rebels came to their house that night. Victor and another pastor gathered about 200 people together and began praying in a place the Lord had provided as a refuge. They prayed through the night until they heard gunshots getting closer and decided to move. As they walked through the darkness, they heard bullets flying all about them. Victor says, "It was like walking through the valley of the shadow of death ..." This is just a small glimpse of Victor's harrowing story, and his is but one among the 2 million people who lived in Freetown at the time. So when I told Victor I was commissioned to come on January 6th, he looked at me as if to say, "That's significant." I should not neglect to mention that after the war, Victor participated in a programme to rehabilitate rebels--an unbelieveable act of grace and forgiveness.

You've probably heard me talk about the many 'amazing' things God has been doing to lead us to Sierra Leone and this is yet another one of them. My first trip into the country has confirmed that God is calling us to help heal what has happened to the people of this country during their war. As one of my friends, Jeff Tippner, says, "the Lord is already beginning to redeem that date for Sierra Leoneans."

Leaders 4 Life

2008-02-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

You may already be familiar with Sierra Leone's past history involving the slave trade from movies like Amistad and Amazing Grace, or with the country’s more recent war from movies like Blood Diamond or Lord of War. I was introduced to the country in 2001 when I saw a documentary about Sierra Leone’s bloody civil war in which rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberia were doing forced amputations (legs, hands, arms, ears, etc.) on villagers in order to gain control of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone. If you keep up on international news, Liberia’s former leader Charles Taylor is on trial for the war crimes and atrocities committed during this war. Astonished that the international community was doing little to stop Sierra Leone’s war or to aid its victims, I committed myself before God to do something about these atrocities. The next day after learning about this brutal conflict, I asked my wife Lisa if she would be willing to set aside her diamond wedding ring as a symbolic offering of encouragement to the amputees and war-torn victims in Sierra Leone—the world's poorest country. Subsequently, amazing things began to happen ...
Lisa went to work for some friends of ours named Ed and Lesleigh Sisson at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, the largest P & O Company in America which began to open up the world of artificial limbs to us. I had a friend and parishioner under my care in Las Vegas–who previously knew nothing of the country–begin working in connection with the government of Sierra Leone. Amazing! Lisa also had a significant dream that we were parents to an African baby boy, opening up the possibility of adoption among the many orphans Sierra Leone’s war left in its wake. Our house was broken into and everything of value stolen … except Lisa’s ring. On our first trip to Scotland, we accidentally left the ring in a bag behind in Vegas—unlocked. An Airline attendant picked it up and checked it through to Scotland for us. When we opened it, the ring was still there. Twice Lisa’s ring has been out of our possession and protection, and twice God has preserved it for us. When our good friends Steve and Bonnie Mason moved from St. Andrews to Texas so Steve could begin teaching Old Testament at LeTourneau University, it was discovered that LeTourneau’s engineering department develops low-cost prosthetics legs for people in third-world countries in their L.E.G.S. department. The next country the department decided to focus upon is Sierra Leone. Another serendipitous event was meeting New Testament Professor Craig Blomberg and learning that Craig’s wife Fran has been heavily involved with the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone, an organization which connects many of the churches and ministries/charities in the country together. Through Fran, I met Dr. David Musa, a native of Sierra Leone and executive director of S.A.V.E. (http://www.savesierraleone.org/), an organization dedicated to helping Sierra Leone rebuild. Accepting an invitation from David to visit the country with him, I travelled with a small team to Sierra Leone in January of 2008 to meet the leaders of many ministries already operating there. There is no way we could have orchestrated these things—it can be none other than God’s clear calling upon our lives to embark upon this mission.

So after years of following God as He nudged us toward this work, the time to begin this mission has finally arrived! The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity in St. Andrews, Scotland (the church where the famous reformer John Knox began preaching, see http://www.holyt.co.uk/) helped us launch this ministry on July 29th, 2007--the first mission initiative emanating out of Holy Trinity in roughly 200 years. Now that we've returned to the U.S., we are based in Phoenix, Arizona at Paradise Valley Community Church (http://www.paradisechurch.com/).

All of this to say, God has been presenting us with a loud and clear calling and vision for the country and people of Sierra Leone! Therefore, we are initiating Leaders 4 Life, an international mission organization dedicated to helping bring life to Sierra Leone in 4 areas: spiritually, physically, socially, and intellectually. We believe the most practical way to fulfill this vision is to build: 1) a network of churches, 2) a training hospital specializing in prosthetics, 3) an educational orphanage, and 4) a seminary. Leaders 4 Life desires to bring the world’s leaders in evangelism and church planting, medicine & prosthetics, childhood education and care, and theological education to bear upon one of the world’s poorest countries. We are in the business of bringing the best in the world to bear upon one of the worst situations in the world. We are in the business of bringing heaven to earth in Sierra Leone.