The Stupidest Thing I've Seen on Facebook This Year

The above nonsense showed up on my Facebook feed a few days ago. Just to be difficult I left this comment, "I kept scrolling."

7 Reasons Why Your Two Week Trip To Haiti Doesn’t Matter: Calling Bull on "Service Trips"

(I intended to wait until the new year to post anything serious, but the article I'm linking to is simply too good to wait that long.)

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The above saying can be applied to all sorts of situations in life. One of the most appropriate is short-term missions trips. Many churches send groups of volunteers overseas with the hope of doing some good. Their intentions are great. Unfortunately, these groups frequently do more harm than good. Sadly, the level of cluelessness is often extreme. Many western Christians go to foreign lands for a week or two, do some stuff, and then return home feeling good on the inside. However, what they've left behind is often more damage than anything else.

The article 7 Reasons Why Your Two Week Trip To Haiti Doesn’t Matter: Calling Bull on "Service Trips" skillfully addresses the above issue. While I do not agree with all of the details or conclusions in the article, I do believe most of it is right on target. I appreciate the fact that the author not only diagnoses the problems involved with missions trips, but also offers specific solutions.

The church in this country literally spends millions of dollars each year to send unskilled Christians abroad with the hopes of somehow doing some good. The results are generally not positive. Is there a better way? Can the money be spent more wisely? Can we avoid harming the locals and even accomplish some lasting good?

I encourage you to read the article and see what you think.

Couldn't Resist

I won't be posting anything serious until after the new year, but this video is just for fun. I couldn't resist sharing it.

Have a merry Christmas!

Taking a Blogging Break Until the New Year

The title of this post pretty much sums it up: I'm taking a break from blogging for a month.

My JCB work schedule has been more insane than normal lately; in one recent two week span I totaled 155 hours. It likely won't let up significantly until the new year arrives. This combined with various Christmas festivities means little time for anything else (except running of course). Therefore, I just don't have time to blog well. Additionally, I currently have a little blogging burn-out going on. Maybe a month off will help. I believe it will.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. See you in 2016!