By / Dec 17

In this episode, Brent and Lindsay discuss Southern Baptist Disaster Relief after the tornadoes, Omicron’s arrival to the U.S., and efforts to crackdown on unruly airline passengers. They also discuss the Christmas blues, the U.S. missionaries freed in Haiti, and the bipartisan deal on China’s human rights violations. 

ERLC Content

Culture

  1. Southern Baptists help with tornado aftermath
  2. Biden tours KY tornado damage
  3. Bipartisan deal on China stalls in Senate; ERLC resources
  4. U.S. missionaries freed in Haiti
  5. Flight attendants urge crackdown on unruly passengers
  6. Omicron is coming 

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  • The Dawn of Redeeming Grace // This episode was sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The Dawn of Redeeming Grace .Join Sinclair Ferguson as he opens up the first two chapters of Matthew’s Gospel in these daily devotions for Advent. Each day’s reflection is full of insight and application and will help you to arrive at Christmas Day awed by God’s redeeming grace and refreshed by the hope of God’s promised King. Find out more about this book at thegoodbook.com.
  • Outrageous Justice // God calls us to seek justice. But how should Christians respond? Outrageous Justice, a free small-group study from experts at Prison Fellowship, offers Christians a place to start. Explore the criminal justice system through a biblical lens and discover hands-on ways to pursue justice, hope, and restoration in your community. Get your free copy of Outrageous Justice, featuring a study guide, videos, and a companion book today! Visit prisonfellowship.org/outrageous-justice.
By / Sep 1

Filder Hilaire was a schoolteacher before being called to something different. Born in Haiti, he has experienced much of the challenges the country offers. Filder lives as most Haitians do, without much physical provision; however not dissimilar to his fellow countrymen, he maintains a joyful spirit and a persevering work ethic which is unexplained outside of the love of Christ.

Nine years ago, Filder began work helping families adopt through Lifeline Children’s Services. Since that time, he has become an attorney and now serves our families through the legal side of their Hatian adoption journey. Over this time period, he has helped dozens of children find a family who will be theirs forever. 

Filder’s spirit of hope, rooted in the gospel, has helped many Haitian and U.S. adoptive families through unspeakable hardship. Filder is not unlike so many other Haitians — living in a land where 90% of the families are consistently vulnerable to natural disasters and 60% live in abject poverty. These realities came to bear for Haitians in southwestern Haiti after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed over 2,200 people, injured 10,000 more, and destroyed 50,000 homes earlier this month. These hardships and emotional and physical damage were immediately compounded by Tropical Storm Grace last week. 

Filder and his family were not immune to the crisis as his wife’s family lost everything they had in this latest earthquake.

While much of the world’s eyes are rightly on Afghanistan and the refugee crisis that has resulted, we must not overlook the immediate suffering in Haiti — a people with an indestructible spirit but who have experienced tragedy upon tragedy as of late and over their turbulent history.

We can’t forget the devastation in Haiti in the midst of the continued spread of COVID-19, the global supply chain crisis, the heat waves and wildfires, and the ever-growing food and housing insecurity ravaging countless poor nations. To all of these areas which Haitians face, there seems no end.

We must remember that Haiti is not beyond the notice of God. His reach is long to heal and help a people who are kind and joyful, even in the most difficult of circumstances. They are endearing and resilient even as they fight disease, unemployment, violence, lack of healthcare, and all other sorts of grave challenges; however, many Haitians lack the greater hope which Filder has because of the gospel. 

Showing generosity to the people of Haiti

Lifeline Children’s Services has facilitated more than 60 adoptions in Haiti — it is a nation that we love dearly and that we want to impact with both immediate help and the enduring hope of the gospel. International adoption is the most appropriate way to live out God’s heart for the sanctity of life and human dignity for some children, but we also must be involved with addressing the root issues that lead to family displacement. 

I want to be like my brother Filder —marked by a joyful spirit and a persevering work ethic flowing from Christ’s presence in his life. We have much to learn from him and many others in Haiti. But for now, we also must help them. 

Like the early church, we want to be people who give sacrificially of all God has given to us: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” (Acts 2:32). Whether in a local context or as part of the global body of Christ, our call is bent toward generosity.

What does this look like? 

  1. Financial generosity. Thousands of people in Haiti now lack basic needs of food and home supplies. They are facing insecurities on a level not seen in years. There are wonderful Christian charities who are on the front lines of meeting financial and nutrition needs like our friends at SEND Relief, World Vision, Compassion, and Samaritan’s Purse.
  2. Emotional and spiritual generosity. Haiti may be hundreds or thousands of miles away from many of us, but we are one church body suffering under the realities of a hurting world. Spend time reading about the crisis and the people of Haiti as a way to open your heart to a people of both joy and sorrow. Spend time lamenting with our brothers and sisters, but also fervently praying for them and with them. Remember them in your prayers and ask God for his grace and mercy to be shown to those in Haiti.
  3. Relational generosity. There are Haitian immigrants all around us in America. Consider how you can develop relationships to support those who may have extended family and friends impacted by the latest crises.

At Lifeline, we have also established a fund to help those in Haiti who have lost everything. We are partnering with organizations on the ground to help those impacted by the recent disasters, providing necessary items to those in need.

Our omniscient God’s eyes are on Afghanistan and Haiti at the same time. And his eyes are on you and me to offer what he would like to give — joy-filled hope. Filder and countless others in Haiti will continue to show us what it means to work hard and work joyfully even during times of tragedy. But how much better it would be if we showed them that they weren’t alone even as other eyes are turned elsewhere?  

By / Aug 20

In this episode, Lindsay, and Brent discuss the latest in Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti and the need for aid, COVID-19 vaccine boosters, states banning mask mandates, and Texas’s ban on second-trimester abortion. Lindsay also gives a rundown of this week’s ERLC content including Jill Waggoner with “A Prayer guide for the people of Afghanistan,” Jordan Wootten with “Explainer: Federal court rules in favor of religious freedom rights of Indiana Catholic high school,” and Leeann Poarch with “What 1 Peter can teach us about living in a hostile world: Justice, love, and submission to authority.”

ERLC Content

Culture

  1. Evacuation of up to 80,000 lags as U.S. bolsters control of Kabul airport, but Taliban controls access to it
  2. ERLC, others urge Biden to protect, resettle at-risk Afghans
  3. Haiti quake death toll tops 2,000 as anger grows over lack of aid
  4. NAMB- Send Relief
  5. U.S. health officials recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters 8 months after second shot
  6. States banning mask mandates could face civil rights probes
  7. Texas ban on second-trimester abortion procedure upheld by appeals court

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By / Jul 9

In this episode, Josh, Lindsay, and Brent discuss the assassination of Haiti’s president, how new deaths from covid remain from those who are unvaccinated, a summer Olympics without any spectators, and the winner of the national spelling bee. Lindsay gives a rundown of this week’s ERLC content including Candice Watters with “Do you need a digital reset? A better approach to screen time after the pandemic,” Daniel Patterson with “Why and how reading shapes your soul,” and Hannah Anderson with “At what age should we baptize our children? A case for baptizing those who make a credible profession of faith.”

ERLC Content

Culture

  1. Suspects arrested in assassination of Haitian president
  2. Nearly all deaths from Covid in US are among the unvaccinated
  3. In Maryland, all deaths from Covid in June were among unvaccinated
  4. More evidence suggests vaccines protect against delta variant
  5. An Olympic fiasco
  6. Zaila Avant-garde wins national spelling bee

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Love your church: This engaging book by Tony Merida explores what church is, why it’s exciting to be a part of it, and why it’s worthy of our love and commitment. | Find out more about this book at thegoodbook.com

By / Feb 28

The nation of Haiti is currently experiencing civil unrest, and violent protests over extreme inflation and allegations of government corruption. Demonstrators have demanded the resignation of President Moise, accusing Haitian government officials of misappropriating development funds from an oil deal between Caribbean countries and Venezuela.

Anytime a nation experiences unrest, the people that are in danger of being harmed the most, are the most vulnerable populations, typically women and children. For example, after the earthquake almost a decade ago, there were reports of sexual abuse from the UN peacekeepers in Haiti and Haitian women who engaged in “transactional sex” to receive goods like food and medicine from the UN peacekeepers.

Haiti is the poorest country in Americas, and 60 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Due to the current unrest in Port-au-Prince, many Haitians are standing in lines, trying to obtain basic necessities—food, water and gas. There are over 30,000 children living in orphanages, but many of those children aren’t orphans at all. At least 80 percent of children living in institutions have at least one living parent, but they’ve been placed there because of the severe poverty in the nation. Parents think it’s better for their child to live in an orphanage, growing up without a family. Unfortunately, there are many corrupt orphanages who trick parents into thinking their children will be cared for and given an education, but the orphanage is really just a front for trafficking children,

Haiti has an incredibly special place in my heart. I close my eyes, and I’m immediately transported back to the Port-au-Prince, the city where I fell in love with another culture, another nation, and Haiti’s most vulnerable people—its orphans. A couple of years ago, I traveled down to Haiti on a child welfare trip. We visited orphanages, spoke with government leaders, learned about the issue of Restavek, a form of modern-day child slavery that affects 1 in every 15 children in Haiti. During my time, I held a little boy who was left in a trash bag in the streets of Port-au-Prince, thrown out and left for dead. But the Lord had other plans for him. He was rescued and adopted by a Christian family in Haiti. His family named him Nathan, meaning “gift from God.”

As Christians, we should care deeply about what’s happening in other parts of the world. One of the most important ways we can support the Haitians is to lift them up in prayer! Below are three ways you can pray.

  1. Pray that the government leaders would begin to protect and care for its citizens.
  2. Pray that Haiti’s most vulnerable people would be protected; not taken advantage.
  3. Pray that people’s basic necessities would be provided for (food, water, shelter, medical care, safety).

The enormity of need in Haiti can feel overwhelming to us, but not to the Lord. We should be encouraged by the reminder that the Lord delights to hear and answer the prayers of his children. Let’s pray and trust that the Lord is intervening in Haiti.