by James Hunt | Sep 11, 2014
I am a prideful guy. I’m not proud of it. I just am. You may see evidence of pride partly in the attitude with which I entered adulthood. It has manifested itself in a variety of applications over the years.
What is the underlying attitude of pride that has marked the last 25-plus years of my life? The determination that failure is not an option!
Failure is not an option in the following ways:
- I will not destroy my life (set against the backdrop of watching my dad destroy his)
- I will be maximally-used by God for His glory in advancing His Kingdom (a veiled desire for self-glory)
- I will walk with Jesus (assuming that personal self-discipline will advance my spiritual maturity)
- I will be successful in my business endeavors (so I worked my body with physical labor in bi-vocational ministry to the point where it became painful to do so)
- I will adopt children and rescue them from the horrors of their up-to-now adverse experiences (not recognizing the depths of my own brokenness)
In it all, God has brought me to the brink of disaster, and then, in what seems like last-minute grace, I sense the voice of God asking me, “Now, do you trust Me in this area?”
I have been walking the road of adoption for about seven years now. The journey started with a focus on adopting a young man who was in the foster system in another state. That did not end as expected. Instead, another family eventually adopted him. Meanwhile, I began to realize my own inability to make something happen in this new arena.
Following that first deep disappointment, my wife and I decided to continue to pursue adoption. We ended up having a placement of two boys. Over a series of months (and a whole lot of chaos in the home) it became very clear that the older boy needed to be removed from the home. We adopted the younger boy. Once again it was becoming apparent just how powerless I am.
Fast-forward to the present time, we now have an additional three children we have adopted from the Oklahoma foster system. One is now going to be transitioning to a Christian group home for children – a place designed to serve kids who have greater needs than can be addressed in the context of their families. Once again, it appears that God is asking the question, “Do you trust Me in this?” To which I tentatively respond, “Yes, Lord, I think I do. Help me trust You more.”
I recently heard a short talk on redefining failure at a foster care symposium. It was just what I needed to hear. The main idea of the talk was that we are failures – not when we try but when it doesn’t turn out as grand and good as we’d hoped. Rather, failure is when God clearly leads you to do something and you don’t do it. A sub-point of the talk included the reminder that Jesus commanded us to love not to fix. That’s His job.
So, do I embrace failure? Absolutely not! I want to live a vibrant, godly life that exalts the glory of God and advances His Kingdom. I want to abide in Jesus and enjoy fellowship with Him in ever-increasing holiness. I want to be successful in whatever my hands find to do in this life. And, I want to succeed as a parent. I think … I hope that I’m beginning to pursue these things from a more humble perspective. More and more, I see that it’s Christ in me and through me – not my own self-determination.
Yes, Lord, I trust You.
by James Hunt | Aug 28, 2014
In August of 2012 Council Road Baptist Church submitted paperwork along with a $20,000 check to establish the Karis Adoption Fund. Written into the founding documents was verbiage that made clear our intention for the fund to be something that impacted families beyond the scope of the membership of our own church. In the first two years of its existence the Karis Adoption Fund has received $149,245.02 in donations. Every penny will go to help families change orphans to sons and daughters through adoption.
Our current balance after distributions and commitments is $96,696.84. This means that the fund has nearly $100,000 left to give to families who are adopting. God’s grace is amazing indeed!
Most often families who receive assistance from the Karis Adoption Fund do so by means of a matching grant. This means that the adopting family must give of their own monies, and/or raise monies to get matching dollars up to the amount of the award. In other words, Karis dollars are given as family dollars are raised. Some of the advantages of this type of award are as follows:
- Matching grants tend to net up to three times the amount of the award due to donors motivated by matching dollars (each dollar they give gets doubled by the matching grant up to the amount of the award).
- Matching grants give a financial vehicle that enables them to go to their social networks of family and friends – inviting their prayerful and financial participation in the adoption.
Matching grants are not the only way that the Karis Adoption Fund has helped. The fund has on more limited occasions and according to the unique realities of the applicants, offered the following types of assistance:
- Direct grants – these funds are simply given and not based on raised dollars.
- No Interest loans – these funds are also simply given and must be repaid.
Beyond financial statements and award options lies the underlying purpose of the fund: To glorify our Heavenly Father, who, at great cost to Himself, adopted spiritual orphans and made them sons and daughters. The Karis Adoption Fund exists to reflect through human adoption the grace of what God has done for us spiritually in Christ. Real families are being impacted. Children once labeled orphan now are labeled son or daughter. If a picture is worth a thousand words then I’ll let the following pictures – pictures of some of the families helped – tell the rest of the story.
by James Hunt | Aug 14, 2014
“You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” (James 4:14, HCSB)
In the day to day of my life I typically don’t pause to consider the brevity of my existence. But James tells me that my life is not permanent; rather, it’s similar to smoke which drifts away in the breeze.
Some of my favorite times have been spent around a campfire hanging out with family and friends. If a small campfire is adequate a bonfire is more preferred. I do try to stay out of the drift of the wood smoke; but of course each time the wind shifts in my direction my eyes burn a bit more in the acrid smoke. Returning to normal life the smoke is dissipated into a memory. The smoke was but is no more.
I was driving home the other day with my 8-year-old daughter in the back passenger side and my 11-year-old son in the front passenger seat. A full sized truck ran a red light at full speed and swerved hard barely missing wiping out the passenger side of my car. It happened so fast that I wasn’t even aware of the danger until the very last moment – alerted by his blaring horn. I am confident that God kept my children alive that day. The wick of their lives is still burning – smoke ascending. Thanks be to the Lord for His grace!
Moments before this incident I had touched my daughters hand – just a quick grip to tell her I love her. I had followed this by tousling my son’s hair and smiling. Then I proceeded at the green arrow light. I almost lost them both in that moment.
Life is short. It’s like smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. I hope to have a few campfires with my kids before my smoke disappears.
by James Hunt | Jul 23, 2014
In church life, you hire a pastor or ministry professional to lead the charge up the hill to make a difference for Jesus’ sake. Right? What if there is no vision from the hired staff to recognize a real need? Consider leading up. Don’t wait for a professional to accomplish a ministry need; rather, create enough “noise” until those up the leadership chain eventually hear the buzz-buzz of the gathering crowd. Let me offer you an example.
Cindy Boecking is a mom with three kids – two of whom have been adopted.[1] Back in 2009 she and some friends, motivated by the desire to honor God’s clear revelation of what constitutes pure religion (James 1:27), set out to begin a ministry in their local church setting. There was no one on staff that had the vision to do this – it was Cindy and her friends. The ministry began with a small group of moms forged together with a vision of starting a movement in their church that would result in God’s people opening their hearts and homes to the fatherless.
Cindy writes the following about her experience:
Honestly, it wasn’t easy getting buy-in from our pastors, but we faithfully met every Wednesday night. We prayed and kept serving. Now, five years later, we have full support of our pastors and staff at our church.
For Cindy and her friends, the way to lead up was to start with a regular gathering for the purpose of supporting families already engaged in fostering or adoption. As time went on, interest and awareness increased. They have used a variety of things to help keep the momentum going. She writes:
We celebrate Foster Care Awareness month at our church as well as Orphan Sunday.[2] In past years, we have honored Orphan Sunday in different ways such as hosting the Waiting Heart Gallery, inviting the Governor to address the congregation, and hosting a Focus on the Family event to find homes for waiting children.
Orphan Sunday is Nov. 2 this year. Would the leadership at your church be willing for this one Sunday to include a song, a prayer, a Scripture reading, a sermon focus, a testimony, a short video, a luncheon or something that would highlight the Father’s heart for orphans and offer ways God’s people can respond?
Don’t be held back by the tyranny of the overwhelming need set against the backdrop of underwhelming leadership in your church regarding this issue. Be encouraged that God delights to use people just like you to start a movement. Just listen to Cindy’s encouragement:
There are so many ways to live out James 1:27. It takes no special talent or education to lead this effort in your church. It just takes a willing heart.
To find out more about Orphan Sunday go to http://orphansunday.org/, contact James Hunt at jhunt@councilroad.org, or contact Alyson Walker at awalker@bgco.org.[3]
[2] Foster care awareness month is in May and Orphan Sunday is the first Sunday in November each year
[3] James Hunt serves on staff at Council Road Baptist Church. Alyson Walker serves as the Childhood Education Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma
by James Hunt | Jul 3, 2014
This past Sunday night my wife and I took our kids and enjoyed a concert in the park in downtown OKC. This is part of the “Summer Concert Series” put on by the Arts Council. Our family has enjoyed attending a few of these summer concerts over the last few years. www.artscouncilokc.com/twilight-concerts
This last weekend’s event was no exception. We had an excellent place in the shade where we would be protected from the late-day summer sun. A warm breeze blew as the band kicked it into gear with some soulful R&B.
One feature of the improved park next to the Myriad Gardens is the addition of an excellent play area for children. I took our four kids for about ½ hour of playtime to burn off some energy. They enjoyed climbing, spinning, and excitedly experiencing all the fun that could be had in a place designed to delight children.
One unexpected twist was Thomas. When I first saw Thomas I didn’t know his name. I just saw a grown adult male with a tiny guitar walking around the kid’s playground. But then he began to seek out and interact with my kids. He showed them how to make music on the in-ground xylophone. I thought it was a bit odd that this guy was seeking out kids and boldly interacting with them – even in the presence of a parent.
Thomas came out of the xylophone area and we began to talk. In short order I discovered that he is 18 years old and homeless. He entered the foster system the victim of many traumas. Thomas was never chosen to become a permanent part of anyone’s family through adoption; rather, he went from group home to group home and graduated into life an adult orphan – no family, no I.D., no recollection of where his birth certificate is, no food or drink, and no place to lay his head (except a dark corner of the universe somewhere each night).
“Why don’t you spend the night at a shelter?” I asked. He said that he is not comfortable doing that. I thought to myself, “Probably due to some traumas experienced in one or more of the group homes that was his family in the growing up years.”
“Hey, can you adopt me even though I’m 18?” Thomas queried. He had just been told that my wife and I adopted all four of our kids. How do you answer that? I didn’t.
Thomas’ predicament is not an isolated case. There are many, many more just like him in our own state and country that age out of foster care and end up in dire straits.
Will you pray for Thomas? Will you pray for those in the same condition as Thomas? Will you adopt a Thomas?
