The Leadership Summit http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2009/was this week and since Brian & our good friend, Tony, volunteered, they got to sit in on portions of the simulcast when they were not serving. One of the speakers was Dr. Wess Stafford, who gave an impactful testimony, that Tony shared with us, during their lunch break. It had moved him extremely deeply and it therefore, also impacted me. It was the one speaker that gave each attender a book and so today, when I had finished the last of "19 Minutes," by Jodi Picoult, and needed something new to entertain myself, I choose his book, "Too Small to Ignore." I quickly read about 40 pages and not only is he an incredible story teller, he has an amazing story to share! Here are a few of the impactful quotes and thoughts that have provoked me to ponder.
He begins the book with this story: D.L. Moody, arrived home from speaking at a meeting. His wife asked, "So how did it go tonight?" "Pretty well," he replied. "Two and a half converts." "That's sweet, " she replied. "How old was the child?" "No, no, no," Moody answered. "It was two children and one adult! The children have their whole lives in front of them. The adult's life is already half gone."
Dr. Stafford's premise is that we need to do more for the children of this world. He gives statistics of the number of starving children who die a day (30,000 under age 5 a day!), how 2/3 of all people who give their lives to Christ do so before the age of 18, how he believes that there is a spiritual warfare that exists in the battle over children, and how little most churches' budget is dedicated to children programs. This certainly convicts my views of missions and where the emphasis should be.
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