Practicum:
President's Update, Jim Barnett
Five Good Reasons to Facebook, Matt Carter
Quotation Library:
Honor Quotations
Book Reviews:
The Slow Fade by Reggie Joiner, Chuck Bomar, and Abbie Smith (review by Steven Tramel Gaines)
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey (review by Steven Tramel Gaines)
A Little Exercise for Young Theologians by Steven Tramel Gaines
Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student by Miriam Grossman (review by Joel Solliday)
The Shack by William Paul Young (review by Shelly Bryant)
I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris (review by Cary McCall)
Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (review by Steven Tramel Gaines)
Reviews Page
Editor's Insights:
Honor is Alive and Well
The Dichotomy Disease
Trends: News You Can Use:
March 2009
archives
With Campus Cross Walk
Written by: CampUs4 8/11/2010 10:52 PM
I Have a Nightmare! by Milton Jones Nearly everyone has heard of the sermon “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But few of you have ever heard of the sermon “I Have a Nightmare” by Baxter Loe. Baxter Loe was a Christian businessman and preacher from Amarillo, Texas, who went on a short-term mission trip to India. During the progress of his trip, he met a preacher named John Abraham. Baxter was informed by John of the dire needs of people in India because of their extreme poverty. John even told him of his own personal need of nourishment that came from a lack of food due to a scarcity of resources and famine. When Baxter heard of his situation, he promised him that he would help him out with food in the future. After Baxter made it back from India, he got caught up again in his normal life in the United States. After a bit, he remembered John Abraham and called to get information on how to get money to him in order for him to obtain food. When he got the details, Baxter was informed that John Abraham was dead. When he asked of the cause of his death, Baxter was told that John Abraham had starved to death waiting for relief. He simply had starved to death anticipating that his aid would soon arrive. After this tragic death, Baxter would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares of John Abraham’s death. He was haunted by the memory of him asking for help and waiting for the gift that never came. After many nightmares, Baxter decided that God was calling him to support the orphans of John Abraham. And he did. But John Abraham’s children were not enough. The nightmare prompted him to support more children in India, Central America, Africa, and all over the world. Baxter started Christian Relief Fund that has probably become the biggest child sponsorship ministry in the Churches of Christ, as Christians are now supporting thousands of orphans in over thirty countries. Let me tell you what this has got to do with me. After Baxter Loe died, he was so beloved that no one replaced him as president of Christian Relief Fund. He was simply irreplaceable. But in the end, someone had to try to do his job. And after over 30 years of campus ministry and preaching, I became the new president of CRF. Can I tell you about my first day at the new job? Sitting on my desk was a stack of children needing sponsors. The picture and information of a little orphan girl in Kenya somehow surfaced as the first child for me to look at. Her name was Maurine Chesoktoi. And beside her name was written “Waiting for Sponsorship.” Her picture had been taken. The information about her desperate situation had been recorded. And she waited for sponsorship. But when I started doing further research on Maurine in order to get her a sponsor, I found out that she had just died. And why did she die? A lack of food. Yes, it was malnutrition. She died waiting for sponsorship. Now I have a nightmare. And I know that Maurine isn’t the only one waiting. I’m not going to forget Maurine. A lot of my work is going to be done in her memory. My hope is that her death will motivate me to help someone else live. My life is changing. One child born into poverty totally transformed my purpose. I will now spend my time trying to save one more child who will be born into poverty. And isn’t it ironic that the whole gospel story is that my life has ultimately been changed by another child who was born into poverty and saved me? My desire now is to connect college students to matters of compassion and justice. I’d love to speak to your campus ministries about the pressing social issues that we face today. I would also love to equip your students and partner with them in doing projects on campus or taking them around the world to serve the lost and the least. I welcome any help that I can get from your campus ministries to help save some of the hurting and marginalized people in our world. It is our turn to change the world. Milton Jones is president of Christian Relief Fund in Amarillo, Texas. If you want to save a child, do so by clicking here.
Nearly everyone has heard of the sermon “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But few of you have ever heard of the sermon “I Have a Nightmare” by Baxter Loe.
Baxter Loe was a Christian businessman and preacher from Amarillo, Texas, who went on a short-term mission trip to India. During the progress of his trip, he met a preacher named John Abraham. Baxter was informed by John of the dire needs of people in India because of their extreme poverty. John even told him of his own personal need of nourishment that came from a lack of food due to a scarcity of resources and famine. When Baxter heard of his situation, he promised him that he would help him out with food in the future.
After Baxter made it back from India, he got caught up again in his normal life in the United States. After a bit, he remembered John Abraham and called to get information on how to get money to him in order for him to obtain food. When he got the details, Baxter was informed that John Abraham was dead. When he asked of the cause of his death, Baxter was told that John Abraham had starved to death waiting for relief. He simply had starved to death anticipating that his aid would soon arrive.
After this tragic death, Baxter would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares of John Abraham’s death. He was haunted by the memory of him asking for help and waiting for the gift that never came. After many nightmares, Baxter decided that God was calling him to support the orphans of John Abraham. And he did. But John Abraham’s children were not enough. The nightmare prompted him to support more children in India, Central America, Africa, and all over the world. Baxter started Christian Relief Fund that has probably become the biggest child sponsorship ministry in the Churches of Christ, as Christians are now supporting thousands of orphans in over thirty countries.
Let me tell you what this has got to do with me. After Baxter Loe died, he was so beloved that no one replaced him as president of Christian Relief Fund. He was simply irreplaceable. But in the end, someone had to try to do his job. And after over 30 years of campus ministry and preaching, I became the new president of CRF.
Can I tell you about my first day at the new job? Sitting on my desk was a stack of children needing sponsors. The picture and information of a little orphan girl in Kenya somehow surfaced as the first child for me to look at. Her name was Maurine Chesoktoi. And beside her name was written “Waiting for Sponsorship.” Her picture had been taken. The information about her desperate situation had been recorded. And she waited for sponsorship.
But when I started doing further research on Maurine in order to get her a sponsor, I found out that she had just died. And why did she die? A lack of food. Yes, it was malnutrition. She died waiting for sponsorship. Now I have a nightmare. And I know that Maurine isn’t the only one waiting.
I’m not going to forget Maurine. A lot of my work is going to be done in her memory. My hope is that her death will motivate me to help someone else live.
My life is changing. One child born into poverty totally transformed my purpose. I will now spend my time trying to save one more child who will be born into poverty.
And isn’t it ironic that the whole gospel story is that my life has ultimately been changed by another child who was born into poverty and saved me?
My desire now is to connect college students to matters of compassion and justice. I’d love to speak to your campus ministries about the pressing social issues that we face today. I would also love to equip your students and partner with them in doing projects on campus or taking them around the world to serve the lost and the least. I welcome any help that I can get from your campus ministries to help save some of the hurting and marginalized people in our world. It is our turn to change the world.
Milton Jones is president of Christian Relief Fund in Amarillo, Texas. If you want to save a child, do so by clicking here.
0 comments so far...
Previous Articles