Update on Stuff Christians Like Building a Kindergarten in Vietnam

I’ve often thought that if you compare Christian culture to a high school, then the Christian blogosphere is the hallways of that high school. It’s where you congregate with your friends. You get to see who likes who. People goof off, talk about inane things. The jocks beat up on the nerds. The nerds talk in secret about how when Jesus comes back those jocks will get theirs.

For me, high school was the first time I ever witnessed a fight. I’d seen fights on TV and in movies but in high school I actually experienced a number of fights close up. I remember vividly how I felt every time I witnessed a fight. I felt scared. I felt kind of sick. I’ve talked before how violence is unnatural and it affects us profoundly whenever we are exposed to it. That is what I experienced those times I was around when a fight would break out.

I say all this because in the past week, I’ve witnessed in the Christian blogosphere a number of “fights,” examples of Christians trash-talking other Christians. And just like in high school, the commenters on those blogs crowd around yelling (in essence) “Fight! Fight! Fight!” I’m not going to link to any examples because I don’t want to perpetuate these fights. But if you read Christian blogs you know what I’m talking about.

What I witnessed this week left me with that same sick feeling I felt in high school. I honestly thought to myself, “How can you write such things and still proclaim to love Jesus?” I know deep down that all Christians are flawed and left to our own devices our sinful nature will inevitably screw everything up, even the profound blessing that God’s Kingdom. But still…

So this morning when I read about the kindergarten project on Stuff Christians Like my spirit was immediately lifted. “Yes! This is what it means to be a Christian!” I thought (mental fist pumping and everything). So I immediately blogged about it, added my support via the comments (made a few jokes as well; it’s a satire blog after all.) and have been tracking the status of the fundraising all day.

As of the time this post is published, the Stuff Christians Like community has raised $18,486.79 dollars to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. $18,486.79 dollars!!!Now you have to realize something, this has only been going on for six or so hours. That’s $3,081 per hour!!! We’re already at over 60 percent of our goal! On the first day!

This is what it means to be a Christian!

This is the immeasurable, incomprehensible, incomparable power of Jesus Christ at work redeeming this world.

If you haven’t already (I say as if I have readers), please please PLEASE go to the donation page and help. Be encouraged by your Christian brothers and sisters actually loving others and not just talking about loving others. This is a chance to love and serve the poor, to bless the children of Vietnam and to proclaim the glory of God before the nations. Please be a part!

The link for the donation page is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/SCL

The project on Stuff Christians Like is here: http://stuffchristianslike.net/2009/11/this-cant-be-real/

And some additional details of the project can be found here: http://twentytwowords.com/2009/11/09/22-questions-to-jon-acuff-about-raising-30k-to-build-a-school-in-vietnam/

Go!