How Much Is Enough?

I first saw this parable (sometimes called "The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman") on a poster at a Jimmy John's sub shop and have been meaning to post it here. As far as I can tell, the author is unknown, but if anyone knows the source, I'd be glad to know. Enjoy!


How Much Is Enough?
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna.
The banker complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."

The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."

The investor scoffed, "I am an Ivy League MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. "

The investor continued, "And instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would then sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution! You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take?"

To which the banker replied, "Perhaps 15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The banker laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!"

"Millions. Okay, then what?" wondered the fisherman.

To which the investment banker replied, "Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Adopting in a Broken System

Note: Every weekend we'll (Jennifer and Benjer) share a bit of our journey to adopting a child. This post is by Benjer. To read more posts on adoption, visit our adoption page.

"Do for one, what you wish you could do for many.”

Those words are from Andy Stanley, the pastor of North Point Community Church outside of Atlanta, GA. And as we continue our journey to adopt a child, they are very important words to me. Because when it comes to adoption--like so many other things people do in the world to help others--the issues that are involved are far more complicated than we wish they were. We live in a broken world, and there are a lot of hurting people in all cultures that need help. It's easy for one person to look at all that could be done and feel overwhelmed.

When it comes to international adoption, the issue is definitely complicated. It's not just that there are so many millions of children in the world that don't have parents. UNICEF estimates that there are currently 18 million children in the world who have lost both parents, and an additional 135 million who have lost one parent. Those statistics alone are overwhelming. What makes the issue so difficult is that broken, sinful systems make it almost impossible to bring about positive, lasting change.

As Jennifer and I spent time considering whether to begin the adoption process this past fall, we consulted people who had adopted, both here locally and on adoption blogs. We came across several arguments against international adoption--some well-formulated and some that were simply thinly veiled racism. One of the most popular arguments is that the amount of money that an international adoption costs would be better spent as a charitable contribution to the country we hope to adopt from. After all, wouldn't it be better to write a check to support infrastructure in that country or pay for programs that would prevent the very circumstances that creates so many orphans in the first place?

Video of the Week: Youth Ministry Boot Camp

Funny video from Youth Specialties on a "Youth Ministry Boot Camp." Love the last scene. Check it out:

Dear Youth Pastor

Dear Youth Pastor:

During my annual review last month, my senior pastor asked me to spend the first part of the year recruiting more volunteers for the youth ministry program. Since I started working at my church a year an a half ago as the youth pastor, we have unfortunately lost some volunteers. However, I didn't think too much about it; I have been able to pick up the slack by doing all the teaching, making sure the room is set up for youth group, and planning the upcoming retreat by myself. Personally, I thought things had been going much better since I started doing more! Nevertheless, my senior pastor insisted I "build a team of trusted volunteers."

I put an announcement in the church bulletin asking for new helpers a few Sundays back, and five adults said they wanted to help. They have actually been nice to have around at youth group. They shovel the sidewalk on snowy Wednesday nights before youth group and hand out pencils and Bibles, and it was nice to be able to tell someone to clean up the unfortunate mess that occurred during the popular "Drink a gallon of milk during Bible study" game. However, this week the new helpers became meddlesome. I received an email from a mom who's been helping with a suggestion (what do moms know about youth ministry?) on how to get students to interact more during youth group. To make matters worse, two of the new helpers have asked to help lead during an upcoming series, and one actually had the nerve to meet with a student during the week for coffee to pray about a difficult situation the student had been having at school. That's my job! What can I do?

Sincerely,
Lone Ranger in Laramie


Lone Ranger:

New Doesn't Impress For Long

Think about the last time you went into a coffee shop. Chances are, there were at least a handful of laptops open with fingers tapping away at the keys. You may also have noticed a few people with smartphones or iPads in hand, downloading a Dostoevsky classic for their Kindle app playing Words with Friends, connecting to internet via the shop's free WiFi or a data plan.

There was a day when people didn't bring electronics to coffee shops. They brought books, played a game of chess with a friend, or perhaps wrote in a journal. But then came 1999. In 1999, an important technology became reliable and cheap enough to be included in personal laptop computers. At MacWorld in 1999, Steve Jobs announced this feature in his trademark casual manner as "One More Thing." Here's the video (3 minutes 26 seconds long):

We Cancelled Wednesday Nights (and lived to tell about it)

Credit: Creative Commons (Jesse Wagstaff)

This past fall marked a pretty significant change for our high school ministry: we stopped our mid-week program on Wednesday nights. Before this school year, we had Sunday morning large-group (our most well-attended weekly program), a Wednesday night program (not as well attended but pretty substantial), as well as a small group ministry, where groups met on various nights of the week. It was a lot, and I had planned on making the change for over a year before pulling the trigger. Having two large-group events (Sunday and Wednesday) made our small group ministry seem like an add-on, when according to our stated strategy they should have central focus in terms of our programs.

I'm glad we made the change. We still have a LOT to figure out, but this was a step in the right direction. But it wasn't easy, and it wasn't a decision I made lightly. While I believed it was a good decision, I knew that it wouldn't be well-received by everyone, because significant change is hard for people, even those who are on board with the reasons behind the change. Here are some lessons I took away from the experience:

Don't be a Lone Ranger when making decisions. When I first floated the idea of eliminating Wednesday nights, not everyone in our youth ministry or in our church leadership was so sure it was a good decision. So, I tabled the idea for a year (i.e. continued to put everything I could into Wednesday nights) and in the mean time had conversations with those who had reservations about it. Sure, not all decisions can wait a year, but for the most part, I've found that it's better to wait when people have reservations about a change. Of course, we can't wait until EVERYONE agrees with a decision before pulling the trigger, or else nothing will get done. But if a leader makes a decision no one is on board with, he or she will find himself without a team.

JustOne: An Online Conference for Women in Ministry and Pastors' Wives

The JustOne Conference looks like an amazing, free opportunity to encourage women in ministry and pastors' wives. I hadn't ever heard of it until a couple of weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to watching at least one session with my wife, Jennifer. An online conference in itself is a VERY interesting way to use technology in ministry, so as a person who serves at a church that has recently started using video venues at our campuses (just for the sermons), it will be fun to watch it from that perspective, too. Check it out:

Need encouragement … challenge … connection … and inspiration …

All while sitting comfortably on your couch with a Latte in hand?

The JustONE Conference is a free virtual conference for all Pastors’ Wives and Women in Ministry. This 4 week conference will include over 20 speakers sharing from their personal lives and leadership. Each session will be shown 4 times during the week. So find a time that is right for your schedule, and join in!

Video of the Week: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

Great artistic representation of the difference between religion and the Gospel of Grace. If you haven't yet seen it, give it a look. If you've already seen it, watch it again:

Dear Youth Pastor

Dear Youth Pastor:

I had an unsettling meeting with a parent this week. As I look back, I should have seen it coming. This father approached me a couple of Sundays ago in the fellowship hall. Typically, I avoid all areas of the church on Sundays where I would risk a possible encounter with a parent of a student, such as a worship service or the coffee hour between services. However, I had not eaten breakfast, and in a moment of weakness I snuck to the back of the hall for a donut. The father asked if he could take me to lunch some time to talk about his daughter. Since I had spent all my money at Aéropostale to show students I could be just like them, I took the bait and agreed. So this Tuesday past, we met for lunch at Chili's.

The lunch went well for the first few minutes. He, of course, told me how much his daughter had enjoyed the fall retreat, and how glad he was that I was hired as the youth pastor. But the conversation took an interesting twist: he said he was concerned that he hadn't been as involved as he should be in his daughter's spiritual life and asked how I thought he might disciple his daughter and help her in her relationship with Jesus.

Book Review: Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little

I've had Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little on my shelf for years, on only recently picked it up to read it. The edition I read was published by InterVarsity Press in 2000, and was revised and updated by Little's wife, Mary. I devour just about every book about apologetics I can get my hands on, and this book is by far the best "layman's" introduction to Christian apologetics that I have ever read. By no means is an exhaustive reference, but true to InterVarsity form, it's short, to the point, and very clear.