Day 147 of my bible reading plan. It's been an interesting journey to this point. I have a greater awareness of God's control; His power; His jealousy for His people; His justice; and His mercy.
What I've found is through my reading and contemplation on His words, God is actually moving and working. Not just then, but now, in 2010, in and around me. My faith that God is alive and working in our lives has always sort of been theoretical, but through my faithfulness in reading his word this year, God has grown my confidence and conviction that He actually listens to and answers prayer. I've also noticed that my prayers have changed - they are probably more in line with what He wants me to be praying about.
On April 27th, I journaled/blogged about orphan care and fatherlessness. Reading the bible reveals God's heart for orphans and fatherless. So does seeing other godly men around me that are passionate about them. So I prayed that God would provide some clarity on how we should respond and care for orphans and the fatherless.
Two weeks before, in mid April, I was introduced (via a friend I met in NYC who's now living in Thailand) to a young man in Dallas that I now consider a good friend. He works for a fund raising agency that helps Not for Profit organizations raise money. I was sharing with him how I've been feeling compelled to engage and help the fatherless. He told me I have to meet the the Executive Director of the Cornerstone Crossroads Academy. She attends Watermark and serves as the ED, principal and one of the 3 teachers in this small school. It's a private Christian high school for at-risk kids in South Dallas. This is a last resort for most of the students. They've either been kicked out of their high school or have quit for whatever reason. They started the year with 12 students; they're down to 8 now; all 8 are graduating this weekend. All 8 were raised without fathers in their life. They have no idea what a man is supposed to do or how he is supposed to act. They've never had mentors that modeled manhood for them.
That's where my opportunity exists. I've been asked to develop a mentoring program for their school (and to be a mentor). The director tells me they can't have another year of school without a mentoring program. These kids despartely need more than just school. With all 8 students graduating this weekend, we have the summer to identify a new crop of students - likely a class of 12-15 Junior-class students, and odds are pretty good, unfortunately, that most if not all of them will be fatherless.
Their world is a different one than mine. I'm spending the summer educating myself on what it means to be a mentor to these students. I have some training from having my own children, but this is more complicated. I'm reading Tony Dungy's (head coach of the Colts) book called Uncommon, a book about becoming a man of character and integrity, and talks about how to treat women and how to be a father. Not only will it be a good resource for helping them, but I'm sure it'll help me as well.
I have no idea what I'm getting myself into here. I do expect that as I start mentoring these young men, I'll find myself in ugly and frustrating situations. I'm wise enough to know that I can't expect sudden success and turnaround from these men after 15 years of fatherlessness, poverty, and who knows what else.
Ultimately, I want these men to learn what it means to be a disciple. I want to be clear with them that I'm a man of faith and being a man of faith has nothing to do with which part of town you're from. I want them to be the men God wants them to be. I want to help them get there. My family will be giving financially to the school, since funds are desparately needed just to keep the small school going. And I'll be giving of my time, obviously.
All this is answered prayer. God revealed his heart for the fatherless. I asked for clarity in how to get involved. I was willing to be used. Doors everywhere started opening. I'm excited to be a part of this.
To the countless (estimating somewhere between 1 and 4) readers of this blog, if you'd like to learn more about Cornerstone, click here.
If you'd like to talk to me about being a mentor to one of these kids (male mentoring a male or female mentoring a female), please reach out and let me know.
If you'd like to contribute financially, that would be awesome too.
