Kenneth A. Camp's Blog, page 10
March 9, 2017
When You Need to Pull Your Child Closer: Conversation with Danielle [Podcast 019]
Sometimes something triggers a fear or anxiety response in our children so strongly that it impacts how they interact with their environment. They can respond with uncontrollable anger, paralyzing fear, or an urge to run.
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We might not always know what triggers that response, but we can know how to respond to the behavior. When we understand how trauma affects the brain and how some things cause a shift from the complex, thinking area of the brain into the protective part, we hopefully will handle the situation in a manner that helps our child feel safe again. And when they feel safe again, they can make rational, healthy decisions in response to their environment.
In this episode, Danielle sits down with me to discuss a recent series of events that has triggered a fear response from our son. We talk about what happened, how we handled it, and why we handled it the way we did. At the time of the recording, much of this is still occurring.
Show Notes
In the episode you will hear Danielle and me talk about…
How after the Christmas break our son hasn’t been able to transition into his Kindergarten class without some help from the school counselor.
After a few weeks our son didn’t want to be left anywhere without one of us staying with him, including places he had gone to for years.
Danielle share how we decided to handle the situation. It is a counterintuitive approach influenced by our trauma informed care training.
We talk about the why behind our decisions that any family with a trauma wounded child can apply.
In the episode I mention the podcast interview with Suzette Lamb about the Circle of Security parenting model. You can find that episode HERE.
You can also learn a lot about the Circle of Security at their website – http://circleofsecurity.net
You can also read more on this topic in my book, Foster and Adoptive Parenting: Authentic Stories that Will Inspire and Encourage Parenting with Connection.
March 7, 2017
What Is an UPG?
UPG stands for Unreached People Group. Okay. Unreached? By whom? Why is anyone trying to “reach” these groups?
One more question…what is a “people group”?
I have spent nearly all of my 55 years on this world in the United States, like 99+% of my life. My family took me to church from the time I was a baby, so I have heard about who Jesus Christ is many, many times over. I still attend church. I even served a few times on the staff of churches. I have told the story about Jesus Christ many times.
I have heard about Jesus Christ so many times in my 55 years that sometimes I become nonchalant about this redemption story.
If you are from the United States or another western nation, odds are, even if you never have stepped foot into a church and didn’t grow up in a Christian home, you have heard about Jesus Christ.
This fact makes it hard to comprehend that there are people, not just individuals, but entire people groups who have never, not even once, heard the name of Jesus Christ, much less heard the redemption story.
People Groups
Let’s get back to those questions beginning with what is a people group. A people group in the context of spreading the Good News is “the largest group of people within which the Gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance” (Source: 1982 Lausanne Committee Chicago meeting.)
People within a group need to understand one another’s language. And in some cultures, they also need to accept one another, for example, if their culture is based on a caste system, it won’t matter if they speak the same language, they won’t interact.
Joshua Project estimates that there are approximately 9800 people groups when political boundaries are disregarded.
Unreached People Group
Now that we have an understanding of what a people group is, what is an unreached people group?
An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.Joshua Project
If you use the same criteria as above and count people groups that exist across country boundaries, the estimated number of unreached people groups numbers around 4000. That means about 41% of the world is unreached.
Why does it matter?
If you are a Christian that is attuned to the will of God for this world, it should matter a lot. It should matter so much that you are willing to change your life focus, how you handle your resources, and your priorities.
In my recent post about the 10/40 Window I quote Matthew 24:14 which basically tells us that when every ethnic group (people group) hears the Good News, Jesus will return.
That is why it should matter.
3 Things we can do now:
Learn about unreached people groups. I have added to my website a tool that shows a different unreached people group each day. This helps me to learn about where and who these groups are.
Ask God how He wants you to be a part of reaching these groups. It’s not up to us individually to reach all the unreached people. That doesn’t mean that we can do nothing either.
Find out if your church is involved with reaching an unreached people group. Each church should prioritize reaching at least one unreached people group without sacrificing what God is calling that church too already. We have the resources, we just need the focus.
Do you or your church focus on reaching an unreached people group? If so, please share in the comments below.
March 2, 2017
Meeting A Physical Need Can Bring Spiritual Healing: Interview with Ashley Redburn [Podcast 018]
In today’s podcast episode, I interview Ashley Redburn, Stateside Operations Director for Sole Hope. In the episode you will learn about a ministry that meets a physical need of Ugandans. The jigger parasite burrows into its hosts feet causing pain, and if untreated, deformity.
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Even though the medical procedure to remove the jiggers is relatively simple, the social stigma about anyone who has jiggers creates a much larger problem. The founders of Sole Hope, Dru and Asher Collie, began Sole Hope after Asher came across a YouTube video about how jiggers entered the feet of children in Uganda and the devastating impact it had on these children.
Listen to the podcast to learn more:
Show Notes
In the episode you will also hear…
…why the Ashers began Sole Hope
…where in Uganda the ministry primarily serves
…why the Ugandan people shun those who have the parasite
…a heartwarming story of reconciliation and redemption
…how you can partner with Sole Hope
Important Links
Shoe Cutting Party – http://solehopeparty.org
10 for 10 – http://solehope.org/ten-for-ten/ By donating $10 a month you ensure that one child every month is getting one new pair of shoes.
Amazon wish list – Choose an item or two from the Amazon wish list for Sole Hope.
February 27, 2017
3 Takeaways from the 2017 Future and A Hope Conference
I attended the Future and A Hope conference last Saturday in Austin, Texas. This is a conference that brings together those who advocate for vulnerable and at-risk children. Some who attend are just beginning to explore and discern what their role is.
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Other families who attend are in the midst of parenting children that they foster or have adopted either through foster care, private domestic agencies, or international agencies.
One thing I noticed this year (this isn’t one of my takeaways) is that many attendees have at least a basic understanding what trauma informed care is. That speaks to the work of many in this field. Families, counselors, caseworkers, and others are now speaking the same language more than ever. This is a good thing.
Ready for some takeaways?
God sees brokenness and leans into it. He responds. He doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up first. This is the essence of the gospel. When we do the same for a child from a “hard place” we reflect the gospel. If we consider ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, we should respond to the vulnerable like He does. (Jason Johnson)
Don’t wait until you have lost your compassion. Amy Curtis, director of post adoption and counseling with Buckner, shared some thoughts for those who have foster, and especially, adopted children in their home. Sadly, many families end up disruption or dissolution. Disruption is when the adoption process is stopped after the child is placed in the adoptive home but before the adoption is finalized. Dissolution is when the adoption process is halted after the adoption is legally finalized. In a disruption, the adoptive family only has to tell the caseworker that they want the child removed. In a dissolution, the family has to go before a judge in order to make the dissolution legal. All I have to say is ouch. The comment made by Amy, “don’t wait until you have lost your compassion” was made in this context. She also listed the common path that leads to a disruption or dissolution.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. This is a quote from Victor Frankl who spent time in three different concentration camps during World War II. Dr. Chris Thurman taught a model I have heard him teach before, the A-B-C thinking model. I hadn’t listened to his teaching through the lens of a foster/adoptive parent. Quickly, A = the event; B = how we think about the event; C = our response to the event. Most of the time we think the model is A to C. We respond to an event and place the blame of our action on the event…not our thinking. I see how I do this as a parent. And, I see how my son does this as wounded child.
I heard and learned many other things, but these three cause me to ponder and evaluate. I want to be a person who responds to brokenness the way my Lord does. However, I know I have to have His Spirit; His heart in order to do so.
I don’t ever want to wait until I lose compassion for my son before I ask for help. To me adoption is a covenant relationship. I am committed to him and his welfare no matter how difficult it gets.
Dr. Thurman reminded me how important it is to continually renew my mind and how this impacts how I respond to every situation I find myself in.
Want me to expound on any of these three takeaways? Let me know and I will either do a blog post or podcast episode on what I get the most interest in.
February 23, 2017
What Does A Wholistic Approach to Orphan Care Look Like? [Podcast 017]
An Interview with John Palmieri of World Orphans
In today’s podcast episode I interview John Palmieri with World Orphans. I met John a few months ago through a mutual friend. What I learned about World Orphans impressed me.
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John and family fun photo!
If you are like me, you probably think that World Orphans is another organization that helps families adopt internationally. However, World Orphans, as you will hear in the interview, focuses on strengthening families and communities across the world.
Show Notes
We get to learn a little about John, his wife, and their growing family.
Learn how World Orphans empowers the local church, both domestic and international, to care for orphans and vulnerable children.
John shares how his role with World Orphans, Church Partnership Director, helps churches in the U.S. come alongside a local church in a foreign country for the purpose of caring for children.
This looks different from community to community…
The focus is to help communities to take care of their own vulnerable and orphaned children.
John points out how each church, both domestic and international, have different giftings and resources that can help meet the needs of families and children.
Caring for orphans and at-risk children around the world involves more than adoption. When we do this well, communities are transformed.
Many local churches come back from working with a community internationally asking how they can better care for vulnerable children better in their own community.
John helps local churches respond to how God has called them to care for vulnerable and orphaned children.
Learn how your church can partner with a church in another country.
Also learn how you can partner with John financially, prayerfully, and through ministry.
Contact and Ministry Information
John’s email – johnp@worldorphans.org
John’s support page – https://worldorphans.kindful.com/palmieri
World Orphans website – worldorphans.org
Journey trips – http://www.worldorphans.org/journey-trips/
Rufugee initiative – http://therefugeinitiative.org/
What Does A Wholistic Approach to Orphan Care Look Like? [Episode 017]
An Interview with John Palmieri of World Orphans
In today’s podcast episode I interview John Palmieri with World Orphans. I met John a few months ago through a mutual friend. What I learned about World Orphans impressed me.
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John and family fun photo!
If you are like me, you probably think that World Orphans is another organization that helps families adopt internationally. However, World Orphans, as you will hear in the interview, focuses on strengthening families and communities across the world.
Show Notes
We get to learn a little about John, his wife, and their growing family.
Learn how World Orphans empowers the local church, both domestic and international, to care for orphans and vulnerable children.
John shares how his role with World Orphans, Church Partnership Director, helps churches in the U.S. come alongside a local church in a foreign country for the purpose of caring for children.
This looks different from community to community…
The focus is to help communities to take care of their own vulnerable and orphaned children.
John points out how each church, both domestic and international, have different giftings and resources that can help meet the needs of families and children.
Caring for orphans and at-risk children around the world involves more than adoption. When we do this well, communities are transformed.
Many local churches come back from working with a community internationally asking how they can better care for vulnerable children better in their own community.
John helps local churches respond to how God has called them to care for vulnerable and orphaned children.
Learn how your church can partner with a church in another country.
Also learn how you can partner with John financially, prayerfully, and through ministry.
Contact and Ministry Information
John’s email – johnp@worldorphans.org
John’s support page – https://worldorphans.kindful.com/palmieri
World Orphans website – worldorphans.org
Journey trips – http://www.worldorphans.org/journey-trips/
Rufugee initiative – http://therefugeinitiative.org/
February 20, 2017
Why Is Important that You Know What the 10/40 Window Is?
If you are involved with foreign missions at all, I am sure you know what the 10/40 window is. If you aren’t, then you might not have any idea what I am talking about.
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from Joshua Project
According to JoshuaProject.net the 10/40 window “is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude.”
That link to Joshua Project will give you some insight into how many people live in the 10/40 window, what religions are prevalent, and how many unreached people groups are there.
My question is, “Why is it important that we know what the 10/40 window is?”
More specifically, why should I (those of us who live outside the 10/40 window) care that nearly five billion people live in the window? And about three billion of those people live in an unreached people group. That means that they have never heard about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Or if they have, it was on a very limited basis.
I am going to say that again…THREE Billion people who have NEVER heard the Gospel.
That is 10 times the number of people who live in the United States.
How many times do you think the 300 million who live in the United States have heard about Jesus Christ? A lot. Please understand, I think they should hear about the Redeemer as many times as possible. However, I wonder how God looks at this. Do you think He sees the billions of people in these Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Atheistic countries, and then looks to and fro across His people to see who is willing to get the Word to these people?
Here is the issue…
I could slice this a lot of different ways, but let’s look at it financially. I get these statistics and hypothetical questions from The Traveling Team:
Christians worldwide earn about 42 trillion.
Christians give to any Christian cause about 700 billion (that is about what we spend on Christmas in America).
Given to Missions: $45 billion
That’s only 6.4% of the money given to Christian causes of any kind (2015).
That’s also how much we spend in America on dieting programs.
HOW CHRISTIAN GIVING IS USED.
Pastoral ministries of local churches (mostly in Christian nations): $677 billion (96.8%)
“Home Missions” in same Christian nations: $20.3 billion (2.9%)
Going to Unevangelized Non-Christian world: $2.1 billion (.3%) *This is different than “Unreached”
Money that goes toward Unreached Peoples: *Estimated $450 million
*In 2001 only 1% of giving to “Missions” went to unreached – if that trend holds true today it would be $450 million.
The $450 million going toward UPG’s is only .001% of the $42 trillion Income of Christians. For every $100,000 that Christians make, they give $1 to the unreached.
HYPOTHETICAL OBSERVATIONS
Evangelical Christians could provide all of the funds needed to plant a church in each of the 6,900 unreached people groups with only 0.03% of their income.
The Church has roughly 3,000 times the financial resources and 9,000 times the manpower needed to finish the Great Commission.
If every evangelical gave 10% of their income to missions we could easily support 2 million new missionaries.
So I ask the question again…
Why should I care?
…And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Matthew 24:14 ESV
If you aren’t a Christian, I can understand how that verse can intimidate. But here is what it means…The “gospel” is the good news that Jesus Christ has come to redeem or heal the brokenhearted; to restore this world to its original, perfect, intended state where there was no death, no hate, no destruction, etc. The “kingdom” is that realm I just described. “The end will come” does sound ominous. However, if the Bible is correct and true, which I believe it is, then when the good news is proclaimed (told, shared) to all nations, then Jesus will return to this world, and the world as we know it will end.
Now if you are a Christian (one who believes all this to be true), then you should want to see this outcome. And if you want to see this outcome, well, I hope you know what I am about to say.
As the church, especially in America, we need to take a long look at where we put our financial resources. Not since the beginning of time do we have the means we have today to reach the unreached people groups that live around the around the world and especially in the 10/40 window.
I invite you into this dialogue. I want to know your thoughts as you read this blog.
February 16, 2017
A Mission that Transcends Home and Family. [Podcast 016]
Hard to believe I am already on episode 16! That is four months of podcasting already.
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In today’s episode I share that a mission needs to be something that transcends your home and family. I picked up this thought from a study I am doing with a group of men. The study is a video series by John Eldredge on his book, Wild at Heart.
In the show notes below, you can see what else is in the podcast episode.
Show Notes
Why it is important to have a mission or purpose that transcends our home and family. (from Wild at Heart)
Upcoming release of the print version of Foster and Adoptive Parenting.
Information about the A Future and A Hope conference.
What is happening through the Travis County Collaborative on foster care.
Additional Information
By John Eldredge – Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Mans Soul (3.4.2001) on Amazon.
A Future and A Hope conference
Governor Abbott’s press release after The State of the State Address that includes a quote from Fostering Hope Austin Executive Director, Julie Kouri about the state of Child Protective Services and the foster care system.
http://gov.texas.gov/news/press-release/23120
First Lady Abbott’s press release regarding the joint babysitting certification
February 13, 2017
Where Does Generosity Come From?
How often do you not give to help another person because you don’t have any “extra”? I put that in quotes because for most of us what we consider extra is subjective.
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Several years ago I was with a small team from our church doing some work in the Texas valley. The little town of Progreso sits about 1 mile from the border of Texas and Mexico. A family’s house had burned down months before and stood vacant. No one had worked on the house. I imagine the emotional pain cut deep paralyzing them. They also didn’t have the money to do the work. So our team helped them tear down the burnt out house so at least they could remove the hazard.
A few weeks later I returned with another team of about 15-20 people. We enjoyed seeing all of our friends including the family we helped the month before. They insisted that our team come over for lunch one day that week. We hesitantly accepted.
The family’s home was a structure that sat about 30 feet behind the house that burned down. It’s walls were mainly made of plywood. You could tell they added on rooms as they needed them. I can remember at least six children in the family, probably more. I am sure that brothers shared a bedroom and sisters share another. Each day they walked out the front door of this small house that most of us would consider a shack to see the shell of their destroyed dream home.
Yet they wanted our team to come over for lunch. With joy in their faces they welcomed us into their front yard. We sat around a couple of picnic tables under an awning on the front of their house. They shared family stories, proudly showed us around their yard, and one young son played songs on an accordion.
One team member later shared at our nightly share time how their generosity impacted him. They obviously didn’t share with us out of their excess. It challenged our team to graciously receive their generosity. We were tempted to decline, because we didn’t want to take from their limited resources.
However what I learned is that generosity doesn’t come from our excess. This sweet family didn’t have any extra. They had just enough for each day.
I said that generosity doesn’t come from our excess. That is true when talking about material excess. A person with little to nothing can be just as stingy as a person with millions of dollars.
Generosity comes out of the excess of a cheerful giving heart.
That is what that family in the Texas valley had. That is what I want to have too. It takes a heart willing to give to others to lead a missional lifestyle.
Will you take a moment now and reflect on your heart? Are you generous because you have “extra” material resources or do you give out of a generous heart?
February 9, 2017
What Is Keeping You From Writing Your Book? An Interview with Chandler Bolt [Podcast Episode 15]
If you google, “How many people want to write a book?”, you will see survey results of 80% plus say that they want to write a book or think they have book in them. That means odds are great that you are one of those people. What do you think is the reason you haven’t written that book yet?
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Chandler Bolt
One of the questions I ask Chandler Bolt, best-selling author and founder of Self Publishing School, is “what are two of the most common reasons that people don’t ever write a book when so many want to?”.
In today’s podcast episode, I interview Chandler Bolt about his Self Publishing School, because I want you to hear straight from him why he began the school, why he thinks most people don’t ever write that book, and why Self Publishing School can help you finally get it done.
Not only will you hear Chandler’s answers to the questions above, you also will hear about some unbelievable free content that he is offering right now. Below find the links to a free .pdf copy to his latest best-selling book, Published. Also find the links to the first two of three videos that Chandler is releasing.
All of this free content is available for only a short time, so don’t delay downloading the free .pdf copy of his book and watching the videos.
(all links are affiliate links)
Free .pdf of Chandler’s best-selling book—Published
Video #1—3 Steps to Writing Your First Book in A Weekend
Video #2—Book Launch Screw Ups: 5 Mistakes You Must Avoid
Want to make sure you get notified when Video #3 is launched? Fill out the contact form below this post and also get a free ebook from me!
If you missed all of Chandler’s free content, you can still get a taste of his excellent teaching by clicking on this link—SPS Free Training Video Series
If you have any questions about my personal experience with Self Publishing School, please reach out to me.
