I Give You My Heart
Posted on Feb 27 2006 | Tagged as: faith, faith in action, leadership, learning
Originally Written for the Westside Way on 8.20.05
A few weeks ago, Don and I were sitting in my office talking about the focus we were going to bring to the faculty and staff during orientation week. The discussion centered on issues of the heart and our desire to be intentional about living our lives coram deo, before the heart of God.
Before Bob Pierce founded World Vision, he had these words written in the fly-leaf of his Bible: “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” One of our desires this year is to help students move closer to the heart of God. Unfortunately there is no simple formula to change or strengthen the heart, yet this is at the core of our relationship with God.
During this discussion with Don, I began to think about Solomon and his honest request for wisdom. He could have asked for wealth, an easy life, happiness, or power, but he asked for wisdom. This request was not a manipulation to impress God but an honest desire, with a motive that was pure, seeking after a better understanding of God’s heart. I pray that in the coming year I will continue to grow tender for the things of God, that I will understand Christ more, and that I will honestly ask for His wisdom and be able to live out his love.
It is also our desire that our students get to the point where they, like Solomon, honestly desire God’s wisdom and a tender and compassionate heart. It is important to be excellent at teaching our students knowledge, but if God’s principles do not become a conviction and passion of the heart, all is lost. Our mission as a school is “to equip servant leaders for the next generation, by educating and developing the whole person for the Glory of God.” In the coming year, we are going to saturate our school with a focus on developing our hearts. This is not an easy task and will require us to work together as a family.
One of the ways we intend to accomplish this is through providing more resources for our parents. In partnership with PTF we will be providing various parent seminars, some around the topic of developing the hearts of students. We will also be using our Core Groups to strategically support this topic. Our faculty and staff will spend time developing tools to encourage heart growth in balance with the training of the mind. We are also looking at providing some kind of out of class ministry experience for students that would stretch them and allow them to better understand God’s heart.
I really believe that God is building up students from Westside to be the next generation of Christian leaders. I also believe that a battle exists for their hearts, and we must be strategic and intentional about providing opportunities for them to grow toward servant leadership.
In July Marta and I went to Bellingham for a friend’s wedding. Just before we left for the trip, we saw a documentary that powerfully communicated the tragic injustice of child trafficking and the sex trade that is currently at epidemic levels in our world. Our hearts ached for these children, and we began researching and talking to our friends about this horrible practice. In our conversations we discovered the name of a man who had a similar experience and has decided to take action by using his gifts and talents to bring about change for these children. Carl Ralston is a businessman with many gifts and talents, who felt a nudge to be used by God. In tandem with reading through The Purpose Driven Life he heard a missionary from Cambodia speak at a seminar regarding a specific instance of a twelve year old girl named Nhu who was sold into child slavery and exploited in the sex trade. Carl’s heart was touched and he took action. He is still a businessman, but he is using his gifts to run a non-profit organization he started called “Remember Nhu.” This organization focuses on prevention and intervention, identifying girls and boys most at risk for a future in the sex trade, and providing them with housing, education, and vocational training in a Christ-centered environment. It is this type of servant leader that we seek to develop at Westside. In the future, some of our students may be in vocational ministry, but I pray that all of our graduates’ hearts will be in line with God’s heart and that they will use their gifts to further His kingdom. God has a purpose for each of us and we need to be ready to ask him for the wisdom to live it out.
