{"id":355,"date":"2010-01-19T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2010-01-19T09:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvmen.org.uk\/blog\/?p=355"},"modified":"2010-01-19T10:00:18","modified_gmt":"2010-01-19T09:00:18","slug":"powerless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/carls-thoughts\/powerless\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerless"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve found it tough to get my head around Haiti. \u00a0I know all the theology and I can come out with the standard responses but that all feels more than a little lame. \u00a0And listen, I know I can pray as well. \u00a0I know that\u2019s crucial and that believers all over the world need to be on their knees for this and all the others crisis that the world suffers.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m fit and able bodied. \u00a0I can shift rubble, carry bags, dig holes, distribute aid, be a dogsbody. \u00a0Every fibre in my body wants to go out and physically do something \u2026 anything! \u00a0Partly that\u2019s because I\u2019m a bloke and as a bloke my instinct is to fix stuff and not think about it. \u00a0But partly it\u2019s a gut feel to being a follower of Jesus. \u00a0I think He would be in the rubble and the chaos not sitting back thinking how bad it all is.<\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019ve spent some time trying to find a way to do something \u2026 so far I\u2019ve drawn a blank. Seems like the aid agencies want skilled and experienced people but if anyone out there knows how a bloke or blokes can get on a plane and get their sleeves rolled up for a while let me know.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to take photos, film stuff, get in the way or make a token effort so that I look all holy.\u00a0 I want to get my hands dirty, seriously dirty.\u00a0 And I want to do something.<\/p>\n<p>Luke 4:18 is key.\u00a0 We mustn\u2019t theorise about good news.\u00a0 We have to be it as well \u2026<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/carls-thoughts\/powerless\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve found it tough to get my head around Haiti. \u00a0I know all the theology and I can come out with the standard responses but that all feels more than a little lame. \u00a0And listen, I know I can pray as well. \u00a0I know that\u2019s crucial and that believers all over the world need to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[60,96,154],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-5J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6248,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/couch-to-10k-and-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":0},"title":"Couch to 10K and beyond","date":"18 August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"So I have decided to set myself a physical challenge, to compete in a half Iron Man, it is called the Gauntlet, and from the moment I had the idea my body is telling me this was a stupid idea. The Gauntlet is a 1.9km open water swim race, then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/running-sunrise.jpeg?fit=565%2C390&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":352,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/news\/haiti\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":1},"title":"Haiti","date":"18 January 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve just heard them put an Archbishop in the dock on National Radio, to answer for God letting the earthquake happen in Haiti: \u2018What\u2019s your supposed all-powerful, all-loving God got to say about Haiti?\u2019 \u2018\u2026all that undeserved pain and suffering\u2026\u2019 They put the same sort of show on for every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1101,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/heaven-is-for-wimps-and-posh-women-part-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":2},"title":"Heaven Is For Wimps And Posh Women &#8211; Part One","date":"10 November 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"What does the word \u2018heaven\u2019 say to ordinary blokes? There\u2019s \u2018chocolate heaven\u2019 which sounds a bit girly and after all, is just a pudding which women especially drool over. Then a lot of stuff about heaven seems to get mixed up with all the romantic hoo-hah around Valentine\u2019s Day, with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6509,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/can-we-be-friends\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":3},"title":"Can we be friends?","date":"22 December 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In the UK we can see an epidemic of male mental illness and suicide sweeping across our country. 76% of suicides in 2014 were men, which works out to be around 12 men a day. There are many reasons and forces that can be at work here, but I think\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/men-alone.jpeg?fit=565%2C379&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9097,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/the-best-is-yet-to-come\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":4},"title":"The Best is Yet to Come","date":"25 November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"How must it feel to have your homeland occupied by the enemy, to be dispossessed of your land, to have your home bombarded and devastated, and reduced to a pile of rubble? How must it feel to lose relatives and friends, lose possessions, lose dignity, and be surrounded by devastation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/best-is-yet-to-come.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7071,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/gospel-legacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":355,"position":5},"title":"Gospel Legacy","date":"19 July 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple of Sunday\u2019s ago I was asked to speak at my local church, and decided to preach about Gospel Legacies. I had discovered that a recent survey suggested that 2 out of 3 baby boomers said they had no plans to leave any legacy and wanted to get on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}