We should want to do good to those who are suffering for many different reasons. We should want to do good to those who are suffering because it’s our new nature to want to do good…

With how complicated helping people can be, it can be tempting to ignore the physical suffering we see. We can’t do everything, so we might choose to do nothing…

Robert invited me to his home after visiting our church. He lived in a one room tin shack in someone’s backyard. As we sat down together on some buckets he had turned upside down, we watched his two children play together on the dirt floor…

"You must have a real desire for the good of the people if you are to have much influence over them. Why, even dogs and cats love the people who love them, and human beings are much the same as these . . .

"God's ultimate goal in creation and redemption is to uphold and display his glory for the enjoyment of his redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. This is the main thing…

Helping people is complicated.It is always complicated, and becomes only increasingly so, when you are attempting to cross cultures. Now obviously there is a big difference between complicated and impossible…

If the highest happiness a person can experience consists of seeing God's excellency and enjoying His love, then the greatest good you could ever do for anyone else is to attempt to help them know and enjoy that for themselves…

There are some who are concerned that the church is losing its way in missions.Specifically, they see many people who are engaged in mercy ministries and excited about these kinds of opportunities and less passionate and serious about things like, church planting and evangelism…

Duane Elmer recalls asking national pastors what missionaries could do to minister more effectively the gospel of Christ in their culture. He writes, "I was not sure what I was expecting. But the answers did surprise me…

Jonathan Edwards helped us move to Africa. It sounds funny to say that, given that he lived and died so many years ago now. But, I was doing a lot of thinking at the time about Christians and the financially poor…

By this point, I think you are getting the motivation down for radical, sacrificial love down but we can see yet one more reason in Ephesians 5:1 and 2 we should be loving people and that is because we are prized people…

Sometimes when people hear me talking about mercy, they will say something like you are really into that mercy stuff or you are a mercy guy, aren’t you? Whenever people say things like that, one of the first things I usually think is that I wish…

Should church leadership work on developing structures for believers to engage in mercy ministry? Or should church leadership allow this to develop naturally and on an individual basis within the church…

Compassion is always connected to worship. That may be one of compassion’s best kept secrets. Sometimes people act in compassionate ways because they are worshiping themselves…

Those who are most passionate about God should be the most compassionate towards people. Paul is an example of that.You don’t get much deeper than the apostle Paul. This was a theologian’s theologian…

I like this quote from Russell Moore speaking on the answer to Russia's orphan crisis. (We feel a similar burden for South Africa and this is part of why we are so excited about the Together for Adoption conference that is coming up in March….

"It is nice what you are doing, but you need to be wise."Have you heard that before? Maybe even you have said it yourself.Sometimes when someone begins thinking about putting themselves out for the good of others…

We are really looking forward to hosting a Together for Adoption conference here in South Africa.Sometimes though when we talk about this conference people seem to think it is only for people who are about to adopt or who are in a place where they are able to adopt…

One of the great obstacles to being of real help to others is our failure to know and understand the people we are seeking to help. I have often wondered in counseling whether I am counseling the real person in front of me or a pretend person they are presenting to me…

It is very common to pursue self through engaging in charity.Giving to those you consider in greater need than yourself can do a lot of things for yourself. It can temporarily relieve a sense of guilt you feel about how good you have it and allow you to enjoy more material pleasures less self-consciously…