Expert's Advice on International Eye Care

The International Forum presented two panels of experts at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Orlando on Tuesday who discussed “The latest trends in International Eye Care Development” and “Next Generation of Ophthalmologists in International Eye Care Development”. The ability of a short-term team to cultivate cultural adaptation and integration with long term sustainable practices was the center piece of the first presentation. Speaking to first-time medical volunteers, Martin Spencer MD, reported that, “you might have the best surgical skills in the world and not be able to use them because you cannot cope with the culture”. Spencer continued by stating success must be measured by “...what happens after you go home”. Suzanne Gilbert, PhD, MPH, emphasized the importance of looking at a culture in context. She began by saying, “we are here at AAO speaking about eyeballs. But that eyeball is in a person. That person is in a community and that community is in a culture”. Cultural sensitivity is key to successful international trips.


The primary trend in international development and maintaining long term service is a paradigm shift from quantity to quality. “Quality and sustainability”, said Geoffrey Tabin, MD, about long-term international care, “go hand and glove”. He continued by saying “quality is the driver of demand and sustainability”. Tabin reflected on the importance of adequately training, and appropriately paying in-country workers. Gilbert remarked on the priority of training people who have the capacity to then train others. “Your primary focus”, said John Cropsey, MD, “has to be skills transfer”.  Cropsey, an international missions veteran who grew up in Africa, said it is important to “set boundaries so you don't burn out because the need is endless”. He challenged residents to seek “a life of consequence” and warned that “self gratification will dry up”.  The alternative, he said, is that missions must be “motivated by love”.

Three Cups Book Review

"Three Cups" is a story of young boy who, on his fifth birthday, is given three cups by his parents. Disappointed by the gift the boy inquires the reason behind it; his parents then informed him that each week they were going to give him an allowance. The three cups represent how he is to divide his money. One third goes into the cup designated for savings, one third into giving and the last third into spending. The story follows the boy as he grows up and each year he continues to designate his money into each individual cup.

This story is meant to be read aloud by parents to children. The idea is to develop healthy money management in children. But this book misses the mark. The boy in the book does not even have a name. How is a child suppose to find it relatable much less interesting. I found this book simply predictable. The only advice given to parents who are interested in developing money management skills in their children is the 1/3 rule. That is, 1/3 to savings, spending and giving. Just give you child three cups and tell them how it works. You can get them excited about it by saying, "just a little more money in your spending cup and you can buy that thing that you wanted". You do not need this book to do that.

This book, a mere 26 pages, does not say much more than the 1/3 rule of money management. The philosophy of money presented in this book is intuitive. Frankly, this book is not worth the $10 they are asking for it. This book could have gotten away with being a one page online article instead of a 26 page book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Weekend Worship

Worship is a sticky issue in most churches. Talk about changing the way you worship on Sunday morning and nine out of ten people may react as if you cut off their arm. But the truth of the matter is worship is so much more than what we participate, or maybe do not participate, in on Sunday mornings. This is something God has spoken to me in the past few weeks.

Personally, I have never reacted well to corporate worship. I have always felt it pointless to sing the, sometimes random, lyrics of praise songs. I usually just sit back and, if the worship is not up to my standards, note how they might have improved it. This is my sin. I am a critic and like most good critics I am equally good at sitting and assessing the problem without doing anything to fix it. Little did I know that what needed fixing was my own heart.

God has taught me that there are so many different facets to worship; I do not necessarily have to enjoy Sunday morning worship. I do not even have to sing. But what I do need to do is make sure I recognize that God is worthy of praise; my praise. There lies another problem: what does it mean to "praise God"? This is something I have always struggled with. How do I praise God?

Praise and Worship is found all throughout the Bible. Here are a few examples from the Greek:

1. Eusebeo means "fear or reverence" (think liturgical worship)
2. Proskuneo means "to kiss" (adoration)
3. Latrueo means "to serve" (a servants heart)

Now this presents a variety of ways to worship, none of which involve singing (so if your voice can be likened to a dying monkey, fear not! You can still worship).  In fact, none of the Greek words that are translated "worship" or "praise" reference singing at all. I am not saying that singing praise and worship songs is a bad thing. I am merely stating that it is not the only way to praise God. God showed me that He wants our praise every day, all day, not just on the weekend. This can come in the form of prayer, silent recognition of His greatness or any number of other forms.

The one thing that particularly bothered me, even after this new understanding of worship, was this: I love music. I love singing. I love playing the guitar. But I did not love doing all those things to the glory of God and I could not figure out why. I thought that worship songs were musically boring and lyrically childish. Was it pride? Was it a spiritual immaturity? Probably both.

Observations on Contentment

What does it mean to be content? Part 2

For part 1 please click Material Manhood

Contentment is a funny thing. Many times I have said, "I will be content after..." but being "content after"  is logically inconsistent with the meaning of contentment.  Contentment by it's very nature implies that I am content now with what I have; if I am not content now I will never be content. Advertisements and marketing campaigns capitalize on this concept claiming, "you will be content after you buy our product". That kind of satisfaction will last only until the next commercial comes on. So how do we find true contentment?

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5


We cannot be filled with temporal, or material, objects. Therefore we must find some permanent, unchanging source, of fulfillment.  I have been thinking a long time about contentment and recently I listened to a sermon via podcast by Matt Chandler; he was speaking on contentment. He said something like this to his congregation:


"I want you to be content with material things but have a desperate desire for more of spiritual things".


I thought this was an incredible observation for several reasons. 
1. If we are content materially we have freedom to seek spiritually
2. Perpetually spiritual thirst helps guard us against spiritual stagnation (being content with  a 1/4 cup of Jesus, so to speak)


If we can realize that our finite knowledge of God is incomparably small to the infinite reality of Him then this will encourage us to constantly seek Him. This will prevent any self-righteous pride to sneak into our lives. It is, then, of upmost importance that we are content materially. Content now, with what we have, because there is no other contentment.

Material Manhood

I have been given everything my heart desires and yet I desire more. This is the wickedness of a man's heart. The writer of Ecclesiastes explains,

I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless.

He goes on to describe himself as the wealthiest man in the world, listing his accomplishments and accumulated wealth only to find it all meaningless. I was struck by this for several reasons. First of all guys put a lot of weight on achievements and wealth. We find pleasure in the completion of a project. But this man, a man who acquired great honor and praise for his many accomplishments says that he was left unfulfilled.

 This got me thinking. The notion that nothing will fulfill us except God is prominent within the church community but how many people actually take that to heart? I know for me, personally, I've always known this and yet in my mind I keep thinking, “if I only accomplish this, or do that, then I will be fulfilled. If I gain this knowledge or am able to learn this skill I will be satisfied with my life”.

The writer of Ecclesiastes has given himself everything his heart desired and he found himself wanting more. He accomplished everything he could think of and yet was left empty. He has gone through his possessions with the hope that his wealth would cheer him up but it did not. These words, in Ecclesiastes, are a warning from a man who was at the top of the world. His main point is this: I have done everything and everything turns out to be meaningless.

We have developed a kind of material manhood; this is a system that says "the more you have the better off you are" and "if you have a better job, then you are a better man".  We are constantly buying into this notion (literally and figuratively). Commercials flash before our eyes telling us the reason we are unhappy is because we do not have their product. Billboards stare down at us until we break under the pressure of “want”.   And this material want takes a dangerous guise: “need”. 

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

This led me to reflect upon my giving habits which, I confess, are not what they should be. But I've always thought to myself, “well when I'm older and more established I'll give to all sorts of missions and people” but how can I expect myself to do that if I am not giving now? It is like the story of the poor woman who gave her only penny and a rich man who gloated over his gift. But the woman sacrificed more and with that sacrifice showed more faith. For if we truly give we will cringe a little when we do so; giving is not suppose to be painless. 

All of this led me to one last thought. Nothing I have is mine anyway. Everything I have is God's. God let me have a grip on it but I am only a temporary carrier of it. If he asks for it back I am obligated to give it to him for surely a man who house-sits when a family is away will leave without a fight when the family gets back, even if he happens to be homeless.

All of these thoughts was God's way of telling me that all I need is him and there was one thing getting in the way of that relationship: all of my stuff. He led me to surrender my possessions to him in a prayer that was not easy to utter; I challenge you to do the same.

Please note that I wrote this before I even considered joining Life Action Ministries but upon surrendering my possessions to God I found that I was still holding on to one last thing: my life. That is when I submitted myself to Him to do whatever He called me to do.

Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow

David Murrow's book offers staggering statistics and a broad understanding of, "Why Men Hate Going to Church". He compares the church to Jesus' ministry on earth and pinpoints common misconceptions that lead to spiritual miscarriages. The bottom line: the success of a church depends on it's ability to engage men. Murrow begins his book with an eclectic view of data gained over a large portion of time; he gives an overview of church history to reveal that the decline of men in the pews is not a new phenomenon. This fact enabled him to find and connect the dots in order to define the real problem.

When I started reading his book I was skeptical but by the time I finished I could not stop talking about it. Just ask my wife, and the friend we had over for dinner, who politely listen to me rant about it. By the time the evening was over our friend had the book tucked safely under his arm as he walked out the door.

"Why Men Hate Going to Church" is not only a challenge to churches but a strategic battle plan for those intent on seeing their church grow. Murrow carefully examined and diagnosed modern issues to resolve an age-old problem. This book is an advocate for men all over the world. It is relevant, riveting and rewarding; unrivaled by any book of it's kind on the market. If you don't have one, get one. Underline it, highlight it and refer to it; go through it with your church staff, follow the biblically sound advice and watch your church burst at the seems with men who are passionate and involved in your ministry.

(This review is by Ben Cabe at www.bencabe.com on the book "Why Men Hate Going to Church, Completely Revised & Updated" by David Murrow)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

We Are One Body

I have always wondered at something concerning the Church. I noticed, as I walked down the halls, that people who attend Church are the least truthful of all people – or perhaps it's just people in any given social situation whatsoever. But have you ever noticed the mediocre “How are you's” and the equally monotonous “Doing great's” or “Fine's”? This is something that has always bothered me. Why do people feel as though they must let these same expressions slip through their lips when they are not doing so great and not that well? Is it a failure our the askers part or the answerer? I believe both.

Partially, I think, it is do to the fact that when a person passes another in church they feel an obligation to ask “how are you?”. But funny how this obligation does not come with one to listen to the response. So the asker asks and continues walking. Even if the answerer wanted to say “Well my day has been rather rotten” the asker would hear no more that “well my day's been...” But the answerer is not exempt from some blame. Due to certain social cues if the answerer were to stop and angle his body in such a way as to signal a conversation the asker, at very least, would notice. These passing greetings have become a sort of expectation – and the response “I am great” is equally expected. It is a sort of stalemate. This is the application of the first part of the verse, “put off falsehood and speak truthfully”. Why must we do so? That is the second part. “For we are all members of one body”.

I am reminded of an old Swedish proverb: “Shared joy is double joy. Shared sorrow is half sorrow”. Are we not told to “weep with those who weep” and “be joyful with those who are joyful”? This is why the community of the church is so important. Have you ever notice a trend in people who tell the truth or who say something that they have tried to bury deep? After they share it with a caring friend they say, “I feel so much better”, and rightly, they should.

Let me ask you something. If you placed your hand on a hot burner and felt no pain what would you think? You would think something is wrong because your hand is not communicating to your brain that “I am getting hurt”. This can be a serious problem and people have actually died from “not being able to feel pain”. You can bleed out and not even know you have bumped yourself. So I ask you this: how is it any different with the body of Christ?

We as Christians are one body. It is important that we know one another and communicate freely with one another. We need to be honest when we are hurting or else we may literally loose an arm – two arms are much more effective than one. So is it possible that these walk-by-greetings are hindering the body of Christ? It would seem so. For if the hand tried to tell the brain “I hurt” but the brian is shut off to it, the brain will not get the message. It can also be said that if the brain is attentive to the hand but the hand will not send the signal, the message will not be given.

Why do we feel this need to lie to one another? Not only that but a willingness to believe that lie? We may think to ourselves oh he looks horribly sad or he looks like he's had a rough week. Then we ask him “How are you doing?” and his response is, of course, “I'm doing well”. We then wipe our brow, thank God he offered that response, and continue on our way down the hall. Why? Because if he would of said “I'm not doing well” we would have felt yet another obligation: one to inquire as to why and then to listen yet again to his response, lengthy or not. My question is why don't we feel this second obligation devoid of his response? Why don't we feel the need to inquire why he looks so bad in the first place, even if he lies to us? (I am not supposing that we should assume – don't take it to that extreme. I am just saying when you see someone you know and they look bad you can usually tell something is weighing on them). We are all one body and should be concerned about each individual part as we are concerned with not chopping off our own fingers when we cut wood or not getting the ax stuck in our shin when we split it.

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Church is like an iPad

I recently acquired an iPad through a company I am helping design and structure a branding campaign; as I was scouring itunes for apps that would make the device more useful to me I realized something. Without the apps the iPad is useless. Sure, you still have the cleverly designed interface but for all practical purposes the iPad loses all functionality.

Church is like an iPad. If all people have to play with is a cleverly designed interface or carefully constructed church program then they will soon loose interest. If weekly programs becomes the centerpiece of a church it will certainly fall apart. The real impact of the church is rooted in community. Without loving people there can be no church.

When Mallory and I first moved to Brownsville, Texas we were attending a rather large church. If you measure a church by attendance then this church was thriving. If you were to measure by weekly programs then this church was at the pinnacle of success. But the entire time we attended no one even cared to say hello to us. Two months in we didn't have any interest in sticking around. The following Sunday we tried a different church. We walked in and sat down and it did not take long for several folks, as they would call them down south, to come over and greet us. Within the week we were over at a families house for supper.

This church had an amazing impact on us and our time in Brownsville. Mallory and I did not know a soul there when we first moved. The first two months were miserable and all we wanted was to move home to Michigan. But when we started attending the second church we began to make friends and we were no longer home sick. We developed great relationships and, now that we are back in our home town, we find ourselves missing our friends in Brownsville. 

If the only take away one thing take away this: just like the iPad needs useful apps, the church needs loving people.  Jesus' ministry was centered around relationships.  He was constantly healing and granting forgiveness for sins. You even find him cursing the pharisees who's main concern, instead of being people, was their tradition. If the cornerstone of our ministry is our clever church programs then we are modern day pharisee and we must ask this question: “If Jesus were here we he curse us too?”

(want to share your thoughts? You don't have to be a member of blogger to comment)
Click here for more of my thoughts on the Body of Christ

The Day God Spoke Audibly to Me

My testimony starts with Jesus Christ becoming my Lord and Savior at 6 years old.  I remember my sister, Sarah, asking me a very simple question: “Do you have Jesus in your heart?”  It was something I’d never really thought of until the question was posed me.  So I responded, innocently enough, no.  She then asked if I was willing to accept him, and led me through the standard Sunday school prayer.  It was done.  I was saved, guaranteed eternal life after death in Heaven.  But that was all it was.


Not much of significance happened to deeply impact me in the following years. So, let’s skip to 2006.  I was preparing for a trip to Kigoma, Tanzania with my father, my friend Jeff and a team of ophthalmologists equipped to perform cataract surgeries on those in need.  April 17, 2006 we took to the air.  When we arrived and were were taken to the place we were going to bunk for the remaining week and a half. 

I remember the trip in single images and solitary thoughts, all of it, that is, except one weekend.  Jeff and I were invited to go camping with the missionary kids that were stationed there at the time. So we took off a half day on Friday to go with the kids and the adult leader, Lyle. Following a brief drive down pot-hole ladened roads and a quarter mile walk through the jungle we made it to the lake. Growing up in Michigan, I was accustom to seeing large lakes but Lake Tanganyika was different.  The beach was small and surrounded by the jungle. 

When the sun began to set Lyle retreated into his tent and left Jeff, the missionary kids and me around the fire.  It was then that I realized for the first time that there was only one tent. The rest of us were to huddle around the fire and sleep on the sands of the beach.

I remember laying and staring at the stars.  I’d never seen them bright, it was incredible.  I was in awe.  I had never seen a shooting star and that night I saw seven. Eventually we all fell asleep around the waning firelight. 7 AM came early but I was ready to see what this day had in store for me.

Lyle grouped us in a circle around the dead fire and said a few simple words about God. He told us to go off by ourself and ask God this question: "Who am I in your eyes?" Then we were to share what God said to us.  I was nervous when I heard this.  I have to come back with an answer? I thought to myself.  I faced the lake. The jungle surrounded the beach on which I stood, cliffs on my left, large rocks on my right. just before the jungle resumed it’s restless creep toward the lake.  I went right, to the rocks, and I sat down.  The question was this: “God, who am I in your eyes?”.

I sat there, the scene was peaceful.  I ventured to ask, “God who am I in your eyes?”.  I waited, but I wasn’t sure what to do.  I listened, I waited, I asked, I listened, I waited.  I was trying too hard I thought; I let myself relax and I waited and let my mind open to his voice.  I heard the trees rustle with a sudden gust of wind; when the wind hit me I heard an audible, peaceful voice.  Two words, the answer to my question, “My child”.  I was awestruck, completely at peace.  That single moment has been the pinnacle of my walk with God to this very day.

Back around the fire Lyle asked what God spoke to us but everyone seemed too afraid to speak.

I started feeling that my answer was inadequate, as if it wasn't enough to actually hear God's voice. Finally someone spoke. “He said to me ‘you are my child’”. Then another said the same thing.  And another and another until we had all spoke and all our answers were the same.

April 2006, God became real to me.  Since then I’ve talked to many Christians, told them my story and not many of them have had a similar experience.  I recall telling one of my college professor, Tim Smith, and he told me he met Jim Caviziel, the guy that played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, and Tim said that Jim told him that he heard God’s voice twice on the set.  In the words of Tim:

“He explained it exactly how you explained it.  A wind came, seemingly out of no where, and carried with it the voice of God.  He said, just as you said, that it was the most at peace he’s ever felt.”  
Hearing this, once again validated and reminded me, of that time.  Even though I could easily mark this as the most important, impacting day of my life, I still forget and need to be reminded of it.

My question to you is, are you living in a way that demonstrates the reality of God in your life?

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Celebrities, God and You

Celebrities are an interesting part of American culture.  If you randomly ask someone on the sidewalk if they are familiar with Snookie, Regis or Brad Pitt the odds are 9 to 10 that they will say yes.  The media is saturated with the latest details in the lives of such people because Americans are obsessed with celebrity life.  If you search the web for a popular actor chances are you can find out a lot about them; their height, weight, dating history and political views.  This causes something interesting to happen within the human mind; when this amount of information is available to, and devoured by, a fan, that fan gets a sense that he actually knows that celebrity.  But if this fan meets his idol, let's say it's Conan O'Brien, and starts talking to him as if they are long-time buddies Conan would most likely respond, "Dude I don't know you".

This fact dawned on me as I was watching a documentary of Conan O'briens comedy tour around the US: regardless of how much his fans know about him, he has no idea who they are. In between crowds of people that were ushered in and out of the VIP lounge O'brien looked at the camera and said something to the effect of this: "I don't want to meet these people. I have friends too; friends that I want to hang out with. But I have to meet and talk to these people that I don't even know".

Lets create a scenario where Conan is in his VIP lounge and he has the power to grant access or revoke access to the lounge.  Fans may flock to the hallway for their chance to get in but if it comes down between a member of Conan's family or a random fan he will certainly let his family member.  Some fans may yell "But Conan! I developed you fan page! I supported you when Jay Leno took over your Tonight Show timeslot!" to which Conan may respond, "Yeah but my kids want in and I am going to spend some time with them".

I realized then that in my own life I have become obsessed, to a point, with the knowledge of God.  But I have not spent nearly as much time developing my relationship with God as I have studying things of God.  I am guilty of learning about my God without placing importance on building a relationship with him.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 

Matthew 7:21-23

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