Faith and Love . . . but Where’s the Hope?

Anyone who has been to a Christian wedding has heard this famous Bible verse—1 Corinthians 13:13—“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” Christians and Christianity will never thrive without all three. However, the Christian church has spent years majoring on two and leaving hope out of the equation.

We major in faith. Every church has a statement of faith. You can’t get hired to work at a church without agreeing to one. You could fill stadiums with books on faith. I crammed three years of seminary into five years to study the Christian faith.  Continue reading

Hope Makes You Courageous

In my last blog, I introduced you to Hilda and her amazing, hope-filled work with children in the slum of Dandora, Nairobi, Kenya. She held onto hope for 15 years, and as a result a worship center was built that had a profound impact on the community. It’s been my privilege to work together with her.

On one trip, I knew a contested election had sparked riots across Kenya and angry mobs had torched practically everything since our last visit. Hilda greeted me, then said, “You have got to see this.” She dragged me over to the fence. Continue reading

The Four Things That Only Hope Can Do, Part 4: Hope Is the Fuel that Makes the World a Better Place

Like almost nothing else, hope has a way of unleashing compassion. Hope helps people believe that they can make a difference, regardless of their circumstances.

This is something I see every time we visit Africa. Every November, I take teams of leaders to Nairobi, Kenya. I love the people. I love the culture. I love the grandeur and beauty, and I love seeing what people of hope can accomplish. Every year, we visit the same vibrant church in the slum of Dandora. The streets are dangerous, but the people are warmhearted. Continue reading

The Four Things That Only Hope Can Do, Part 3: Hope Sets You Free to Dream

Nobody ever gets a dream without hope. I know of many leaders around the world, some blessed with great resources and others who have almost nothing, who have made major impacts on their communities. They all have the one thing that nobody can do without—hope. Their hopes have sparked dreams, and those dreams have brought into existence some incredible initiatives. Every one of those initiatives started with hope.

Hope gives birth to dreams, which creates momentum. I often tell leaders, “Momentum attracts support. It leads to personal renewal, relational renewal, and organizational renewal. Momentum and vision keep your ministry future-focused. But without hope, you won’t have momentum. And without momentum, you’re in trouble.” Continue reading

The Four Things That Only Hope Can Do, Part 2: Hope Helps You Bounce Back

What is the difference between people who thrive and people who decline over a long period of time? It’s not that they don’t get knocked down; it’s that they bounce back up. Every successful person I can think of has had to come back from discouraging circumstances. That’s true of both people I know personally and those I read about in the Bible. As a matter of fact, every single person in the Bible is a comeback story from something.

Check out this list and see if you can find yourself: Continue reading