Archive

Archive for September, 2010

Organizations in Swaziland

September 27th, 2010 No comments

Last week I shared with you that after nearly 3 years of research and planning, Beth and I accepted a position at Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland.  While we are very confident in our decision, we would remiss if we did not mention that there are countless other great organizations in Swaziland all doing great work.  I wanted to list a few of them in hopes that our research can be helpful to others who may make a similar journey:

  • Bulembu – This organization is truly doing holistic ministry: everything from infrastructure to orphan care to community enterprise to education.  The location in northwest Swaziland is beautiful and the people there are very committed to the vision of creating a sustainable community.  Bold vision with the drive to get things done.  www.bulembu.org
  • Sifundanzi Primary – The first school we visited during our trip.  This charter school has governmental ties and subtle Christian influences.  The headmaster was kind enough to show us around the school while the children enjoyed a field day.  A highly regarded institution by everyone we met. http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/1344.htm
  • Usutu Forest Primary – We headed from Mbabane to Mhlambanyatsi to meet with another charter school.  Usutu Forest is of the same high caliber as Sifundzani, but seemed to be a bit more laid back.  We did meet one of the King’s daughters there.  http://www.usutuprimary.ac.sz/index.php
  • Hawane Farm / Lighthouse Ministries / Teen Challenge / Potter’s Wheel Church – Jon and Jude Skinner were two of the first people we connected with (via email) in Swaziland.  They now help run the Hawane farm which provides practical training for recovering youth in the Teen Challenge program and also provides residential care for orphans.  These are all affiliated with Kevin Ward who runs the The Potter’s Wheel Church.  http://www.swazitc.com/
  • Sandra Lee Centre – This orphanage tucked away into a wooded section of Mbabane is doing some great stuff.  They run several orphan homes on site where up to 8 kids have a “home mother” who raises them.  Right now between 30 and 40 kids live at the Centre.  Michael and Robin, who run the centre, are great people with great hearts.  http://sandraleecentre.org/
  • Baylor AIDS Clinic – In a country where the AIDS rate is nearly 40%, there is a need for top notch medical facilities and Baylor Clinic fits that bill.  Without doubt it is the highest regarded medical organization in the country.  In addition to Pediatric AIDS work (their focus) they also have a youth program for HIV positive youth. http://bayloraids.org/programs/swaziland  / http://swazilandteenclub.wordpress.com
  • Claypotts – This foundation is run by Ken Jefferson, a Scottish Pastor.  They supply funding to some of the most effective projects in the country.  We only intended to spend a few hours at Claypotts, but Pastor Ken took time out of his busy schedule to show us projects across the whole country; he is definitely a good guy to know. http://www.claypotts.org/
  • TechnoServe – There are a lot of large NGOs active in the country and many of them are doing great work.  However, TechnoServe seems to rise to the top when it comes to providing big picture solutions for systematic problems.  Their work focuses mainly on economic development through sound business practices.  http://www.technoserve.org/work-impact/locations/swaziland.html
  • All Out Africa – Not everyone is ready to commit 5-10 years to a 3rd world country.  That is where places like All Out Africa come in.  They provide 3-6 month voluntourism opportunities for people looking to get involved in local communities for short term projects.http://www.alloutafrica.com/
  • Children’s Cup – If you are looking for an evangelical mission organization doing good work in Swaziland, you must check out Children’s Cup.  They primarily do their work through Neighborhood Care Points and are active across the country.  Their director Ben Rodgers is a great guy and shared sound very sound wisdom with us during our visit. We have also been fortunate enough to connect with Mark and Kay Bojovic, two fine Christian missionaries.  http://www.childrenscup.org/v2/
  • PACT – Simply put, we would not have ended up at Cabrini Ministries if it was not for the wisdom of Todd Malone at PACT.  This organization manages NGO funding and provides capacity building for groups on the ground.  Todd, the director, has an excellent grasp of the situation in the country and how resources can best be used.  He insisted we visit Cabrini and knew we would end up there well before we did.  http://www.pactworld.org/cs/africa/swaziland
  • Caritas – This organization is affiliated and funded by the Catholic church with their main emphasis on social justice and empowerment.  They are involved in many areas of Swazi society with a strong history of practical faith.  http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/africa/swaziland.html
  • UNISWA – During our time in the country we were able to visit the University of Swaziland.  While not an academic powerhouse by any means, it is certainly an institute of higher learning and is ground in the local community.  I would certainly be interested in pursing the possibility of teaching in their Religion and Theology department in the future.http://www.uniswa.sz/
  • Swaziland Skills Centres – The Manzini Industrial Skills Centre, which we visited, is one of three institutes that comprise the Swaziland Skills Centres.  These trade schools take youth who are on the fringe of society and offer them practical skills from auto repair to construction to upholstery, etc.  http://www.gov.sz/default.aspx?pid=1685&stepid=1&oid=1692
  • Moya Center – This small organization is run by Jane Cox and serves the youth in the Malkerns / Mahlanya.  They are active in a wide variety of projects for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children.  Their work with education and life skills training is particularly noteworthy.  http://www.moya.co.sz/

In addition to the groups we visited there are several other organizations that are active and highly regarded in Swaziland:

There are probably another 20-30 organizations that we either researched or communicated with in preparation for our trip.  Just because they are not listed here does not mean they are not doing good work; many did work outside our skill set or were unreachable by email.

If you found this blog post while researching organizations in Swaziland, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions: ben.kickert@gmail.com

Swaziland: The Decision

September 23rd, 2010 2 comments

Beth and I first began talking about a possible move to Africa nearly 3 years ago.  For over two years we have been looking to move to Swaziland in particular.  In July we visited with over 20 individuals and organizations to get a feel for where our place may be.  [If you want to look back at the journey so far, you can start here.]

After our trip this summer we felt very affirmed in our decision to move, but unsure of where we would end up.  Through careful discernment and lots of conversations, we were able to narrow it down to three locations.  All three seemed like viable options and all three were interested in the possibility of us joining them.  Although we might have had our leanings, we wanted to be sincerely open to whatever presented itself.

Eventually we found that one would probably not be possible financially and another didn’t have a position at the time that would fit our skill set.  So earlier this week, Beth and I were sitting on the couch and I said, "Well I guess that means we know where we will be working in Swaziland."  Beth answered, "Yup… I guess so."  And there it was… three years of research and discernment summed up in a 5 second conversation.  It was kind of anti-climactic, but at the same time very affirming; the decision was so clear it did not require any lengthy discussion, just a simple affirmation.

So now that you have read 3 (rambling) paragraphs, I am sure you are wondering what we have decided; so here you go:

As of July (tentatively) Beth, Mikayla and I will be moving to the lowveld of Swaziland Africa to work with Cabrini Ministries.  (You can read more about their work at their blog.)  I will help with strategic planning and development and Beth will help with education and psycho-social services.  There are still lots of details to work out, but we are very confident in our decision.

StPhillips

The amazing thing is that when we flew to Africa we had intentionally chosen not to meet with Cabrini.  You see part of what attracted us to Swaziland was the mountains and the temperate climate.  Cabrini has neither of those things; it is flat, dry, shrubby land and it gets hot—freakin’ hot—like 115 degrees hot.  We figured, if we had our choice, we would avoid that low lying area of the country.  However, people we met with kept encouraging us to check them out.  One gentleman at an NGO we met with told us point blank that we had to go there and that it would be a perfect fit for us.  So hesitantly we rearranged our plans and actually cancelled a planned trip to a game reserve to drive an hour out on dirt roads to visit this Catholic Mission in the "bush."

We met with Sister Diane, one of two Catholic nuns who works with Cabrini.  She showed us around (the whole community is only a few acres) and answered all of our questions.  She explained that what they were looking for was not a person to fill a job description, but people who could commit to their community and respond in love and compassion.

farm

Even though it is a Catholic mission, it was obviously we had strong theological connections and that our view of ministry was very similar.  It was also obvious that St Phillips (where the ministry is located) would be an ideal place to be immersed in Swazi culture.  (You see, a vast majority of Swazis live on rural homesteads, yet most of the places Beth and I visited were in urban/suburban areas.)  Our hesitations mainly lay in the remote location and the weather – both things we are confident should come secondary to finding a location where we can actively contribute to a vibrant community doing good work.

jg singing

When we returned to the States we stayed in contact with sisters and they told us they would discuss the practicalities of us working with them and get back to us in October.  One week later they wrote us with an informal job offer.  A few weeks after that we spent over an hour on the phone talking about what things might look like if we joined them.  Today I called them and let them know we would be accepting their offer.  We all are very excited and fit seems very natural. 

Overall the whole process has been incredible.  Over the course of the last several years, we have researched well over 100 possible locations in Swaziland where Beth and I could relocate with Mikayla.  Of those we felt 20 were places where we could reasonably contribute and be happy.  Even though many of these stood as strong possibilities, only three made our final list.  At the end, our choice of the one was undoubtedly the best fit for us as a family.  It is a place where we can be a part of good work that is already going on and contribute in ways that are meaningful and needed.  It has been quite the journey, but as I write this post I am completely confident in our decision.

We will post more as it develops, but I wanted to take the time to let you all know at least the basics of what our future holds.

Cheers,

-Ben, Beth and Mikayla

Fair salaries and the Kingdom of God

September 15th, 2010 2 comments

Last week at church we ended a 1.5 month sermon series on the Kingdom of God by discussing what it means to participate in the Kingdom; one of the passages we looked at was Mat 20:1-16, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  The main point is that in the Kingdom everyone is compensated fairly, but not necessarily equally.

That reminded me of an article I had read recently about the link between pastor’s salaries and church growth:

The researchers examined whether pastors earned more in years when their churches saw congregations grow and their pay suffer if membership declined. It turns out United Methodist congregations gave their leaders a $15 boost (in 2008 dollars) on average for each new member added (about 3 percent of new revenues generated from the membership increase) and cut their pay by about $7 for each member lost.

[You can read the whole article here on Slate: The Almighty Dollar: Are preachers motivated by the desire to save souls or to make cold, hard cash?]

Things like this give me great pause as I ponder what is the most faithful, biblical, and fair way to handle financial compensation for those working in the church.

I have long stated that people in ministry should not expect to make more than the average household income for the community they are called to serve (That is a bit over $30K here in Warren County).  Of course I don’t see that as a hard-fast rule, but rather as a starting point; in fact, I struggle with the idea of pastors getting paid at all – but that is for another post.

In a multiple-staff situation things get even more complex.  What is fair compensation for everyone when we are willing to think about it “Kingdom” terms?  Here are a few models I think we can consider:

  • Compensate based on “market” value – unfortunately this is the way most churches operate without even considering other options.  This approach forces a business mindset and causes people to think about “moving up the ladder.”
  • Compensate equally – pay everyone the same wage regardless of their position.  The full time janitor makes the same as the senior pastor.
  • Compensate based on skills / training – a cross between the two approaches above.  The doctor makes more than the M.Div who makes more than M.A. who makes more than the college grad… This approach doesn’t value one role over another, but does reward people who made the financial / educational sacrifices to be better prepared.  You could easily extend this thinking to compensate for years of work, additional training / skill sets, etc.
  • Compensate based on need – The young married couple has less financial need than the single father living with his two kids, or the older lady who has high medical expenses and is taking care of her parents.  This approach is the most selfless of all, but the hardest to implement.
    These questions are especially difficult (and important) when you start working through real situations.  I came from a multiple-staff church where how you answer the “fair compensation” question would have major impact on people.  We had a 5:1 pay ratio (the highest paid full-time staff member made at least 5 times what the lowest paid full-time staff member made), a wide variety of education levels (High School educated up to M.Div and everything in between), a huge span of years of service (fresh into ministry up to several decades), and an extremely diverse set of living situations (stable married couples without kids, up to individuals with major medical expenses and other extenuating circumstances).

I don’t think there is a right answer to these questions (although I do think there are plenty of wrong ways to handle it).  The big problem is that people generally refuse to discuss these matters.  If you want to know the quickest way to shut people up in a staff meeting, then just suggest you talk about salaries.

It is generally assumed that all churches will take the first approach and simply pay based on market value.  The problem with this is that is short-circuits meaningful discussions about the theology of ministry and the call to live by "Kingdom" standards.  People in ministry are paid through the tithes and offerings of people who believe they are contributing to God’s work.  At a minimum, we all should expect those in ministry to think long and hard about what is the best use of God’s finances when it comes to compensating staff fairly.

When you take the "market value" approach to ministry it forces you to only look inward.  All of the other approaches require ministers to contemplate the Kingdom as a whole and also to consider the situation and contributions of those they serve with.  It is not easy, but I think all of our churches would be better off if we at least entertained the question.

A church where the senior pastor makes the same as (or less than) the janitor would certainly turn a few heads, and I am convinced it is a more accurate implementation of the lessons from Matthew 20.  Just imagine how strong a church’s witness could be if they compensated based on Kingdom standards instead of worldly value.  It would certainly force people to take the message of the Kingdom of God serious if ministers were willing to "step out on faith" and change the way they viewed their salaries.

How can we expect those in the church to earnestly seek their place in the work in the Kingdom, if we do not evaluate some of these basic and essential questions about how the church operates.

Thoughts?

Conspicuous Authenticity

September 12th, 2010 1 comment

Over the past 30 or 40 years, there’s been a shift in the culture where as we got wealthier, it actually became less socially acceptable to just sort of, like, engage in raw displays of how much wealth you have or what great taste you have. And so we engage in what I call "conspicuous authenticity," displays of consumption or experience that sort of express what a deep person, how spiritual you are.….

What I’m trying to point out is that when you wrap up your consumption in a sort of moralizing guise, it ends up sort of being almost a more pernicious form of status-seeking, because it makes it seem like you’re actually better than other people and not just simply better connected.

The quotes above are from a recent interview with Andrew Potter about his new book The Authenticity Hoax.  You can listen to the whole interview from Marketplace Money here: The New Holier Than Thou

I was really struck by the criticism because I can see and sense what he is talking about in my own life and the lives of those I most closely associate with.  Many of the things he mentions Beth and I do:

  • Compost and garden at home
  • Buy locally and organically
  • Reject Big Box Stores
  • Fetishize poverty
  • etc.

It is not that these things are inherently bad (in fact, most of them are based on solid values and ideals).  I am satisfied with my path of downward mobility.  However, when we hold the idea of an action higher than the action itself, we risk falling into the trap of conspicuous authenticity – it becomes easy to do things because we want to project a certain image rather than actually live by a set of ideals. 

I am the first to admit I am guilty of this.

Wrapped up in all this is my own understanding of just how important community is.  The community that surrounds you set the bar for the ideals you pursue.  Close friends can challenge you to love more deeply and serve more broadly, or they can promote selfishness and give you an excuse to become complacent.

I can honestly say my closest friends have brought both sides out of me.

My hope is not that I will do more “things” or live by more standards, but rather that I will become more deeply committed to the values I cherish.

Mikayla and Magic

September 11th, 2010 1 comment

Here is a video of Mikayla being entertained by my slight of hand magic tricks.

 

She figures out early on that moving my hand makes a difference, but it takes her a bit to figure out exactly what is going on.

Categories: Family Tags: , ,