Registration opens today!
Be Our Guest: Luncheon for Pastors and Laypersons, March 31st
Helping the Church Help the Orphan
If you are a pastor or a layperson in North or South Carolina starting or involved in an orphan ministry, we want to provide you with tools and resources to assist you. It takes more than a commitment to follow the mandate to care for the fatherless. Prayer, fellowship, awareness of the need and tools to meet the need are all essential. Let us encourage you in the work and give concrete steps to help you further your church’s ministry.
Date: Thursday, March 31, 2011
Time: 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
(arrive anytime after 11:30 a.m.)
Where: Brick Street Cafe
315 Augusta Street, Greenville
RSVP: Laura Beauvais-Godwin, laurag@nightlight.org
Speakers
Dan Cruver
Together for Adoption and author of Reclaiming Adoption
Dr. Rhonda Littleton
A Home for Me, Simpsonville First Baptist Church
We hope you will join us as our guest for this informational luncheon. Included at the luncheon will be many resources along with a copy of Dan Cruver’s new book Reclaiming Adoption.
Carolina Christian Alliance for Orphans Pastor’s Luncheon
The Life of an Orphan: Video from Focus on the Family
Posted in Domestic Adoption, Media, Theology
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2010 Together for Adoption Conference: We’ll be there, will you?
This October 1-2, the annual Together for Adoption Conference will be held at the Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, TX. The theme is “The Gospel, the Church, and the Global Orphan Crisis.”
Nightlight Christian Adoptions is one of the exhibitors at the conference, and Laura Beauvais-Godwin, director of our SC office, is one of the breakout-session presenters.
You should register now!
Saturday conference in CA – Adoption: For Life
Grace Community Church, pastored by John MacArthur, is hosting an “Adoption: For Life” conference this week. Nightlight’s Mary Madison will be speaking 10:30-11:20am on Domestic Adoption. More details and registration are available at Grace Community’s event website. (Registration is $20/person, or $25/couple.)
Posted in Events, Theology
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Together for Adoption Conference: just 2 and 1/2 months away!
Nightlight Christian Adoptions will be an exhibitor at the 2009 Together for Adoption Conference, held October 2-3 in Franklin, TN. The conference goal is to “further mobilize and equip Christians to care for orphans in the name of Jesus.”
Don’t delay! Register Now! (More details here.)
Posted in Events, Orphan Care / Adoption, Theology
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Russell Moore’s proposed resolution on adoption and orphan care
Read the excellent resolution Russell Moore has submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Resolution Committee: “On Adoption and Orphan Care: A Proposed Resolution.”
(HT: Dan)
Posted in Orphan Care / Adoption, Theology
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Are abortion and adoption incompatible?
When I started working for Carolina Hope a few years ago, I discovered something that surprised me: many adoption professionals are pro-abortion-rights (not at Carolina Hope, mind you).
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. There is, it seems, a certain logic to the pro-abortion, pro-adoption mindset. It starts with 2 premises: first, that birth (or perhaps viability) is the start of personhood — the mystical/medical/magical transition from mere fetus to true human child; second, that it is a social evil (or tragedy, if you don’t go in for “evil”) for children to grow up without “permanency.” Continue reading
Together for Adoption Conference Audio
Together for Adoption has posted the audio from their Nov. 1 conference. Check it out at their 2008 Conference Audio page. The audio titles are:
- Jason Kovacs and Maridel Sandberg – “Conference Welcome and the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ Vision for Orphan Ministry”
- Dan Cruver – “Adoption in God’s Story of Redemption”
- Rick Phillips – “The Good News of Adoption”
- Carl Robbins – “Adoption and the Multi-Ethnic Family of God”
- Tullian Tchividjian – “Our Adoption and Visiting Orphans in Their Affliction”
Posted in Education, Events, Media, Theology
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Adoption language: “parent” vs. “adoptive parent”
Over at the Adoption Guide’s Advice page, I came across a document labeled “Accurate Adoption Language,” which links to a PDF entitled “Positive Adoption Language.” The fact sheet (reprinted from OURS Magazine, May/June 1992), has a fairly complete listing of preferred language (which it calls “positive”) and dispreferred language (called “negative”) for talking about adoption.
In general, I like the idea of using “positive adoption language.” (Frankly, calling it “accurate adoption language” strikes me as a little pompous and even disingenuous. It suggests that the “truth” about adoption is always positive and never negative. But that’s a topic for another post.) In spite of my general inclination to use positive language about adoption, some of the positive-negative pairs strike me as odd. One is the “parent” vs. “adoptive parent” contrast. Continue reading
Posted in Adoption Issues, Adoption Language
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Audio Sermon: The Cosmic Significance of Adoption
I had the privilege of preaching at Grace Church of Memphis yesterday on the cosmic significance of adoption within the story of redemption. You can listen to it here.
Nov. 1: Together for Adoption Conference, Greenville, SC
I just put this announcement up over on our Adoption Workshops and Events page. But we don’t want you to miss it, so I’m putting it here, too!
Together for Adoption Conference, Greenville, SC
Saturday, November 1, 2008
www.togetherforadoption.orgTogether for Adoption wants Christians to think vertically about adoption and allow the truth of vertical adoption (i.e. God adopting them) to shape how they think about orphan care and horizontal adoption. We want Christians, whether or not they are considering adopting a child themselves, to reflect on their vertical adoption.
Why Attend?
- Deepen your understanding of the gospel of grace.
- Learn about Scripture’s life-changing teaching on adoption.
- See what it means to reflect God’s heart for adoption in your own life and church.
- Examine the church’s mandate to visit orphans in their affliction (James 1:27).
- Interact with church leaders, theologians, and adoption professionals.
- Learn from other churches and leaders about how to implement a ministry of orphan care and adoption in your life and church.
- An opportunity to visit Greenville, SC!
Date: Saturday, November 1, 2008
Location: Southside Fellowship (Greenville, SC)
Cost: $20 for a single; $30 for a couple
Main Session Speakers: Rick Phillips, Russell Moore, Carl Robbins, Tullian Tchividjian, and Dan Cruver.
Conference Schedule: Visit here.
Posted in Education, Events, Theology
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But are they REALLY brothers?
In the video post that Dan just put up, theologian and adoptive dad Russell Moore relates some theological insights from the questions he was asked when he and his wife adopted from Russia. I’ve transcribed (quickly and roughly) a portion below, but I encourage you to watch the entire 3-minute video.
[When my wife and I began the process of adopting,] I found myself answering questions that really irritated me deeply. We had gone on our first trip to Russia and returned back and we had pictures, and we were showing people pictures of our boys.
The question we consistently were asked — it was two boys — was, “Well, are they brothers?” and my response was, “Well yes, they are now.”
And people who asked the question would say, “Yeah, but are they really brothers?”
Continue reading
Russell Moore on Adoption
Russell Moore: When did you first begin thinking theologically about adoption?
Russell Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the speakers at Together for Adoption Conference 2008. Carolina Hope is one of the conference exhibitors.
The Safest Place for Adoptive Families
Michael Monroe, leader of Irving Bible Church’s adoption ministry Tapestry, believes that the church should be “the safest place on earth for adoptive and foster families.” Unfortunately, it often is not. Read Michael’s two-part series on this important topic: The Safest Place on Earth – Part 1 and Part 2.
Check out Tapestry’s many other adoption resources.
Posted in Adoption Issues, Theology
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