I was recently told I preached the best 3 minute sermon ever. I’ll title it “What makes us clean”. Let me set it up for you.

I was sitting at my desk, diligently working on something of vast import, I’m sure, when a co-worker introduced me to his visitor. “Nathan is our resident foster care expert and runs Spokane127, based on James 1:27, the verse that talks about taking care of orphans, and that second half of the verse no one ever talks about.”

“I talk about it,” I quickly corrected him. “I have lots of thoughts about it. Would you both like to hear them?” They affirmed they would, so I sat right there at my desk and shared this message with them.

So in the Old Testament, there are all these laws and regulations about ceremonial cleanliness: what makes one ceremonially unclean, mostly things like leprosy and diseases, blood, dead things, etc. Touching any of these things renders one unclean for a time and the priests and people were required to perform certain washings before they could enter or serve in the temple again.

I think this is why the priest and the Levite in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan passed by on the other side of the road. They didn’t want to disqualify themselves from whatever service they were heading towards. They had a task, a ‘higher calling from God’ to serve somewhere and needed to make sure they could keep that appointment.

Now compare this to Jesus. HE comes on the scene, is constantly interrupted, and often by ‘unclean people’ wanting to be healed. Jesus touches them, and they become clean. He doesn’t become unclean; rather, they become clean. He touches the leper and he becomes clean. Same with the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus makes them clean; they don’t make Him unclean.

So then, what makes us clean?

Look again at James 1:27

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

I think there is a temptation in the Church to read that second part like the priest/Levite in the Good Samaritan story might. “Stay away from the world, so as to not become stained, corrupted, unclean. We don’t want to disqualify ourselves from the work God is calling us to.” But that is not what makes us clean. Jesus makes us clean. And that is not our calling, to just ‘stay clean’. There is a reason those two things are together in that verse. Both are important. Let’s remember what (really WHO) makes us clean, so we can visit the orphan and the widow in their affliction. We can step into the chaos and mess of the vulnerable that God calls us to serve with confidence. We meet them where they are, bringing the light and life of Jesus with us, not only staying clean ourselves, but also inviting them to be cleansed as well.

We need this mindset in the ministry of foster care as much as (if not more than) any other ministry. The trauma, instability, desperate cries for connection in the form of poor behaviors, and all the other possible issues that come from the wounds in the world of foster care

Church, let’s step into the chaos of this world boldly, without fear, trusting and looking to Jesus to keep us clean as we bring His healing to the world.

Here are 12 ways your church can help foster care. They are practical, helpful ideas that may not be the first thing you think of. But all of these things make a huge difference in the lives of kids in care, as well as the adults caring for them.

1. Offer a welcoming room in your facility for supervised parent visits.
2. Prepare a meal on the first night of a child’s placement.
3. Lend a hand to foster parents attending court dates by providing help with biological kids.
4. Collect new clothing/shoes for teen/pre-teen foster children (see Teen & Kid Closet or Mission Community Outreach Center).
5. Create a support group for foster parents in your area.
6. Host a Foster Parents Night Out to give foster parents a needed break.
7. Interview a foster parent in a Sunday morning service.
8. Begin a donation closet (pillows, beds, blankets, etc.) for the immediate needs of kids (you could partner with Embrace Washington on this one).
9. Invite DCYF to use space at your facility to conduct trainings for families, workers, and the community.
10. Plan a baby shower for a new infant placement.
11. Arrange for domestic help – cleaning or rides – before a “home” visit or new placement.
12. Throw a “THANK YOU” party for social workers in your area.

Some of the items on this list are already happening in Spokane and you can simply step into the already moving stream. A first step might be to find out if you already have foster parents in your church or network. And Spokane127 is here to help you get started with ideas, training, networking, and more. Feel free to reach out to start that conversation with us.

Romans 15:1-2 encourages us to use our strength on behalf of the weak. Let’s start to bring our resources as healthy adults with strong support networks to bear for those with less. We know God’s heart cares for the cause of vulnerable kids and fragile families (see James 1:27). Let EACH of us follow that heart, in small AND big ways, and transform all the “not enough”s into more than enough.

Last night’s dinner service was a lot of a fun! Even though it was a rainy fall day, everyone’s heart was warm. Our team from North Church had a blast putting dinners together for our foster families, boxed up, hot and ready to serve as soon as our families got home. Complete with rotisserie chickens, hot potatoes with all the fixin’s, salad and homemade cookies for dessert, the dinners were a hit. Our team arrived early to get the meals pulled together. Once boxed up and labeled, they were ready for a quick pickup. So when the family arrived between 5 and 5:30 and gave us their name, we were able to send one person in to grab their box, while the other team member connected with them, got prayer requests and gave encouragement. All but one family were able to come to the church for pickup. The last family had transportation issues, so a couple from our team volunteered to drop it off for them. After we were done, we gathered over some pizza, shared stories and spent some time praying for all the requests we gathered. We’re hoping to stay connected with some of the families we served last night. And I’m sure everyone will be open to doing it again soon enough.