He's more than the face of Compassion International, however. In his own words, taken from his website:
Shaun Groves is a communicator who’s known by a lot of titles: Singer/songwriter. Speaker. Blogger. Husband. Daddy. Friend. He feels and thinks deeply and laughs easily. And he’s helping Christians discover what they were saved for, and being a voice for children around the world, desperate to be saved from poverty.
As a loyal Shaun Groves blog follower, I can attest to the deep thinker and feeler part, and yes, to the laughs easily part. He's very witty.
His heart for the Lord and for the impoverished will slay you, and soon, you'll find yourself one of his groupies. Believe me. And it's not because you'll worship him, but because he's so good at pointing you to the Savior. It's never about him. And that's why he's so beloved. Humility. Obedience. Love. Grace.
Well friends, Shaun's got exciting news to share right now! His first album in five years, Third World Symphony, is being released August 30th! Praise the Lord! My kids and I love the songs! He's a very talented singer and songwriter. You'll find the lyrics and melodies very moving, very worshipful.
Now before I give you the listening and buying links for his new album, I have a surprise!
I interviewed him!
Okay.....not in person or anything, and he doesn't know me from Adam. But I'm still very excited, as you can tell.
He offered to answer any 3 questions for bloggers willing to promote his album.
So, my brain started working. Hmm. Any three questions. I'm. so. on. it.
Without further ado.......here's the interview.
Question 1: Matthew 6:25-34 seems to say that God will provide for our daily bread, yet so many go hungry....even Christians. Through your blogging trips, I've seen the faithful display the joy of the Lord, despite their abject poverty. The Lord provides spirit joy, but he doesn't always stop the hunger pains. How do you wrap your head around Matthew 6?
Shaun Groves: Matthew 6 is only one passage dealing with daily bread. It's sandwiched (pardon the pun) between Exodus 16 and 2 Corinthians 8. Those two passages help me make better sense of Matthew 6. in Exodus 16 God guarantees daily bread for his children who are wandering in the wilderness. But with his promise of provision he also gives them a new law - the first law he gave his people after they left slavery in Egypt. He says to them, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you and you are to go out each day and take only enough for that day. This is a test to see if you will obey my instruction." When they disobey this law a few verses later by saving up food, God angrily turns their leftovers into maggots and causes it to stink. Exodus 16 ends with God's people obeying God, collecting only daily bread (about 2 liters per person in each house) and the bible says "He who gathered much [because he had much family] did not have too much and he who gathered little [because he had little family] did not have too little." Everyone had enough for that day.
Then in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul tells the church in Corinth, who has leftovers, to share with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who are not eating every day. He tells them that he is collecting their leftovers not so that others might be relieved while they are "hard pressed" but so that there will be "equality." He uses that word again a couple verses later when he says God wants equality. Then he defines equality by quoting Exodus 16: "He who gathered much [because he had much family] did not have too much and he who gathered little [because he had little family] did not have too little." That's the kind of equality God wants. In the Old Testament and here on the other side of the cross too.
So, if there is inequality - some with too much and others with too little - it is not because God isn't providing. God is keeping his promise to rain down bread from heaven - enough for all. It is God's people who are not sharing.
Question 2: What changes did your family make in order to simplify, spend less, give more?
Shaun Groves: It started with cable before our kids came along. We didn't think of it as simplifying and we had no grand motivations. We simply didn't like what was on! We'd surf and surf and realized we were paying for something we didn't really like or need. So we turned it off. And we suddenly had extra time and extra money - a little more freedom. Years later when I went overseas for the first time - to El Salvador - we decided together that we'd move into a smaller house. And because we had less space we got rid of some stuff. And I started cutting my own hair because, really, can anyone tell the difference with this haircut? We eventually started a garden. My wife isn't a world class coupon clipper but she enjoys it.
So it's been small things, slowly. No grand scheme. Just cutting a little here and there, which has slowly given us more time, more attention, more money to spend on more important and lasting things - mainly people.
Question 3: Do you have a favorite song on this album?
Shaun Groves: That's like asking which of my kids I like best! Unfair. (This week it's the youngest, by the way.) At the moment No Better is helping me out. Musically I love what producer Mitch Dane did with the song - the banjo, the bass line - the whole thing feels like something the Muppets would be driving down the road too. But theologically I need it right now. I'm speaking at some Christian music festivals on behalf of Compassion International - perhaps the worst environment in which to ask an audience to sponsor a child...or even listen to some speaker guy they've never heard of. At my own concerts and speaking events at colleges and churches the response is phenomenal. A large percentage of the audience winds up sponsoring a child or committing to make some sacrifice to help someone in need of food, medicine, shoes, the gospel. It's unbelievably rewarding to see how God moves people to gratitude and generosity. Incredible.
But at a festival seeing what God is up to, or seeing Him at all takes better vision that I've got much of the time. There are thousands of people there enthusiastically singing when the famous guys are on stage and then going to get a corndog when I get sent out to speak. Ouch. And very few, percentage wise, sponsor a child - compared to what I'm used to. And it's not for lack of funds because everyone is buying $30 t-shirts and $10 keychains and glowsticks and all kinds of stuff that's not bad but certainly not needed. Not to mention what it costs to go to a three day music festival! So you can see where this is going right?
I'm not a nice guy, in my head, sometimes. Festivals bring out that judgmental jerk in me - feed him what he needs to be cynical and wonder if his time is wasted. So I need a song like No Better to wake that other guy in my head, that humbler guy who can count the mercies shown to him, who remembers when he didn't care about the poor or the speaker guy talking about them either. No Better stirs compassion in me and reminds me that being an angry jerk who has a hard time loving the rich and seemingly unmoved is just as bad (if not worse) than being that rich seemingly unmoved guy. Both of us need compassion.
What did I tell you, friends? He's a real hero of the faith, isn't he? Humility. Obedience. Love. Grace.
Please buy his album, and spread the word on your own blog, or on Facebook or Twitter, by reposting this interview and the links. Thank you, friends!
Click here to listen:
Click here to buy ($10):
Click here to learn about booking him to speak and sing at your church for free, in August especially:
Click below to read about his Compassion Blogging Trips....and bring the Kleenex, preparing for a heart change:
1 comment:
What a great interview! I can identify so much with his frustrations and his conclusions about being apathetic in the past. God is awakening the church to the needs of the poor, slowly but surely and to a large extent He's using the younger, post-modern generation to do it. I will re-post this on my blog.
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