Highlights from Pastor Ortberg’s Speech

John Ortberg, Pastor of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

I’d like to take a few moments to think with you why it’s worth all the labor, all the sacrifice to relieve suffering and battle poverty, when you’re only one person. What it’s really about is the worth of a single human being. It’s because human beings are all around us.

In the ancient world, there was the concept that every person, whether they are part of your tribe or nation, are worthy of your compassion. That’s an important concept.

This idea that human beings have a dignity or a worth or a value isn’t always something that has been present on this planet. But a man named Jesus taught about this. What is the worth of a single human being? Jesus would teach that if your ox falls into the well, will you not fish it out?

The hairs of your head are numbered.

We may begin to think that the goal of our life is to maintain a balanced, manageable life. After I first visited Ethiopia, I returned home to my baby daughter and thought, ‘Those children in Ethiopia do not hope that I live a balanced and manageable life.’

Sometimes people motivated by God’s love do things for no strategic reason at all.

Rousing the crowd from the mainstage with stories and teachings about compassion for those in poverty

Jesus is saying that every person who is hurt, abused, ravaged by disease, without shelter, without food–every one is worth more than you can possibly imagine. Every one of them carries the image of God.

Here’s the deal. It’s called Opportunity International. Here’s the opportunity: you and I get to be, in some strange way–when we actually give, actually serve–we get to be like the hands and feet of God.

Martin Luther King used to talk about the idea of “somebodyness.” And it’s not about how much money or talent someone has, it’s just because everyone is somebody. We all get to be the hands and feet of God to love somebody. That’s the greatest opportunity any human being has ever had.

A bit about Pastor Ortberg

John Ortberg is pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, a multi-campus church in California with more than 4,000 members. His teaching brings Scripture alive and invariably includes practical applications and warm humor. John is the best-selling author of several books, including When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box; If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat; The Life You’ve Always Wanted; Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them; Faith and Doubt; Love Beyond Reason; Know Doubt: The Importance of Embracing Uncertainty in Your Faith; Look Through God-Colored Glasses; and most recently, The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You. He has written for Christianity Today and is a frequent contributor to Leadership Journal.

Roger Thurow spoke to a packed plenary session this morning in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Roger Thurow’s job is to “outrage and inspire.” His recent book, co-authored with Scott Kilman, Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, certainly does just that.

He previously spoke at our Fall 2009 Conference, and Opportunity is delighted to host him again at our Spring 2010 Conference. The Opportunity audience sat enraptured as we listened to his story today.

Thurow’s three decades at The Wall Street Journal lead him to Europe and Africa. While in Africa, he wrote a series of stories on famine in Africa that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. Along with Scott Kilman, Roger Thurow reported on humanitarian and development issues.

They received much recognition for their book: they were honored by the United Nations and were awarded the Action Against Hunger’s Humanitarian Award. Thurow now serves as a Senior Fellow on Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. It is no wonder that he was one of the conference’s most-anticipated speakers.

In keeping with the conference theme, he self-identifies as a journalist, and a gatherer of stories.

“The best way to reduce poverty in the very poorest of nations is by focusing on the small farmers, and creating the conditions for the small farmers to be as productive as possible.” he begins. “They will then have enough food to feed themseleves, feed their families, feed their nations, and maybe even have a surplus.”

When he first went to Africa, and saw the massive famine that Etheopia was experiencing, he testifies that ”what I saw became a disease in my soul.” This disease would not allow him to rest until he shared the story with the rest of the world. That story became the bestselling book Enough.

“Opportunity International is so crucial,” he says. ”It’s all about the power of the individual. Ending hunger can indeed be the singular greatest achievement in our generation.” He wrote about Opportunity’s work in Malawi in the book, sharing the story of Africa Board Chair Francis Pelekamoyo’s leadership in delivering innovative solutions to Africa’s poorest entrepreneurs.

“Hooray for the efforts of Opportunity International and crop insurance,” he emphasizes. We will hear more about the Agriculture Finance program later on in the program.

To keep up with Roger Thurow, check out his blog. You can also learn more about how hunger can be conquered in his recent article in Christianity Today, available here.