The Real Me

May 12, 2016
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Robert Redford

Do you know me … I mean really know me … or do you only know the me I want you to know? Is there a difference or disconnect between who I am and who you think I am?

Does anyone know the real you or only the you that you like to present to others?

I once heard a story about veteran Hollywood actor Robert Redford. Looking online I’ve seen a few variations on the story but they all involve him walking to an elevator and having a fan ask him a question to which he responded with a very interesting statement.

Robert Redford was walking through a hotel one day. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator.

“Are you the real Robert Redford?” she asked him with excitement.

As the elevator doors closed, he replied, “Only when I am alone!”

A pretty profound answer to a simple question.

We get to present ourselves in many different ways, especially with the rise in social media. We can have people believe all kinds of things about us depending on the way we act in public, but does the person we are in public match the person we are in private?

I need to ask myself that question. Do my thoughts and actions when I’m alone match what I say I believe? Do I say one thing but act differently when I have time by myself? It’s a fairly good indicator of whether my life is on track or whether I need to reassess some areas of life.

The real ‘us’ is the person we are when we’re alone.

It’s a mark of integrity when there is consistency in who we are across a range of settings. The difficulty is that even with the best of intentions we’re not always going to get it right every time. There’s always going to be a battle between what we want to be and what we are. We can’t be perfect because there is a spiritual battle going on.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. – Romans 7:15-20 (ESV)

Have you experienced that battle for yourself? You want to be live in a way that’s consistent with what you believe but time and time again you fall short. You’ve tried ‘will power’ and you know that it’s not enough. All the trying in the world won’t change us from the inside.

That’s why we need God’s help to bring the person we are when we’re alone, the real us, closer to the person we portray in public.

So who is the real you? Is it only the person you are when you’re alone or are you able to show the world who you really are?



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Who can you trust with your money?

February 5, 2015
by Rodney Olsen
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Part of my job is to let people know about the opportunities to help children who are in desperate poverty. Many times when I’ve spoken to people I’m asked about how much money actually goes towards helping children and how much is used in administration and for other costs. Most of the time that question is genuine, coming from people who want to ensure that their money is being used wisely.

So how do we really know that an organisaton is using money well and is doing what they say they’ll do with your money?

Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator is an independent charity evaluator which works to inform those of us who want to help others but need to know if the money we give is actually doing what it should be doing. They check the financial health, accountability and transparency of thousands of charities. Those put under the microscope range from faith based and secular agencies working in developing countries to organisations working within the U.S. for causes like fighting cancer through to a foundation giving grants to shooting sports. They’ve just released their 14th annual research findings.

As someone who works for Compassion, I’m more than happy to be able to point people to independent evaluations of our work. I know that what we do is making a huge difference because I’ve seen it first hand, but being able to say to people, “Don’t just take my word for it” is extremely important. It’s good to see that Compassion has once again found itself at the top of the ratings.

Compassion International’s outstanding financial stewardship and commitment to accountability and transparency has earned the ministry four out of four stars – Charity Navigator’s highest rating – for the 14th year in a row. Charity Navigator is America’s largest independent charity evaluator. The ranking places Compassion among the top 1 percent of nonprofits reviewed and first on Charity Navigator’s list of top 10 Charities with the Most Consecutive 4-Star Ratings. – Compassion News

Wow. Once again Compassion is in the top 1% of the thousands of charities that were reviewed. As you can imagine, that gives me extreme confidence when I talk to friends, supporters, pastors and churches about how Compassion truly is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Charity Navigator’s President and CEO, Ken Berger explains a little of what that actually means for those looking for an effective way of helping those in need of our help.

“Less than one percent of the charities we rate have received at least 14 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Compassion International outperforms most other charities in America,” said Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. “This ‘exceptional designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Compassion from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust.” – Compassion News

I work for Compassion because I am convinced that there is no more effective organisation serving the world’s poor. I have seen no other method of working with those in poverty that even comes close to the way that Compassion is working.

That’s not the marketing spin of someone who works for the organisation, it’s the heartfelt conviction of someone who has seen the light streaming in to some very dark corners of this world and wants to be part of seeing more light and hope filling the lives of those around the world who are the poorest of the poor.

“Financial integrity is more than a priority at Compassion,” said Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International. “It’s a passion and deeply held value. Donors can rest assured that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and wisely to serve some of the poorest children in the world. And we cannot forget that the ministry’s health comes directly from God blessing the passionate commitment of our children’s loving caregivers, partner churches, sponsors, donors, advocates and staff.” – Compassion News

If you are keen to see the end of extreme poverty, can I encourage you to do the research and find an organisation you can trust to do the job they promise to do. For me, the results are in and they point directly to Compassion. If you want to find out more about what Compassion does, just head to the website.



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Can we ever really trust charities?

June 12, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
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I’ve heard some terrible stories of money given to help those in need being diverted and misused. I’ve heard of people traveling overseas to see projects they’ve funded only to find that those projects don’t really exist.

Thankfully, most organisations that are set up to make a real difference in this world are honest and are doing good work, but the question remains, how do we know who we can really trust? Do we simply give up and refuse to donate or is there a better way?

Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator is an independent charity evaluator which works to inform those of us who want to help others but need to know if the money we give is actually doing what it should be doing. They check the financial health, accountability and transparency of 7,500 charities. Those put under the microscope range from faith based and secular agencies working in developing countries to organisations working within the U.S. for causes like fighting cancer through to a foundation giving grants to shooting sports. They’ve just released their 13th annual research findings.

As someone who works for Compassion, I’m more than happy to be able to point people to independent evaluations of our work. I know that what we do is making a huge difference because I’ve seen it first hand, but being able to say to people, “Don’t just take my word for it” is extremely important. It’s good to see that Compassion has once again found itself at the top of the ratings.

For the 13th consecutive year, Compassion International has earned the highest rating for U.S. charities from Charity Navigator—the nation’s largest charity evaluator. The 4-out-of-4 stars rating places Compassion International in the top one-percent of non-profits reviewed by Charity Navigator. – PR Web

Wow. Once again Compassion is in the top 1% of the 7,500 charities that were reviewed. As you can imagine, that gives me extreme confidence when I talk to friends, supporters, pastors and churches about how Compassion truly is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Charity Navigator’s Vice President Sandra Miniutti explains a little of what that actually means for those looking for an effective way of helping those in need of our help.

“Receiving a consistently ‘exceptional’ designation from Charity Navigator indicates that Compassion International out performs most other charities in America,” said Charity Navigator Vice President Sandra Miniutti.“Less than a dozen of the 7,500 charities we rate have received 13 consecutive 4-star evaluations and Compassion International is the only international charity to receive this distinction. Compassion International’s staff, board and supporters should be proud of its ability to consistently execute its mission in a fiscally responsible and ethical way.” – PR Web

I work for Compassion because I am convinced that there is no more effective organisation serving the world’s poor. I have seen no other method of working with those in poverty that even comes close to the way that Compassion is working.

That’s not the marketing spin of someone who works for the organisation, it’s the heartfelt conviction of someone who has seen the light streaming in to some very dark corners of this world and wants to be part of seeing more light and hope filling the lives of those around the world who are the poorest of the poor.

“Financial integrity is of vital importance to Compassion International,” said Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International. “Our entire ministry model is built around trust. The families of the children we serve trust that we will care for and minister to them; our sponsors and donors trust we will spend their dollars wisely in pursuit of that ministry. We trust our global network of local churches to deliver Compassion’s holistic child development program, and we have complete trust in God to bless and multiply our efforts as we advocate for some of the poorest children in the world.” – PR Web

If you are keen to see the end of extreme poverty, can I encourage you to do the research and find an organisation you can trust to do the job they promise to do. For me, the results are in and they point directly to Compassion. If you want to find out more about what Compassion does, just head to the website.



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Dirty Secrets Uncovered

February 10, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

To the world his life looked like the ultimate success. People around the world loved him. He had a beautiful wife and a two lovely children. His massive wealth was continuing to grow rapidly and he had a reputation as being a thoroughly nice guy.

In November last year it all fell apart when the world learned of an extramarital affair, then another, then still more. It wasn’t long before even more was discovered about the secret life of Tiger Woods.

More recently a Melbourne multi-millionaire dissapeared. Everyone wondered what had happened to the 52 year old suburban dad and husband.

The search to find Herman Rockefeller ended tragically when his body was discovered in a suburban backyard. It was then that his secret double life was revealed. It was reported that he had a mystery girlfriend, five secret mobile phones and a connection to Melbourne’s swingers scene.

In both cases there was a secret life of deceit being lived in the shadows. In both these cases the truth came to light and destroyed one man’s reputation while claiming the life of the other.

How many people do we know that are living secret lives? Are there people close to us that are living a radically different life behind closed doors that we don’t know about?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and Vice President elect of the Baptist World Alliance. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

We discussed secret lives today and asked if we all have a secret life. We also looked at ways of ensuring our own integrity and what to do if we’ve found ourselves entangled in a secret life.

If you’d like to hear what Ross had to say, simply click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

To what extent do we all live secret lives? Are there things we do in secret that we wouldn’t want splashed across the front page of the newspaper?

Is there a disconnect between our private and public selves? Are there things we need to do to retain our integrity?

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/SPI021010_1039.mp3]

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