Unlikely Friends

I just finished a great book, Same Kind of Different As Me. The short novel (a true story) links the lives of two people who could not be more different; one is a wealthy art dealer (Ron), one is an uneducated homeless man (Denver). They meet unexpectedly, and neither likes each other, at first.

Ron begins to befriend Denver. About halfway through the book, Denver questions his motives with a very interesting analogy:

"I heard that when white folks go fishing, they do something called 'catch and release.' That really bothers me...when colored folks go fishing, we really proud of what we catch and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch...we use it to sustain us. So, it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water."

He finishes his monologue with a challenge: "If you is fishin for a friend you just gon catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend."

Denver isn't afraid to tell it like it is. He doesn't want to be some project that Ron works on to completion and then forgets. He is skeptical that Ron's in it for the long haul, and I can't say that I blame him. Denver doesn't need Ron to give him money or new clothes or any material possessions. He doesn't need Ron to tell him how to live his life. Denver wants someone to love and trust him, a true friend.

Writing that makes this book sound sappy; but this story will give you a real glimpse into how redemption is possible in a broken world.

Ruminating

Tonight was my first night back to my Perspectives class after a 3 week hiatus. The topic was poverty. We talked about a variety of things: what's the real problem, what's the real solution, how does eradicating poverty involve the Gospel, how should we involve ourselves?

I really enjoyed the lesson tonight, even though it was a mix of devastating facts and stories, and discussion on how we often hurt more than we help. I found myself very interested in this topic. On the way home I realized I think I was so interested because much of the night was spent talking about strategy and economics, and how they are involved in developing potential solutions to a problem that is at times hard to define and understand.

I want to ruminate (is that the right word?) on some things before I post more- but I do have to mention that one of the examples tonight that the speaker used to showcase helping people help themselves is the concept of micro financing. I thought it was a brilliant concept, one I hadn't really heard of before but want to learn more about. It took me awhile to find some Christian micro financing organizations, but finally I discovered the website for Hope International. We had a guest speaker at church on Sunday, who talked about this organization at length, as his wife is involved in it (also hoping to write a quick post about the sermon a little later this week).

Speaking of quick posts, this is turning out to be rather lengthy. And I have to get up in 7 hours...so I will sign off!

From Talk To Action

One of the overarching themes of the last year or two of my life has been discovering the true meaning of the Gospel. I'm sure that I will continue to learn about it for the rest of my life, as I'll never fully understand how it works and why God designed life this way.

Lately I've come to a much deeper understanding of the Gospel; it's more than a one-time prayer that I know I should pray. The Gospel affects our lives in eternity, but is also life-changing while we are on this earth.

Under this overarching theme lies another issue that has consumed much of my thinking: good deeds.



Just by reading the accounts of Jesus interacting with people in the Gospels, one can see that He wasn't only about truth, and He wasn't only about good deeds. He had a unique balance. The Great Commission and The Great Commandment were both important to Him, and they should both be important to us.

Why do we shy away from helping others when we see they are in need? Why do we justify our lack of action? Why do we make the excuse that they may use this money I'm giving them for booze!

"When a Christian sees someone who is physically hungry, a Christian feeds the hungry person. Why? Because hungry people can’t understand the plan of salvation? No. Simply because that person is hungry. That’s what Christians do. And if a person is spiritually hungry, a Christian becomes “one beggar telling another beggar where he or she found bread.” Why? Because that’s what Christians do" (Steve Brown).

Books like Crazy Love and The Irresistible Revolution have also fed my interest in this area, along with many articles from Relevant Magazine and Worldwide Challenge.

Nancy Ortberg was recently quoted about this in an online Relevant article: "Many churches I come in contact with have all kinds of programs for banquets, and teas, and Bible studies, which in and of themselves are not bad, but there is not an equal amount of serving the poor, and getting our hands dirty, and coming alongside people in need. The Church has to go to them. Many people started clamoring around Jesus initially because He was healing people, and then when they got close enough, they began to hear His message. And His message was, “The Kingdom of God is available right now.”

Shane Claiborne is also quoted in the same article: "People are hungry, I think, for a Gospel that embodies a social, political alternative to the patterns of our world. To me, that is the very essence of what spread within the early Church— they were caring for the poor, preaching another Kingdom and another emperor than Caesar’s. And it was absolutely magnetic because the faith people had placed in Rome was at an all-time low, so when they were saying, “We’ve got another Kingdom,” people were like, “Yes, we’re ready, because the world as we’ve experienced it is not working.” The beautiful thing is, people are saying the same thing now."

How much more credible are our lives when people see our loving actions, then hear about the love that motivates us?

Now that I know this, what do I do about it?

What action steps can I take this week, this month, this year, to move toward a better balance?

The Church's "Multiplication Myth"

Sometimes multiplication can divide and subtract instead of the ultimate goal of extensive addition.

We want the Body of Christ to be reaching out and multiplying their faith. But as we grow larger, we divide into subgroups and become introspective. We divide over politics and ways to 'do church' and end up subtracting from the Body. Our goal is to add in such large numbers that we multiply and grow exponentially.

But that doesn't always happen. Shane Claiborne writes about this problem in his book, The Irresistible Revolution. It has been very thought-provoking, and has really challenged the stereotypes that I believe, and those that surround the Christian sub-culture today.

Near the end of his book, Shane explains what he calls the 'myth of multiplication.' "The pervasive myth is that as we grow larger, we can do more good. But there is little evidence that this is ever realized. My own research and experience would suggest that as congregations grow in terms of staff and property, their giving to causes outside of operating expenses decreases dramatically, especially money given directly to the poor. (A recent study shows that) rich people are significantly less generous (proportionately) than poor people, and that large congregations give proportionately far less to people in poverty than do small ones...as we build our buildings, human temples are being destroyed by hunger and homelessness."

I've seen a lot of things in the Body of Christ that don't make sense. Typically I just go along with the crowd because I assume other people know better than I do. I'm starting to question more and more motives and actions in the Church and Christian circles today, due in part to hanging out with a lot of non-Christians. For the first several months at my part-time job in college, I avoided discussing church and other religious topics because I considered myself to be above my coworkers.

But after a few months, I started to really listen to them. Their opinions became really important to me; I tried to dispel the untrue beliefs they had about the church. But after awhile I started to realize that maybe they were right. They weren't persuading me to change my beliefs, but they had a lot more experience in dealing with Christians and the Church. They were legitimate concerns and hurt feelings underneath all of the blown-out-of-proportion opinions.

"Amid all the super-sizing, I want to make a modest suggestion: our goal should be not to get larger and larger but to get smaller and smaller. I think of the Kingdom of God as bubbling up from the bottom rather than trickling down from the top," writes Clairborne. I don't exactly know what this means, or how to go about this as one person in the Body of Christ, but I like the idea. And I'll keep thinking about it until I figure it out.

the twenty-first time.

Nowhere to live, nowhere to fall
He used to have money, but he’s wasted it all.
His face is a photograph burned in my mind,
but I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He sleeps under stars, that’s all he can afford
His blanket’s an old coat he’s had since the war
He stands on the corner of Carter and Vine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He may be a drifter, he’s grown old and gray
But what if he’s Jesus and I walk away?
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

She’s twenty-nine but she feels forty-eight
She can’t raise three kids on minimum wage
She’s cryin’ in back of the welfare line
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time
She may be a stranger tryin’ to get through the day
But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away?
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

This is a call for a change in my heart
I realize that I’ve not been doin’ my part
When I needed a Savior, I found it in Him
He gave to me, now I’ll give back to them

Drifter or stranger, father or son
I’ll look for Jesus in every one
'Cause I am the body and drink of the wine
And I’m thankful there’s more than the twenty-first time

Monk & Neagle // twenty-first time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvqwHGH3Tlw&feature=related

reminds me of Crazy Love, thought I'd share it with ya'll