Gathering and Going Out Together
Yesterday, we met with the church like we normally do on Sunday mornings. Someone led us in singing some songs. Someone read a chapter from the Bible. Someone taught. Several people shared exhortations. This happens every week, and God often uses this weekly meeting to encourage, convict, rebuke, admonish, teach, train, comfort me – and hopefully others.
Also, yesterday, we shared the Lord’s Supper. After our meeting we set out some tables and put some chairs around them. Someone talked about the significance of the bread and the cup as we took the elements. Then, we ate lunch together. We eat together every week, and specifically share the bread and the cup about once per month.
But, after our church meeting and after eating lunch together, we did something different. We had already been meeting together for just over four hours. But, the most exciting part of our church meeting was just about to begin.
Several of us changed clothes, and drove about a mile to a nearby government assisted housing project to rake leaves. As my regular readers know, my family and some other friends spend time in this neighborhood every Saturday. When Margaret (my wife) found out that no one raked leaves for this housing development, she asked if we could all go over on Sunday afternoon and rake leaves for them. Many of the residents are elderly, or in poor health, or single moms.
So, for a little over two hours – until it got dark – we raked leaves for the people that we knew in the neighborhood and for a few neighbors that we do not know… yet. We were able to talk to many of the neighbors while we were raking. We even sang “Amazing Grace” with one of the elderly ladies. Some of the children who lived in the neighborhood asked if they could help rake leaves. We also enjoyed piling up the leaves so the youngest children could jump in the piles!
At one point, a man who lives across the road from this government assisted housing development walked up. I met him, and he introduced himself. He asked if we were “a church group”. I explained that we were part of a church, and that we were raking leaves to help out some of our friends who live in this neighborhood.
He told me that he “goes to church”. He told me the name of the church. I know this church and many of the leaders. I’ve asked those leaders if they would like to do a service project together with us so that we could show the unity of Christ and the love of Christ together. They said that they would get back to me about it. I’m sure that they’ll get back to me one day.
Anyway, this man said that he was glad that we were doing something to help “those people”. He said that he often thought about doing something to help them, but he never seemed to have time. I told him that we were in the neighborhood every Saturday morning and that he was always welcomed to join us. He said, “ok” and went back into his house. How I wish he had come back with a rake to help us. But, he didn’t.
By the way, we ended up raking leaves for six different housing units (nine families).
While our group was raking leaves, another group from the church was also serving someone. One of our friends has a coworker who was trying to move out of her boyfriend’s house because she decided she was in a bad situation. My friend asked the church for help during our church meeting, and at least eight people helped this young lady move. Of those eight people, only one of them knew this young lady.
It is so exciting to be part of a church that actually serves people! And, we don’t just serve people that we know, or people who are part of the church, or people who can serve us back. We serve people who we may never see again, who we have never seen before. But, we serve people because we love them. And, we love people because God first loved us.
(If you would like to see some pictures of us raking leaves, I’ve posted some on our family blog in a post called “Raking Leaves With Friends For Friends“.)
Short visit today
Today, we visited with the neighbors in the government assisted housing development. We’ve been visiting this neighborhood almost every Saturday since the start of Summer.
Our visit was short today. One lady is in the hospital. Please pray for Tina. We’re planning to go see her in the hospital this afternoon. Another lady had family visiting, so we only talked to her for a few minutes. A third family was not at home. So, we visited with other people in the neighborhood. I’ve been able to meet a few new neighbors during the last few weeks.
I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and raking leaves in that neighborhood. Its going to be big job! But, some young friends who went with us today are very excited as well. I hope their excitement and enthusiasm spread!
I’ll let you know how things go tomorrow.
Bread, Cup, and Leaves
On Sundays, when we meet with the church, we often eat lunch together. This lunch is very informal – each family brings food for themselves and usually enough to share with one or two others so we can invite others to stay with us. Then, once per month, we have a larger lunch together – more of a “pot luck” – during which more people usually stay and eat together. During this larger lunch, we also specifically share the bread and the cup. We call this “larger lunch” our “Lord’s Supper Fellowship”.
This Sunday we’re planning to have one of our Lord’s Supper Fellowships. So, we’ll be sharing the bread and cup and lunch together with the church. But, this Sunday, something else special is going to happen as well.
Last Saturday, we found out that no one rakes the leaves for the residents at the government assisted housing development where we spend time. Many of these neighbors are older, in poor health, or are single moms. So, it is very difficult for them to rake leaves for themselves.
We’ve invited the church to join us in raking leaves for this neighborhood this Sunday. So, after our weekly church meetings, and after we eat lunch and have time to talk, some of us will change into work clothes and go over to the neighborhood to start raking leaves.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and to meet together with the church than by serving other people – especially those who can’t serve us in return.
No produce, just relationships
At the beginning of the summer, our family and some friends began to visit a local government assisted housing development. Cathy, a friend of ours who is part of the church with us, introduced us to many of her neighbors, and we met other neighbors while spending time in the neighborhood.
When we started visiting the people in this neighborhood, we would take them small bags of fresh produce or fresh baked bread. Why? For several reasons. 1) The produce and bread were small tokens to demonstrate our concern for them. 2) Often charitable groups bring in old produce, breads, cookies, and cakes that other people would not buy. We wanted to give them something that anyone would want… not leftovers. 3) We wanted to give vegetables, fruit, and wheat bread to encourage a healthy lifestyle. 4) We were hoping the produce and bread would give us opportunities to serve them in other ways, including opportunities to proclaim the gospel.
A few weeks ago, the lady that runs the produce stand (Vivian – which is another story altogether) told us that the stand was closing. That morning, as we told the people in the neighborhood that the produce stand was closing, they all said about the same thing: “You’re still going to visit us, aren’t you?” Our weekly visits had turned into more than an opportunity to hand out produce. We had begun to build relationships with the neighbors.
So, throughout the week, I often find myself thinking about and praying for Cathy, Dennis, Tina, Mrs. Jeans, Shonna and her children (Marvin, Laruen, and Mya), Mrs. Woodlief and her son Benny, and Mrs. Fort. We’ve met a few other people in the neighborhood, but these are the ones with whom we usually spend the most time. These are the people who have opened their homes and their lives and have invited us in. (By the way, if you’re interested, we’ve posted some pictures from our visit last Saturday on our family blog in a post called “Friends and Family on Saturdays“.)
If you think about, please pray for Dennis. His father passed away last Friday, and the funeral is Monday.
And, pray for Cathy. She’s struggling with health issues – emphysema and back pain.
Also, pray for Tina. Tina’s son died from an overdose a couple of weeks ago. Tina ended up being hospitalized herself because of emotional issues a few days later. Now, she is dealing with several other issues related to her ex-husband and former care giver.
Pray for Mrs. Jeans. She had skin cancer on her ear last summer. The doctor removed part of her ear, but now something else is wrong. She has also been struggling with health issues, including a couple of weeks with the flu. Plus, her nephew is having family issues also.
If you ask Mrs. Woodlief, she’ll tell you to pray for everything. But, we know that her foot often hurts her, and she has to walk with a cane then.
And, Mrs. Fort will always tell her to pray for her knee. When the weather changes – which has happened alot lately – her knee hurts as well. If you think about it, also pray for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who live with Mrs. Fort.
We can no longer offer these precious people fresh vegetables and fruit. We still carry fresh bread occasionally. But, they’ve let us know that they don’t want the produce and bread as much as they need the relationships. For many of them, we’re their only support system. We don’t have much to offer financially, but we can and do offer the love of God as often as possible.
Do you think there may be someone out there waiting for you to demonstrate the love of God? Why not start getting involved in someone’s life today?
My missional daughter
I don’t think my 11 year old daughter, Miranda, knows the word “missional”. But, she does understand that she is to live her life demonstrating God’s love to others. She also understand that when she gives to others, God blesses her. She wrote the following for a writing class (I’m writing this just as she did):
When I look at my crocheted butterfly it reminds me of Mrs. Jenny and Hillside Nursing Home. Mrs. Jenny is one of the ladys at Hillside. Mrs. Jenny is also the one who makes crocheted butterflys. She makes them for people that visit her and because it is something to do. She learned how to crochet after she arrived at the nursing home. One Saturday we went to see her and she surprised us with butterflys. One for my mom, dad, my brother, and me. We visit her every Saturday. We met her because some of our friends have a story time where they read the bible and sing songs. We have met alot of people from Hillside. When we go to see Mrs. Jenny she likes to tell us storys. Since she has no family she tells us about her friends, the nurses, and something about her. She also likes to paint. She painted us a picture of a cross. It is beautiful. Mrs. Jenny and the people at Hillside are really sweet. I am so glad we went to story time. I am also so glad that we met Mrs. Jenny.
We’ll probably go see Mrs. Jenny the Saturday that I publish this post. (I’ve written about Mrs. Jenny before in posts called “Faces, Names, Lives“; “I think we’ve been adopted“; “She said, ‘I’m very close.’“; “Saturday Church“; and “Lord’s Supper as a meal in practice“.)
Start Practicing Your Faith
Jared, from “the gospel-driven church“, has written a helpful article at “SearchWarp” called “Five Missional Practices You Can Do Now“. Here are Jared’s suggestions:
- Pray for a changed heart.
- Meditate on the Gospel of the Kingdom.
- Talk to you neighbors.
- Volunteer.
- Go public with your church.
Jared explains each of this points in detail. I agree that these are positive steps toward becoming “missional” – that is, living the gospel among the world. Do you have other suggestions?
Learning about Apostles
Sunday, I taught from Matthew 10:5-15 as we continue to study through the Gospel of Matthew. In this passage, Jesus sends out the twelve after telling them to pray that God would send workers into the harvest fields. I learned something very interesting about the term “apostle” while I was studying this passage.
Did you know that Matthew only uses the term “apostle” once? You can find that one occurrence in Matthew 10:2 – “The names of the twelve apostles are these…” (then the names are listed). I already knew that John didn’t use the term “apostle” for the twelve (John uses the term once in John 13:16, but it doesn’t refer to the twelve), but I didn’t realize that Matthew only used it once. It turns out that Mark uses the term twice in Mark 3:14 (a parallel to Matthew 10:2) and Mark 6:30 which refers to the twelve when they returned after Jesus sent them out. Luke, on the other hand, uses the term “apostle” six times in his Gospel and 28 times in the Book of Acts (only in chapters 1-16, but no uses in chapters 17-28).
So, Matthew and Mark uses the term “apostle” only in reference to Jesus sending out the twelve to the “lost sheep” of Israel in order to proclaim that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Thus, it seems that for Matthew and Mark the focus of the term “apostle” was on being sent, not on the fact that these twelve spent time with Jesus nor on their authority because of their association with Jesus. Elsewhere in Scripture the term “apostle” is used to identify those who had spent time with Jesus and who had authority because of their association with Jesus, but that does not appear to be Matthew’s or Mark’s focus. By the way, the term “apostle” is also used elsewhere in Scripture in reference to those who were “sent”, but who did not necessarily spend time with Jesus: Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25), Silas and Timothy (1 Thess 1:1; 2:6), Apollos (1 Cor 4:6, 9), and Andronicus and Junia (Rom 16:7).
As we’ve studied through Matthew so far, we’ve noticed that Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of God (Matt 3:2; 4:17; 9:35). Now, Jesus is “sending out” the twelve as his representative. What is their “charge”? They are also to proclaim the kingdom of God (Matt 10:7). (Luke also indicates that Jesus later sent out seventy others to proclaim the kingdom.)
To me, this study puts the “Great Commission” in perspective of the whole Gospel of Matthew. After Jesus rose from the dead but before he ascended, he told his followers:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
This commission is not something tacked onto the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Instead, the idea of sending out representatives to proclaim the kingdom is part of Jesus’ plan throughout the Gospel. This should remind us again that we are both a gathered people and a sent people. (see “The Gathered and the Sent“) God gathers us out of the world in order to send us back into the world.
Problems ensue when we begin to focus on being gathered and neglect being sent, or when we focus on being sent and neglect being gathered. We are both. Just as Jesus called the twelve to himself and then sent them out. Jesus also calls us to himself (gathers us – Matt 16:18; 18:20) and sends us out.
If someone were to examine your life from the outside, do you think they would see a balance between being gathered and being sent? Or would they see an emphasis on one and a neglect of the other? If so, which one is emphasized and which is neglected?
Beyond Charity – Our Gospel
As I mentioned in my posts called “Beyond Charity – Introduction” and “Beyond Charity – Our Vision“, I’m reading John Perkins’ book Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Part Two of the book is called “Our Gospel”, and it is divided into eight chapters: “The Living Gospel”, “The Burden of Proof”, “Filling the Leadership Vacuum”, “Evangelism”, “Wholesome Care”, “Providing Services”, “Economic Development”, and “Pursuing Justice”. I cannot discuss all of these chapters, so I’m going to focus on Chapter 4 (The Living Gospel), then hit some of the high points in the remaining chapters which flow from Perkins’ understanding of the gospel.
Chapter 4 – The Living Gospel – is probably my favorite chapter in Perkins’ book. The gospel, as Perkins describes it, is not a gospel of mental ascent, nor is it a gospel of works. The gospel flows from God’s love and transforms us into agents of God’s love.
As I understood more of God’s love for me, and the extremity of the sacrifice he made for me, I began to be transformed, little by little. I was overpowered by God’s love that morning, and I wanted to share it with those whom I was coming in contact with. As as the love of God worked in my life, it was changing me so that God could use my life to demonstrate his love for others – and he is still at work in me today… So God calls us to be transformed by his love in order to make us instruments of his love to the whole world.
If you miss this very important point when reading this book, you may think that Perkins is pushing a “social gospel” without a spiritual foundation. Perkins’ gospel is social, but it begins with the spiritual – the love of God that transforms individuals. When God transforms a person – that is, God CHANGES a person – that person begins to demonstrate their new character – a character that starts with love.
Social action is not a means to earn salvation, nor is it a means to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. Instead, social action is the (super)natural outcropping of a life that has been transformed by God’s love. Just has James could not imagine a life of faith without works – that faith is dead, James says – Perkins cannot imagine a gospel that does not result in active care and concern for other people – demonstrated in social action.
It seems that for Perkins there are two motivations for social action: 1) a desire to see others reconciled to God, and 2) a desire to demonstrate the love of God. Therefore, social action is valid and necessary even toward those who reject the gospel. God’s love is unconditional; Jesus even loved the rich, young ruler who turned away from him. In the same manner, our active love for others should not stop if they reject the gospel.
The next seven chapters in Perkins’ book flow from his understanding of the gospel. For example, he says that the “burden of proof” lies with followers of Jesus to demonstrate that our love – the love that flows from God through us – is authentic by connecting our words and deeds. Furthermore, as we love others, we trust them with leadership, not thinking of ourselves as better. Similarly, our evangelism will “take place inside the community of faith” and “is most effective when it calls people into a relationship with a holy God and into a fellowship of believers”. In case some may misunderstand his purpose, Perkins clearly states, “Christian community development cannot happen without the work of evangelism”. Furthermore, Perkins gives practical suggestions and examples for creating an environment of hope through dignity, power, education, employment, health, security, recreation and beauty. Finally, Perkins exhorts Christians to use their energy and resources to pursue justice for the poor, the needy, the fatherless, the widows, and the foreigners.
I think that Perkins has described a very biblical gospel – the Good News that Jesus Christ reconciles people to God and then gives them the ministry of reconciliation. This gospel expects a faith that works.
My people love to have it so
This week I was reading Jeremiah. In Chapter 5, the Lord speaks against his own people because 1) they do not relate correctly to him and 2) they do not take care of the poor and needy. Who is responsible for this rebellion in the sight of God?
An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? (Jeremiah 5:30-31 ESV)
It appears that God holds the prophets, the priests, and the people themselves responsible for their rebellion.
Some may say that the church today rightly relates to God – although they would probably only say that about those who agree with them. But few would suggest that the church is taking caring of the poor and needy. Who will God hold responsible for this rebellion?
Beyond Charity – Our Vision
As I mentioned in my post called “Beyond Charity – Introduction“, I’m reading John Perkins’ book Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Part One of the book is called “Our Vision”, and it is divided into three chapters: “Beyond Charity”, “From Quick Fixes to Felt Needs”, and “The Marks of an Authentic Church”.
Beyond Charity
In chapter 1, Perkins exhorts Christians to move beyond a charity mentality. He says:
America’s best intentions, most sincere thoughts, noblest efforts – all of these are useless to the urban poor if they do not connect with our personally defined, deepest felt needs. In fact, acts of charity can be dangerous because givers feel good about actions that actually accomplish very little, or even create dependency. The result is that their sense of satisfaction takes away any motivation to seek more creative long-range development strategies. Overcoming an attitude of charity is a difficult task because it requires givers to demand more of themselves than good will.
“Charity” is an interesting word. Once, the word “charity” was used by Bible translators to translate the Greek word for God’s sacrificing love. The word “charity” meant demonstrating a love that was consistent and selfless; a love that originated with God, worked by the Spirit of God, and demonstrated to the glory of God.
Today, a common definition of “charity” is “a kindly and lenient attitude toward people”. Thus, today “charity” may cause you to give a few dollars, but it rarely causes you to give your life. The poor, the sick, the needy, the widows, the orphans, the foreigners don’t need a few dollars in the long run. They need someone willing to love them with the love of God.
Perkins lists several obstacles for going beyond charity to offering lasting help for “the least” among us: a charity mentality, racial polarization, a victim mentality and self-doubt, and government programs. Notice that some of these obstacles are carried out by those attempting to help, while other obstacles are caused by “the least” themselves.
Perkins concludes this chapter with his answer to overcoming these obstacles:
I believe there is only one group of people in society who can overcome these obstacles. God’s people have solutions that are qualitatively different from any other approach to the poor. The best that God’s people have to offer is relationships with the poor that reflect the kind of carefully, quality attention we have in our own families. This is the high quality relationships offered by a people seeking to “love their neighbors as they love themselves”.
I agree with Perkins. The church of God has quality relationships to offer the poor. However, I haven’t seen this very often. Instead, I see the church offering as many, if not more, quick fixes as anyone else.
From Quick Fixes to Felt Needs
Perkins argues that in order for the church to offer lasting and quality relationships with the poor, we must begin with their felt needs. These are actual needs that are pressing and oppressing the people. He offers an old Chinese poem to illustrate the felt-need concept:
Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what you know
Build on what they have;
But of the best leaders
When their task is done
The people will remark
“We have done it ourselves.”
You can see that Perkins continues to warn about the danger of building dependence on others. The poor do not need to become more dependent – unless it is becoming more dependent upon God.
While everyone’s needs are specific to the individual, Perkins says that felt-needs can be grouped into three categories: 1) the need to belong, 2) the need to be significant and important, and 3) the need for a reasonable amount of security.
He also exhorts Christians to practice “the three R’s of community development”:
- relocation – moving into a needy community so that its needs become our own needs
- reconciliation – The love and forgiveness of the gospel reconcile us to God and to each other across racial, social, and economic barriers.
- redistribution – Christ calls us to share with those in need.
The Marks of an Authentic Church
Perkins’ “marks” are quite different from marks of the church as taught by other people. I think that “the least” would most appreciate Perkins’ marks, and I think they would care less how we structure ourselves.
Perkins suggests that the church in America today is broadly divided along three different theological ideals:
- European theology – European theology was a theology of liberation for Europeans… America was to be the place where European Christians could be liberated from the oppressive European governments that suppressed their religious expression and conscience. In America, they could serve God as they pleased. But the liberation Europeans took for granted for themselves was not extended to the native Americans who were already here and whose land was taken by force, nor was it extended to Africans, who were brought here by force to work the land.
- Black theology – Africans took on our oppressor’s religion. Upon close examination, our black forefathers found that a proper reading and living of “the Book” did indeed mean liberation for everyone, including them. Because the European theology would not accommodate our liberation, we created our own form of the gospel… Like all theologies should be, it is a theology of liberation from oppression. But liberation to what? Back to Africa? To integration? Black theology has never adequately answered this questions.
- Latin American theology – As Latin American Christian leaders living among the poor looked at their world, they saw oppression in the form of colonization through military governments and dictators who dominated the countries’ resources and sold their countries’ natural wealth to the industrialized countries for their own profits. Latin American Christians who loved the poor began to see the gospel, not communism or capitalism, as the best way to liberate people from oppression… often stop[ping] short of a strong message of spiritual liberation.
What is the answer for the church today? According to Perkins, the answer is found in the gospel – not the European, Black, or Latin American gospel, but the whole gospel:
The alternative to these incomplete theologies is a theology based on God’s character of reconciliation… To reconcile people to God and then to each other is the purpose of the gospel. This is the theology that is the true work of the church… Living out the gospel means bringing good news of God’s love to people who are in need, demonstrating to them the love of Jesus and introducing them to the eternal life found only in him. When I refer to eternal life I don’t only mean the hereafter, but eternal life that beings here on earth and continues after… In short, living the gospel means desiring for your neighbor and your neighbor’s family that which you desire for yourself and your family.
According to Perkins, these are seven attributes that the Body of Christ should constantly be striving to incorporate into their existence:
The authentic church absorbs pain.
The authentic community of believers is also called to proclaim hope in a despairing world.
An authentic church should point to God’s authority.
The authentic church brings people together.
The authentic church spends lavishly on the needy.
The authentic church reflects God’s character.
The authentic community of faith protects the vulnerable.
I can see all of these descriptions of the church in the New Testament. I don’t see them very often today. In fact, I don’t see these descriptions much in my life… but that’s changing.