The Christians support not only their own poor, but ours as well
While I was doing some research, I ran across this quote from Julian (the Apostate). (I’ve published the quote before, but decided to do so again.) History (primarily Christian history) has given Julian the name “the Apostate” because he attempted to move the Roman Empire back toward paganism after Constantine.
What alot of people may not know is that the Roman emperors following Constantine fluctuated between Christianity (of differing forms) and paganism. Julian was one of those who wanted the empire to return to the pagan religions of Rome’s past and thus remove the curses of the gods and return to their favor.
Anyway, at one point, Julian complained about the Christians (“Galileans”). I thought you might like to read his complaint:
Why do we not observe that it is their [the Christians’] benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead, and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism [unbelief of the pagan gods]?… For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us. Teach those of the Hellenic faith to contribute to public service of this sort.
It is too bad that most Christians have since given up caring for their own poor, much less caring for poor unbelievers. Perhaps more would have this same complaint if we turned back to “the Way” taught by Jesus.
But, hey, at least we have better doctrine now.
Two Posts on Leadership
Recently, I’ve read two very good posts on leadership among the church:
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” wrote a post called “‘Leader’ or ‘Leaders’.” In the post, Eric recalls a conversation with another believer about leadership. Eric determined that while they were both talking about “leadership,” they were actually talking about completely different things:
After a few minutes, I realized that we were saying two very different things. While my friend repeatedly used the term “leader,” I kept saying “leaders.” This may at first seem like a small difference, but in reality it is a large one.
I know that my friend believes in strong pastoral leadership. In particular, the “senior pastor” must lead the church as it strives to follow Christ. Therefore, when he says “leader,” he is referring to the senior pastor. I, on the other hand, was saying “leaders” because I was envisioning people within the church (both elders and non-elders) who lead through servanthood and holiness of living. They lead by example.
Scot from “Jesus Creed” wrote another post about leadership called “A Leadership Rant” for “Slant33.” The author (like me) does not like leadership books. Why? He says most of them begin with cultural forms of leadership and then justify it from Scripture. What type of “leadership” does Scot prefer? He explains:
So I want to put my idea on the line and see where it leads us. We have one leader, and his name is Jesus… Instead of seeing myself as a leader, I see myself as a follower. Instead of plotting how to lead, I plot how to follow Jesus with others. Instead of seeing myself at the helm of some boat—and mine is small compared to many others—I see myself in the boat, with Jesus at the helm.
These views of leadership are certainly different than what we usually see in today’s culture or even in today’s church.
What do you think?
Through the eyes of the homeless
Have you ever wondered what the homeless (and others in need) think about our theological discussions, arguments about the Bible, and other “churchy” stuff?
Yesterday, I reviewed Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski. In the book, Mike tells the story of how he and Sam lived as homeless people on the streets of six cities over 5 months. Mike and Sam are both 20-something Christian men. But, in the book, we get a glimpse of what the homeless see of us (even from a Christian perspective).
Here is one excerpt:
Suddenly a young family came into view. The dad – dressed in t-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap – walked in front, but he was looking down, evidently listening to his wife. She came along behind pushing the stroller. As they rolled up to us, a small boy in the stroller looked out at me.
When you’re sitting on a sidewalk, you’re at eye level with babies and kids… While kids might pretend people who don’t exist do, it’s the parents who pretend that unwanted people who do exist don’t.
I held the boy’s gaze for a while and gave him a smile, which he immediately returned. From high above him, his mother said something that caught my attention. “We have to be about the gift of giving and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit,” she said.
I looked up quickly, wondering what those words might mean, what with us sprawled on the sidewalk not five feet from her. But when I caught her eye, she looked away and quickened her pace.
Now the family was well past us. But the boy in the stroller still looked straight at me… (p. 55-56)
And, here’s another excerpt:
Although Sam and I spent every Sunday morning at a church somewhere on our travels, the lack of community was taking a toll on us. Even at church, we felt isolated because of how we looked, how we smelled, and who people perceived us to be. In fact, walking into a church where we hoped to find genuine fellowship only to be met by condescension or suspicion or disingenuous flattery was the worst kind of rejection. (p. 150-151)
I hope these excerpts (and the entire book if you choose to read it) will spur all of us on to noticing the people around us, and then spending time with the people we see.
“How can I Pray for You?”
Last Thursday, our family and some friends helped out with a local food pantry again. The food pantry provided food for almost 350 families that night.
For the most part, I “roamed” around the big room where everyone was waiting for their turn to get their groceries. I walk talk to the people (usually in groups of 2-4), get to know them, and pray with them.
Alot of people mentioned how difficult it was living in this economy. Whenever someone said that, I asked them, “Do you feel closer to God or farther away from God at times like these?” Most people said closer, but I appreciated a few people who said “farther away” or “a little of both.”
I tried to pray with everyone. A few times, the people’s number was called while I was talking with them. I didn’t want to delay them from getting their food and going home, so I didn’t make them wait for prayer. But, for most people, I asked, “How can I pray for you?” Then, I could look in their eyes as we talked with God about their situations.
Here are some of the responses that I got:
My health.
My husband lost his job yesterday.
My sons are on drugs.
I haven’t worked in two years.
Pray that my cancer doesn’t come back.
My boss keeps cutting my hours.
I have diabetes.
My daughter is in a wheelchair and just got laid off.
I need a job so I can pay child support.
I’m having an MRI tomorrow.
I own my own business, and business is very slow.
I haven’t worked in two years.
It can be draining – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – to talk to so many people who are hurting and in need. I’m glad that Margaret was with me for most of the night.
I know that I can’t solve all of their problems – in fact, I can’t solve any of their problems. But, I can care. I can be there. I can listen. I can pray.
What can you do?
Just a bag of groceries
Tonight, for the second time, my family plans to serve in a local food pantry. The food pantry is actually based out of another church building that meets near us. We’ve been invited to help.
We were all exhausted two weeks ago after helping deliver groceries and talk to people who came to the food pantry. But, the exhaustion was good, because we were doing more than simply delivering a bag of groceries. We were there to show the love of Christ to people who were in need.
Tonight, we’ve invited some friends to join us. We hope that some of them choose to do so.
We know that if more people join us it will be beneficial for the people who come to the food pantry. We’ll be able to talk to more people and pray with more people. More people will hear about God’s love and grace and mercy.
We also know that if more people join us, it will be beneficial for the people who join us. They will also come out exhausted: physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. But the opportunity to serve others and tell others about the love of God in Jesus Christ is worth it.
If you’re in northern Wake County or southern Franklin County (NC), perhaps you can join us next time.
Serving Incarnationally
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I joined “Blogging for Books.” When I joined, I requested the book Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski. I did not know much about the book, but the premise looked interesting.
Mike and his friend Sam spent five months living among the homeless of different cities as homeless people. (Obviously, there were differences, as Mike indicates in his book.)
When I finish reading the book – which should not take much time – I will post a review here.
But, for now, I was wondering what my readers thought about the premise. What do you think about two people choosing to be homeless in order to learn more about homelessness? Pros? Cons?
Taking the Next Step
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post called “The Next Step.” In that post, I talked about how important it is for us to talk about service and to encourage one another to serve others. But, I wondered out loud what it would look like – and what it would mean for the church – if we actually took the next step and left to serve others directly from our meeting together.
This is what I called “the next step” – the step away from concept and toward action. The step away from talking about discipleship and service toward actually discipling and serving others. I wrote:
Imagine, we’re sitting together as the church (either around tables or in a circle), and someone expresses a struggle with sharing the gospel with a neighbor. We encourage the person and pray for him or her. Then – the next step – someone offers to go with that brother or sister (perhaps at that very moment) to share the gospel with the neighbor. Or, perhaps someone else offers to take the struggling brother or sister along on a trip to the food pantry when the gospel is often shared.
There are so many possibilities, but it means taking the next step – the step away from concept and toward action.
Well, last Sunday, we started taking that step.
During the month of November, out teaching/discussions on Sundays with the church have focused on the great commandment and the great commission. We’ve primarily exhorted and challenged one another to think about how we can take the community that we share in Christ out to others. We’ve talked about taking our “shared life in Christ” to those who are also in Christ but do not share community with others, and we’ve talked about taking our community to those who are not believers.
Last Sunday, Rodney was planning to lead our teaching/discussion time. He sent an email before Sunday letting everyone know what we would be talking about, so that we could all come prepared. Here is part of his email:
How can we, practically and specifically, help each other to abide in Chirst (and thereby fuel our love for God and our love and service to others in the name of Christ)? To help us be practical and specific… what ways have others helped you grow in your faith, trust, and obedience to Christ? And in what other ways could others help you? (emphasis in original email)
So, when we got together, we did talk about practical and specific way that we could help others and ways that we could be helped. Several people shared opportunities that they’d had in the last couple of weeks to demonstrate the love of God, or times when they’d witnessed and been encouraged by others as they loved and served in the name of Jesus.
Slowly, a few people began making suggestions about how we could specifically serve others. One sister told about an opportunity to spend time in a local hospital. Another sister shared about a family who was having financial problems. A brother shared about his neighbor. A couple of sisters talked about the elderly people they see during the week. The church could serve all of these people in some ways.
Then, a young lady – a teenager actually – spoke up. She had gone with us when we had provided “More Meals” to some of the needy people in our area. She remembered that one of the elderly ladies that we had visited needed her yard raked.
And, this is where we took “the next step.” Margaret, my wife, suggested that whoever was available that afternoon could go to this lady’s house and rake her leaves. Everyone thought this was a great idea! So, we ate lunch together, then several of us (about 14) went to the lady’s and raked the leaves in her yard.
The lady was so surprised and grateful! Margaret and another friend (and our daughters) will continue to see this lady and her husband at least once per week. They will continue to be able to impact their lives with the love of Christ. And, now, because we took the next step, the whole community is involved in this couple’s life!
I’m praying that we continue to take the next step.
More Meals
A friend of ours is the Meals on Wheels volunteer coordinator for our city. My wife, Margaret, helps her deliver meals. Often, our daughters will accompany them.
The Center for Aging in our county actually cooks the meals. The volunteers go to the center to pick up the meals, and then deliver the meals. They deliver meals to about ten people each day of the week.
However, the center was closed on Thursday and Friday. So, there were no meals to deliver on those days.
But, our friend and Margaret decided that they wanted to provide meals anyway. So, they invited our friends from church to join them. Several families worked together to prepare the food, package it, and then deliver it.
My part was simple. I helped pack the rolls and slices of pumpkin pie. Then, I had the opportunity to help deliver the meals to some beautiful people. They were elderly, most of them under hospice care. Many of them wanted to talk, so we spent a few minutes talking with them.
This was a great way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. I’m still thanking God for this opportunity to love others in his name.
We’ve found that God will provide many, many opportunities to serve him by serving others, if we look for them and if we’re willing to give of our own time, energy, and resources.
Video Interviews Coming
In the next couple of weeks (perhaps as early as next week), I’m going to add a new feature to “The Assembling of the Church”: video interviews. This morning, I recorded the first part of my first interview with my friend Jason White from “Second and Content.” During three or four interviews, Jason is going to tell us about his recent decision to move to South Africa for a year.
My plan is for my interviews with Jason to be the first in a series of video interviews with people that God has brought into my life or used in my life in some way. I’m hoping that their stories and examples of serving others in the name of Jesus Christ will be an encouragement and a challenge for all of us.
I haven’t decided if I’m only going to set up these video interviews as a separate category on this blog, or if I’m going to also publish them as a video podcast. Do you have any suggestions?
Service to Others as Thanksgiving to God
Recently, I saw a verse of Scripture that left me scratching my head. First, I’ll give the context and the entire passage.
In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to make plans to pick up the money that they have been collecting to help the church in Judea during a time of famine. Paul has heard that the Corinthians have collected a large sum of money, and he is praising the church for their generosity. (It is during this praise that Paul writes the famous line, “God loves a cheerful giver.”)
At the end of this passage, Paul reminds the Corinthians that God will bless them for their generosity, and that, also, God will be praised because of their generosity. Paul writes:
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:10-15 ESV)
The verse that left me scratching my head (when I read it in another source by itself) was 1 Corinthians 9:12:
For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. (1 Corinthians 9:12 ESV)
Why did this verse leave me confused? Because I know that the same Greek work is translated both “ministry” and “service.” (That would be the term διακονία – diakonia.) So, why would Paul write the same noun twice in this sentence?
The answer was simple, once I looked up the verse in my Greek NT. Paul didn’t write the same noun twice. The first term (the one translated “ministry” above) is διακονία (diakonia). But, the second term (the one translated “service” above) is from a completely different word: λειτουÏγία – leitourgia.
Now, λειτουÏγία (leitourgia) is an interesting term. Typically, especially in the OT, it pointed to the work of a priest. The term is used (in the LXX – the Greek translation of the OT) in Numbers 4 to describe the “service” of priests. In the NT, we see something similar. For example, see how Luke used the term to refer to Zechariah in Luke 1:23.
So, in 2 Corinthians 9:12, Paul is saying that the Corinthian’s monetary offering (collected in order to help God’s people in Judea) is a priestly work which meets the needs of the saints. But, this service to others, which is actually priestly service to God, doesn’t only meet the needs of God’s people, it also results in thanksgiving to God. In fact, Paul says their service (giving money, in this case) is abundant with many with thanksgivings (plural) to God.
If we continue reading to the end of chapter 9, we see that the Corinthians’ service results in thanksgiving to God, the reception by the believers in Judea results in thanksgiving to God, and Paul himself offers thanks to God.
The clear (and abundant) principle here is that our service to others results in thanksgiving to God (the abundance of many thanksgivings to God) on many different levels and by many different people.
Something to think about as we approach Thanksgiving Day.