poverty

Pacifist Fight Club

Crissy Brooks — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:06:00 -0800

Last Saturday I joined a ragtag bunch of Jesus followers for the first Pacifist Fight Club. What started as a joke between Keith Giles and Chase Andre somehow led to 25 people wrestling about how to follow Jesus, especially when it comes to non violence and poverty. We brought chili and chips and all our questions to the table. While we did not figure it all out, we did walk away inspired to keep fighting for peace and comforted that we are not alone in our questions and struggle.

The invitation to Pacifist Fight Club came at a time in my life when I was battling. My prayer life felt like the frontlines of a war. I felt attacked and exhausted, yet empowered and strong. It felt like Jesus and I were getting things done in the spiritual realm. I hid behind him and fought for my life. I stood with a shield of faith held up for my friends. I came out swinging with the Word of God. My prayers felt productive and mighty. I ran into the presence of God excited for the fight. I really like fighting with Jesus in this way. I saw him working things out in life's circumstances and found I could rest and trust. So when the invitation to Pacifist Fight Club came I was intrigued. What does it look like to fight for peace? How do I stand with a Warrior Savior who has said, "blessed are the peacemakers" and "turn the other cheek"?

I still don't fully know but I am invited deeper into the question by the faith journey of those who were around the table last Saturday. The fight is not over. We will gather again. You can meet our fighters and get in on the struggle on the blog- Pacifist Fight Club.

Give a Damn? Kicking A** and Taking Names

Give A Damn — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:49:09 -0700

Rob here,

So it's been awhile since I've posted so I figured I'd write an update. So much has happened in the last two months and we are all excited with the film's progress. We are proud to announce that we won "Best Documentary Feature" at the Stella Artois Cinema STL Filmmakers Showcase, due largely to the enthusiasm of the fans that attended our sold out festival WIP(Work in Progress) debut.

The production of Give a Damn? over the last four years has been a roller coaster of accomplishment and disappointment which has tested our resolve on multiple occasions to complete the film that we set out to make. There was a period of 3-4 months that I completely withdrew from the project due to frustration and the financial opportunity cost that were a byproduct of chasing our dream. After watching the film with 440 people and receiving a standing ovation, I was overcome by a feeling of much needed closure and excitement. For the first time in many years I felt that sacrifice and struggle were finally overshadowed by success of the film. Dan and I were in attendance for this showing, however David was unable to attend because he was in Malawi working on his non-profit "When The Saints".

Although Dan and I very much enjoyed the screening, it did not feel complete with David not in attendance. Soon after the Tivoli screening, David returned to the country and now it is amazing to have had the full team present for the most recent screenings of the film. Although we are all very different, we are starting to merge very well as a presentation team and the Q and A section of the film has been very strong because of that.

After years of begging the public to take notice, people are starting to pay attention and interest in the film seems to be exploding. Although the film has not had it's official red carpet premiere, we are currently touring the WIP cut around the STL area at college and high school campus's. The first two screenings at Washington University and Florissant Valley Community College were very well received and we are excited for the handful of dates that we have lined up in the next month or so.

The other big news that I have is that we were excepted into Heartland International Film Festival as well as the St. Louis International Film Festival, taking place in October and November respectively. Both are major film festivals (St. Louis is an Oscar qualifier) and needless to say we are extremely excited to be a part of these festivals.

Recently we reached an agreement with an agent that will help us book showings around the country, that will most likely be happening in the Spring of next year. If you would like to start the process of bringing Give a Damn? to your campus, please send an e-mail to giveadamndoc@gmail.com.

In my next blog I will be presenting some of the most common questions that we received during the Question and Answer section of the movie as well as my general responses. If you would like to ask a question, please leave it in the comments for this blog and I will respond in the next one.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
-Rob

"Penga ya Wende" or "God is strong!"

Heal the World — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

This year, along with all other nonprofit organizations, the NGO I work for has suffered unfortunate donations losses. The economic situation in America is being felt around the world, probably more visibly here in Africa. People's wallets are simply being threatened; with income cuts, job losses, and uncertain job security so we are becoming less likely to see a need and actually contribute to it. It's not a big deal to us, we see an organization looking for funds and we simply turn a blind eye. Don't lie to yourselves, everyone at some point ignores the beggar on the side of the road. The ramifications of our actions aren't even seen by us, but here on the ground in W. Africa, working for one such nonprofit, the ramifications of the countries fiscal situation is terrifying. Budget cuts due to lack of donations has cost the children at the school I teach something that has completely changed their lives. We (Heal the World, inc.) no longer have the funds to provide meals for the students at our Shalom primary school. Many might read this and simply think "Big deal, they're Africans they'll survive, they're used to starving." The problem is, I can't think that, I can't even see how someone could. Three days these kids went without food and the effects were clearly visible to me. No smiling faces, no obnoxious kids with constant energy, running around like kids should. They all simply sat through class, heads down, no energy to spare in the hot African heat. This great of an effect, and only after three days?! The budget was cut for the rest of the year!

This put a huge pain in my heart, and I was/am determined to do something about it! As soon as I got home I sent an email to my pastor, Pastor Mark Murphy, begging for funds, begging for offerings to be taken up. His heart was touched and he did just that. He pledged two thousand dollars for the school!!! Literally, I jumped with joy! All my prayers were answered, these kids would eat for months! Going back to the school and telling the headmaster the good news the reality of things hit me dead in the face. That $2,0000 would last a total of... 3 weeks. Three weeks!?

With this bearing down on my heart I contacted the Vice President of the organization who, needless to say, wasn't happy about the kids not eating either. We talked and shared ideas and finally agreed that my two remaining months of service to Heal the World would be better spent in America, advocating, raising awareness, and spreading word of the Shalom schools situation. A situation more dire than my words can stress. Many of the students in that school are orphans, orphans here in Africa simply aren't the same as in America. The orphanages or too few to meet demands, orphans here are more often than not left to fend for themselves.

With my remaining two months I am driving coast to coast speaking in as many churches, colleges and high schools as I can along the way! Running a campaign in the midst of the current economic situation people are less likely to give, so now more than ever I am going to show that a few dollars can make a difference. A donation of six dollars will feed a child for one month here! That's what I am pushing, I will feed the school one child at a time, one month at a time, until I meet my 30,000 dollar goal. $30,000 is the price of feeding the school for one year, and that's a heck of a lot of six dollars. The best part is that it doesn't just nourish their bodies but through Shalom school it nourishes their minds & spirits at the same time! I hope to bring this cause to as many peoples ears as I can, and hopefully my words and pictures will touch their hearts. This is my calling, this is Gods will, and as the Mossi people say "Penga ya Wende" (God is strong!).

Thanks everyone who reads my blog and has felt touched enough to donate! For those who haven't given, I once again ask for one more donation! Help Heal the World by sponsoring me through providing the gas and food it will take for me to tackle such a huge project! Please? Donate Now! http://healtheworld.org/donate.php

A new focus

Heal the World — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Poverty can be hidden, it can be covered, it can be pushed to the outskirts so it's not visible to the business class of a city, but it is still there. The reality of such tragedies hit me this week, and of all places here, in the capital city, in a sprawling urban metropolis, poverty can be seen at its worst. Well, in my imagination at its worst, but in the reality of things, those starving people living not two blocks from my house are the middle class of Burkina. Out in the villages, three, four hundred kilometers from Ouaga is where desperation is screaming at you everywhere you go.


Blaise's Barber Shop!

Looking at numbers Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world, take for example their GNI per capita in 2009 was around five hundred dollars. Which means that when the national income is divided by the population it comes out to every person in Burkina makes around five hundred dollars a year. Not taking into account the huge disparity between the working class, (who makes around four dollars a week), and the business class. The Adjusted savings report really brings this into light. The gross savings (% of GNI) of each person in Burkina is how much they save to themselves per year. According to some statistics I've pulled up it is dwindling around five percent. Now, here's the simple task, what's five percent of five hundred? Twenty-five dollars is how much the "average" Burkinabe saves per year. Once again, this number does not reflect the actuality of things.

His wife and child.

This is my attempt to do just that. To show you the actuality, and desperation of Burkina's citizens. Take Sawadogo Blaise into consideration, he is my friend, my barber, and hopefully a pupil of Heal the World next year. His house is roughly one or two kilometers away from mine, within walking distance. Yet the difference in living screams at you. His neighborhood is nothing more than shacks, no electricity, no water, reeks of sewage. It is Africa pretty much. My brother Blaise has a single flashlight lamp to light his house every night, the batteries it uses consumes most of his income. He's a barber, and with haircuts costing up to 300cfa each (around 60-65 cents) making a living is no easy business. Especially when supporting a family.

In the picture above the width of his house extends about a foot on either side of that chair, it's smaller than my bedroom and houses three people. Here's some more pictures of his family and friends!

Another picture to represent how small his house actually is, its width ends just after the window on the left, and just before the window on the right. If anyone will take it upon themselves to help out Sawadogo please let me know, thirty dollars could feed his family for two months, or buy him that kerosene lamp. Take these stories seriously, every month I hope to give y'all the opportunity to help a local Burkinabe out! In return I'll send you pictures of the locals receiving your aid, and a letter from the man himself! God bless any who opens their hearts!

On to another important topic! The Thirty Hour Famine! The youth group I'm apart of here in Ouga is going to be fasting for thirty hours in order to help a village in dire need. I've seemed to have lost the email with all the information on it. I will post again shortly, or if anyone is interested just ask. Here's the gist of what's going on, in 2009 Ouagadougou experienced severe flooding, and with most of the houses being made out of the adobe material pictured above, most houses were swept away, villages destroyed in minutes. My youth group is attempting to help one such village. They're raising funds to help feed a group of widows and their children, drill a well to supply clean drinking water, and put on a medical clinic! My church, Bethel, has already donated two hundred dollars to the cause, and with the goal being 20,000 dollars, much more is needed! Once again, I'll be there camera in hand to document the happenings! If you want to help this village out I can give you the contact information of Hannah Greene, who is in charge of the event!

Last tidbit! I am sorry, but most of my blogs will include me begging for money! I can either live everyday oblivious to my surroundings, staring straight forward on my way to work, and ignoring all the desperation; or I can use my voice to call attention to such travesties that can be avoided. Personally, the later makes me feel better about myself. About the GNI statistics, I am no accountant, if I did math wrong just let me know! Lastly, thanks for any that help! God puts us all where we're at for one reason or another, and if you're staring at these words the let your heart feel them. Behind all the smiles in the pictures I post sadly lies a disguised truth, these people need our help, they need your help.

God's Word in Action

Conversant Lifestyle — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:58:36 -0700

ConversantLife is excited to partner with Thomas Nelson, Inc. and World Vision in a unique and biblical campaign called "God's Word in Action." Through this comprehensive campaign, Thomas Nelson's Bible Group is donating at least $100,000 through March 2012 to World Vision to help eradicate poverty and preventable deaths among children.

At ConversantLife, we're all about content that encourages conversations about faith and culture. So when we heard about a leading Bible publisher teaming with the world's largest relief organization, we immediately wanted to be involved. The way we see it, the Bible contains life's most important content, and helping "the least of these" is at the heart of the gospel message.

The campaign verse for "God's Word in Action" is Psalm 82:3--"Stand up for the poor and the orphan; advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need" (The Voice). There are two ways Thomas Nelson and World Vision are encouraging and empowering people to do this.

First, you can take action to literally change a child's life forever through one or more World Vision child sponsorships. Second, you can donate to the Child Health Now Initiative, World Vision's first global campaign focused on a single issue: reducing the preventable deaths of children under five. In the two minutes it will take you to read this text, more than 30 children under the age of five will die. Most of them will succumb to preventable causes, such as diarrhea, pneunomia, childbirth complications and malaria. Twenty-four hours from now the total will exceed 24,000.

We encourage you to get involved at some level with "God's Word in Action." For example, you may want to serve food at a homeless shelter (a great idea during the upcoming holiday season), give a Bible away, or begin planning a short-term mission trip through your church. There is no shortage of what you can do to put God's Word into action.

For more great ideas on how you can be part of changing the world, and to share your stories of your own compassion and giving, please visit www.SeeGod'sWordinAction.com. Become part of this movement to put God's Word into action in various ways.

Now, for some insight as to how the "God's Word in Action" campaign started, take a look at this brief video featuring our good friend Gary Davidson, Senior Vice President and Bible Group Publisher for Thomas Nelson, Inc. He believed strongly that it wasn't enough to just produce and sell the Word. He wanted to literally put God's Word into action by doing what it says. You have to love Gary's passion and heart. He's the real deal, and so is this campaign.

Our hope and prayer is that you will be encouraged and empowered to help others, and we think that your involvement in the "God's Word in Action" campaign is one of the more creative and effective ways you can do just that.

Thinking About Global Poverty While In Church

bo.white — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Any effort to end poverty will take significant human resources and an adequate strategy to engage people to not only seek change, but become change agents. As a faith based non-profit with Christian convictions, the Bible guides our strategy to mobilize people and the Bible is a book primarily about relationships. The Bible itself says much on stewardship, but clearly it is not an economics text. The Bible has much to say about mobilizing people, but clearly it’s not an HR manual.

So, at the core of mobilizing people is the gospel itself as the key motivator. People mobilized by guilt or gratitude will not last as we are flawed human beings and our guilt often paralyzes us and our gratitude ebbs and flows. This document is meant to spur on a discussion about how we mobilize people that is gospel centered and that effectively erects a small army to end poverty worldwide.

I use the phrase ‘small army’ with some intention. Living in the United States, our propensity often gravitates toward the largest, biggest, and most dynamic. We are so easily allured by huge numbers, huge possibility, and we consistently want to talk about ‘thousands and tens of thousands’ (see also the chants of the crowds as they compared Saul and David). We want the crowds to say, ‘that organization served thousands, but our organization has served tens of thousands."

I want to say that that posture isn’t Biblical. It’s a chant from the crowds that is historical and certainly not taught by Christ or the apostles as gospel centered. We don’t glory in numbers or in the praise bestowed upon us by others or even ourselves (the gospel itself should indict/inform many of our own marketing practices).

The phrase ‘small army’ recalls the stories of Gideon and of a band of twelve disciples. Small groups of people who are outnumbered, outmatched, and yet, the God of all grace, not only delivers them, but there is what I like to call Collateral Blessing. In much the same way that full scale war has Collateral Damage, a full scale gospel movement will have Collateral Blessing. There will be unintended, God purposed, blessing when there is a gospel centered group of people who relate well to each other, who support each other, and who seek to complement one another, all the while understanding that they are outmatched and outnumbered.

The scope of issues like global poverty, HIV/AIDS, chronic hunger, corrupt governance, and natural disasters quickly remind us that we are outmatched and outnumbered in this battle. The numbers are simply staggering. Hundreds of millions have no access to clean water, two billion live on less than two dollars a day, millions have AIDS, and these statistics can go on. And yet, God doesn’t call us to mobilize millions, God calls us to make disciples and that will take time. Can you see the God centered approach that frustrates our humanity? There is great urgency in the task, yet we are called to hurry up and walk. We must urgently make disciples, which will take years. We are not called to mobilize tens of thousands, but we are called to faithfully love those in our midst well. In fact, the gospel indicts us. If we don’t love our neighbor (whether it’s the co-worker or supervisor) well, we cannot presume or assume blessing. We can expect, on the contrary, more challenges because Christ calls us to a life of repentance and faith.

The rhythm of ending poverty follows the same pattern as the life Jesus call us to: namely, we repent of our contribution to poverty, and we follow Christ in seeking to end it, trusting not in our ability or ingenuity, but in His ways, His truth, and His life.

-bo

Can We Afford to be Multicultural in Education?

bo.white — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:14:43 -0700

In the next 30 seconds, a little boy or girl in Africa will die of malaria.[1] Other research tells us that nearly 1 billion people in the world are illiterate[2] and another 1.4 billion can’t get to clean water[3]. So, what would those stuck in poverty have to add to a discussion about education and what could they possibly teach those of us who not only have drinking water flowing from a faucet, but who also sleep free from mosquito nets, with the ability to read ourselves to sleep? Let me pose the question a different way: are there universal methods of education that transcend cultural and socioeconomic lines to the point that we can articulate a core set of principles that may guide educators around the world, thus forming an international set of ideals that blurs the lines of the literate and illiterate and transcends the borders of East and West, North and South?

From another perspective, the utilization of Western educational methods also reiterates a power position in which those with economic wealth exert further influence over those living below the poverty line. The posture of ‘we know more,’ was unwittingly, but consistently communicated. Don Eberly proposes valuable counsel when he writes, “Whether liberal or conservative, work to ensure that your agenda and message are shaped with input from the poor themselves, and not merely from intellectuals, ideological activists, and other elites who presume to know what the poor want or need.”[4] For the NGO or other organizations to truly take an international approach to its internal staff development and interdepartmental educational plans, issues related to educational principles and economic power must both be addressed.

So, do you support globalization, internationalization, multiculturalism, or multiethnic diversity? If the list of big words and big ideas seems daunting, consider for a moment how either you or others are using such words. Do you feel these words clarify or further confuse issues? At the risk of simply adopting en vogue language without definition, let me explain my own position that will shape the context of the discussion that follows.

Globalization is a slippery word. “Part of the problem in thinking about the nature and effects of globalization is the term itself. There is no agreed definition of globalization for a number of reasons. It represents an uneven process that has no ending.”[5] Despite the vague definition, globalization seems to have dug its heels in to the mainstream lexicon. “In the early 1990’s, globalization was greeted with euphoria. Capital flows to developing countries had increased sixfold in six years, from 1990 to 1996…Globalization was to bring unprecedented prosperity to us all.”[6] So, globalization itself, historically tied to economic goals and realities, has been used as an all encompassing word in recent years to represent increased connectivity and opportunity. For many globalization is a fire sparked by the promise of increased wealth or prosperity and technology is the accelerant. “The current wave of globalization seems to be beset by paradoxes. Our world grows more fragmented even while it becomes more interconnected.”[7] Perhaps, the unique aspect of globalization lies in the speed at which these paradoxes occur.

“While on the one hand, the communication revolution of the last few decades—the irrepressibility of the CNN camera, the satellite dish, the mobile phone, the fax machine, and the internet—are influencing many countries toward more participatory forms of governance and more global interdependence, at the same time they have bombarded the ‘have nots’ with images of precisely what they don’t have, breeding resentment, anger, isolationism, and even aggression….The promise of globalization is a fallacy if it is not shared.”[8] Globalization, then, in its current form is a limited and often unhelpful descriptor. Is there a better word? Time will tell. For now, it is an umbrella term under which sits more specific, more tangible phenomenon.

Internationalization is a word that describes the effect of an interconnected world and interdependent world. The economic evidence is a bit obvious. In 2008, when the news of the recession in the United States grew, the Asian markets and European markets reacted within hours. The reports reflected the inescapable truth that what happens in other countries economically really does matter. In the world of education, top Universities are trying to do more than react.

“Where universities are heading now is toward becoming global universities,” said Howard Rollins, the former director of international programs at Georgia Tech, which has degree programs in France, Singapore, Italy, South Africa and China, and plans for India. “We’ll have more and more universities competing internationally for resources, faculty and the best students.”[9] And so the posture isn’t simply a reaction to ‘globalizing’ forces, rather there’s also an intentional element where cultural diversity and a clearly international classroom is desirable and increasingly common. In other words, the abilities forged in globalization empower many to intentionally ‘internationalize’ their work and their classroom. A global economy is becoming increasingly wed to international integration. Yet, it’s this wedding that remains a bit troubling. The enjoyment of email, internet, and global travel remains limited to those who can afford it.

-bo

[1] Dale Hanson Bourke: A Skeptic’s Guide to Global Poverty. Authentic Books, Colorado Springs, CO; 2007, p. 55.

[2] Ibid, p. 27.

[3] Ibid, p. 73.

[4] Don Eberly: The Rise of Global Civil Society. Encounter Books, New York; 2008, p. 293.

[5] Hugh Lauder, Philip Brown, Jo-Anne Dillabough, and A.H. Halsey: “Introduction: The Prospects of Education: Individualization, Globalization, and Social Change,” from Education, Globalization, and Social Change. Oxford University Press, Oxford; 2006, p. 30.

[6] Joseph Stiglitz: Making Globalization Work. W.W. Norton and Company, New York, NY; 2006, p. 7.

[7] Queen Noor of Jordan: “Globalization and Culture,” the 50^th anniversary address of the Aspen Institute, August 22, 2000, p. 2

[8] Ibid, p. 3.

[9] Tamar Lewin: “U.S. Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad,” in the New York Times, February 10, 2008.

A Biblical View of Vomit

bo.white — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:07:52 -0700

Does God get sick of the whole world? At first glance, it seems like indeed there is a link between events in the world and the anthropomorphic description of God getting ill. On one particularly slow Sunday in church (confession here: I do sometimes take notes on the sermon and when the sermon doesn’t lend itself to notetaking, then I still write some things down anyway) and so I began to think to myself, ‘is there really something that makes God sick to the point of actually vomit?’ And, to my surprise, I actually found out that there is a whole bunch of verses on vomiting in the Scriptures. In fact, there are 13 separate occasions in which the act, what we call throwing up—getting seriously ill to the stomach, whatever you’re comfortable with, is not only mentioned, but actually references God on more than one occasion. Which leads me to conclude that yes, God gets sick at times.I won’t recount all 13 passages. They are graphic to say the least, particularly the one in Job 20:15 that has Zophar speaking and talking about the treatment of the poor. Ok…never mind, I will share it and it goes like this:

4 Do you not know this from of old,
since man was placed on earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
7 he will perish forever like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,
nor will his place any more behold him.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
though he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he is loath to let it go
and holds it in his mouth,
14 yet his food is turned in his stomach;
it is the venom of cobras within him.
15 He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
the tongue of a viper will kill him.
17 He will not look upon the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.
18 He will give back the fruit of his toil
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
he will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
he has seized a house that he did not build.

Despite the myriad of t-shirts and campaigns advocating for the poor, this verse, for obvious reasons, has yet to make it on the shirt or bumper sticker.

The most famous vomit text is probably in Jonah where the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land, at the direction of God himself. In the case of the fish, God wasn’t sick, but definitely made the fish sick and the text literally says that the LORD spoke to the fish which lead to Jonah being spit out. There is only one passage of Scripture on vomit (stomach infection) that is in both the Old Testament and New Testament. And since it’s rare that there’s a passage fully repeated in both testaments, let alone one that concerns vomit, it’s worth setting them side by side.

“Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.”
(Proverbs 26:11)

“The dog returns to its own vomit,
and the sow, after washing herself,
returns to wallow in the mire.”
(2 Peter 2:22)

A few reflections on this repeated passage are worth noting.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

People who are wise in their own eyes, meaning this: they do not seek the wisdom of God, have certain characteristics. These traits are explained in vv. 6-11, ending with the phrase that Peter repeats in the New Testament.

In some health projects around the world, a friend of mine tries to measure the following three things in terms of impact in a village, community, or city. These three are 1) knowledge, 2) attitude, 3) practices.

What knowledge needs to be disseminated? What attitude is prevalent and could be a barrier to growth? What are the practices that need correcting? Now, let’s do a KAP assessment of our own interaction with the world and the pressing global issues of our time like poverty, AIDS, peace/conflict, malaria, and so forth. Would people know that we sought God, knew our Bibles, practiced repentance, etc….?? To return to the same mistakes over and over—without making some changes, is something some writers have called insanity. The Bible calls it returning to our own vomit.Which leads me to the most striking point of spitting up in all of Scripture….

14 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

And here we see, in Revelation 3, the very same issue that Proverbs and Peter each refer to….what makes God sick and what makes God want to vomit, is ‘self reliance’. Reliance upon our own performance, our own good works, will not only create apathy (lukewarm—neither hot nor cold), but self reliance will separate us from God. If God blessed each of us with a 10 million dollar check tomorrow, we would have to still fight self reliance. Are we wise in our own eyes? Do we rely on our own good gifting? Are we truly wise enough to do life without God’s input?

The great irony is this: what often makes God sick is what makes our culture tick. We want to rely on ourselves. It’s the fine line we tread when we advocate for the poor and the needy around the world—they lack self-reliance and know it. And when we show them Christ, we show them not a path to self-reliance, but a path to God reliance. It’s a subtle, but powerful difference. God reliance is long-term, messy, and takes the acknowledgement of sin and selfishness. Self-reliance is faster, easier, and short-term in scope. And this is difficult because we have yet to decide in our own culture, ‘when do we say enough?’ in regard to food, entertainment, and clothing. When are we content? When are filled up?

In recent months, people living in rural villages and in poverty around the world have also taught me much about God-reliance and have encouraged me to fight against self-reliance. Is it possible, then, to end poverty through relationships? Do we have the will to eradicate preventable disease like malaria in our lifetime? I have much to learn, but I pray that along the way I won’t remain a fool who returns to folly like a dog returns to, you guessed it, his vomit. There’s got to be a better way than that.

-bo

The Talk that convinced me to do Give A Damn? by Francis Chan

Give A Damn — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:15:05 -0700

The Poverty of Affluence

Phil Towne — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:08:51 -0700

This morning I was reading Peter Rollins' book “The Orthodox Heretic”. In it he writes a parable called “Mansions” in which some disciples and Jesus are sitting around a campfire talking about the future kingdom in heaven. They talk about the mansions and streets of gold, and how amazing it is. One by one they all drift off to sleep until there is but one disciple left awake with Jesus.

The disciple asks Jesus a question. He admits that he doesn’t know much about mansions and in fact has never been in one or seen one. He asks Jesus if there will be any room in heaven for a simpleton like himself. Jesus then looked at the man with compassion and answered,

“Don’t worry, tucked away in a tiny corner of heaven, away from all the grand mansions and streets of gold, there is a cramped little stable. It doesn’t look like much inside or out, but on a clear night you can see the stars shine bright amidst the cracks, and you can feel the warm breeze caress your skin. In this kingdom, that is where I live, and you would be welcome to live there with me.”

It is so easy sometimes for me to get wrapped up in security. I desire the right home, the right job, the right life. Instead, as Rollins’ points out in his story, we can easily miss that “a life of simplicity is not contrary to the wealth of faith but is part of its very outworking.” We so easily embrace and spiritualize the message of the world that acquisition of wealth, power, and authority is where we should focus. We apply these principles to our spirituality and end up denying the true richness we have available in the kingdom for what he calls “the poverty of affluence.”

This interesting dialectic questions where our true wealth lies and reminds us that our earthly achievements are rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of our father in heaven.

Thanks go to God for this awesome reminder that I too easily focus on the wrong things.