The Poor: Intro

A good friend recently asked me to do some thinking and praying, and to share with him about "The Poor" and how Christianity/Christians interface with "them".

There have been many movements and ministries launched, a lot of books written, money raised and speakers paid to deal with this issue, yet the lions share (ironic metaphor?) of American christians have no daily contact, much less discipleship relationship, or friendship with people below their socio-economic status. Why is this? What's the deal? What the heck?

With all that we find from Old Testament to New Testament about "the poor", what should we as individual beleivers, and we as the church Body, be believing and doing (one without the other is dead)?

I am going to share some "raw thought" out here on the web, in hopes of stimulating discipleship among a wider listenership than I have in my daily life... So here come quick posts with individual "bites" of teaching and ideas about "The Poor".

Please receive these for what they are: thoughts shared to stimulate our growth. OUR growth: I'm growing here, too. That's what is so fun about blogging: we do it for ourselves, too.

enjoy...

hey, i'm going to the doctor in 10 minutes. you know that cough? it's back. i cough all night. for a month! even when i was "better", i still felt it in my chest. Thanks to God i didn't suffer it in the Philippines...

did i mention that Judy and I got to go to the Philippines and see Dad and visit with 2 churches over there?

those of you who pray, please tune in on this cough thing...

Battlestar Galactica

dude, bill adama is the man.

Judy and I've been watching through BSG for the last month. Still quite a way to go, but it's gooood... i mean, there's stuff, but that's what the skip button's for. so send the kiddies to bed, put your finger on the ff button and learn a thing or two about leadership on a battlestar from Bill.

hilarious reality: I watch Nacho Libre when i feel like i'm going to have a nervous breakdown. it really really helps. thanks to aaron mansfield and clan for that technical insight.

New computer

I got a new macbook pro 17 inch. no kidding.

"got" is a bit complicated.

Through the Grace of God,
the persistence of Don at Elan Tech
the wisdom of Apple Computers
...and the generosity of my friend James...

I have a new computer dropped in my lap.
just as the old one dims.

Unlike previous days, I'm now no longer on salvage technologies. I have already posted my first video on YouTube. It's not so good b/c i got the timing on the text all wrong, but it's a start... have a look.

Sam Sam the coffee man...

this morning sam took the first two cups of 8 from the pot, as soon as they brewed. "Yeah! I just did that! Whooooo!" He's all like jumpin' up and down and goin' nuts. Don't confront Sam about stuff that doesn't matter...

He's hilarious! Hilarious! Guy's a nut. Sam says, "Whoooo!" You gotta see it.

and why are christians still gravitating to "nice" and "safe" neighborhoods? What is being taught in the meeting-houses of today? Obviously it is soaked in greed (niceness) and fear (safeness).

let's repent.

any christian discipled to OBEY all that he has commanded us is going to manifest a hearty desire to get in there and share the gospel in the tough places... most of the Cincinnati churchgoers think it's beyond good enough to visit a tough place a couple of days a year...

let's repent. Starting with pastors who model and teach to this. If your leadership isn't making a disciple of you--one who obeys all that Jesus commanded us--you need to examine your motives and get real with the Lord... are you into that?

and you pastor-folks... doesn't it make you fearful that the single greatest enemy to the kingdom of god (which is impossible to impede) has been institutional/organized/professional religion-people? Don't you tremble at the thought of facing a stricter judgment, having made man-pleasers and line-toe-ers of the people that Jesus called to deny self and take up the cross?

We are to equip our people to be holy and surrendered to Christ, even unto death. What? To resist sin and to serve to the extreme. Some of us are satisfied with "turn-outs" to "events" that do no more than advertise our meeting days... wow...

Live there, dude.

how do people do it? trying to minister on any daily basis among the church, when the church is a wide-spread conglomeration of individuals who drive up to an hour to come to a weekly meeting?

I mean, daily ministry is to be "neighbor-intensive" isn't it? Jesus told us to love our neighbors. and i'm talking about healing them and doing good deeds among them and to them... soooo... how does the church do that when its meaning is reduced to meeting-culture attendance/membership?

wow. what a systemic problem we face...

during this shifting time, Christians need to focus on ministering in the church, where they live, with the church as their family, daily, in real-time, as a body... this means that the christians you live near are more your church than the meeting community you attend on Sundays...

This implies a shift of understanding of "church" to mean a people: the people nearest your home, first...

All this "drive-in" christianity is producing "drive-away" christianity! This simply isn't the kind of service to which Christ called us. What?

forget how much more effective at the work it is to do it right. What about just the plain old pleasure of our Lord. Let's repent and redefine our terms in Biblical ways, no matter what the cost...

if anyone out there needs help talking this through or praying about it, feel free to connect with us. we are excited about you becoming a disciple who obeys Jesus, where YOU live. About this, we can have coffee...

Visit us and see it firsthand in all of its ordinary glory...