When we talk about community development in God's Kingdom, we sometimes refer to it as, "Kingdom Development." This is not to say that what we do, humanly speaking, actually adds to or even takes away from God's Kingdom. It does not. For God's Kingdom is something that exists wherever He reigns and rules in the hearts of men and women submitting to His Lordship.
It also doesn't imply that our efforts at helping the poor, feeding the hungry and making the world generally better hastens or delays the coming of God's Kingdom. His Kingdom is fixed and appointed to come in fullness at the time of His choosing, no matter what our efforts (or lack thereof). Paul says that creation will one day be set free from its current bondage but that until that day, creation will remain subjected to futility and decay (Romans 8:21-22).
This might cause one to pause and ask, "then why are we concerned with, from a Christian perspective, making the world a better place through relief and development ministries?" If it is all subject to decay and His Kingdom will come in fullness when He so desires, aren't all our efforts "futile" along with creation?
From a Biblical as well as missiological stand point, I view our efforts at "making the world a better place" as a "means" of making Christ known to that same lost and dying world. When we do good community development, in the Name of Jesus, and when we help feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, we do so because of God's love. And in doing so, we reflect the nature and the heart of God to a world that is broken and fallen. With our actions, and with our voices, we proclaim, "This is not how life was meant to be!" In short, we live to make Jesus known in our words we speak and in the deeds we do.
Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us. He could have equally said that we would always have the lost with us as well. Neither statement or thought should lull us into complacency, or worse, inaction, to not do something about them both.
When I tell someone about Jesus and make a disciple, I do so because it is God's command. Whether I use words or deeds is pretty much irrelevant. I know that my feeding a hungry person doesn't make the King return any sooner. I also know that my verbally sharing the gospel doesn't hasten His return as well. I do know that when the King does return, I pray He finds me faithful in loving others in both word and deed.
To make Him known...
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Thoughts About God's Kingdom...
A second book that I'm reading in this new year is, "What is the Mission of the Church: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom and the Great Commission." It is by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert and is a very well thought out and well written book.
About the middle of the book, they devote a whole chapter to the Kingdom of God. They encourage us to think of the kingdom in terms of an "inaugurated eschatology" which was promoted originally by George E. Ladd among others. This thought line regarding the Kingdom of God posits that, "God's kingdom has already broken into this world but has not yet been fully realized." The theme permeated the Old Testament but only comes to fulfillment in the New Testament with the advent of Jesus, His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection. In short, we have gone from the promise of (Old Testament) to the inauguration of (the cross of Christ) and are heading to the full manifestation in (the return of the King and establishing of His eternal Kingdom).
Summarily, we can see that God's Kingdom is not of this world but something far more perfect that is foreshadowed by this world. The Kingdom of God does not refer to castle, an army or a kingdom as we understanding from an earthly point, but rather the reign and the rule of God through Christ in the hearts of those who submit to Him.
DeYoung and Gilbert describe it as...
"...the kingdom isn't geographical. Rather, it is defined relationally and dynamically; it exists where knees and hearts bow to the King and submit to him. And therefore you cannot 'expand the kingdom' by bringing peace and order and justice to a certain area of the world. Good deeds are good, but they don't broaden the borders of the kingdom. The only way the kingdom of God - the redemptive rule of God - is extended is when he brings another sinner to renounce sin and self-righteousness and bow his knee to King Jesus."
Applying this to our ministry of and heart for community development, it helps us put things in proper perspective. When we help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, take care of the widows and orphans, we are not expanding God's Kingdom. Rather, we are giving a glimpse of and making manifest His plan for humanity in a way that ultimately brings glory to Him and His Kingdom. True "Kingdom" only comes when a knee bows and a heart turns to God and His Son, Jesus.
Our acts of compassion...could they as well be acts of proclamation? Absolutely! If done in His Name, causing knees to bow and hearts to turn, and in a way that brings glory to Him.
About the middle of the book, they devote a whole chapter to the Kingdom of God. They encourage us to think of the kingdom in terms of an "inaugurated eschatology" which was promoted originally by George E. Ladd among others. This thought line regarding the Kingdom of God posits that, "God's kingdom has already broken into this world but has not yet been fully realized." The theme permeated the Old Testament but only comes to fulfillment in the New Testament with the advent of Jesus, His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection. In short, we have gone from the promise of (Old Testament) to the inauguration of (the cross of Christ) and are heading to the full manifestation in (the return of the King and establishing of His eternal Kingdom).
Summarily, we can see that God's Kingdom is not of this world but something far more perfect that is foreshadowed by this world. The Kingdom of God does not refer to castle, an army or a kingdom as we understanding from an earthly point, but rather the reign and the rule of God through Christ in the hearts of those who submit to Him.
DeYoung and Gilbert describe it as...
"...the kingdom isn't geographical. Rather, it is defined relationally and dynamically; it exists where knees and hearts bow to the King and submit to him. And therefore you cannot 'expand the kingdom' by bringing peace and order and justice to a certain area of the world. Good deeds are good, but they don't broaden the borders of the kingdom. The only way the kingdom of God - the redemptive rule of God - is extended is when he brings another sinner to renounce sin and self-righteousness and bow his knee to King Jesus."
Applying this to our ministry of and heart for community development, it helps us put things in proper perspective. When we help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, take care of the widows and orphans, we are not expanding God's Kingdom. Rather, we are giving a glimpse of and making manifest His plan for humanity in a way that ultimately brings glory to Him and His Kingdom. True "Kingdom" only comes when a knee bows and a heart turns to God and His Son, Jesus.
Our acts of compassion...could they as well be acts of proclamation? Absolutely! If done in His Name, causing knees to bow and hearts to turn, and in a way that brings glory to Him.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Charity with dignity...
I have been reading an interesting book by Robert Lupton called, "Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life." In his book, Lupton has much to say about our responsibility to help people in need and more importantly the way we truly help people. He discourages well-intentioned welfare and says, "...welfare depletes self-esteem while honorable work produces dignity." The core thought is that if we do for others what they can do for themselves, we, in many cases unknowingly, make them the objects of our pity and deprive them of human dignity. Lupton expands this thought in saying, "A relationship founded on one's giving and the other's need never yields healthy outcomes."
Could it be that when we stop "handing out to" and "stepping in to save" the poor and needy, we give them the God ordained opportunity to take charge of their lives and situations in a way that gives dignity a chance? We do understand that poverty brings limitations especially in the area of capacity. However, poverty does not change the fact of responsibility and the need for the poor to own their situation and the determination to do something about it.
I believe that our desire to help others is given by God to all people, not just the "religious" or the good people. Some cultures, government systems, and societies do their best to suppress this desire or basically deny it. The key for me is "how" we act on this desire. Do we truly help in a way that builds people, communities and dignity or do we simply take the easy way and resort to dependency building handouts?
Lupton discusses four levels of charity in Hebrew wisdom. They are listed from the highest to the lowest and with the lowest to be avoided if at all possible.
1. The highest level is to provide a job for a person in need without him/her knowing that you provided it. In this way, you meet a need, preserve dignity, avoid dependency, and return the person in need to a working state as God intended.
2. The second level is to provide work that the needy one knows your provided. While helpful to the person, it falls short of the first level in that it brings attention and possible dependency issues to the provider.
3. The third level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need. This is a level below number two for the simple fact that it provides a gift but not the dignity of the person "earning" their way out of their problem.
4. The fourth and lowest level of charity, again to be used only as a last resort, is to give a poor person a gift with his/her full knowledge that you are the donor.
So, how do we help people in need without communicating to them that something is deficient in them and that something is superior in us? It is not an easy thing.
Charity with dignity...
Could it be that when we stop "handing out to" and "stepping in to save" the poor and needy, we give them the God ordained opportunity to take charge of their lives and situations in a way that gives dignity a chance? We do understand that poverty brings limitations especially in the area of capacity. However, poverty does not change the fact of responsibility and the need for the poor to own their situation and the determination to do something about it.
I believe that our desire to help others is given by God to all people, not just the "religious" or the good people. Some cultures, government systems, and societies do their best to suppress this desire or basically deny it. The key for me is "how" we act on this desire. Do we truly help in a way that builds people, communities and dignity or do we simply take the easy way and resort to dependency building handouts?
Lupton discusses four levels of charity in Hebrew wisdom. They are listed from the highest to the lowest and with the lowest to be avoided if at all possible.
1. The highest level is to provide a job for a person in need without him/her knowing that you provided it. In this way, you meet a need, preserve dignity, avoid dependency, and return the person in need to a working state as God intended.
2. The second level is to provide work that the needy one knows your provided. While helpful to the person, it falls short of the first level in that it brings attention and possible dependency issues to the provider.
3. The third level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need. This is a level below number two for the simple fact that it provides a gift but not the dignity of the person "earning" their way out of their problem.
4. The fourth and lowest level of charity, again to be used only as a last resort, is to give a poor person a gift with his/her full knowledge that you are the donor.
So, how do we help people in need without communicating to them that something is deficient in them and that something is superior in us? It is not an easy thing.
Charity with dignity...
Monday, January 2, 2012
Feeding the Hyena...
Recently, I made a trip to Ethiopia and during the trip, we visited an old city where there is an ancient tradition of feeding the hyenas. Hyenas are huge, ugly, smelly creatures with powerful shoulders and jaws. They also have small hindquarters. They are scavengers by nature and in this case, live in the mountains surrounding the city we visited.
They come to the city at night to scavenge for food. Years ago, in order to appease the hyenas so they would not attack and drag off their children and elderly, the townspeople began to feed the hyenas every night about dusk time. This worked so well that it continues until today. If you go to this city (which we did), you can go in the evening and help feed the hyenas (which we did as well).
You actually kneel down on a mat, hold out a piece of raw meat on a stick and the hyenas come up (rather aggressively) and snatch the meat from you. The guide will even hold a piece of raw meat over your head so that the hyenas will climb up your back in order to reach the meat. This is a weird feeling to say the least.
As I fed the hyenas (I had to, some single ladies did it before me and I couldn't turn down the challenge), I observed some potential problems with the process. For one, it is dangerous for the one feeding the hyena. They are wild animals. They are big and powerful. They could turn on those feeding them at any time. Secondly, and even more troubling, is that once you start feeding the hyenas, you have to keep feeding them. How do you stop? What if they came to the town at evening and there was no food? Third, and again disturbing, the more you fed them, the more they came and the more that they brought their friends. We started feeding with a couple of hyenas surrounding us. By the time we finished, we had a whole herd!
As I start the new year, I wonder what kind of "hyenas" I have in my life. What are the things that I have unnecessarily fed over the last year that I would do much better with by not feeding at all? Are there issues of pride, lust, character flaws, etc., that would be much better off if I starved them or completely removed them from my life?
I pray that God shows me my "hyenas" in this new year and that He also gives me the courage and grace to quit feeding them.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Why Was I Created?
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of times so that we should walk in them."
I have often overlooked this verse but God spoke to me through it during morning devotions the other day. In my previous post, I had asked "Who am I" so this post seemed a natural follow up in answering "why" I was created.
The Apostle Paul says we are His creation. In a world that places so much on the superficial and appearances, it is nice to note that no matter what we look like, no matter what our skin color, no matter where we came from, we are His creation. There are a lot of things that I do not like about myself. However, God in His Word seems to hold a much higher opinion of me that I do. I guess the real reason there are things that I don't like about myself is because the world and its standards have blinded me to the peace that I can relax and be who I am because it was Him, God, who created me.
When our children struggle with self-esteem issues, we want to take them in our arms, muss their hair up and say, "don't you know that you're the most beautiful thing to me?" Isn't this what God does with us? Doesn't he laugh to Himself when we fuss with our outward appearances never happy to see what we see when we look in a mirror? "For we are His creation..."
The world says you and I need the right "look" to be successful, happy, _____ (you fill in the blank). God says, I created you not for what the world considers acceptable but "...in Christ Jesus for good works..." Interesting thing is that I was not created to look good but to do good. It's a different perspective. (And a comforting one!)
There's nothing wrong with looking good unless it takes precedence over our being and doing good. God created us first and foremost to do good works. And these "good works" are in turn to be blessings to others so that they may see Him in us and in the end, come to know Him better.
Why was I created? To do good works that lead others to Jesus.
Amen!
I have often overlooked this verse but God spoke to me through it during morning devotions the other day. In my previous post, I had asked "Who am I" so this post seemed a natural follow up in answering "why" I was created.
The Apostle Paul says we are His creation. In a world that places so much on the superficial and appearances, it is nice to note that no matter what we look like, no matter what our skin color, no matter where we came from, we are His creation. There are a lot of things that I do not like about myself. However, God in His Word seems to hold a much higher opinion of me that I do. I guess the real reason there are things that I don't like about myself is because the world and its standards have blinded me to the peace that I can relax and be who I am because it was Him, God, who created me.
When our children struggle with self-esteem issues, we want to take them in our arms, muss their hair up and say, "don't you know that you're the most beautiful thing to me?" Isn't this what God does with us? Doesn't he laugh to Himself when we fuss with our outward appearances never happy to see what we see when we look in a mirror? "For we are His creation..."
The world says you and I need the right "look" to be successful, happy, _____ (you fill in the blank). God says, I created you not for what the world considers acceptable but "...in Christ Jesus for good works..." Interesting thing is that I was not created to look good but to do good. It's a different perspective. (And a comforting one!)
There's nothing wrong with looking good unless it takes precedence over our being and doing good. God created us first and foremost to do good works. And these "good works" are in turn to be blessings to others so that they may see Him in us and in the end, come to know Him better.
Why was I created? To do good works that lead others to Jesus.
Amen!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Who Am I?
In 2 Samuel 7:18 King David says, "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?..."
Are you ever overwhelmed at the goodness of God? In the last few months, I have been more and more thinking about how incredibly blessed my life has been. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife/soul mate and three great, loving children. We have now added two more with a son-in-law and daughter-in-law who both bring us utmost joy.
I am blessed in my work and ministry through Baptist Global Response (BGR). I work with some of the most committed and dedicated men and women that anyone could find anywhere.
I am blessed in the good things that God constantly brings into my life and leadership with BGR. I describe myself as, "the accidental leader", meaning the one who seems to bumble and stumble but yet God continues to lead and bless.
I am most blessed with good friends and a privileged life whereby I am getting to do what I feel I was created to do: helping people in need both physically and spiritually.
So, I ask along with King David, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?..."
There are trials along the way. There are periods of intense pain and hurt. But overall, there is an amazing amount of grace and mercy flowing from God's throne to my life that I utterly and simply stand amazed.
Who am I? I am His and for some strange reasoning of His choice, He is mine!
I am truly blessed.
Thank You, God...
Are you ever overwhelmed at the goodness of God? In the last few months, I have been more and more thinking about how incredibly blessed my life has been. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife/soul mate and three great, loving children. We have now added two more with a son-in-law and daughter-in-law who both bring us utmost joy.
I am blessed in my work and ministry through Baptist Global Response (BGR). I work with some of the most committed and dedicated men and women that anyone could find anywhere.
I am blessed in the good things that God constantly brings into my life and leadership with BGR. I describe myself as, "the accidental leader", meaning the one who seems to bumble and stumble but yet God continues to lead and bless.
I am most blessed with good friends and a privileged life whereby I am getting to do what I feel I was created to do: helping people in need both physically and spiritually.
So, I ask along with King David, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?..."
There are trials along the way. There are periods of intense pain and hurt. But overall, there is an amazing amount of grace and mercy flowing from God's throne to my life that I utterly and simply stand amazed.
Who am I? I am His and for some strange reasoning of His choice, He is mine!
I am truly blessed.
Thank You, God...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thanksgiving: A Whole New Meaning...
The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone but it was a much different experience for me this year. As it always seems, I was traveling during the holidays and working in my role as BGR Executive Director.
I spent Thanksgiving this year in the Horn of Africa. On a holiday that we in the USA traditionally gather with friends and family and enjoy some of our favorite festive foods, I was visiting work with our BGR partners who were unselfishly ministering to the poor and needy of the Horn. Many were coming for food; they were refugees from Somalia looking for relief from the terrible drought that plagues their country and a safe refuge from the armed conflict going on.
One morning, during my quiet time, I was reflecting on the differences between where I was and my home in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are some of the contrasts that I jotted down...
Thanksgiving in the Horn of Africa -
* Missing my family but being with the extended family of God that is serving in a difficult area of the world
* Missing turkey and the trimmings but helping to feed the hungry people of the Horn
* Not watching the traditional football games on TV but getting to see first-hand the amazing movement of God among some unreached people groups
* Not a citizen of this country but in truth, not a citizen of this world
As we were working with feeding stations and some health care clinics, one of the local workers made the following statement...
"We are learning day by day how to be a friend of the poor."
Jesus is a friend of sinners. He is also a friend of the poor. I am thankful that in His abundant grace and mercy, He reached out to me in my sin and in my poverty.
I am thankful that He allowed me to re-experience Thanksgiving in a whole new light.
Did I forget to say, "thank You, Lord"?
I spent Thanksgiving this year in the Horn of Africa. On a holiday that we in the USA traditionally gather with friends and family and enjoy some of our favorite festive foods, I was visiting work with our BGR partners who were unselfishly ministering to the poor and needy of the Horn. Many were coming for food; they were refugees from Somalia looking for relief from the terrible drought that plagues their country and a safe refuge from the armed conflict going on.
One morning, during my quiet time, I was reflecting on the differences between where I was and my home in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are some of the contrasts that I jotted down...
Thanksgiving in the Horn of Africa -
* Missing my family but being with the extended family of God that is serving in a difficult area of the world
* Missing turkey and the trimmings but helping to feed the hungry people of the Horn
* Not watching the traditional football games on TV but getting to see first-hand the amazing movement of God among some unreached people groups
* Not a citizen of this country but in truth, not a citizen of this world
As we were working with feeding stations and some health care clinics, one of the local workers made the following statement...
"We are learning day by day how to be a friend of the poor."
Jesus is a friend of sinners. He is also a friend of the poor. I am thankful that in His abundant grace and mercy, He reached out to me in my sin and in my poverty.
I am thankful that He allowed me to re-experience Thanksgiving in a whole new light.
Did I forget to say, "thank You, Lord"?
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