Hard Times Generation

This segment on the March 6 broadcast of CBS 60 Minutes is called "Hard Times Generation". It is about the "new breed" of homeless people, the families with children living in cheap motels; trapped there by their minimum wage jobs, having lost their homes and their possessions due to the recession. Can the poverty rate among children be 25%?!?


Its a little long, but you need to watch the whole video.


What is the church's response to this crisis right here in USAmerica? One church's response is noted here in Larry James' blog: $5.6 MILLION! What is the potential good that can be done by the USAmerican church, empowered by the Holy Spirit of God? It is limitless!

What does this mean for us in beautiful East Texas? Does this same issue exist here? Are there families renting cheap motel rooms, using nearly all the income they can generate? Absolutely! When the opportunity presents itself to be a part of the solution, please be generous, be ready, be Jesus to this generation! The world is watching!

Love Wins!

Recently there has been much said, way too much, about Rob Bell and his upcoming book, Love Wins! Here's the video that set off the firestorm.


One of the best responses I've read has been Scot McKnight's blog post, especially the concluding paragraph:

"I find some people can get intoxicated on wrath and it can lead them in a triumphalist dance of anger. And I find some who get intoxicated with a flabby sense of grace. Isn’t it better to get lost in the dance of God’s good and triumphant grace and of making things right? If we are to be intoxicated, let it be from imbibing the hope and grace of God’s love which will both win and be right in the End."

AMEN! The world is watching!

It's Hard, It's Very Hard

Invisiblepeople.tv's latest interview with Angie and Matt rings very true. There are folks in this exact same situation here in Tyler; people who are using all their available income, whether that's from a minimum wage job, or a disability check, or panhandling, to pay the $190-$220 per week required to stay in an old motel. For these folks who are likely doing all they can to acquire income, the motel is an acceptable opportunity for shelter, especially in winter, but it is also a trap in that it is impossible to save enough funds required for the deposits, rent, and move-in expenses for a safe, decent, affordable place to live.

Their simple wishlist of a job, a car, an apartment, and getting their kids back is very touching and also one that I've heard repeatedly here in beautiful East Texas. There is a great need for temporary, supportive, transitional housing! Anybody know of an old motel we can buy to start dealing with this need? The world is watching!

Sometimes Its Personal

It is interesting to me that some of us are quite sure and even adamant about the correctness of our opinions; until our world is rocked by a close personal encounter which forces us to re-think. I have certainly been there enough that I am now open to that occurring on nearly every topic. A true "post-modernist", I guess. There are a very few "core" tenets that I will cling to and defend at this point; I think it is a similar list to one that we would get from Jesus and the apostles, based on my reading of Scripture.

Another example came to my RSS reader today, as another Church of Christ preacher decides its time to openly discuss the "issue" we have with women in public and leadership roles. I don't know his previous conviction on the subject or if he has ever discussed it before, but his blog post says he has been silent. And what has brought about this epiphany, this "coming out"? His wife is expecting a little girl! Having an injustice affect your own children is a great motivator! Its time to repent and right some wrongs. Its kingdom work! The world is watching!

We Need Housing!

Check out this interview with Kevin, a homeless man, and note the comment:

"Please, before your church or bowling team goes out to feed homeless people do a little research. We have food – WE NEED HOUSING! Support homeless service organizations that are helping people with housing, jobs and health services!"




The world is watching!

Lovin' on the Kids

Do you know about the website invisiblepeople.tv? Its a powerful effort at putting a face and a voice to the homeless. This quote is from the recent entry Zaq and Friends:
"If you happen to run into street kids, maybe even these 15 hippie kids in a bus, please love on them. Many have already lived horrible lives and are just trying to survive in our crazy world. Yes, street kids can be obnoxious. But remember they are kids. I’m sure we all had our dumb youthful moments. Please don’t try and be a parent – just be a friend. Treat them with love and respect, ask them what they need, and if you can help than please do. A little love can make a world of difference."

We met Shasta and her friends at The Downtown Gathering last month. They are so hungry for respect, attention and food! A little love can make a world of difference!
The world is watching!

Christmas Charity Isn't the Answer

Here's an insightful article on Relevant magazine about the habit many of us have of making a special act of charity during this season. I think rather than saying that it "isn't the answer", maybe it should be stated that it "isn't the end, but the beginning". Hopefully any special act of grace we engage in during this blessed season will be the catalyst for us to engage the poor, needy, hurting, grieving, outcast, oppressed of our society on a more regular basis. As the devoted followers of the homeless man, Jesus, how can we ignore these children of God during the other 11 months of the year?

The world is watching!

Half the Church

This is one of those topics that is relevant for my religious tribe, the southern Churches of Christ, but not for everyone. Here's a link to Part One of Dr. Ken Cukrowski's speech at ACU's Summit 2010 titled "What Elders Are Thinking in Gender Inclusive Congregations". Its a good, thoughtful perspective on women's roles in the church. He starts with a review of New Testament scriptures that mention women as co-worker, teacher, deacon, apostle, prophet, patron, prayer, host of house church, laborer, and member of a ministry team. There are five parts to the YouTube file.



On a more heart-rending note, Half the Church contains an audio recording of an interview with some women who are engaged in and training for ministry. Their bravery in following their calling and in sharing their story is inspiring and sad, due to the obstacles placed before them in our church fellowship. My personal opinion is that its time for us all to openly discuss this issue and find a way to encourage, empower and equip the women who are called and gifted to minister in our churches. The world is watching!

Glenwood Night @ Spring Creek

Come to Spring Creek restaurant in Tyler Monday night for our fundraiser benefiting our downtown ministries!
http://glenwoodchurchblog.com/2010/09/16/spring-creek/

What is Poverty?

If you lost everything - home, job, funds, auto - how long would it take to find something to eat, somewhere to spend the night in safety, a new job? If you can put a number to that answer, you are not poor. Claudio Oliver says poverty is not a lack of things, it is a lack of friends - those close, reliable relationships you can count on in a crisis!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGSvDvDZnb4
(Thanks to Kyle Smith for the link!)



"No one has been transformed by receiving money alone."
Sounds like the Gospel is the answer to me. Not the Gospel of "teach and dunk", but the Gospel of "Love your neighbor" and the Gospel of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"! My question, for me and for you, is, "Does my consumption addiction prevent me from being a friend?"
The world is watching!

Chip

Last night at the Downtown Gathering we had one of those "breakthrough" moments with Chip. Chip is a troubled young man with an extremely quick temper and a lot of history in his few years. Chip has been attending regularly for several months now, but frankly I've wondered why. Usually he just sits quietly by himself with his arms crossed, his ear buds in and a look on his face that says, "Leave me alone!" The exception to that has been when he gets provoked, possibly by just a word of greeting, and he starts complaining and yelling and stomps out in a rage. We have been worried about him and have been praying for him. I have also been tempted to ban him from attending due to his threats and outbursts.



But God (my favorite phrase from Scripture), has been working on him and tonight he shared with the group for several minutes; discussing his family and his issues, apologizing to several others present for his raging, and ending with an apology to God and to his deceased mother. It was beautiful and touching and reminded me of the story of a demon-possessed man who was suddenly in his right mind due to his encounter with Jesus.

I don't know what tonight's breakthrough will lead to for Chip or for the rest of us, but I will praise God for that glimpse of healing and repentance and renewal. It thrilled my soul and further confirmed to me that God is at work in our little gatherings, where "everyone who seeks peace is welcome". The world is watching!

Prayer Requests

"I'd like for us to pray for the lost and the blind." That was an unusual and striking prayer request spoken by one with a pure heart and a deep concern for the spiritual well-being and reconciliation of the entire world. This global concern for those who do not yet love Jesus is rarely expressed out loud, in front of a big group of people.

But I heard it and was deeply honored to respond to it this Sunday evening at the Downtown Gathering! Sandra is a poor single mom with three teenagers forced to live with her extended family since she lost her home while serving a recent jail sentence. Many people I know would consider her to be someone who needs to "get their life right", yet she is exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit and is clearly a "person of peace." I am honored to be getting to know her!

When people speak of taking Jesus downtown to the poor of Tyler, Texas, I must disagree. I am more and more convinced that the kingdom of God is already near, and my mission is to BE Jesus to the rich and the poor, the old and the young, those of every race and tribe and tongue and nation. The world is watching!

Worship Evangelism

Not much has changed since '99. Sally Morgenthaler's now-classic work still hits a nerve!

"Our failure to reach lost people for Christ in this country is not so much because of their brokenness, but because of ours. And our failure to impact contemporary culture is not because we have not been relevant enough, but because we have not been real enough. Real faith witnesses. It genuinely cares for people and offers a genuine relationship with a genuine God. We may be able to parrot the phrase "Lost people matter to God," but in many of our churches, lost people do not matter nearly as much as we matter. And the believer's worship we so often prescribe to ensure our own well-being poisons from the inside out. It fosters exclusive attitudes, diametrically opposed to the very evangelism and discipleship it is supposed to empower. The truth is, worship that is supposed to promote spiritual health cannot do so if it has become diseased by separatism, whether stated or functional."

The subtitle is "inviting unbelievers into the presence of God." That's a worthy goal indeed. As my church is currently praying and fasting about God's vision for us, I hope this message finds some receptive hearts. The world is watching!

So, Dr. Nouwen, what is a Christian Community?

"Community has little to do with mutual compatibility. Similarities in educational background, psychological make-up, or social status can bring us together, but they can never be the basis for community. Community is grounded in God, who calls us together, and not in the attractiveness of people to each other. There are many groups that have been formed to protect their own interests, to defend their own status, or to promote their own causes, but none of these is a Christian community. Instead of breaking through the walls of fear and creating new space for God, they close themselves to real or imaginary intruders. The mystery of community is precisely that it embraces all people, whatever their individual differences may be, and allows them to live together as brothers and sisters of Christ and sons and daughters of his heavenly Father."
Making All Things New, 1981

AMEN! The world is watching!

Prayer for Global Transformation

Our Lord is the Lord of all.
In goodness and in evil, the Lord reigns.
In peace and in war, the Lord reigns.
In health and in illness, the Lord reigns.
In the simple and in the inexplicable,
our Lord is the Lord who reigns.

The complexities of the world are endless; the complexities of our own lives are ceaseless. We are called to live as a people who not only speak of what is, but of what is to come - the full transformation of all of life. We profess our hopes, desires, and beliefs not as people who are certain of the means of this transformation, but as those who long for it.

We profess that God wants goodness for the world and that God works for the salvation of the earth and all who are in it. We know that creation is not complete, but that it is in the midst of re-creation. So we pray for our world to grow into the fullness that God desires for it. May God's kingdom come; may God's will be done. We live in the world; we join in its re-creation. We pray and live with the confidence that God will continue the good work that has been started.

Doug Pagitt and Kathryn Prill, "Body Prayer".

Surprised by Hope!

Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright has consistently ministered to me through his thoughtful books and lectures about God, the Scriptures, and Christianity. My latest read is "Surprised by Hope", subtitled Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. Toward the end, Chapter 13's third section is titled "Evangelism" and is worth quoting:

If we are engaging in the work of the new creation, in seeking to bring advance signs of God's eventual new world into being in the present, in justice and beauty and a million other ways (there is no space for more in this book, and justice and beauty themselves cry out, of course, for fuller treatment), then at the center of the picture stands the personal call of the gospel of Jesus to every child, woman, and man.

The word evangelism still sends shivers down the spines of many people. There are various reasons for this. Some people have been scared off by frightening or bullying harangues or tactless and offensive behavior or embarrassing and naive presentations of the gospel...

Much evangelism has, of course consisted of taking the traditional framework of a heaven-and-hell expectation and persuading people that it's time they consider the heaven option and grab it while they have the chance. What's stopping them getting there is sin; the solution is provided in Jesus Christ; all they have to do is to accept it! Millions of Christians today are Christians because they heard that message and responded to it. Am I therefore saying - since plainly I think that way of putting things is at best lopsided - that they have been deceived or mistaken?

No. God gloriously honors all kinds of ways of announcing the good news. I do not suppose for a moment that my own way of preaching or talking to individuals about God is perfect and without flaws, and yet God (I believe) has graciously honored some at least of what I do. No doubt he would have been far more honored if I had done it better and more prayerfully. No doubt the flaws in my own preaching, and the different flaws in other presentations, will eventually show up in the Christian lives of those who come to faith as a result, and no doubt we all ought to polish up and improve what we do for the sake of our hearers and the honor of God. But, as every generation knows, it isn't the quality of the preaching that counts but the faithfulness of God...

But none of this is an excuse for not understanding what happens when we evangelize or not shaping the way we do it in accordance with the full biblical gospel. So let's start with the latter point and say clearly at once: the gospel, in the New Testament, is the good news that God (the world's creator) is at last becoming king and that Jesus, whom this God raised from the dead, is the world's true lord. There are a thousand different ways of saying this, depending on where the audience is starting from and what sort of occasion it is. (Compare the various speeches in Acts!) Some people will know who Jesus is, others will have only a hazy idea about him; some will hear the word God and think of an old man with a white beard while others will think of a sort of heavenly gas. Almost everyone will need help to understand what the message is about at some point or another.

The power of the gospel lies not in the offer of a new spirituality or religious experience, not in the threat of hellfire (certainly not in the threat of being "left behind"), which can be removed if only the hearer checks this box, says this prayer, raises a hand, or whatever, but in the powerful announcement that God is God, that Jesus is Lord, that the powers of evil have been defeated, that God's new world has begun. This announcement, stated as a fact about the way the world is rather than as an appeal about the way you might like your life, your emotions, or your bank balance to be, is the foundation of everything else. Of course, once the gospel announcement is made, in whatever way, it means instantly that all people everywhere are gladly invited to come in, to join the party, to discover forgiveness for the past, an astonishing destiny in God's future, and a vocation in the present. And in that welcome and invitation, all the emotions can be, and one hopes will eventually be, fully engaged.

Ahhhhh, yes, that is good news indeed!

Recommended Reading List

Well, I know I've never done this before, but I'm going to recommend a page on the "Contending for the Faith" website. Its clear they don't intend it to be referenced in this way, but the list of books that are the subject of their 2010 Spring Lectures looks like a great list! I haven't read them all, but I have read most of them and I highly recommend all of those to anyone who has been feeling "stuck" or "bound" by the traditions within the American Restoration Movement churches, especially my "tribe", the Churches of Christ. To you, please take heart that there are others who have been wrestling with these "issues" for years and have written some very readable and well-documented books on the subjects which our tradition has turned into "issues". These authors expose how good we have been at answering questions that no one is asking and at driving away anyone who dared to actually read and think about the God of the Scriptures. This tradition of destructive criticism and isolationism is being continued by the folks involved in "Contending for the Faith", which is especially ironic since one of their core doctrines is a plea for simple New Testament Christianity. Their practice of ever-increasing exclusivity and drawing lines to maintain their self-identification of faithfulness is self-destructive, so its not worth being drawn into fighting or arguing about their "issues". But in the meantime, I'm happy to utilize their research and spread the word about their "Recommended Reading List"!
The world is watching!

I Disagree

A local preacher wrote:
"Here is the primary issue as I see it. Poverty is a spiritual problem. It is not a financial problem. To make any inroads towards solutions, we must address the problem holistically. Sin brought poverty into this world. I am not saying that anyone and everyone who is in poverty or is poor is there because of his or her sin. Indeed, their circumstances may show how truly evil poverty is. Perhaps, some find themselves in poverty because of the sin of someone else. But someone sinned. After all, poverty did not exist in the Garden of Eden.

How do you address sin? You address sin through grace and accountability. How do you address the problem of the poor? To truly make a difference with the poor, you offer grace and accountability.

You give out the grace that God has given you. You give out of love. But you do not give and give and give, in order to sustain a lifestyle that is counter to the way God has created us. You do not sustain and subsidize a lifestyle that is counter to the way a person was created. As painful as it is, if the situation demands it, love calls for you to say “no.” This is what lies behind Paul's statement to the Thessalonians in second Thessalonians 3:10, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat.""

I'm sorry, but my Bible consistently states that it is the rich who are the problem. Those of us whose hearts are hardened by our striving for more and better; those of us who would abuse and impoverish others by our actions and our choices for the sake of our comfort; those of us who build bigger walls in the name of security! As the followers of a penniless, homeless, unemployed carpenter our mission is to BE Christ to the world; to express the love of the Almighty to EVERYONE.

Is there a time to say, "No"? Of course, but its not when we judge someone and find them and their lifestyle to be unworthy. In my opinion, one should say "No" when we have nothing left to give or when the gift would be made in a grudging, superior attitude which would further harden OUR heart and damage our relationship with each other.

Do you remember how Jesus responded when asked by his wrong-thinking disciples, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" John 9 contains the story. At the end of that encounter, the blind man received grace at the hand of God, he becomes a witnessing believer in the Son of Man, and the more religious folk are judged, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

"Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." The world is watching!

Lost: Years

Had a special moment (well, 15 minutes) tonight as our young friend Joy shared her struggles with mental illness resulting in drastic treatments, confinement, powerful medications, alienation, and salvation. She's trying to build a life in Christ, but still feels like she's in high school due to those "lost years". Not the kind of stuff you're going to hear about anywhere but "sharing time" at the Downtown Gathering! Praise God! The world is watching!

Chapter 7, by Denver Moore

Here you go, straight talk to do-gooders like us, from "What Difference Do It Make?" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore:

"I was about twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old by the time I wound up homeless in Fort Worth. Little children likes to say, "It takes one to know one!" So if you want to know about homeless folks, just ask me 'cause I was one of 'em for a whole lotta years.

Now, there ain't no two ways about it: some homeless folks is just plain ol', no-account lazy. I don't mean to be bad-mouthin nobody, but that's the truth.

On the other hand, though, there's a whole lotta homeless that got that way 'cause they kept tryin and tryin, and no amount a' tryin they done ever amounted to much. You can work a little pickup job for a day and make twenty or thirty dollars. But what you gon' do with twenty or thirty dollars? Maybe you can rent you a room for the night or have a decent meal. But what you gon' do after that?

Did you ever lose somethin or somebody you cared about? Somethin or somebody you really loved? I'm telling you what - if you did, you know that ain't somethin you can get over real easy.

Like I couldn't get rid of the pain when I watched my grandma, Big Mama, get burned to death in her shack. Or when that man ran outta the woods and stabbed my daddy to death. Or when my Aunt Etha, that was takin care a' me after that, took sick and died. All them things happened when I was just a little-bitty boy.

Lotta homeless folks been hurt like that. And the hurt just hangs around you like a stray dog that smells a bone. You can't never get rid of it unless you gets rid of the bone.

I always did believe in Jesus.

Most a' the people on the streets know Jesus loves 'em. But they figure nobody else loves 'em but Jesus. Street people done heard more sermons than most preachers ever preached. Lotta good folks come 'round the 'hood, talkin 'bout Jesus this, Jesus that. Tellin us about Him is one thing ... who goin' stick around and show us Jesus? See, deliverin kindness ain't the pastor's job. That's our job. When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, He didn't go with 'em. He stayed back and laid low, maybe had hisself a cup a' coffee.

Listen at this: Jesus sent the disciples out. John and Mark and Nathaniel and them went into the villages. When I was homeless, one thing I just couldn't understand is why all these folks kept tryin to invitin me in someplace that I didn't wanna be. They'd come out and hand me some kinda piece a' paper, talkin 'bout, "Jesus loves you! Come fellowship with us!" Now, their hearts was in the right place, and they just tryin to show me the love a' God. But seemed like they didn't understand that it just ain't that easy.

For one thing, them folks that invited me was all smilin and clean, and I was all ragged and dirty. 'Sides that, most a' them was white, and I was black as a coffee bean. Wadn't no way I was gon' show up at their church lookin like I looked.

For another thing, where was I gon' leave my bags with all my worldly goods, my blanket and my soap and my half-pint and what have you? It wadn't much, but wadn't no way I was gon' leave it in the 'hood with all them fellas ready to split it up amongst themselves. And I was pretty sure they didn't have no luggage check at the church.

Then they'd say, "God bless you!" and leave me with that piece a' paper so I wouldn't forget where I was s'posed to show up. 'Course, they didn't know I couldn't read.

See, we don't need to be tryin to drag the homeless, or any kinda needy people, to "programs," to "services." What people needs is people.

And needy people don't need no perfect people neither. When Jesus sent His disciples out, He sent Peter right along, knowin Peter had a bad temper and a potty mouth and was gon' deny Him three times. He sent John and James even though they was full a' pride and fightin over the best seat at the table. He even sent Judas, knowin Judas was gon' betray Him. Even though Jesus knowed all a' their sin and weakness, He sent 'em anyway.

Listen, if the devil ain't messin with you, he's already got you. If you is waitin to clean up your own life before you get out and help somebody else, you may as well take off your shoes and crawl back in the bed 'cause it ain't never gon' happen. Jesus don't need no help from no perfect saints. If He did, He wouldn't a' gone up yonder and left us down here in charge."