Thursday, May 29, 2008

giving and equality

I was reading a booklet called The Grace of Giving (reprinted as this) and the following principle really struck me:

Principle #5: Christian giving contributes to equality (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'

Stott writes:
"...the same dilemma that confronts missionaries. Should they 'go native', becoming in all things like the nationals they work among? Or should they continue to enjoy western affluence without any modification of their lifestyle? Probably neither. The Willowbank Report on 'Gospel and Culture' suggests that they should rather develop a standard of living 'which finds it natural to exchange hospitality with others on a basis of reciprocity, without embarrassment' [Making Christ Known (Eerdmans/Paternoster, 1996), p 82]

In other words, if we are embarrassed either to visit other people in their home, or to invite them into ours because of the disparity of our economic lifestyles, something is wrong; the inequality is too great, for it has broken fellowship. There needs to be a measure of equalization in one or the other direction, or in both. And Christian giving contributes to this equality."

I couldn't agree more.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Social Justice vs. Mercy

this is something I wrote about a year ago but not in a forum where I could get any feedback. let me know what you think if you get a chance...

I was listening to a well known pastor give a talk on missional leadership today. At one point he began remarking that in the church we often talk about social justice when we should be calling it ministries of mercy or something like that. There was much that I disagreed with in his little aside but essentially he was saying that we need to be more careful with our language. His point was something to the effect of “justice” is what Jesus got for our sake and “mercy” is what we get from God. Therefore, we should practice acts of mercy not justice.

I think as followers of Jesus we need to practice both, but that we should be able to distinguish between them. In my mind social justice is when we act to make right the systems that enable and support oppression in any form. Mercy is when we act to relieve the symptoms of oppression (that comes from without or within).

This pastor used the example of a homeless man who is an alcoholic and hungry. He said that if this man lets alcohol destroy his life and doesn’t try to get a job then justice is to let him rot away on the streets (not his exact words). Mercy in his mind was to give this guy a hot meal, some clean clothes, and a place to sleep. He doesn’t deserve it but neither do we. I think this is a typical way of thinking about the problem of homelessness (or any number of social problems we see) in this country. It assumes that everything we see is a product of choices, good or bad. “If I have a nice home it is because I’ve made good choices and if someone else is homeless you can probably trace it back to bad choices.” Those of us who don’t really experience any form of oppression tend to overlook the way our society is structured that leaves some with such a feeling of desperation that they make bad choices.
I don’t believe that justice is to just let this guy get what he “deserves”. I’m trying to look beyond the obvious (alcoholism, inability to get/hold a job) and see if there are any systems that are not right/just that keep him in this vicious cycle. So social justice would be to act to correct the laws that aim to keep the homeless population out of our sight so that businesses can thrive and everyone else can pretend they don’t exist. But this takes a longer time then I would like and in the meantime, out of gratitude for how God has treated me, I should practice mercy by taking care of his immediate needs, etc…

In the end, I think this pastor was on to something though he missed the boat in some ways. We are lazy with our language in this culture and if we’re not careful, words like justice and mercy will lose their meaning (i.e. grace, love, awesome, good). But regarding this example, let’s be a people that would stand for both justice and mercy where appropriate. Let’s let our hearts be angered by the things that anger the heart of God and be moved to make systems right and treat people with the mercy that we’ve been shown. Come Lord Jesus!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Escape From Reason


...a quick review of a book I read this week.

Escape From Reason
- Francis Schaeffer, IVP

Schaeffer offers a concise yet penetrating overlook of philosophic thought from the time of Thomas Aquinas through the 20th Century. Written in 1968, Schaeffer had such an insight into the thinking of his day that 40 years later, the things he saw are finally making their way into mainstream ways of thinking. He was writing brilliantly about postmodern thought 30 years before I ever even heard of it.

I won’t lie, this book, though short and sweet, put my intellect to the test. He moves through 750 years of philosophy at breakneck speed. He does not adequately encapsulate any of the thinkers he writes about but more shows the movement of thought through different eras. I found it to be quite helpful in understanding how the current science vs. faith debate came into being. Essentially, Schaeffer argues that for the Christian to fall into the modern (and postmodern) way of thinking about a dichotomy between reason and faith leaves us without legs to stand on in either category. It’s a very compelling yet challenging read.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Consuming Jesus - success & the homogenous unit principle

Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one so that the world might know that he was sent by the Father. What is this to look like? If a bunch of people who look alike and like the same things are "one" is that really anything that is worth noticing? Now I know that we are all selfish enough that anytime anyone sacrifices for others in way that allows us to be "one" it is worth something. But I think Jesus was talking about bringing together people from different social classes and cultures.

Being enamored with "success", by and in large the church in America has sold out to the homogeneous unit principle. This principle states that we will be more effective (successful) in ministry if we target those who are like us in order to make them comfortable enough to hear the Gospel. Is that what we're doing or do we just not really like people that aren't like us that much? Maybe it's an answer to Jesus' prayer that Gator and Seminole fans who are alike in every other way would be "one". That will make people sit up and notice that there's something about this Jesus guy.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Consuming Jesus - Fundamentalism & "trickle down social ethics"


In chapter 1 of Consuming Jesus, Metzger traces some of the history of the evangelical church in the U.S., it's racial divisions, and it's consumer culture mentality. It takes us back to the turn of the century with D.L. Moody and his evangelistic revivalism. Moody, described as the "forefather" of fundamentalism, shifted during his season of ministry to a singular emphasis on evangelism. Though early in his ministry he had walked in the Evangelical tradition of social concern he began to see social reform as a distraction of the primary concern, evangelism.

According to Metzger, Moody and his followers did not necessarily lack compassion, they just believed that evangelism was the most effective way to address social concerns. Metzger calls this "trickle down social ethics", that as people enter into a right relationship with God that there life will improve and they will be able to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps". Metzger rightly points out that this belief overlooks the reality of systematic injustice that takes away the bootstraps of those who are to pull themselves up by them.

In my next installment of this book review I will try to summarize Metzger's argument of how the premillenialist eschatology of Fundamentalism furthered this disengagement with the social concerns and injustices of the day.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Consuming Jesus - Part 2


I plan to begin reading Consuming Jesus tonight. The subtitle reads, "Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church". Promises to be good stuff. Come back for thoughts along the way.