An email I sent out today reflecting on 5 years of response to AIDS in Zambia to my friends in leadership at World Vision USA...
Tomorrow is the last day of school at WA for this year...and it is the end of year 5 of this thing called the Zambia Project...I just wanted to drop you a short note of grateful thanks for your part in helping to change the lives of kids here in Chicago and in Zambia and in other schools across the country...
As we celebrate a third year in a row of raising over $100,000 for orphans and widows in Africa (I believe they call that the threepeat of fundraising) and over $515,000 from our little campus flowing from West Chicago to Kakolo Village, I am simply overwhelmed...I am amazed at the longevity of God's spirit in moving this team of students, I am amazed that these numbers represent so many changed lives for now and for eternity on both sides of the Atlantic, I am amazed that on our campus and on many other high school and college campuses there is a pretty large group of students who love to talk intelligently and passionately about things such as poverty, debt relief, AIDS, economics, justice, mercy, transformational community development, Milennium Development Goals, the Kingdom, the john 10:10 mandate, compassion, and other things that weren't in their vocabularies 5 years ago, I am amazed at how Jesus has wrecked our lives in the best way possible, I am amazed at the connection with those outside the church this project has given us, I am amazed at the richness of community found in caring for the poor and oppressed, I am amazed at how God has changed me and hundreds of students in doing something we simply couldn't have imagined in our wildest dreams a half a decade ago...
And I stand amazed before the God who loves children and communities in Africa far more than us...one of the students who helped cast the vision for this project at the beginning said to me the other day, "I remember that the One Life Revolution original goal was to raise a million dollars for Zambia...it looks like maybe you guys will do that just at WA..." And I simply replied back to him, "You know, maybe we will...nothing surprises me anymore when God shows up..."
Thanks for helping us to write a story, to meet God in the dirt of Africa and the strip malls of the suburbs, and to forever have our hearts drawn to Jesus and those He loves deeply...
Looking forward to the next half decade,
CHIP
Thursday, May 31, 2007
FIGHTING FOR AUTHENTICITY by Josh Riebock, Relevant Magazine
Here's a great read published on Relevant Magazine's website from a former WA student whom God is using to grow and challenge student Christ-followers into authentic believers...can't wait to see how God uses his words in the future in this generation...
I struggle with pornography. I am an alcoholic. I don’t care about the homeless. I have a hard time believing my prayers do anything. I love the movie Gigli. These confessions (except for the last one) have become common place in our Christian communities today. In bars, coffee shops, apartments, and even in church people are being authentic. People are sharing the corners of their hearts that for so long remained hidden. Communities are shedding light on areas of their lives that had for years been left in the dark. Authentic community, authentic faith, and authentic Jesus are the cry of the new generation.
We don’t want to be fooled anymore. We don’t want to be gullible anymore. We want to be us with people that don’t pretend to be something that they aren’t. Just add water relationships, plastic pastors, and immaculate images have induced gag reflexes like that of Lloyd Christmas upon finding that Harry Dunne was sweeping Mary Samsonite, I mean Swanson, off for a day of skiing in Dumb and Dumber. We want flawed. We want imperfect. We want real. And this kind of corduroy rather than polyester faith is a growing and refreshing influence in the world today.
But as our generation has attempted to flee the “traditional” model of Christianity with perfect leaders, pristine theologies, hollow rituals, and performance driven faith, it has not been able to fully evade it and it is now invading our most cherished value, authenticity. The banner of authenticity that our generation has waived is in danger of being tainted, soiled, and becoming one of the very things that we are so desperate to escape.
The truth is, authenticity is becoming as traditional a religious method as singing Amazing Grace, uttering the Apostles Creed, or avoiding tattoos and drinking. It is becoming a mindless ritual that holds no meaning. One that we somehow believe makes us more spiritual. It goes something like this. A group of twentysomethings will be drinking a beer, talking about life, Lost, and sharing their stories. Someone will begin to share about their past, perhaps describing the strained nature of their relationship with their Father. Words like broken, wounded, and bitter will get thrown around. As the individual finishes their story, the others in the room will feel a deep connection, believing that this individual has just bared their soul in an authentic way.
But what really happened is that this individual has just performed a powerfully hollow ritual. They have figured out what they can share in this community in order to con everyone else into thinking that they are being authentic and making them happy. Simultaneously, they withheld all things that are difficult to share, anything that might bring discomfort, and anything that they are truly wrestling with. At the conclusion of the exchange they are accepted by the community, their heart has remained completely hidden, and they somehow believe that God is smiling. Herein lays the danger of authenticity and the proof that “religion” has infiltrated the ranks of authenticity.
We, as humans, always learn how to play the game of religion and spirituality. We adapt. It used to just be that we could go to church, memorize a few Bible verses, not party too hard in public, and avoid Tarantino movies and we were confident that we were ok in the eyes of everyone else. And now, we are simply adding authenticity to that list. It is simply lengthening the works oriented faith list that must be executed in order to make God and others happy. Many show up at church to appease God and others. Many quote the Bible thinking it makes them a better Christian. Many vote Republican because they think God is red. And now many are “authentic” because they think it is what you have to do to be a good or relevant Christian. All of these things can be incredibly life shaping, when they are done for the right reasons.
Ultimately, this is a question of motivation. It is the motivation that makes all rituals beautiful or hideous, freeing or enslaving. So what if we were to be authentic because we wanted to be. What if we were to be authentic for the sake of being authentic? Maybe we ought to be authentic because our hearts are being changed from the inside out and we are set free to be our beautifully messy selves. For many of us that may mean that we are authentic enough to say, “I don’t want to be authentic.” (Wow, the chills just ran down my spine. That feels like blasphemy or the worst of four letter words.)
But unless we are authentic, authentic is and will be nothing more than the new tradition. Authenticity is something that we need to fight for. We need to fight for it by believing that authenticity does not make us better Christians, but it is a better way of life. So what will we do? Will authenticity, something that is so beautiful, become another thing that people twenty-five years from now are trying to evade? Will it be simply one more component of religion?I certainly hope not.
I struggle with pornography. I am an alcoholic. I don’t care about the homeless. I have a hard time believing my prayers do anything. I love the movie Gigli. These confessions (except for the last one) have become common place in our Christian communities today. In bars, coffee shops, apartments, and even in church people are being authentic. People are sharing the corners of their hearts that for so long remained hidden. Communities are shedding light on areas of their lives that had for years been left in the dark. Authentic community, authentic faith, and authentic Jesus are the cry of the new generation.
We don’t want to be fooled anymore. We don’t want to be gullible anymore. We want to be us with people that don’t pretend to be something that they aren’t. Just add water relationships, plastic pastors, and immaculate images have induced gag reflexes like that of Lloyd Christmas upon finding that Harry Dunne was sweeping Mary Samsonite, I mean Swanson, off for a day of skiing in Dumb and Dumber. We want flawed. We want imperfect. We want real. And this kind of corduroy rather than polyester faith is a growing and refreshing influence in the world today.
But as our generation has attempted to flee the “traditional” model of Christianity with perfect leaders, pristine theologies, hollow rituals, and performance driven faith, it has not been able to fully evade it and it is now invading our most cherished value, authenticity. The banner of authenticity that our generation has waived is in danger of being tainted, soiled, and becoming one of the very things that we are so desperate to escape.
The truth is, authenticity is becoming as traditional a religious method as singing Amazing Grace, uttering the Apostles Creed, or avoiding tattoos and drinking. It is becoming a mindless ritual that holds no meaning. One that we somehow believe makes us more spiritual. It goes something like this. A group of twentysomethings will be drinking a beer, talking about life, Lost, and sharing their stories. Someone will begin to share about their past, perhaps describing the strained nature of their relationship with their Father. Words like broken, wounded, and bitter will get thrown around. As the individual finishes their story, the others in the room will feel a deep connection, believing that this individual has just bared their soul in an authentic way.
But what really happened is that this individual has just performed a powerfully hollow ritual. They have figured out what they can share in this community in order to con everyone else into thinking that they are being authentic and making them happy. Simultaneously, they withheld all things that are difficult to share, anything that might bring discomfort, and anything that they are truly wrestling with. At the conclusion of the exchange they are accepted by the community, their heart has remained completely hidden, and they somehow believe that God is smiling. Herein lays the danger of authenticity and the proof that “religion” has infiltrated the ranks of authenticity.
We, as humans, always learn how to play the game of religion and spirituality. We adapt. It used to just be that we could go to church, memorize a few Bible verses, not party too hard in public, and avoid Tarantino movies and we were confident that we were ok in the eyes of everyone else. And now, we are simply adding authenticity to that list. It is simply lengthening the works oriented faith list that must be executed in order to make God and others happy. Many show up at church to appease God and others. Many quote the Bible thinking it makes them a better Christian. Many vote Republican because they think God is red. And now many are “authentic” because they think it is what you have to do to be a good or relevant Christian. All of these things can be incredibly life shaping, when they are done for the right reasons.
Ultimately, this is a question of motivation. It is the motivation that makes all rituals beautiful or hideous, freeing or enslaving. So what if we were to be authentic because we wanted to be. What if we were to be authentic for the sake of being authentic? Maybe we ought to be authentic because our hearts are being changed from the inside out and we are set free to be our beautifully messy selves. For many of us that may mean that we are authentic enough to say, “I don’t want to be authentic.” (Wow, the chills just ran down my spine. That feels like blasphemy or the worst of four letter words.)
But unless we are authentic, authentic is and will be nothing more than the new tradition. Authenticity is something that we need to fight for. We need to fight for it by believing that authenticity does not make us better Christians, but it is a better way of life. So what will we do? Will authenticity, something that is so beautiful, become another thing that people twenty-five years from now are trying to evade? Will it be simply one more component of religion?I certainly hope not.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
MICROFINANCE: Good News? by Christine and Adam Jeske, RELEVANT MAGAZINE
An interesting article about one of the central ideas that we must engage as we think about responding to the issues of jusice, poverty, and need in our world today...
Madondo used to earn a living in the ritzy hotels of South African tourist areas by selling snack foods and cigarettes to hotel employees. “The trick to that kind of business,” he says, “is knowing when everybody gets paid. You sell on credit when nobody can pay, then you find them first thing on the day they get paid. You can’t be lazy about it. But sure, I made a good living like that.”Then Madondo met Jesus. Madondo left behind the snack business and headed back to his home village to hit poverty head-on. Without any expectation of pay, he invited neighbors to his home for church services, and by default became the preacher. Meanwhile, his life became a display of passion for action. He partnered with non-profit organizations to teach gardening to village members, and most recently he started working with a microfinance organization.This is where Madondo’s life comes full circle. Now in addition to sharing the gospel with anyone who has ears, Madondo ties in motivating rhetoric on why an African villager should get off his seat and start a business. He’s using his experience as a snack food seller to motivate neighbors, some of whom have never earned money in their lives except the meager welfare grant the government sends to keep them from starving. “We can do it!” shout a group of young people at one of his meetings, practicing the slogan of this microfinance institution (MFI). It’s a message rarely heard among the poorest of the world.
What’s this all about?
I, too, work with a microfinance organization in South Africa. Like Madondo, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my faith in Jesus. And yet on an average day, the connection between microfinance and the Bible is not as clear, say, as starting churches in Algeria. The idea of microfinance is as straightforward as its name—micro, meaning loans as small as $5 but going up to $500 or $1000 (depending on the context), and finance, meaning getting people the money they need to start or expand a business to earn a living. People’s confidence grows as they get “a hand up, not a handout,” in the words of one MFI. Clients pay back the loans with interest. But what does the Bible have to say about microfinance? With all the hoopla microfinance has garnered recently, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize for the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, we Christians would do well to figure out where we stand on the issue. Namely, if Jesus said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” how does microfinance stand as a means of giving? Is charging interest inappropriate with someone in dire straits? Are we supposed to find some more spiritual means? Would a man like Madondo be better off spending his time only preaching instead of recruiting clients for business loans?
What are the economics of the Bible?
Dive into the words of Jesus, and the economics of the gospel are literally out of this world. Here’s a man who praised a widow’s donation of a penny as worth more than a year’s wages and told stories with heroes who gave away their master’s money or paid workers a full day’s wage regardless of their hours worked. He paid His taxes, but found the money in a fish’s mouth. Jesus saw money on a completely different value system. What did Jesus have to say about lending to the poor? He said give. If you do lend, do so even to your enemies, and don’t expect to get anything back. Whenever He spoke of money, Jesus’ way was always the most generous, selfless and faith-led.
What kind of backwards economics is this?
Even in the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites a strict code of finance, especially regarding interest. God told the Israelites, “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest” (Exodus 22:25, TNIV). God told them not to charge interest of each other if the borrower is needy. And we also read in Psalms that the righteous "lend freely” (Psalms 37:26). God wants us never to lose sight of the higher purpose—in the end, it’s not “all about the Benjamins.”
But is all this simply holy foolishness that no real person can obey?
The Bible also contains wisdom tested by men and women who knew human nature. Proverbs 28:8 seems to indicate that only exorbitant interest is a problem. And Deuteronomy 23:20 perhaps deals with the risk of lending to strangers, saying, “You may charge a foreigner interest.” Jesus told stories of people charging interest, without a critique. He also said, “Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42).Psalm 37:21 sums up the problem: “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.” The Bible would not deny that people out there would try to take advantage of a well-meant hand up. Still, the Bible makes it clear that our aim should be for all people to have the means to earn a living. In the Old Testament, God set regulations like the year of Jubilee so that people could not be deprived of land, their means of living. In the New Testament, Paul admonishes that “Anyone who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). His vision for the believers is that “Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work...” (Ephesians 4:28). We see an aim toward providing fair credit, encouragement or whatever it takes to get someone working to provide for themselves and for the good of the community.So from all this, it appears that microfinance in a Christian context faces three challenges: to get people access to credit fairly, to deal with people of the world wisely and to keep the higher purpose in mind through everything.
Facing the challenges
Microfinance is certainly not a complete solution. What about the sick, the elderly or those facing tragedy—don’t they need more than a chance to start a business? The fact is that no individual has the whole system of the Kingdom of God in his pocket. Justice requires doctoring, education, giving, providing jobs, preaching and more. Take a doctor, for example. She spends her time healing people’s bodies. Is she telling them about the gospel while she examines their broken elbows? Is she feeding the starving, counseling and divorcing couples and singing praise songs in their ears? Probably not. But she’s doing her part. Or compare that same doctor to Jesus. Did Jesus need a hospital full of gizmos to heal people? With no system and no training, He just stood there and spit on people or let them swipe their fingers on His robe and shazzam, they’re healed. Does that mean our doctors should drop out of med school and take up walking around touching people? Probably not. God uses human means to perform superhuman feats, and our job is to use the tools before us.What a doctor can do, though, is operate with biblical perspective. The same is true of microfinance professionals. Legitimate arguments can be made both for and against the operation of MFIs. So a microfinance program must face the challenges listed above. Microfinance has great potential to make a means of living available as freely as possible. When able-bodied people like Madondo can access capital at a fair interest rate, in the tiny amounts they need, less “charity” is necessary, and the resources available for helping in hard places can go much farther. Microfinance programs give an opportunity for someone to work who otherwise has none. It’s a means to teach Paul’s hard-hitting lesson—that one has to work or won’t eat, and gives those ready to work an opportunity to do so. The creativity of average folks is released, uplifting individuals, families and communities. This means not being foolish. Microfinance institutions keep interest rates low by keeping their repayment rates high, so they do well to choose clients carefully. Since the poorest of the world often lack the physical collateral that a bank would use to keep their losses minimal, MFIs often use “social collateral” substitutes: people may borrow in groups, helping each other solve business problems and repay. People choose group members they trust. Ideally, this keeps MFIs from lending money to enable alcoholics and thieves, but still reach the poorest. Because of their care for borrowers, MFIs usually have interest rates competitive with the rest of the market, or even lower, as informal moneylenders often lend at preposterous rates, earning the title of “loan shark.” This interest permits the organizations to reach many more people with an opportunity to better their lives themselves than traditional charity, since the money goes out, is repaid and goes out again, with very little additional capital input, if any.Finally, as in any field, Christians should regard microfinance with the bigger picture in mind. Our lives are not about money, and neither is money the complete solution to poverty. We have been bought by God, our mansions are in heaven, and let us teach others the same. Madondo can share creative applications to the economic problems facing his neighbors and also the live out and speak the news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In fact, the former may enliven the latter.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/beta/life_article.php?id=7439
Madondo used to earn a living in the ritzy hotels of South African tourist areas by selling snack foods and cigarettes to hotel employees. “The trick to that kind of business,” he says, “is knowing when everybody gets paid. You sell on credit when nobody can pay, then you find them first thing on the day they get paid. You can’t be lazy about it. But sure, I made a good living like that.”Then Madondo met Jesus. Madondo left behind the snack business and headed back to his home village to hit poverty head-on. Without any expectation of pay, he invited neighbors to his home for church services, and by default became the preacher. Meanwhile, his life became a display of passion for action. He partnered with non-profit organizations to teach gardening to village members, and most recently he started working with a microfinance organization.This is where Madondo’s life comes full circle. Now in addition to sharing the gospel with anyone who has ears, Madondo ties in motivating rhetoric on why an African villager should get off his seat and start a business. He’s using his experience as a snack food seller to motivate neighbors, some of whom have never earned money in their lives except the meager welfare grant the government sends to keep them from starving. “We can do it!” shout a group of young people at one of his meetings, practicing the slogan of this microfinance institution (MFI). It’s a message rarely heard among the poorest of the world.
What’s this all about?
I, too, work with a microfinance organization in South Africa. Like Madondo, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my faith in Jesus. And yet on an average day, the connection between microfinance and the Bible is not as clear, say, as starting churches in Algeria. The idea of microfinance is as straightforward as its name—micro, meaning loans as small as $5 but going up to $500 or $1000 (depending on the context), and finance, meaning getting people the money they need to start or expand a business to earn a living. People’s confidence grows as they get “a hand up, not a handout,” in the words of one MFI. Clients pay back the loans with interest. But what does the Bible have to say about microfinance? With all the hoopla microfinance has garnered recently, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize for the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, we Christians would do well to figure out where we stand on the issue. Namely, if Jesus said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” how does microfinance stand as a means of giving? Is charging interest inappropriate with someone in dire straits? Are we supposed to find some more spiritual means? Would a man like Madondo be better off spending his time only preaching instead of recruiting clients for business loans?
What are the economics of the Bible?
Dive into the words of Jesus, and the economics of the gospel are literally out of this world. Here’s a man who praised a widow’s donation of a penny as worth more than a year’s wages and told stories with heroes who gave away their master’s money or paid workers a full day’s wage regardless of their hours worked. He paid His taxes, but found the money in a fish’s mouth. Jesus saw money on a completely different value system. What did Jesus have to say about lending to the poor? He said give. If you do lend, do so even to your enemies, and don’t expect to get anything back. Whenever He spoke of money, Jesus’ way was always the most generous, selfless and faith-led.
What kind of backwards economics is this?
Even in the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites a strict code of finance, especially regarding interest. God told the Israelites, “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest” (Exodus 22:25, TNIV). God told them not to charge interest of each other if the borrower is needy. And we also read in Psalms that the righteous "lend freely” (Psalms 37:26). God wants us never to lose sight of the higher purpose—in the end, it’s not “all about the Benjamins.”
But is all this simply holy foolishness that no real person can obey?
The Bible also contains wisdom tested by men and women who knew human nature. Proverbs 28:8 seems to indicate that only exorbitant interest is a problem. And Deuteronomy 23:20 perhaps deals with the risk of lending to strangers, saying, “You may charge a foreigner interest.” Jesus told stories of people charging interest, without a critique. He also said, “Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42).Psalm 37:21 sums up the problem: “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.” The Bible would not deny that people out there would try to take advantage of a well-meant hand up. Still, the Bible makes it clear that our aim should be for all people to have the means to earn a living. In the Old Testament, God set regulations like the year of Jubilee so that people could not be deprived of land, their means of living. In the New Testament, Paul admonishes that “Anyone who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). His vision for the believers is that “Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work...” (Ephesians 4:28). We see an aim toward providing fair credit, encouragement or whatever it takes to get someone working to provide for themselves and for the good of the community.So from all this, it appears that microfinance in a Christian context faces three challenges: to get people access to credit fairly, to deal with people of the world wisely and to keep the higher purpose in mind through everything.
Facing the challenges
Microfinance is certainly not a complete solution. What about the sick, the elderly or those facing tragedy—don’t they need more than a chance to start a business? The fact is that no individual has the whole system of the Kingdom of God in his pocket. Justice requires doctoring, education, giving, providing jobs, preaching and more. Take a doctor, for example. She spends her time healing people’s bodies. Is she telling them about the gospel while she examines their broken elbows? Is she feeding the starving, counseling and divorcing couples and singing praise songs in their ears? Probably not. But she’s doing her part. Or compare that same doctor to Jesus. Did Jesus need a hospital full of gizmos to heal people? With no system and no training, He just stood there and spit on people or let them swipe their fingers on His robe and shazzam, they’re healed. Does that mean our doctors should drop out of med school and take up walking around touching people? Probably not. God uses human means to perform superhuman feats, and our job is to use the tools before us.What a doctor can do, though, is operate with biblical perspective. The same is true of microfinance professionals. Legitimate arguments can be made both for and against the operation of MFIs. So a microfinance program must face the challenges listed above. Microfinance has great potential to make a means of living available as freely as possible. When able-bodied people like Madondo can access capital at a fair interest rate, in the tiny amounts they need, less “charity” is necessary, and the resources available for helping in hard places can go much farther. Microfinance programs give an opportunity for someone to work who otherwise has none. It’s a means to teach Paul’s hard-hitting lesson—that one has to work or won’t eat, and gives those ready to work an opportunity to do so. The creativity of average folks is released, uplifting individuals, families and communities. This means not being foolish. Microfinance institutions keep interest rates low by keeping their repayment rates high, so they do well to choose clients carefully. Since the poorest of the world often lack the physical collateral that a bank would use to keep their losses minimal, MFIs often use “social collateral” substitutes: people may borrow in groups, helping each other solve business problems and repay. People choose group members they trust. Ideally, this keeps MFIs from lending money to enable alcoholics and thieves, but still reach the poorest. Because of their care for borrowers, MFIs usually have interest rates competitive with the rest of the market, or even lower, as informal moneylenders often lend at preposterous rates, earning the title of “loan shark.” This interest permits the organizations to reach many more people with an opportunity to better their lives themselves than traditional charity, since the money goes out, is repaid and goes out again, with very little additional capital input, if any.Finally, as in any field, Christians should regard microfinance with the bigger picture in mind. Our lives are not about money, and neither is money the complete solution to poverty. We have been bought by God, our mansions are in heaven, and let us teach others the same. Madondo can share creative applications to the economic problems facing his neighbors and also the live out and speak the news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In fact, the former may enliven the latter.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/beta/life_article.php?id=7439
Monday, May 28, 2007
Thoughts at the End of Five Years of the Zambia Project…
Here's some of what I shared in chapel at WA as we end another school year and Zambia Project...
“More than just another year of raising over $100,000, as remarkable as that truly is, I want you to wrestle along with me about the condition of our hearts…and how we think about and respond to the needs we have and others have…and I long for three things to be true about us in light of Jesus’ conversation with an lady caught in adultery and brought before the religious leaders in John 8…
1. Give and Live in Grace that transforms rather than Condemnation that destroys…we don’t throw stones, but encourage one another to sin no more…
2. Become more aware of our own spiritual condition than the sins of others…stop bringing/talking about people in the public square, but rather in vulnerability enter into deep and meaningful conversation…
3. May this be a community where we don’t live in fear, alone, and staying caught…may God bring freedom in the light for those struggling with sexual stuff, those trapped by a lifestyle of alcohol consumption, or marijuana addiction…may those of you who find yourself constantly lying and pretending be able to come forward, find help, and meet Jesus in the dirt…
You see, here’s the deal: my prayer has been and continues to be that our hearts care even more deeply about the orphans and widows in Zambia devastated by AIDS and hunger…and that your heart broken by what you see in Africa will cause you to have a heart that is drawn to talk to and offer shelter to and provide for a homeless person in DuPage County, to be irresistibly drawn to tutor children living in poverty with little love and attention in Carol Stream, to see with new eyes that within a mile or two of our campus are people wondering if they’ll eat today, have housing next month, who don’t know the story and reality of who Jesus is and what He’s done despite hundreds of churches in our area…
I wonder what happened in that woman’s life whom Jesus rescued in John 8—we don’t know from the Scriptural account—but I have a feeling that this encounter with Jesus was a truly life-changing moment for her…and ultimately that’s what we can experience and what we can offer in the next 5 years of the Zambia Project…encounters with Jesus, and all who meet Him will never be the same…
“More than just another year of raising over $100,000, as remarkable as that truly is, I want you to wrestle along with me about the condition of our hearts…and how we think about and respond to the needs we have and others have…and I long for three things to be true about us in light of Jesus’ conversation with an lady caught in adultery and brought before the religious leaders in John 8…
1. Give and Live in Grace that transforms rather than Condemnation that destroys…we don’t throw stones, but encourage one another to sin no more…
2. Become more aware of our own spiritual condition than the sins of others…stop bringing/talking about people in the public square, but rather in vulnerability enter into deep and meaningful conversation…
3. May this be a community where we don’t live in fear, alone, and staying caught…may God bring freedom in the light for those struggling with sexual stuff, those trapped by a lifestyle of alcohol consumption, or marijuana addiction…may those of you who find yourself constantly lying and pretending be able to come forward, find help, and meet Jesus in the dirt…
You see, here’s the deal: my prayer has been and continues to be that our hearts care even more deeply about the orphans and widows in Zambia devastated by AIDS and hunger…and that your heart broken by what you see in Africa will cause you to have a heart that is drawn to talk to and offer shelter to and provide for a homeless person in DuPage County, to be irresistibly drawn to tutor children living in poverty with little love and attention in Carol Stream, to see with new eyes that within a mile or two of our campus are people wondering if they’ll eat today, have housing next month, who don’t know the story and reality of who Jesus is and what He’s done despite hundreds of churches in our area…
I wonder what happened in that woman’s life whom Jesus rescued in John 8—we don’t know from the Scriptural account—but I have a feeling that this encounter with Jesus was a truly life-changing moment for her…and ultimately that’s what we can experience and what we can offer in the next 5 years of the Zambia Project…encounters with Jesus, and all who meet Him will never be the same…
Thursday, May 17, 2007
UPDATE on G8 COMMITMENTS: A Report from DATA
Aid Working in Africa, But G8 Countries Seriously Off Track in Meeting Promises, says DATA Report from 2007,05.15.07
Bono, Bob Geldof, Herbert Grönemeyer, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) call for an "emergency session on G8 promises to Africa and credibility" and outline new evidence that effective aid works in Africa...alarming new data about low levels of forthcoming aid...a new path for G8 countries to avoid a crisis of credibility and keep their commitments
Berlin, Germany - May 15, 2007 - Africa advocacy organization, DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), today released a report that shows aid is working in poor countries, but that most G8 nations are seriously off track in delivering on the historic promises to Africa they made in 2005. The DATA Report 2007 finds that the G8 increased aid by less than half the sum needed from 2004-2006 to meet their 2010 goals. Estimates of forthcoming aid flows in 2007 show that the G8 are planning to do only about one third of what's needed to get back on track.
"The G8 are sleep walking into a crisis of credibility. I know the DATA report will feel like a cold shower, but I hope it will wake us all up. These are cold facts, but I know they will stir up some very hot arguments. These statistics are not just numbers on a page, they are people begging for their lives, for two pills a day, a mother begging to immunize her children, a child begging not to become a mother at age 12," said Bono, U2 lead singer and DATA co-founder."It's not our job to tell a government how to execute what they promise to do – it is our job to sound the alarm when they look like they are about to break a promise to the poorest and most vulnerable people on earth. Breaking a promise to us in the development community is one thing, to your citizenry is another, but we can't stop thinking about that mother and her child's sacred life," said Bono."The price of credibility is two cents in 100 euros to get back on track. If the G8 fail to keep these promises, the price we pay will be infinitely more expensive. This will create a generation of cynics in our own countries, and in dangerous times, give those in the wider world a reason to distrust us when we need to do the exact opposite," said Bono.
The DATA Report 2007 demonstrates that aid is effective in poor countries and improving the lives of millions of people. Because of assistance to global health programs, every day 1,450 Africans living with AIDS are put on life-saving medications. Due in part to debt cancellation and increased aid, 20 million more African children are going to school for the first time in their lives.This good news, however, only makes the bad news worse. The G8 are not increasing aid substantially enough to meet their commitments and are in serious danger of breaking these historic promises.President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa's first woman president, says in the foreword to the report, "Even as we have tangible proof that aid is working and that our governments are becoming more accountable, the G8's commitment to Africa seems to be faltering."
Today in Berlin, Bono, Bob Geldof, German musician and activist Herbert Grönemeyer and former Nigerian Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called for an emergency session on the G8's Africa commitments at the Summit in Heilegendamm next month. "Africa will be a priority at Heilegendamm to the immense credit of the German public, government, Chancellor Merkel and her peers and the Pope. But the Chancellor's efforts will be wasted if the entire G8 do not recognize this current crisis of credibility. Keeping these promises is the price of leadership," said Bob Geldof, a DATA principal and leading Africa advocate.
DATA also looked at predicted funding for Africa for 2008. DATA's analysis shows that next year the G8 are set to increase by approximately $1.7-2.3 billion – about a third of the $6.2 billion dollar increase they need to be on track to keep their commitments. "I'd like for you to consider whether nations who break these most precious of promised commitments – the commitment to save a life or send a child to school – should be considered leaders at all. If they fail to keep their word, should they even be allowed in the G8? If the serial offenders make no effort to get back on track, maybe we should save them the embarrassment of being called ‘world leaders, '" said Geldof."Keeping to the commitment would mean the G8 increasing aid by $6.2 billion this year. That is just two cents for every $100 of G8 wealth. None of us would feel a thing," said Geldof."
As this year's DATA Report highlights, Africa is more important than ever for reasons of the global economy, global health, global security and global warming. The G8 were profoundly right to make bold promises and profoundly wrong to slip onto a track which will break them. The condition of Africa is not a passing fashion; it is a permanent imperative," said Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of DATA.
Editor’s Notes:
DATA Report 2007 analysis on effective aid: The UK and Japan are on track to meet their promises. The US and Canada are off track. Germany, France and Italy are dangerously off track. The G8 needed to increase aid by $5.4 billion between 2004-2006 to be on track. They only increased by $2.3 billion during this period. Of that $2.3 billion, most of the increase came from the UK and Japan. To get back on track the G8 must increase by $6.24bn in 2007.
DATA is very alarmed that whereas the G8 need now to increase by $6.2 billion to get back on track, currently we can only predict increases worth $1.7-$2.3 billion for 2007 according to information available about current budget processes. Of all G8 nations, only the USA is planning sufficient increases next year. The rest of the G8 either haven’t presented clear data or are not planning adequate increases in their forthcoming budgets. The DAC donors as a whole needed to increase by $6.5 billion but only managed $2.8 billion. They need to provide $7.4 billion to get back on track in 2007.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on trade: All G8 countries are off track on trade. This is a travesty. Every year without an agreement on trade means more wasted opportunities to help African economies grow. Even without an outcome on Doha, the G8 must fulfill its promise to make trade work for Africa. New and additional resources need to be committed to build Africa’s capacity to trade.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on debt: The G8 are all on track on debt.However, campaigners must be vigilant to ensure the G8 provide financing as promised for the International Financial Institutions. The multilateral debt relief initiative and Nigerian debt cancellation deal were historic events; but the way in which debt relief is being accounted for has been bad news. In fact, the accounting method adopted by the G8 accountants obscures underlying real aid levels and makes it difficult to accurately track the G8 donors’ true progress toward their goals.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on health: The G8 are off track but have shown some strong leadership on AIDS, malaria and innovative financing.We have seen some significant progress on AIDS, malaria especially from the United States and innovative financing from the UK and France; but G8 donors are not meeting their commitments to strengthen broader health systems. Even the historic increase of 530,000 Africans receiving AIDS treatment in the past year is less than what is needed to achieve “near universal access” to treatment in Africa by 2010. Meeting this goal will require at least 655, 000 Africans being placed on medication each year.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on education: The UK and Canada are on track, but the rest of the G8 are off track.On the whole, the G8 have not scaled up aid to help African governments provide universal primary education. Despite leadership from the UK and to some extent Canada, collective funding for education from G8 donors has been static or declining over the last two years. The US Congress has also recently taken a leadership role on education, though their efforts do not show up in this year’s data.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on water and sanitation: Germany, Italy and France are on track, but the rest of the G8 are off track.G8 investments in the water and sanitation sector continue to drop, rather than increase, despite clear linkages between clean water and sanitation and improving health and education. Germany alone provides its equitable share and is on track. G8 donors provided less than half of what they needed to in 2005 to fulfill their promise on water and sanitation.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on governance: Progress on governance is hard to assess. The US, the UK, France and Canada are relatively on track. Germany, Italy and Japan are relatively off track.Although G8 countries have demonstrated a broad commitment to supporting governance reform in Africa, the commitment must go beyond signing and ratification of conventions. G8 countries must begin enforcing these international anti-corruption conventions, increasing investments in civil society and independent watchdog groups and taking immediate and forceful action to return some of the $20-$40 billion in illegally stolen assets that are estimated to be held in rich countries.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on peace and security: Progress on peace and security is hard to assess, but all G8 countries are off track on their agreed responsibility to protect, especially in Darfur.The G8 is broadly committed to boosting Africa’s peacekeeping capacity, but there are a number of systemic needs that the G8 have yet to specifically address. These needs include institutional capacity at the African Union (AU), transport and logistic support, harmonizing troop training programs and increasing cash assistance to the AU’s peace support operations. The lack of progress to stop genocide in Darfur and the daily atrocities occurring there make it clear that the G8 and the broader international community have not fulfilled their obligation under the Responsibility to Protect principle unanimously adopted by heads of state and government at the UN World Summit in September 2005.
About DATA:DATA aims to raise awareness about and spark response to the crisis of AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. At the core of DATA’s mission is a view that these issues are not about charity, but about equality and justice.We also call on Africa’s leaders to strengthen democracy, accountability and transparency in government to ensure that increased support benefits the people that need it most. The Africa Monitor will be launched in Johannesburg on May 29, 2007. Whereas the DATA Report helps hold the G8 accountable for their commitments to Africa, the Africa Monitor helps hold African leaders accountable for their commitments.
www.thedatareport.org
Bono, Bob Geldof, Herbert Grönemeyer, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) call for an "emergency session on G8 promises to Africa and credibility" and outline new evidence that effective aid works in Africa...alarming new data about low levels of forthcoming aid...a new path for G8 countries to avoid a crisis of credibility and keep their commitments
Berlin, Germany - May 15, 2007 - Africa advocacy organization, DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), today released a report that shows aid is working in poor countries, but that most G8 nations are seriously off track in delivering on the historic promises to Africa they made in 2005. The DATA Report 2007 finds that the G8 increased aid by less than half the sum needed from 2004-2006 to meet their 2010 goals. Estimates of forthcoming aid flows in 2007 show that the G8 are planning to do only about one third of what's needed to get back on track.
"The G8 are sleep walking into a crisis of credibility. I know the DATA report will feel like a cold shower, but I hope it will wake us all up. These are cold facts, but I know they will stir up some very hot arguments. These statistics are not just numbers on a page, they are people begging for their lives, for two pills a day, a mother begging to immunize her children, a child begging not to become a mother at age 12," said Bono, U2 lead singer and DATA co-founder."It's not our job to tell a government how to execute what they promise to do – it is our job to sound the alarm when they look like they are about to break a promise to the poorest and most vulnerable people on earth. Breaking a promise to us in the development community is one thing, to your citizenry is another, but we can't stop thinking about that mother and her child's sacred life," said Bono."The price of credibility is two cents in 100 euros to get back on track. If the G8 fail to keep these promises, the price we pay will be infinitely more expensive. This will create a generation of cynics in our own countries, and in dangerous times, give those in the wider world a reason to distrust us when we need to do the exact opposite," said Bono.
The DATA Report 2007 demonstrates that aid is effective in poor countries and improving the lives of millions of people. Because of assistance to global health programs, every day 1,450 Africans living with AIDS are put on life-saving medications. Due in part to debt cancellation and increased aid, 20 million more African children are going to school for the first time in their lives.This good news, however, only makes the bad news worse. The G8 are not increasing aid substantially enough to meet their commitments and are in serious danger of breaking these historic promises.President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa's first woman president, says in the foreword to the report, "Even as we have tangible proof that aid is working and that our governments are becoming more accountable, the G8's commitment to Africa seems to be faltering."
Today in Berlin, Bono, Bob Geldof, German musician and activist Herbert Grönemeyer and former Nigerian Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called for an emergency session on the G8's Africa commitments at the Summit in Heilegendamm next month. "Africa will be a priority at Heilegendamm to the immense credit of the German public, government, Chancellor Merkel and her peers and the Pope. But the Chancellor's efforts will be wasted if the entire G8 do not recognize this current crisis of credibility. Keeping these promises is the price of leadership," said Bob Geldof, a DATA principal and leading Africa advocate.
DATA also looked at predicted funding for Africa for 2008. DATA's analysis shows that next year the G8 are set to increase by approximately $1.7-2.3 billion – about a third of the $6.2 billion dollar increase they need to be on track to keep their commitments. "I'd like for you to consider whether nations who break these most precious of promised commitments – the commitment to save a life or send a child to school – should be considered leaders at all. If they fail to keep their word, should they even be allowed in the G8? If the serial offenders make no effort to get back on track, maybe we should save them the embarrassment of being called ‘world leaders, '" said Geldof."Keeping to the commitment would mean the G8 increasing aid by $6.2 billion this year. That is just two cents for every $100 of G8 wealth. None of us would feel a thing," said Geldof."
As this year's DATA Report highlights, Africa is more important than ever for reasons of the global economy, global health, global security and global warming. The G8 were profoundly right to make bold promises and profoundly wrong to slip onto a track which will break them. The condition of Africa is not a passing fashion; it is a permanent imperative," said Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of DATA.
Editor’s Notes:
DATA Report 2007 analysis on effective aid: The UK and Japan are on track to meet their promises. The US and Canada are off track. Germany, France and Italy are dangerously off track. The G8 needed to increase aid by $5.4 billion between 2004-2006 to be on track. They only increased by $2.3 billion during this period. Of that $2.3 billion, most of the increase came from the UK and Japan. To get back on track the G8 must increase by $6.24bn in 2007.
DATA is very alarmed that whereas the G8 need now to increase by $6.2 billion to get back on track, currently we can only predict increases worth $1.7-$2.3 billion for 2007 according to information available about current budget processes. Of all G8 nations, only the USA is planning sufficient increases next year. The rest of the G8 either haven’t presented clear data or are not planning adequate increases in their forthcoming budgets. The DAC donors as a whole needed to increase by $6.5 billion but only managed $2.8 billion. They need to provide $7.4 billion to get back on track in 2007.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on trade: All G8 countries are off track on trade. This is a travesty. Every year without an agreement on trade means more wasted opportunities to help African economies grow. Even without an outcome on Doha, the G8 must fulfill its promise to make trade work for Africa. New and additional resources need to be committed to build Africa’s capacity to trade.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on debt: The G8 are all on track on debt.However, campaigners must be vigilant to ensure the G8 provide financing as promised for the International Financial Institutions. The multilateral debt relief initiative and Nigerian debt cancellation deal were historic events; but the way in which debt relief is being accounted for has been bad news. In fact, the accounting method adopted by the G8 accountants obscures underlying real aid levels and makes it difficult to accurately track the G8 donors’ true progress toward their goals.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on health: The G8 are off track but have shown some strong leadership on AIDS, malaria and innovative financing.We have seen some significant progress on AIDS, malaria especially from the United States and innovative financing from the UK and France; but G8 donors are not meeting their commitments to strengthen broader health systems. Even the historic increase of 530,000 Africans receiving AIDS treatment in the past year is less than what is needed to achieve “near universal access” to treatment in Africa by 2010. Meeting this goal will require at least 655, 000 Africans being placed on medication each year.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on education: The UK and Canada are on track, but the rest of the G8 are off track.On the whole, the G8 have not scaled up aid to help African governments provide universal primary education. Despite leadership from the UK and to some extent Canada, collective funding for education from G8 donors has been static or declining over the last two years. The US Congress has also recently taken a leadership role on education, though their efforts do not show up in this year’s data.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on water and sanitation: Germany, Italy and France are on track, but the rest of the G8 are off track.G8 investments in the water and sanitation sector continue to drop, rather than increase, despite clear linkages between clean water and sanitation and improving health and education. Germany alone provides its equitable share and is on track. G8 donors provided less than half of what they needed to in 2005 to fulfill their promise on water and sanitation.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on governance: Progress on governance is hard to assess. The US, the UK, France and Canada are relatively on track. Germany, Italy and Japan are relatively off track.Although G8 countries have demonstrated a broad commitment to supporting governance reform in Africa, the commitment must go beyond signing and ratification of conventions. G8 countries must begin enforcing these international anti-corruption conventions, increasing investments in civil society and independent watchdog groups and taking immediate and forceful action to return some of the $20-$40 billion in illegally stolen assets that are estimated to be held in rich countries.
DATA Report 2007 analysis on peace and security: Progress on peace and security is hard to assess, but all G8 countries are off track on their agreed responsibility to protect, especially in Darfur.The G8 is broadly committed to boosting Africa’s peacekeeping capacity, but there are a number of systemic needs that the G8 have yet to specifically address. These needs include institutional capacity at the African Union (AU), transport and logistic support, harmonizing troop training programs and increasing cash assistance to the AU’s peace support operations. The lack of progress to stop genocide in Darfur and the daily atrocities occurring there make it clear that the G8 and the broader international community have not fulfilled their obligation under the Responsibility to Protect principle unanimously adopted by heads of state and government at the UN World Summit in September 2005.
About DATA:DATA aims to raise awareness about and spark response to the crisis of AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. At the core of DATA’s mission is a view that these issues are not about charity, but about equality and justice.We also call on Africa’s leaders to strengthen democracy, accountability and transparency in government to ensure that increased support benefits the people that need it most. The Africa Monitor will be launched in Johannesburg on May 29, 2007. Whereas the DATA Report helps hold the G8 accountable for their commitments to Africa, the Africa Monitor helps hold African leaders accountable for their commitments.
www.thedatareport.org
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
RAMEN FOR THE WORLD by Allison Hancock, Relevant Magazine
At the present moment, there are enough ramen noodles sitting in my living room to feed 200 people. My friends and I bought it with the intention of giving it to the poor. This seemingly ridiculous idea was birthed during a late night conversation after watching too much VH1. A lady on TV had bought a 25 million dollar house. Enraged by the extravagance, we got out our cell phones and began calculating how many people could receive clean water with the money it took her to buy a house for herself and her husband. We were astonished at the numbers. Our astonishment led to my roommate asking, “Do you know how much ramen you could buy with that much money?” (And yes, we are college students). We brought out the cell phone calculators once again. The number was insane.
At first, we saw the humor in our situation, but my roommate quickly pointed out that she had always thought if she were rich, she would buy ramen for hungry people. Her justification was, “It may not be the most nutritious food, but I lived off of it freshmen year, and it’s better than being hungry.” Perhaps we had been watching TV for too long, but we thought she had a good point.So the next day we set out for a warehouse grocery store. At 10 cents a pack, we purchased four huge cases of the staple of college existence. We stacked it up in our living room … and there it sits waiting to be mailed. We talked to a friend in Tanzania who loved our somewhat humorous idea of feeding the world with ramen. He asked us if we would mail it to him and let him use it as a ministry—he would give it to the hungry and befriend them, telling them about Jesus and just letting them know that someone cares.
While working out the logistics of mailing 200 packs of ramen to Africa, the tower of noodles in our living room has become a daily reminder of our own privileges here in the West. As ridiculous as it may sound, that ramen has changed a lot of my actions. My friends and I have started equating every purchase we make to how much ramen we could buy. As I sit here writing this, I am wearing a new shirt with the tags still on it because all I can think about is that my one shirt could provide 200 meals. Now, I know that ramen may not be the most logical choice for ending world hunger, but it does make you think. Putting numbers on someone else’s pain and suffering really begins to hit you hard. It makes all of our unnecessary “stuff” seem just that: unnecessary. If $1 can provide clean water to a person if Africa for one year, doesn’t that make you wonder where every dollar you spend goes? Living in a culture that says you always need more degrades your mind and spirit. God calls us to love Him through service to others, and every action we make can make a difference.
Maybe I am a hopeless and ignorant optimist (or maybe living amongst packages of ramen has gotten to me), but I really believe that with each action, each word we speak and each thought we think, we can either worship God and bring Him glory, or we can fail at that quest miserably. It may not seem that dire and urgent of a situation, but Satan is charming and deceptive. He works on us slowly and it is hard to break free of his trap. Maybe we are not called to hastily purchase enough ramen to feed Africa (though cheap, it is not all that healthy after all. Just ask everyone who gained the freshman 15). But we are called to be careful with the blessings that God has given us. We live in a culture that is thoroughly blessed with wealth yet thoroughly deceived by it as well. We have to constantly remind ourselves of its dangers, and that may take something as simple as remembering the price of ramen.
At first, we saw the humor in our situation, but my roommate quickly pointed out that she had always thought if she were rich, she would buy ramen for hungry people. Her justification was, “It may not be the most nutritious food, but I lived off of it freshmen year, and it’s better than being hungry.” Perhaps we had been watching TV for too long, but we thought she had a good point.So the next day we set out for a warehouse grocery store. At 10 cents a pack, we purchased four huge cases of the staple of college existence. We stacked it up in our living room … and there it sits waiting to be mailed. We talked to a friend in Tanzania who loved our somewhat humorous idea of feeding the world with ramen. He asked us if we would mail it to him and let him use it as a ministry—he would give it to the hungry and befriend them, telling them about Jesus and just letting them know that someone cares.
While working out the logistics of mailing 200 packs of ramen to Africa, the tower of noodles in our living room has become a daily reminder of our own privileges here in the West. As ridiculous as it may sound, that ramen has changed a lot of my actions. My friends and I have started equating every purchase we make to how much ramen we could buy. As I sit here writing this, I am wearing a new shirt with the tags still on it because all I can think about is that my one shirt could provide 200 meals. Now, I know that ramen may not be the most logical choice for ending world hunger, but it does make you think. Putting numbers on someone else’s pain and suffering really begins to hit you hard. It makes all of our unnecessary “stuff” seem just that: unnecessary. If $1 can provide clean water to a person if Africa for one year, doesn’t that make you wonder where every dollar you spend goes? Living in a culture that says you always need more degrades your mind and spirit. God calls us to love Him through service to others, and every action we make can make a difference.
Maybe I am a hopeless and ignorant optimist (or maybe living amongst packages of ramen has gotten to me), but I really believe that with each action, each word we speak and each thought we think, we can either worship God and bring Him glory, or we can fail at that quest miserably. It may not seem that dire and urgent of a situation, but Satan is charming and deceptive. He works on us slowly and it is hard to break free of his trap. Maybe we are not called to hastily purchase enough ramen to feed Africa (though cheap, it is not all that healthy after all. Just ask everyone who gained the freshman 15). But we are called to be careful with the blessings that God has given us. We live in a culture that is thoroughly blessed with wealth yet thoroughly deceived by it as well. We have to constantly remind ourselves of its dangers, and that may take something as simple as remembering the price of ramen.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
How Jesus Messed Up My Life...Joshua Longbrake, RELEVANT MAGAZINE--4/14/06
I'm resonating with this author's thoughts many days...
Up until the past few years everything in life was going quite nicely. I wasn't having many problems with my belief system nor my ideals about how life should be lived, and the problems I did have were minor and could easily be cured by reading any number of the best sellers in the Christian book stores. If you'll allow me, I will be a bit more blunt than normal (if that's possible), because I think it will help in explaining why everything is so messed up right now and probably will be for the rest of my life.
I grew up in an upper-middle class/white-colored church. Please don't get me wrong in thinking that I am saying that the church I attend is in any way wrong based on its cultural backgrounds or socioeconomic demographic. It's simply the facts of the area I've lived in, and just like anyone else's background, it has shaped my opinions and my ideologies about the world. And on an even larger scale, I'm an American, which automatically brings along another whole belief system regarding our country's supremacy in the world and how we've got to win every Olympic sport, despite the fact that winning in Curling is actually world domination, but I think that' s more a personal opinion than an American opinion. Nonetheless, as Americans we must win. Period. (USA! USA!) And if we don't win then it's an upset for the other country because we're supposed to win everything. I don't ever remember my parents instilling any of this into me. It's just the American way.
And from what I can see, this is how the Western Church breaks down (in a very broad sense):Build bigger.Get more people.Hold bigger events.Prosperity Gospel.
"Our church is better than your church.""Our doughnuts are better than your doughnuts." (so maybe not the doughnuts part...)You may think that these are overgeneralizations, and maybe I do in a sense too, but not really. I just say that to cover my own butt.
So here I am. I'm 22, I'm American, and I've grown up in the Western Church. I am a product of my surroundings.Then I go and start reading the teachings of Jesus ... I didn't really start this process until college. I'd been reading the Bible for a long time, probably since I was around the age of 12, but I think I was always reading it because I was told that's what you do. Then at some point when I was about 20, I think I realized that Jesus was a brilliant teacher who threw out some radical ideas in really subversive ways with lots of hidden meanings. Something about Him intrigued me. And when I realized that a lot of His teachings had to do with other teachings all over the Scriptures, new doors were opened for me. I think God was starting to give me “ears to hear and eyes to see.”
So I decided that if I were really going to buy into this whole Christianity thing, I suppose I should read the entire Bible. I didn't want to ever get into a conversation with anyone of another religion and have them ask me if I've read the whole book that I believe in so strongly. I would have had to hang my head and say "No I haven't, but let me tell you about the things I have read." So my friend Tony and I decided to read the entire thing over the course of about 9 months at 5 chapters a day. It was eye opening, to say the least. I had no idea how much God cares for the poor, the orphan, the widow and the alien. It's absolutely everywhere. And on a side note, what I found really fascinating is how ambiguous God is about church structure, especially since I've heard of so many churches being split over things like musical preference and building projects. *cough lame *cough
This is when Jesus began to mess up my entire life. After reading through the Bible I began to focus again on the teachings of the Great Rabbi. When I read the things He taught about, the things He cared about and the people whom He reached out towards, I was struck with awe. The King of the entire universe came down to hang out with a bunch of societal rejects. He walked around with intention to meet the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. I would have thought that He would have come as a governmental figure with lots of power and respect, but instead He did the exact opposite and came down to be with the people the government ignored. Fascinating. And I know that this is nothing new to all of you, but if you grow up believing that everything should be bigger and better and more powerful, than an idea like this will really cause you to have a lot of questions.After reading the gospels all of my self-righteous motives were brought into the light. Owning a cool SUV became of less importance, and helping people I didn't even know moved up towards the top of the list. Having certain clothes or living in a big house or even going to the most popular church slowly moved down the list, and giving, both of time and of money, moved in the opposite direction. Now I'm not even close to understanding all of these ideas, much less acting them all out the way I should, but I'm moving towards them with grace in every step.
You see there's this tension that Jesus left us with. Like I said before, He was incredibly ambiguous on a lot of things. Here's a terrific example for you: There's this story of Jesus talking to a rich political ruler. The young man asks Jesus what he must do to enter the kingdom. And Jesus, in all His brilliance, says there's one thing you lack (which must have sounded ironical to a man who had so many material possessions) and that is to go and sell everything to the poor. Then Jesus does something that still amazes me ... He lets the guy just walk away.
So in that story we have Jesus telling a guy that the only thing he lacks is to go sell everything and give to the poor. Now compare that with the stories of Job or Solomon, both of which God gives wealth and calls it a blessing, and even goes as far as to lift up Job and single him out in all of creation. Do you see the tension in that when it comes to deciding how we should live? How do I handle my wealth? (And I am wealthy simply by the fact that I live in America. Relative poverty and relative wealth are great sociological studies to engage in.) How much do I give to the poor? To the church? Do I sell everything? Are my possessions blessings from God?
This is how Jesus messed everything up for me. Life was going so smoothly, or rather what I thought was smoothly, and then I read his teachings and my world gets turned upside down.And I think it's absolutely beautiful.
I think a lot of people see the act of helping the poor and the needy as necessary but also as a burden. But I tend to think that it's more of an honor, that God gave us the blessing of helping others. Taking others in, giving of our time and our money, sacrificing so others can see the love of Jesus is to me a privilege, not a burden. It seems as though Jesus took great joy in helping and healing. I'm beginning to wonder if this is how He created it to be. And it turns out that this is the stuff that Jesus was most passionate about. He wasn't concerned with building his reputation or increasing His fame. He was completely consumed with others, especially the weak. He also calls us to become less. To be last. To lower ourselves. To consider others as more important. To put the needs of others in front of our own. These things are completely against the American way of living, and therein lies even more tension.
And now, as I process all of this, do I stay comfortable and hide behind my words or do I act on these ideas that are messing up my entire line of thinking and way of living?May Jesus continue to mess up our lives.
Up until the past few years everything in life was going quite nicely. I wasn't having many problems with my belief system nor my ideals about how life should be lived, and the problems I did have were minor and could easily be cured by reading any number of the best sellers in the Christian book stores. If you'll allow me, I will be a bit more blunt than normal (if that's possible), because I think it will help in explaining why everything is so messed up right now and probably will be for the rest of my life.
I grew up in an upper-middle class/white-colored church. Please don't get me wrong in thinking that I am saying that the church I attend is in any way wrong based on its cultural backgrounds or socioeconomic demographic. It's simply the facts of the area I've lived in, and just like anyone else's background, it has shaped my opinions and my ideologies about the world. And on an even larger scale, I'm an American, which automatically brings along another whole belief system regarding our country's supremacy in the world and how we've got to win every Olympic sport, despite the fact that winning in Curling is actually world domination, but I think that' s more a personal opinion than an American opinion. Nonetheless, as Americans we must win. Period. (USA! USA!) And if we don't win then it's an upset for the other country because we're supposed to win everything. I don't ever remember my parents instilling any of this into me. It's just the American way.
And from what I can see, this is how the Western Church breaks down (in a very broad sense):Build bigger.Get more people.Hold bigger events.Prosperity Gospel.
"Our church is better than your church.""Our doughnuts are better than your doughnuts." (so maybe not the doughnuts part...)You may think that these are overgeneralizations, and maybe I do in a sense too, but not really. I just say that to cover my own butt.
So here I am. I'm 22, I'm American, and I've grown up in the Western Church. I am a product of my surroundings.Then I go and start reading the teachings of Jesus ... I didn't really start this process until college. I'd been reading the Bible for a long time, probably since I was around the age of 12, but I think I was always reading it because I was told that's what you do. Then at some point when I was about 20, I think I realized that Jesus was a brilliant teacher who threw out some radical ideas in really subversive ways with lots of hidden meanings. Something about Him intrigued me. And when I realized that a lot of His teachings had to do with other teachings all over the Scriptures, new doors were opened for me. I think God was starting to give me “ears to hear and eyes to see.”
So I decided that if I were really going to buy into this whole Christianity thing, I suppose I should read the entire Bible. I didn't want to ever get into a conversation with anyone of another religion and have them ask me if I've read the whole book that I believe in so strongly. I would have had to hang my head and say "No I haven't, but let me tell you about the things I have read." So my friend Tony and I decided to read the entire thing over the course of about 9 months at 5 chapters a day. It was eye opening, to say the least. I had no idea how much God cares for the poor, the orphan, the widow and the alien. It's absolutely everywhere. And on a side note, what I found really fascinating is how ambiguous God is about church structure, especially since I've heard of so many churches being split over things like musical preference and building projects. *cough lame *cough
This is when Jesus began to mess up my entire life. After reading through the Bible I began to focus again on the teachings of the Great Rabbi. When I read the things He taught about, the things He cared about and the people whom He reached out towards, I was struck with awe. The King of the entire universe came down to hang out with a bunch of societal rejects. He walked around with intention to meet the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. I would have thought that He would have come as a governmental figure with lots of power and respect, but instead He did the exact opposite and came down to be with the people the government ignored. Fascinating. And I know that this is nothing new to all of you, but if you grow up believing that everything should be bigger and better and more powerful, than an idea like this will really cause you to have a lot of questions.After reading the gospels all of my self-righteous motives were brought into the light. Owning a cool SUV became of less importance, and helping people I didn't even know moved up towards the top of the list. Having certain clothes or living in a big house or even going to the most popular church slowly moved down the list, and giving, both of time and of money, moved in the opposite direction. Now I'm not even close to understanding all of these ideas, much less acting them all out the way I should, but I'm moving towards them with grace in every step.
You see there's this tension that Jesus left us with. Like I said before, He was incredibly ambiguous on a lot of things. Here's a terrific example for you: There's this story of Jesus talking to a rich political ruler. The young man asks Jesus what he must do to enter the kingdom. And Jesus, in all His brilliance, says there's one thing you lack (which must have sounded ironical to a man who had so many material possessions) and that is to go and sell everything to the poor. Then Jesus does something that still amazes me ... He lets the guy just walk away.
So in that story we have Jesus telling a guy that the only thing he lacks is to go sell everything and give to the poor. Now compare that with the stories of Job or Solomon, both of which God gives wealth and calls it a blessing, and even goes as far as to lift up Job and single him out in all of creation. Do you see the tension in that when it comes to deciding how we should live? How do I handle my wealth? (And I am wealthy simply by the fact that I live in America. Relative poverty and relative wealth are great sociological studies to engage in.) How much do I give to the poor? To the church? Do I sell everything? Are my possessions blessings from God?
This is how Jesus messed everything up for me. Life was going so smoothly, or rather what I thought was smoothly, and then I read his teachings and my world gets turned upside down.And I think it's absolutely beautiful.
I think a lot of people see the act of helping the poor and the needy as necessary but also as a burden. But I tend to think that it's more of an honor, that God gave us the blessing of helping others. Taking others in, giving of our time and our money, sacrificing so others can see the love of Jesus is to me a privilege, not a burden. It seems as though Jesus took great joy in helping and healing. I'm beginning to wonder if this is how He created it to be. And it turns out that this is the stuff that Jesus was most passionate about. He wasn't concerned with building his reputation or increasing His fame. He was completely consumed with others, especially the weak. He also calls us to become less. To be last. To lower ourselves. To consider others as more important. To put the needs of others in front of our own. These things are completely against the American way of living, and therein lies even more tension.
And now, as I process all of this, do I stay comfortable and hide behind my words or do I act on these ideas that are messing up my entire line of thinking and way of living?May Jesus continue to mess up our lives.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Some Justice Numbers to Consider
Statistics from Amazing Change Website...Slavery Then and Now
27 Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world
Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.
800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year
Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and Antislavery.org, among others.
17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year
Sourced by the US House Of Representatives, and the Polaris Project, among others.
91: Number of cities in the United States with reported cases of trafficking
Sourced by Georgia State Representative Jack Kingston, Freetheslaves.net, and Polaris Project, among others.
50: Percent of all victims are children
Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.
$50 Million: US Government budget for efforts against human trafficking
Sourced by the US State Department.
$19 Billion: US Government budget for efforts against drug trafficking
Sourced by the White House Drug Policy website.
20 Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world
Sourced by Free The Slaves.
218 Million: Estimated number of children working aged between five and seventeen
Sourced by the International Labor Organization.
126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor - one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.
Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US Embassy in Uruguay, among others.
300,000: Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.
Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others.
27 Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world
Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.
800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year
Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and Antislavery.org, among others.
17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year
Sourced by the US House Of Representatives, and the Polaris Project, among others.
91: Number of cities in the United States with reported cases of trafficking
Sourced by Georgia State Representative Jack Kingston, Freetheslaves.net, and Polaris Project, among others.
50: Percent of all victims are children
Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.
$50 Million: US Government budget for efforts against human trafficking
Sourced by the US State Department.
$19 Billion: US Government budget for efforts against drug trafficking
Sourced by the White House Drug Policy website.
20 Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world
Sourced by Free The Slaves.
218 Million: Estimated number of children working aged between five and seventeen
Sourced by the International Labor Organization.
126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor - one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.
Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US Embassy in Uruguay, among others.
300,000: Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.
Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
My speech at the AFP Awards Banquet in Dallas accepting philanthropy award
In the fall of 2002…A group of students began to dream of doing something big to change the world and to change our campus…responding to unprecedented need and the strong likelihood not to do so as people of evangelical faith…over 40 million people infected, over 6000 people dying every day, and 15 million orphans just on one continent and we were some of the most likely people on the planet to care and get personally involved…AIDS wasn’t nearby, socially or spiritually acceptable, familiar to us, easy to talk about, something people initially wanted to do something about, or a short term deal…
*Our little campus of just over 500 high school kids began to understand that they could and eventually had to respond… you see, it was simply the right thing to do… One student wrote, “For if we don't do something I believe that we will be held accountable for the lives that we could have saved but instead stared blindly at”...the very God who had given us life wanted that for every person in the world…and this world was not supposed to look like it looked in sub-Saharan Africa…we had an opportunity to be part of bringing health and hope and a future to a community where many if not most people lived on less than $1 per day and 1 out of every 4 people was living with a horrible disease that was wiping out an entire generation before they reached 40 years of age…and we even heard and were moved by the words of a rock star prophet named BONO who blew into our world and our conservative Midwest city, saying things like this…
“Beating AIDS and extreme poverty, this is our moon shot. This is our generation's civil rights struggle, our anti-apartheid movement. This is what the history books will remember our generation for--or blame us for, if we fail. We can't afford to fail. We've come quite a way, but we've got a long way to go. We can’t say our generation didn’t know how to do it. We can’t say our generation couldn’t afford to do it. And we can’t say our generation didn’t have reason to do it. It’s up to us. We can choose to shift the responsibility, or we can choose to shift the paradigm. Now let's get started.”
And here we are almost 5 years later tonight in Dallas…and a little high school in the suburbs of Chicago has given almost half a million dollars to fight AIDS in the nation of Zambia…something pretty special has happened as we have given students permission and freedom to do something outside of themselves…we unleashed their remarkable creativity and passion…and the creation of well over a hundred student led fundraisers on our campus and in our community have enabled a new schoolhouse, long-term food supplies and security, homes, clean water wells, outstanding medical facilities, caregiver kits for AIDS community workers, thousands of soccer balls, church community centers for spiritual care and needs, and the sponsorship of many children in Kakolo Village to become the answer to the prayers of a community with whom we have a relationship where we care deeply for each other despite being thousands of miles and worlds apart…
And perhaps most significant is the impact on the lives of Zambians and our own lives…kids like Maggie, Lloyd, Ganye who will live a life so different than the one lived by their parents, pregnant girls and moms won’t repeat Mavis’ story…and we are seeing a generation of students committed to serving the needs of the poor around the world rise up and make a difference…young leaders who have discovered that there’s more to life than ipods and mtv and Abercrombie and the AMC theater…
And after being involved for several years with this pandemic and getting to see what AIDS is doing first hand in Africa, our vision for the future isn’t getting tired or stale, but rather expanding…we desperately want 1000 schools to join us in responding specifically to the AIDS pandemic and all the issues connected to it in Africa…it seems like an impossible dream, just as raising $53,000 to build a three room schoolhouse once did…and yet we can’t stop thinking what an explosive impact that would create as little campus projects pop up across the country…We’ve stopped asking God to bless what we're doing…Instead, we’ve decided to get involved in what God is doing—because it's already blessed…and our faith and the need compels us to be philanthropists who help bring good and beauty and grace to those in the most desperate need like our Savior did over 2000 years ago…
FINAL QUOTE FROM A STUDENT WHO IS HERE TONIGHT…
“There are hurting faces all over the world; so many people living in such dire need. I have looked into their eyes, and heard their cries for help. And as those voices echo in the shadows of my mind, there is nothing I want to do more than reach out and help. I look around at my life, and I know I have been blessed. However, I have not been blessed to make my own life more comfortable. I have been given so much so that I can give away much. We have been blessed so we might bless others. There is an indescribable joy in sacrificing your blessings to help others. It is not until you dive headfirst into this ocean of opportunity that you will completely experience this kind of amazing joy.” LAUREN TOMASIK
*Our little campus of just over 500 high school kids began to understand that they could and eventually had to respond… you see, it was simply the right thing to do… One student wrote, “For if we don't do something I believe that we will be held accountable for the lives that we could have saved but instead stared blindly at”...the very God who had given us life wanted that for every person in the world…and this world was not supposed to look like it looked in sub-Saharan Africa…we had an opportunity to be part of bringing health and hope and a future to a community where many if not most people lived on less than $1 per day and 1 out of every 4 people was living with a horrible disease that was wiping out an entire generation before they reached 40 years of age…and we even heard and were moved by the words of a rock star prophet named BONO who blew into our world and our conservative Midwest city, saying things like this…
“Beating AIDS and extreme poverty, this is our moon shot. This is our generation's civil rights struggle, our anti-apartheid movement. This is what the history books will remember our generation for--or blame us for, if we fail. We can't afford to fail. We've come quite a way, but we've got a long way to go. We can’t say our generation didn’t know how to do it. We can’t say our generation couldn’t afford to do it. And we can’t say our generation didn’t have reason to do it. It’s up to us. We can choose to shift the responsibility, or we can choose to shift the paradigm. Now let's get started.”
And here we are almost 5 years later tonight in Dallas…and a little high school in the suburbs of Chicago has given almost half a million dollars to fight AIDS in the nation of Zambia…something pretty special has happened as we have given students permission and freedom to do something outside of themselves…we unleashed their remarkable creativity and passion…and the creation of well over a hundred student led fundraisers on our campus and in our community have enabled a new schoolhouse, long-term food supplies and security, homes, clean water wells, outstanding medical facilities, caregiver kits for AIDS community workers, thousands of soccer balls, church community centers for spiritual care and needs, and the sponsorship of many children in Kakolo Village to become the answer to the prayers of a community with whom we have a relationship where we care deeply for each other despite being thousands of miles and worlds apart…
And perhaps most significant is the impact on the lives of Zambians and our own lives…kids like Maggie, Lloyd, Ganye who will live a life so different than the one lived by their parents, pregnant girls and moms won’t repeat Mavis’ story…and we are seeing a generation of students committed to serving the needs of the poor around the world rise up and make a difference…young leaders who have discovered that there’s more to life than ipods and mtv and Abercrombie and the AMC theater…
And after being involved for several years with this pandemic and getting to see what AIDS is doing first hand in Africa, our vision for the future isn’t getting tired or stale, but rather expanding…we desperately want 1000 schools to join us in responding specifically to the AIDS pandemic and all the issues connected to it in Africa…it seems like an impossible dream, just as raising $53,000 to build a three room schoolhouse once did…and yet we can’t stop thinking what an explosive impact that would create as little campus projects pop up across the country…We’ve stopped asking God to bless what we're doing…Instead, we’ve decided to get involved in what God is doing—because it's already blessed…and our faith and the need compels us to be philanthropists who help bring good and beauty and grace to those in the most desperate need like our Savior did over 2000 years ago…
FINAL QUOTE FROM A STUDENT WHO IS HERE TONIGHT…
“There are hurting faces all over the world; so many people living in such dire need. I have looked into their eyes, and heard their cries for help. And as those voices echo in the shadows of my mind, there is nothing I want to do more than reach out and help. I look around at my life, and I know I have been blessed. However, I have not been blessed to make my own life more comfortable. I have been given so much so that I can give away much. We have been blessed so we might bless others. There is an indescribable joy in sacrificing your blessings to help others. It is not until you dive headfirst into this ocean of opportunity that you will completely experience this kind of amazing joy.” LAUREN TOMASIK
Monday, May 7, 2007
World AIDS Orphan Day Statistic
Today the world will observe World AIDS Orphans Day. Did you know that by 2010, an estimated 20 million kids worldwide will have lost one or both parents because of AIDS? That's more than the number of high school students in the U.S. Imagine ...EVERY kid, in EVERY high school, in EVERY state -all orphaned.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Jumping into the Blog World
Well, I finally decided I would try and create a space where some of the myriad of things that I am reading and thinking and envisioning would be available for someone else to see and react to...the plan is to write occasionally about things I am wrestling with and try and make some of the learnings and resources I come across available for friends and students...
There will be a focus on the issues of leadership, poverty, AIDS in Africa, and what it means to live out our faith as the body of Christ in our culture...the things that I am passionate about and trying to learn about and respond to in these days...
I'm hoping this will provide some food for deeper thinking, practical help in teaching and leading this generation of students, and the opportunity for dialogue and conversation...
Look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas along with mine...CHIP
There will be a focus on the issues of leadership, poverty, AIDS in Africa, and what it means to live out our faith as the body of Christ in our culture...the things that I am passionate about and trying to learn about and respond to in these days...
I'm hoping this will provide some food for deeper thinking, practical help in teaching and leading this generation of students, and the opportunity for dialogue and conversation...
Look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas along with mine...CHIP
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