Check out this article by Kate Stevens on relevantmagazine.com...it expresses the tension faced in responding to the needs of the poor in our world today...
Charity is my job these days. So is justice. The majority of my waking hours are spent at the non-profit humanitarian organization where I work as a representative for Northern Ontario. It’s been my home for almost six years now, and I am indebted to the global perspective that I’ve gained over those six years. I leave work each day with a sense that I am contributing to something more than my employer’s paycheck, my company’s growth or my culture’s consumerism.
I know that I’m contributing to charity and justice in a very tangible way, but I sometimes forget the difference and the importance of each in the midst of endless phone calls, meetings, computer problems and angry donors. It’s easy to be numbed to the real issues that are going on in the world and to lose the right perspective in exchange for paperwork.
Even so, as someone who has been concerned about justice since my brother was old enough to take my toys, the story Ronald Stanley tells about the difference between charity and justice is difficult for me to ignore.
Stanley describes a scene where two men are fishing in a river. They begin to enjoy the fish they’ve caught when cries for help get their attention. One by one, they see people being swept away by the river. They jump in, desperate for a chance to save the drowning and, each time, they succeed. Tired after having worked to save several, they hear the cry of another: this time, a child. One of the men rushes away, leaving the other to rescue the child alone. The first man is confused. The second man declares he’s heading upstream to find out why there are so many people being swept away by the river.
I can’t help but laugh a little at Stanley’s story, partly because I can almost imagine the desperation in the conversation between the two men and partly because I can’t believe how effectively it captures the difference between charity and justice: charity is helping on the surface, for the short term, while justice is attacking the source of the problem itself. The first man was doing a great thing by saving the people who were drowning, but the second man went a step further by attempting to figure out from where the problem was originating so that he could do something about it.
Neither charity nor justice can stand alone. On its own, charity has the potential of becoming a band-aid solution, never really getting to or treating the root of the problem. Justice on its own, on the other hand, can be harsh and can ignore the immediate needs of people. Had the first man in Stanley's story given up on his attempts at charity, people would have drowned. However, had the second man not worked just a little bit harder to get to the root of the problem, more people would have drowned. A balance is required.
A quick look at the media makes obvious that charity and justice are popular topics of discussion these days. We see celebrities adopting children from overseas and giving their time, money and endorsement to the charities of their choice. We see global campaigns like Make Poverty History. We see media endorsement for projects involving sending mosquito nets overseas to combat malaria. Numerous charities produce television spots. People give up their vacation time to volunteer overseas. It’s everywhere.
Ever since Dec. 31, 2004, when the undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia created tsunami waves that devastated coastal South Asia, Western culture has been inundated with opportunities to give its time and its money. And it’s all for good reason. We are aware that there is a world that needs the resources we are so blessed to have and are willing to invest our resources in something other than ourselves. Yet, despite how amazing this is, it's just charity. And we're not doing enough. Yes, charity’s positive impact is unmistakeable and, yes, charity encompasses elements of justice, but my fear is that while amazing things are being done in the world today because of our charity and generosity charity is just a trend. If our charity is just fashionable, is true justice really being done?
It takes sacrifice to develop a lifestyle that allows us to support charity. We need to watch how we spend our money and watch how we save. We need to respond when we feel any sense of compassion rather than changing the channel. It’s challenging, but even so, it’s still just charity.
Justice, on the other hand, is messy. Those of us who are aiming for fashionable don't usually give it much of a thought. It requires long-term commitment and investment in prayer. It requires blood and sweat and tears and hard work and a fight. It requires that we not only sacrifice things in our lives so that we can give, but that we change our lifestyles entirely or, in many cases, that we live counter-culturally, making choices about our lifestyle based on how we will impact what deserves justice: the environment, AIDS orphans in Uganda, farmers making pennies on coffee farms in South America, 10-year-old sweatshop workers in Asia, 14-year-old girls who have been forced into prostitution in Thailand, street kids in Toronto.
While we are making an incredibly positive difference with our charity and while the Bible is clear that charity is incredibly important, taking the next step to create truly lasting change for our world requires justice. I imagine that God was trying to let us in on that secret when He asked that we "act justly...love mercy...[and] walk humbly with [Him]" (Micah 6:8, TNIV).
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Supremacy of Christ
Here's what I shared with my classes to start the school year...it is the reality that I teach and seek to develop leaders because the world is now broken, not as Christ created and intends it to be, that people's lives are broken without the cross and the salvation brought by Jesus, and that we are called and invited to be part of the restoration of both broken lives and the broken world God created and seeks to have renewed...
This incredible passage from Colossians 1 below is central to my own calling these days as I am overwhelmed and thrilled with what Christ has done and wants to use me to do along with so many others around His world...and N.T. Wright often states it more powerfully than I can as he reflects and unpacks Scripture...
Colossians 1:15-20 (New International Version)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
“There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (1:16-17) and in reconciliation (1:18-20). There can be no dualistic division between some areas which he rules and others which he does not. ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.’ The task of evangelism is therefore best understood as the proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God’s new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship, and obedience. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ’s Lordship to bear on every area of human and worldly existence. Christians must work to help create conditions in which human beings, and the whole created world, can live as God always intended.”
(N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale NT Commentaries, IVP, 1986, p.79-80)
This incredible passage from Colossians 1 below is central to my own calling these days as I am overwhelmed and thrilled with what Christ has done and wants to use me to do along with so many others around His world...and N.T. Wright often states it more powerfully than I can as he reflects and unpacks Scripture...
Colossians 1:15-20 (New International Version)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
“There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (1:16-17) and in reconciliation (1:18-20). There can be no dualistic division between some areas which he rules and others which he does not. ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.’ The task of evangelism is therefore best understood as the proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God’s new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship, and obedience. The logic of this message requires that those who announce it should be seeking to bring Christ’s Lordship to bear on every area of human and worldly existence. Christians must work to help create conditions in which human beings, and the whole created world, can live as God always intended.”
(N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale NT Commentaries, IVP, 1986, p.79-80)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Will You Still Be Part of the Church?
I ran across this article in USA Today...and it definitely reflects my own observations and conversations with my current and former high school students...and yet the church is the hope of the world...oh, that we would see churches be filled and be active in living out and communicating the Gospel in such ways that there would be no place more meaningful or engaging for the thinking and seeking 20 year olds...the future is uncertain, isn't it?? And yet we know God's heart and vision remains beautiful and powerful...
Young adults aren't sticking with church
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Protestant churches are losing young adults in "sobering" numbers, a survey finds.
Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 — both evangelical and mainline — who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research. And 34% of those said they had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30. That means about one in four Protestant young people have left the church.
"This is sobering news that the church needs to change the way it does ministry," says Ed Stetzer, director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"It seems the teen years are like a free trial on a product. By 18, when it's their choice whether to buy in to church life, many don't feel engaged and welcome," says associate director Scott McConnell.
The statistics are based on a survey of 1,023 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who said they had attended church at least twice a month for at least one year during high school. LifeWay did the survey in April and May. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Few of those surveyed had kind words for fellow Christians when they reflected on how they saw church life in the four years after high school.
Just over half (51%) of Protestant young people surveyed (both the church dropouts and those who stayed on in church after age 22) saw church members as "caring" or had other positive descriptions, such as "welcoming" (48%) or "authentic" (42%).
Among dropouts, nearly all (97%) cited life changes, such as a move. Most (58%) were unhappy with the people or pastor at church. More than half (52%) had religious, ethical or political reasons for quitting.
Dropouts were more than twice as likely than those who continued attending church to describe church members as judgmental (51% for dropouts, 24% for those who stayed), hypocritical (44% vs. 20%) or insincere (41% vs. 19%)
The news was not all bad: 35% of dropouts said they had resumed attending church regularly by age 30. An additional 30% attended sporadically. Twenty-eight percent said "God was calling me to return to the church."
The survey found that those who stayed with or returned to church grew up with both parents committed to the church, pastors whose sermons were relevant and engaging, and church members who invested in their spiritual development.
"Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There's no life transformation taking place," Stetzer says. "People are looking for a faith that can change them and to be a part of changing the world."
These findings fit with findings by other experts.
"Unless religious leaders take younger adults more seriously, the future of American religion is in doubt," says Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow in After the Baby Boomers, due in stores in September.
The proportion of young adults identifying with mainline churches, he says, is "about half the size it was a generation ago. Evangelical Protestants have barely held their own."
In research for an upcoming book, unChristian, Barna Research Group director David Kinnaman found that Christians in their 20s are "significantly less likely to believe a person's faith in God is meant to be developed by involvement in a local church. This life stage of spiritual disengagement is not going to fade away."
About 52% of American adults identify themselves as Protestant or other non-Catholic Christian denominations, according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey. That's down from 60% in 1990.
Young adults aren't sticking with church
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Protestant churches are losing young adults in "sobering" numbers, a survey finds.
Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 — both evangelical and mainline — who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research. And 34% of those said they had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30. That means about one in four Protestant young people have left the church.
"This is sobering news that the church needs to change the way it does ministry," says Ed Stetzer, director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"It seems the teen years are like a free trial on a product. By 18, when it's their choice whether to buy in to church life, many don't feel engaged and welcome," says associate director Scott McConnell.
The statistics are based on a survey of 1,023 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who said they had attended church at least twice a month for at least one year during high school. LifeWay did the survey in April and May. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Few of those surveyed had kind words for fellow Christians when they reflected on how they saw church life in the four years after high school.
Just over half (51%) of Protestant young people surveyed (both the church dropouts and those who stayed on in church after age 22) saw church members as "caring" or had other positive descriptions, such as "welcoming" (48%) or "authentic" (42%).
Among dropouts, nearly all (97%) cited life changes, such as a move. Most (58%) were unhappy with the people or pastor at church. More than half (52%) had religious, ethical or political reasons for quitting.
Dropouts were more than twice as likely than those who continued attending church to describe church members as judgmental (51% for dropouts, 24% for those who stayed), hypocritical (44% vs. 20%) or insincere (41% vs. 19%)
The news was not all bad: 35% of dropouts said they had resumed attending church regularly by age 30. An additional 30% attended sporadically. Twenty-eight percent said "God was calling me to return to the church."
The survey found that those who stayed with or returned to church grew up with both parents committed to the church, pastors whose sermons were relevant and engaging, and church members who invested in their spiritual development.
"Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There's no life transformation taking place," Stetzer says. "People are looking for a faith that can change them and to be a part of changing the world."
These findings fit with findings by other experts.
"Unless religious leaders take younger adults more seriously, the future of American religion is in doubt," says Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow in After the Baby Boomers, due in stores in September.
The proportion of young adults identifying with mainline churches, he says, is "about half the size it was a generation ago. Evangelical Protestants have barely held their own."
In research for an upcoming book, unChristian, Barna Research Group director David Kinnaman found that Christians in their 20s are "significantly less likely to believe a person's faith in God is meant to be developed by involvement in a local church. This life stage of spiritual disengagement is not going to fade away."
About 52% of American adults identify themselves as Protestant or other non-Catholic Christian denominations, according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey. That's down from 60% in 1990.
Monday, August 6, 2007
AIDS/Poverty/Global Issues Education Resource List
Here's a very informal list of resources that I've gathered to try and become more educated as a global Christ follower...they are worth checking out if you are interested in learning more about the needs of our world and the opportunity we have to change the future for millions, perhaps even billions in this generation...
BOOKS/PERIODICALS
Skeptics Guide to Global AIDS, Dale Hansen Bourke, Authentic Media, 2004
The Awake Project: Uniting Against the African AIDS Crisis, Second Edition, Various Contributions, W. Publishing Group, 2002
The Invisible People: How the U.S. has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic, the Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time, Greg Behrman, Free Press, 2004
The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis, Testunao Yamamori, et al, Authentic Media, 2004
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Ron Sider, W Publishing Group, 1997
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, Jeffery Sachs, Penguin Press, 2005
The Son of God is Dancing, Adrian and Bridget Plass, Authentic Media, 2005
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, Muhammad Yunus, Public Affairs, 2003
When God Stood Up: A Christian Response to AIDS in Africa, James Cantelon, Wiley, 2007
On the Move, Bono, Thomas Nelson, 2007
Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises, Bob Goudzwaard, Baker Academic, 2007
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, Stephanie Nolen, Walker & Company, 2007
Vanity Fair, July 2007 Africa Issue
Hope in the Dark, Jena Lee (Contributor), Jeremy Cowart (Photographer), Relevant Books, 2006
The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World, Heather Zydek (editor), Relevant Books, 2006
Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World, Gary Haugen, InterVarsity Press, 1999
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It, David Bastone, HarperSanFrancisco, 2007
Sojourners Magazine: Christians for Justice and Peace
GET UNCOMFORTABLE: Serve the Poor. Stop Injustice. Change the World…In Jesus’ Name, Todd Phillips, LifeWay Press, 2007
WEB SITES
Acting on AIDS
www.actingonaids.org
One Life Revolution
www.oneliferevolution.org
World Vision
www.worldvision.org
UNAIDS
www.unaids.org
Kaiser Network
www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv.cfm
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
www.avert.org/pepfar.htm
Debt, Trade, AIDS in Africa (DATA)
www.data.org
The ONE Campaign
www.one.org/
Micah Challenge
http://www.micahchallenge.org/global/home/intro.html
Global Issues
http://www.globalissues.org/
International Justice Mission
http://www.globalissues.org/
GLOBAL FUTURE: A World Vision Journal of Human Development
http://www.globalfutureonline.org/
Hunger and World Poverty
http://www.poverty.com/index.html
(RED)
http://www.joinred.com/
TEARFUND
http://www.tearfund.org/
The Christian Vision Project
http://www.christianvisionproject.com/
DOCUMENTARIES /MOVIES
“Dear Francis”…Chronicle Project, 2005…http://www.chronicleproject.org/dearfrancis/film.html
“A Closer Walk”… Worldwide Documentaries, 2003…http://www.acloserwalk.org/
“Invisible Children”…Invisible Children, Inc., 2005…http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
“The Age of AIDS”…PBS Frontline, 2006…http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/
“The Girl in the Café”…HBO, 2005…http://www.hbo.com/events/girlinthecafe/index.html
“Yesterday”…HBO Films, 2004…http://www.hbo.com/films/yesterday/
BOOKS/PERIODICALS
Skeptics Guide to Global AIDS, Dale Hansen Bourke, Authentic Media, 2004
The Awake Project: Uniting Against the African AIDS Crisis, Second Edition, Various Contributions, W. Publishing Group, 2002
The Invisible People: How the U.S. has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic, the Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time, Greg Behrman, Free Press, 2004
The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis, Testunao Yamamori, et al, Authentic Media, 2004
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Ron Sider, W Publishing Group, 1997
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, Jeffery Sachs, Penguin Press, 2005
The Son of God is Dancing, Adrian and Bridget Plass, Authentic Media, 2005
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, Muhammad Yunus, Public Affairs, 2003
When God Stood Up: A Christian Response to AIDS in Africa, James Cantelon, Wiley, 2007
On the Move, Bono, Thomas Nelson, 2007
Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises, Bob Goudzwaard, Baker Academic, 2007
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, Stephanie Nolen, Walker & Company, 2007
Vanity Fair, July 2007 Africa Issue
Hope in the Dark, Jena Lee (Contributor), Jeremy Cowart (Photographer), Relevant Books, 2006
The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World, Heather Zydek (editor), Relevant Books, 2006
Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World, Gary Haugen, InterVarsity Press, 1999
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It, David Bastone, HarperSanFrancisco, 2007
Sojourners Magazine: Christians for Justice and Peace
GET UNCOMFORTABLE: Serve the Poor. Stop Injustice. Change the World…In Jesus’ Name, Todd Phillips, LifeWay Press, 2007
WEB SITES
Acting on AIDS
www.actingonaids.org
One Life Revolution
www.oneliferevolution.org
World Vision
www.worldvision.org
UNAIDS
www.unaids.org
Kaiser Network
www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv.cfm
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
www.avert.org/pepfar.htm
Debt, Trade, AIDS in Africa (DATA)
www.data.org
The ONE Campaign
www.one.org/
Micah Challenge
http://www.micahchallenge.org/global/home/intro.html
Global Issues
http://www.globalissues.org/
International Justice Mission
http://www.globalissues.org/
GLOBAL FUTURE: A World Vision Journal of Human Development
http://www.globalfutureonline.org/
Hunger and World Poverty
http://www.poverty.com/index.html
(RED)
http://www.joinred.com/
TEARFUND
http://www.tearfund.org/
The Christian Vision Project
http://www.christianvisionproject.com/
DOCUMENTARIES /MOVIES
“Dear Francis”…Chronicle Project, 2005…http://www.chronicleproject.org/dearfrancis/film.html
“A Closer Walk”… Worldwide Documentaries, 2003…http://www.acloserwalk.org/
“Invisible Children”…Invisible Children, Inc., 2005…http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
“The Age of AIDS”…PBS Frontline, 2006…http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/
“The Girl in the Café”…HBO, 2005…http://www.hbo.com/events/girlinthecafe/index.html
“Yesterday”…HBO Films, 2004…http://www.hbo.com/films/yesterday/
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