POVERTY, WEALTH, JESUS and SIMPLICITY

Here is a statement that has challenged my thinking;

"in a world of finite resources I am wealthy at someone else’s expense"

Is it possible that there are not enough resources in our world to sustain middle class life as we know it? Are there enough resources in our world for every person in Canada, the USA, China, India and Africa to have a stainless steel sink, a car in the driveway, electric lights, indoor plumbing with its prerequisite use of water, pumps, filtration and waste disposal? What about Large screen TV’s and digital cameras? Where would we put the waste and by products of juice boxes for every child, batteries for every toy, disposable picnic plates and plastic garbage bags?

Could the dream of middle class lifestyle be a fabrication of capitalistic consumerism?

Middle class living may not be achievable.

From a basic supply and demand concept there may not be enough to go around. We know, of course, that if demand increases and supply decreases we have a price increase. That very cycle alone could out price the middle class.

The death of the middle class may be just around the corner in North America.

Jesus, the great prophet, said that we would always have the poor. Maybe Jesus understood supply and demand economics better that we do.

Here is some good news. There is actually enough wealth currently available in the word to alleviate poverty. It is, however, hoarded in the hands of very few people.

As Christians ( defined here as a follower of Christ, not a religion) Jesus calls us to account for our wealth. He challenges us to make certain our wealth is available in caring for the poor. He never defines what wealth is, or how much is too much. He does challenge us to make certain our wealth is available so that we can care for others.

The availability of our wealth in ministering to the poor is at the core of a life of simplicity. Imagine what each of us could do if we simplified our lifestyles. We could each use the left over wealth and follow Jesus into the desert place of poverty, and bring new life and new hope. We might not even miss our afternoon cappuccino at Tim’s.

POP GOES THE CHURCH

"Would your community be any different if your church disappeared tomorrow? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Have you ever considered it with others at your church? If your church suddenly disappeared, could the community even recover? Or would they go on as though nothing at all had changed?

What is happening at your church that is worth talking about? When people leave your service, are they thinking about the e-mails they need to send and the football game they want to watch—or are they thinking deeply about their own choices and thinking how they might make a difference in some one's life this week?

Sadly, for most of us, the answer is a resounding “no.” We didn't even have to think that long about the answer. Our church is great for our friends, our family, and us, but there is little measurable impact on the community. There is little happening that is making a difference outside of the few dozen or couple hundred who regularly attend.

Wouldn't it be great if a local church had a vision big enough to capture people's hearts and motivate them to action, so it had an impact on the community? Wouldn't it be awesome if a church was so effective people began following Jesus, growing in their faith, and as a result, the community was being loved and served?


I love the way John 1:14 is written in The Message. It says Christ “became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” He came to us—met us where we were. In Jesus' case, the neighborhood was a rural, agricultural society in first century Palestine. He immersed himself in that culture. He wore the clothes, used the language, and illustrated his stories with the signs and symbols of the day to communicate the Gospel of an upside down kingdom here on earth.

If Jesus physically entered twenty-first century America, I believe he would do much as he did in the first century. He would hang out with normal people in the real world, and he would reserve his strongest words for the entrenched religious leaders who love their traditions more than they love their people. I believe he expects no less from us.

The goal of Pop Goes the Church is to stretch your thinking. If you have bought into the belief that church is exclusively for building up the believers, I want you to reconsider. If you think a church service cannot help believers grow AND be attractive to non-believers, I want to convince you that it can. If you have never experienced a church service that stays true to the Bible AND is comfortable for your non-religious friends and you don't think it is even possible, I want you to explore the possibility. The community around you is dying without Jesus, and it is your God-ordained duty to wrestle until you find the best way to reach them. And once you do, don't apologize. "

Check Out the book POP GOES THE CHURCH by Tim Stevens, I dare you!

My Comments:

It is time we valued our neighbours relationship to God more than our own needs for religious comfort. It is time for the church to learn to colour outside the lines of our narrow mindedness about what is or is not worship. It is time to get real and be relevant about our relationship to Jesus Christ and His relevancy to the "pop culture" of today.

It is pretty scary when the American Idol contestants can sing a worship song as their opening number and the church is still debating about the relevance of POP CULTURE in our services. Even the great Idol marketing machine understands the significance of relating to various cultural groups to get their message out!

Get relevant, get real or go home...actually it is DIE!

The church has a God given obligation to reach this generation,with out compromising the truth that she has inherited. Methods change,the message remains the same. Methods change, the mission must never change.

Never Complain About What You Permit to Exist

I deliberately stayed away from announcing a New Years resolution. Best reason; they don't work, for me.

I have found that resolutions relieve the guilty feelings I have a bout doing nothing, about something, that bothers me. But nothing ever changes. So here we have a dilemma. I will complain about something that bothers me. I will make a resolution to change whatever it is that bothers me. I will keep the resolution for at least two days. Guilt assuaged! I can now go back to complaining about what bothers me. The very act of complaining makes me feel like I am doing something about what is bothering me. And so the cycle of self deception continues...and nothing ever changes.So here's the deal. Either change whats bothering you or shut up about it. Hence the world famous saying "never complain about what you permit to exist."

In personal life this means taking an honest assessment of where you are in life, or weight, or career, or relationship and making a straight forward choice. Change it or stuff it! But stop complaining about it.

In business life the same principal applies. If you are not prepared to take action about what you are complaining about, then stop complaining. Do something or shut up.

This simple concept of not complaining about what we permit to exist can be the catalyst that forces us to find the solution to what bothers us. Constant complaining leads to a sense of powerlessness...we are never powerless. We always have choices. Its just that some people do not like the choices that are laid out before them. So the simple solution "never complain about what you permit to exist". Change your situation. If you feel can not change your situation, change your attitude. But at least stop complaining about it.

Well, that sure told me...didn't it. I have to go and make some changes! How about you?