Aionios

This post is part of Blog Action Day 08 - Poverty

Our lack of care for the poor, as followers of Christ, is more than just something we need to work or, but it is a sign of our spiritual apathy, and our sin (as a church). When the church (you and me) deprive others (the poor) the goods and services which others around us take for granted, it is a sign that we are not living the kind of life God’s word calls us to…According to Wikipedia-”Poverty is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life, including food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, and may also include the deprivation of opportunities to learn, to obtain better employment to escape poverty, and/or to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens. According to Mollie Orshansky who developed the poverty measurements used by the U.S. government, “to be poor is to be deprived of those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted.”

How do we begin to do move from this spiritual apathy?

1. Be Content
Philippians 4:11-12
I’m not saying this because I’m in any need. I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little.

2.  Act on the Need
James 2:14-18
My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him? Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman needs clothes or food and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do? In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things. Another person might say, “You have faith, but I do good things.” Show me your faith apart from the good things you do. I will show you my faith by the good things I do.

According to the World Bank, the cost of meeting all of the millennium development goals would be $40-60 billion per year. It is said that the cost of educating every child to at least a primary school level would be about $10 billion… By the way, US consumers spent $15.4 billion on pet food in 2006 and about $9 billion on breakfast cereal.

Live on less, Give more!

What Am I going to do this year (08-09) to make a difference?

1. Junky Car Club
2. The One Campaign
3. World Vision
4. Nothing But Nets
   

I have been sharing with our student leaders about the idea of Moving From Consumer Youth Ministry to Missionary Youth Ministry, and thought I would post it…to get your thoughts.

• In order for us as a youth ministry to make a difference in our world as exiles we must: Move from Consumer Christianity to Missionary Christianity

Consumer vs. Missionary

• A consumer focuses on self; a missionaries primary concern is others.
• A consumer spends energy and efforts on gaining more spirituality; a missionary is primarily concerned with helping others gain spirituality.
• A consumer is get, get, get; a missionary is give, give, get.

• Missionary Christianity is a different way to look at our world.
• Missionary Christianity is a different way of living in our world.
• Missionary Christianity is a different way of Christianity, then most Christians will ever embrace. (The cost is to high)

What is missionary Christianity?

1.    Live IN Your Culture Like Jesus Did His

• Hang out where they hang out (be with those who are lost)
• Don’t go alone (bring along others who dare to be Missionaries)
• View people as lost, not wrong (in need of direction, not correction)
• Understand how your culture works
• Use your culture to influence others

2.    Loving (serving) Others
1 Thessalonians 2:8
We felt so strongly about you that we were determined to share with you not only the Good News of God but also our lives. That’s how dear you were to us!

• Loving others is how we love God.
• Serving others earns us the right to be heard.
• When we meet people’s practical needs it opens their ears, eyes, and hearts to the possibility of a Jesus who can meet their needs.
• We must share our lives (our energy, our efforts, our time) with people so that they can see the Good News of God alive in our lives.
• People want more than answers; they want something that makes a difference in their day-to-day lives.
• Jesus doesn’t ask-tell-or invite people to worship him, he invites them to follow him (to do what he does).

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1. How can we make this move?
2. How are you making this move in your own life?

“One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish - as far away from God as he could get.” Jonah 1:1-3

You probably remember the story from Sunday School or VBS: Jonah ,a prophet in the OT, was told by God to go to the city of Nineveh. Jonah was told to go Nineveh to warn them about God’s judgment and though he ran from God (chapter 1-2) once he finally does go to Nineveh (chapter 3) he rescues (saves) an entire city. We learn a few things I believe from the story of Jonah that apply to our lives.
1.    Our Mission

Matthew 28:18-20
Acts 20:24

God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and reach its people. God throughout the Bible has been using people to accomplish his purposes on earth. In the NT we see that Jesus invites us to take part in his mission: seeking the lost and helping the sick. Just like Jonah each of us who choose to follow Christ have been given a mission. We have been called like Jonah to reach a lost and dying city (a lost and dying world). God calls us just like Jonah to be a missionary to our Nineveh (Butler). He calls us to invest our lives (our time and energy) into helping rescue our city. Choosing to accept this mission for your lives is the greatest thing you can ever give your life too. God doesn’t assign this mission to the experts (the priests and prophets) only but rather extends it to all the people who dare to believe that God can rescue our Nineveh.

2.    Our City
Facts about Nineveh:
•    One of the capital cities in the Assyrian Nation (world power)
•    Known for their cruelty, idolatry, witchcraft, and wickedness
•    Would kill all the men and rape all the women
•    Sand trap method
•    About ½ million people (including women and children)
•    Epi-center of art, commerce, and innovation

I have found that running from my Nineveh is running from God, that if I ignore my city, my community then I am ignoring God. Just like Jonah we have been sent on a mission from God to a city where people are in need of hope, life, love, and truth-they are in need of who God is. Our city is in need of people who will become a Jonah to their city. Imagine if you would listen and respond to God’s call and go to your Nineveh. Jonah though unwilling at first saved an entire city because we did God’s work in his city. What if we did the same? What if we did that in Butler? What if you did it in your school?

Our Big Fish Moment
We are all faced with a decision, will be run like Jonah and hope God sends a fish to rescue us, or will we embrace God’s mission and love our city.