Tag: compassion

  • Jesus Knew . . . And We Are Made New

    06.10.11 | Comment?

    by Chris Gough

    I have been a Christian my entire life, and I am starting to come to an at least hazy realization that Jesus actually knew what he was doing.

    I am not referring to the part where he would have preferred a different path than the cross, or how he had some sort of special understanding of the women at the well or even the foreknowledge of Judas and Peter’s denials. I am talking about his revolutionary conquering of the world through service.

    Galatians 2:10: “Do not forget the poor!” Peter says to Paul as they part ways. It is his one piece of advice, but Paul doesn’t need it. His response: “This was the very thing I was eager to do.” Somehow, Peter, the rock of the church, and Paul, the first and probably greatest theologian, understood that service to the poor was mission critical.

    What wasn’t said by Peter was, “Do not forget the poor, they really need our help.” Hmmm. I suppose he also didn’t say lots of things . . . but this particular hypothetical is something I have been thinking about. After all, there a lot of poor. A majority of the world’s population land below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats clearly implies that those who care for the poor are caring for Jesus and are saved, but the very next story in scripture implies that that is not the whole picture. A woman pours expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet, and the disciples remark that it could have gone to feed the poor (They remembered the parable!). But Jesus responds, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:8.  Poor disciples . . . they almost had it! Do we get it? Do I get it?

    It’s easy to get discouraged or disoriented in our faith; probably because faith requires testing. When we do not face tests, we question the value of faith, and when we question the value of faith we question its surrounding principles. And pretty soon we are in the massive flow of the world’s typical flimsy wisdom.

    I haven’t fully grasped scripture’s implication that Christ is seen clearest among the poor. It is all over God’s Word. So when Jesus’ own example was one of service, we find an unconventional, revolutionary worldview of service.

    “Do not forget the poor!” Peter got it, and so did Paul. So, put your faith to the test. Step out and see if God’s hand will transform. We could see this with the rich, but it is cloudy; credit could always go to their network, their resources, their education. The poor are clearer. In their stories God receives full credit, and the presence of His hand is unmistakable.

    So when Jesus proclaims that he has come to set the captives free, and then washes the feet of a “nobody,” we have to stop and acknowledge that this is an eternal wisdom at play. As we serve and care for the poor, we encounter God; and we will find that in it all, our own poverty is revealed and WE are made new.

    Jesus knew what he was doing.

    Note: Chris Gough is a worship leader at Bethany Community Church and taken a lead role in creating the Spilling Hope Compilation Volume 2, available for FREE download here: http://www.spillinghope.org/compilation-2. So check it out! Also, Spilling Hope Compilation Volume 2 artists will be performing a variety of live shows around Seattle in the coming weeks. Seryn will be at Sunset Tavern next Wedneday June 15 (http://www.serynsound.com/), Jubilee will be playing TONIGHT (Friday) at Skylark (http://livejubilee.org/calendar/), and Cahalen Morrison and Eli West will be at The Tractor Tavern Sunday, June 12 (http://cahalenandeli.com/).

  • From Guilt to Joyful Generosity

    06.08.11 | Comment?

    by Peter Warski

    Earlier this year, I was riding home with a friend. We were returning from dinner at Zeek’s Pizza, which had provided me with some leftovers I was planning to enjoy for lunch the next day.

    Sometimes, God speaks softly, and at other times, He punches you in the gut. On this particular evening, He chose the latter form of communication.

    We pulled up to a red light. As I thought about how tasty the pizza had been, a man came alongside our car, holding a sign: “Hungry. In need of food. God bless.”

    At the bottom of the sign was a drawing of a pizza.

    The box of Zeek’s in my hands suddenly felt heavy. It became instantly clear what I should have done. The man wasn’t asking for anything questionable. He was asking for something to eat.

    As my friend rummaged for her purse, my mind raced. I should give out of my abundance — but then what will I eat for lunch? Before I could complete my thoughts, the light turned green, we were off, and I hadn’t moved an inch.

    When I got home — pizza box still in hand — the pangs of guilt swept over me. Was I really that greedy? So greedy that I wouldn’t give up cold pizza slices just because I’d have to find a different lunch? Guilt soon led to self-condemnation. Self-condemnation convinced me that I simply needed to pray.

    As I did, I was reminded of a few points. First, when it’s clear that God is calling us to do something — whether it be as mundane as giving away your leftovers, or as monumental as moving to the other side of the world — we should be obedient. We should not rely on our own reasoning. Doing so inevitably leads to us putting our own interests and desires ahead of our biblical mandate to love and serve others. I’ve learned that the hard way.

    Secondly, we need to remember that God’s grace is always sufficient: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). The guilt and self-condemnation I experienced was not from God — but the scenario that led to it was. He wants us to be reminded of the responsibility we have as His followers. But He wants us to carry out that responsibility with joy and humility, not guilt or reluctant obligation. That’s why He gave us the greatest gift of all — one that eternally frees us from those latter negative emotions so that we can be a light in a dark world.

    This is what the Spilling Hope campaign is all about. As we come upon Celebration Sunday, I encourage everyone to keep this message in mind — and accordingly, to give with humility, joy, generosity, and obedience to God. By remembering Christ’s sacrifice, and by following His example, we truly begin to reflect His nature in the midst of a broken world.

  • Thoughts on Health & Economic Development, from World Relief

    06.02.11 | Comment?

    “How Can a Church That Cares About Health Change a Community?” by Maurice Kwizera

    The World Health Organization (WHO) uses a broad definition of health “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

    In Rwanda, WR is partnering with many local churches committed to address people health in broad sense – but with a definition that includes “spiritual health” as well.

    Before I share about their work, here are a few facts about health in Rwanda:

    Health Facts for Rwanda:

    ● 43% of households in rural area are headed by women, widows, or children.

    ● 19% of children under 5 are malnourished.

    ● 1 in 5 children will die before their 5th birthday – most from curable and preventable disease.

    ● 3% of adults have HIV/AIDS.

    ● Life expectancy is 52.7 years.

    Churches are well positioned to minister to the health needs of the vulnerable: more than 2/3 of the population attend church at least once a month. Churches are in the remotest areas where access to health care and information can be poor. The community trusts in church leaders and church members in general; any health initiative from them is recognized as a crucial component in successful delivery of health services.

    A church delivers health services with remarkable cost effectiveness: Churches are able to use their volunteers and influence to cascade information throughout the community in a short amount of time. Rwanda has many health success stories on this:

    Maternal and child health: In one district where World Relief empowered 2,800 church volunteers and 350 church leaders in community mobilization for maternal & child health, more than  29,000 households were regularly visited  twice a month for health education. As a result, the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets increased from 3% to 70% in the target population, severe malaria cases in district Hospital decreased from 570 cases (2003) to 108 Cases (2006), and annual death cases due to malaria among children under 5 years of age steadily decreased from 30 to 0 within a period of five years.

    HIV/AIDS prevention: World Relief worked with the local churches from which 5,800 peer educators were selected, equipped with knowledge and tools and then committed to the education of youth on HIV/AIDS. After 5 years, more than 373,000 youth aged 12-24 years were reached with knowledge and life skills for HIV prevention through small groups regularly meeting at church.

    Fighting stigma & traditional beliefs: Word Relief has also worked throughout the country to help churches overcome the stigma of AIDS and be a leader in the community at accepting the sick for who they are.  Also, church are fighting traditional beliefs and encouraging people to go to hospitals instead of “traditional healers.”

    Where a local church cares about health, a holistic healing is brought to the community.

    Photo: A volunteer from a local church helps weigh a baby as part of a nutrition and child survival intervention in Rwanda.

    (Maurice Kwizera is the community mobilization manager in WR’s Child Survival program and has previously served as manager of WR’s HIV/AIDS program.)

    ~~~

    “Why Is Economic Empowerment More Important Than Giveaways?” by Pascasie Nsanzabozwa

    We’ve all heard the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” As cliché as it sounds, the concept of giveaways versus economic empowerment is a huge issue in development work. In Rwanda, there are many people with serious and urgent needs and sometimes we just don’t have the ability or resources to take care of the root causes of their poverty.

    As we try to follow Jesus’ example of having compassion on the vulnerable, we instinctively want to help that immediate need as we are able. However, handouts are not going to create a sustainable skill and often rob those we try to help of the self-esteem and independence they could achieve from learning how to improve their economic development.

    “Savings for Life” groups in Rwanda are mobilized by church leaders. WR’s role is to train volunteers from these churches in how to train these groups to save.

    So how do savings groups work?

    1. 15-25 community members are mobilized by local churches to form groups.
    2. Groups meet weekly and each member deposits their weekly savings (usually less than $1) into the group savings fund.
    3. As the fund grows, members borrow from the fund to start small businesses.
    4. A social fund is set aside as an emergency grant for members who experience crisis.
    5. Group members add to savings between meetings using daily savings.
    6. Loans are repaid with interest and the savings fund grows even more!
    7. At the end of the 9-12 month cycle, each member receives their savings PLUS a portion of the interest collected. (They use these funds to pay school fees, buy livestock, and start small businesses.)
    8. The group then decides to disband or begin a new cycle. (Almost all continue for several additional cycles.)

    Because the church is involved, members learn more than how to save in these groups; they form relationships with others who are trying to lift their families out of poverty. Over time, they grow to love and trust each other.

    I visited a group last week called, Twitezimbere which means “let’s prosper.” The 20-member group, almost all of whom are women (78% of the program’s clients are women), are growing in unity.

    Hadidja, a Muslim member has been welcomed into the group. She has been inspired by how the group members, most of whom are Christians, love each other.

    Another women’s husband has been hospitalized for the past three weeks, and the group decided to donate the social fund to his family and spend time together weeding his cassava fields.

    These examples of compassion and caring for people who might have been strangers 2 months ago, is truly moving.

    These savings groups are giving a ministry to churches to empower people to help themselves – rather than making them dependant on support from outside.

    Photo: A savings group gathers at a weekly meeting to contribute to their savings fund.

    (Pascasie Nsanzabozwa is the economic development manager at WR Rwanda.)

  • Compelled to Care

    05.31.11 | Comment?

    by Maddy Allen

    Some of us are ignorant. We are ill-, under-, or uninformed about the fact that water scarcity plays a pivotal role in the death of a child from malaria alone every thirty seconds. We don’t understand (because we’ve never had to understand) the amount of community, health, and life that a clean and reliable source of water can bring.

    Some of us are overwhelmed. We are educated about the need on this earth and carry it with us. We know that at any given moment, half of the world’s hospital beds could be filled with people suffering from a water-borne illness. We’ve seen brokenness; we’ve held it in our arms. Yet, the knowledge seems to paralyze us.

    As Christians, we are not only expected, but compelled, to be knowledgeable of the hurt in this world, take it upon ourselves as Jesus did, and aspire to remedy it. We are regularly made aware of our blessings compared to those who have less and reminded that we have a responsibility to care for them. But, the countless facts, statistics, and heart-wrenching photos leave us feeling completely powerless despite this position of privilege and power. Our spirits heave with a righteous anger for a women, men, child, family, gender, race, country, people — a world in need.

    Last summer, I got the opportunity to travel to Haiti. While there, I experienced one of the most incredible, spirit-filled two weeks of my life. True, the country of Haiti has been devastated — full of people hurting and in need. Likewise, however, it is a country full of joyous and grateful people, looking to the Lord for hope and strength. I have never seen a country more in need, nor have I seen a place where God is working more or where the Holy Spirit is more alive. I returned home from the poorest country in the western hemisphere to a “premiere private Christian university” within only 7 days. And, for more than 6 months, that transition sat heavily on my heart and mind. I wanted, even in a small way, to give something to the people that had blessed my life so much during the summer, but because of my commitments as a student, I was unable.

    The necessity of reconciliation on this broken earth forms cuffs around our wrists. We don’t know how, where, or when to give. We try to determine what to invest in based on our passions. What if our passion is justice? hope? reconciliation? salvation? What non-profit organization can we give our money to then? The amount of noble initiatives, honest foundations, and pure causes is staggering. We could choose to support any of them. How do we choose who and what to support when there is so much to invest in? Furthermore, is having a hand in healing this broken place simply a matter of pecuniary distribution?

    The answers to these questions are many and I do not have a definitive resolution. I do know that we are called to care, not necessarily to cure or conquer. Jesus healed the lepers, but not leprosy; He blessed the prostitute, but didn’t eradicate sexual exploitation. Spilling Hope is one such way by which we can address a focused need without attempting to create a panacea for the world’s thirst and disease. We are called to have compassion and feel the brokenness of our brothers and sisters but not to be encumbered by it. In the midst of world struggling to stay afloat, we are called to be lights; hope ignited by a holy burden and sustained by God’s promised faithfulness. We cannot be bearers of hope if we, ourselves, are extinguished. We aren’t called to give what we don’t have. There is power in knowledge, but only if we can surrender that knowledge to God in prayer and act on it in whatever way (“big” or “small”) that we can. It is when we are weak that we are strong — thus we carry equally the strength of the Lord and the brokenness of this world on the backs of our spirits. We aren’t called to save the world — that’s already been taken care of.