Does God Want You to be Rich?

Today was the official start of the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) conference. And, it was a good day!

Yesterday morning, we had a class (with 22 other people) with Dr. Wayne Gordon and then Dr. John Perkins.

Then, today, (with 2,000 other people) I heard Dr. Alyn Waller.

And, they all had their own unique passion to talk about!

However, the one thing that they all mentioned was the
misunderstood notion of God's people being blessed with wealth.

Does God Want You To Be Rich?? is an article Time Magazine put together...but, it's not the first time this topic has come up.

It's often taught in church that if you follow God, he will bless you with prosperity and a wealthy life.

However, this has never sat very good in my stomach, and after spending 3 months in Haiti and learning about the world, the idea that God blesses his people with wealth has even made me more uncomfortable...

First of all: Does God love a surburban business-man more than He loves a starving child in Uganda? Because a Christian family in Iraq does not have a lot of material wealth, does that make them any less blessed by God??

Well....Wayne, John, and Alyn brought some Biblical understanding to this struggle!!!

God may give us abundance in wealth, but we must give that wealth to others!

God will bless us with an abundant life...

But, what is the abundant life??

I don't know if a "heap of things" is actually the abundant life...

Our Western culture has taken Christianity to a mainstream level and sometimes it's not even Biblical!!

Materialism, Greed, Consumerism, and Selfishness
as a way of life is accepted in soooo many suburban churches!

Please rethink the Prayer of Jabez...please rethink this.

I am continuing to think about Christianity and to think about the difference between being a Western Culterized Christian and being a Christ-Follower.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Red and Yellow, Black and White, We are Precious in His Sight!
Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World!

Who Owns the Pond?

Instead of just giving a man a fish to eat, I've always been taught to actually teach him how to fish.
But, today...my eyes were opened to a new question...
Who Owns the Pond?

This was Tony Campolo, Shaine Claiborne, and Cheryl Epine's question as they taught us today.

I had class from 9am-9pm with a short break for lunch and dinner. That is about 10 hours straight of learning from some amazing Christ-followers!

Tony Campolo:

Man, can this guy rattle what you "know" is "true." I read his books and I am challenged, and I think there just can't be anything else that he could possibly open my eyes to! Boy, am I wrong!

Today, in a classroom of 23 eager students, he...once again...shocked my core.

In case you don't know the name, "Tony Campolo"...let me give you a quick example of what he stands for...

In front of a large audience of conservative Christians...Tony's opening comments were this: "Every day 30,000 children die of hunger, and you don't give a shit about it! And, most of you sitting there are more outraged that I said the word "shit"...than the fact that there are 30,000 kids dying today." Now...he is a challenger.

We started off with a question. "What was Jesus trying to accomplish? What was His mission statement?"

-In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus declares his purpose first...He actually spells out his mission statement..."I am here to declare the Kingdom of Heaven at hand!" I am here to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth!

What's the Kingdom??

Well, it's the upside-down view of the world that Jesus brings!
Where the poor are lifted up,
the last are first,
it is almost impossible for the rich to get to heaven,
and things of this world do not make sense!

In fact, the Bible spells out EXACTLY what the Kingdom looks like!
-Micah 6
-Isaiah 61
-Isaiah 58
-Zechariah 8
-Isaiah 65 (my favorite right now!)

We then spent a lot of time talking about judgement and what JESUS says about who gets to heaven...

First: It is a narrow road.
Second: It is easier for a camel to get throught the whole of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Heaven.

Christianity is about MY salvation...but you CANNOT ignore Jesus' direction to bring the Kingdom to Earth. You cannot ignore this! It is picking and choosing what you want to hear from the Bible!

Do you know what Jesus talks about more than anything else during His short time on Earth??

The KINGDOM!

Some say that it is solely my salvation...and that bringing the Kingdom to earth is not necessary... *

...However...It is awfully hard to argue with Jesus' words (and Ephesians, Philippians...)

In Matthew: A rich man asks Jesus how he can get to heaven? (19:6) ...And, Jesus responds, "If you want to get to Heaven, follow my commandments!" (16:7). And, Jesus then challenges us by saying to the man that he must sell his possessions and give to the poor!

It is not just about ME! The greatest commandment is about MY love to God...but that's not it! Jesus doesn't stop there!!! He says "the second is to Love Your Neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37). It is not just about Me and it is not just about showing love to others....it is BOTH!!!

But, here's the verse that really gets to me
and it very very very very clear!

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus clearly says that whoever does to the least of these does to Jesus.
Whoever does not do for the least of these does not to to Jesus.

And, here is where the judgement day comes into play.

"Jesus will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for teh one of the least of these, you did not do fo me...THEN, they will go away to ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, but the righteous to eternal life!"

Wow. That's pretty clear!

Now...Tony is not preaching a 100% social justice gospel. It is both my salvataion and how I help the least of these.

"Don't preach a Christianity that just makes Jesus your boyfriend"
-Tony (Now, if that doesn't gross you out, I don't know what will!)

There is a social dimension to this world! There is interaction with the world!

Ok...Now here's the seemingly silly, yet common question.
Was Jesus just kidding? Did He really mean what He said?

(I'll let you answer that one on your own.)


1.) Tony then challenged my thinking on the worship music of today. Something I never thought about...but, Tony definitely made the problem clear today!

So much of our praise music now focuses on MY relationship internally with God. It is about MY salvation. BUT, How much of our music calls us into a social justice position?? Old-school hymns did!

I'm still kinda hazy on this topic because I was super resistant to hear it in the first place!

2.) Abortion. The topic that makes a lot of Christians conservative (that and gay marriages...which Tony definitely talked about!)

Republicans are two groups:
-Evangelicals who are pro-life
-Country-clubbers who are pro-choice.

How does the Republican party keep both groups pro-Republican???

"It's easy!!" -says Tony!

Have a pro-life platform, and then do NOTHING about it when you're in office! (says Tony with a smirk on his face...'cause we all know how true that is!)

What are the Republicans waiting for! There's been a Republican president, a Republican Congress, a Republican Senate, a Republican Cabinet! What happened to the Republican platform of pro-life? Illegal abortion in the first trimester was enacted..but what about the second and the third??

The class laughed at Tony's sarcasm and humor in this situuation!

Second issue with abortion: Why make it illegal? Poor people will still do in in a back alley with a knife. We need to focus on making it economically possible for these expecting-mothers to have kids!

Tony made me think. He made me mad! He made me challenge who I claim Jesus is.

"We're marketing Jesus. We've taken the blood from the cross, turned it into koolade and passed it out all over the world." (Shane Claiborne)

Great Shane Claiborne quotes:

"You try to be a good Samaritan, but after pulling so many people out of the ditch, you think...maybe the road to Jericho needs to be repaved."

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After Shane's time in Iraq (post Iraqi war)...Shane was blown away by the number and quality of Christians in Iraq....the families...the kids...the HUGE Christian worship services at night...women speaking in the church...just the power and beauty of the Iraqi Christians. Shane was talking to an Iraqi Bishop saying "wow. there are so many passionate Christians in Iraq!"

And, the Iraqi Bishop patiently responding to the crying, sobbing Shane..."Shane, Christianity started here. The Garden of Eden was here. Jesus was actually HERE. Christianity wasn't created in America; it was domesticated there..."

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"We aren't just called to be believers; we're called to be disciples."

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"We don't just want to be against something; we want to be FOR something."

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The other lectures...art in ministry, grant writing, positive development, Iraqi peace projects, the many Iraqi Christians praying for the Christians in America, and many other topics challenged me!

Final Point: This is not hopeless! The lectures are not at all a "hope is lost" mentality! There is hope and there is love! I'm just focusing on 2% of what was even talked about!



But the questions to the fish question are even bigger yet...Not only...Who Owns the Pond?...

But...Who polluted the pond?
Who put the gate up around the pond?

Please, ask these questions! Think about what is happening in our world, in your city, in your backyard.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
On Christ, the Solid Rock I Stand.

*Please don't play the "what if" game...What if someone dies one-minute before she dies and cannot help bring the Kingdom to Earth? Bottom line: GOD IS JUST. GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS GOOD.

A Biblical Foundation for Christian Community Development

(Downtown Philly!
I did not take this picture...thanks gettyimages.com!)

This blog is dedicated to Sherry...she is such a beautiful woman. She always finds a way to encourage me and lift me up. I spent two summers working near her at Valley Church in West Des Moines, and my dad just told me that she wants me to update my blog more! : ) I love you, Sherry!


I am in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania right now. 2 hours from New York City. 3 hours from Washington DC. 24 hours from Waco. 17 hours from West Des Moines. 18 hours driving + 6 hour boat ride from Haiti.

I'm taking a class at Truett Seminary in Waco, Texas this week. The class MSSN 7387: Community Development and Ministry is a one-week intensive class in Philadelphia. We're learning about social change and the Christian mindset. Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) is having their annual conference in Philadelphia, so as a part of the class, we're attending the conference for half the week.

The other part of the class is a serious of lectures focusing on community development by Christians, tours of inner-city churches and non-profit Christian organizations, and a glimpse of inner-city life in Philadelphia.

I've been thirsting for some life in a city lately.
I love Waco and I love Baylor,
but I've been in a deperate need to escape the Suburban mindsets for a while.
And, Philly is exactly what I needed.

Tonight we had our first lecture, and I am blown away. There are 23 students taking this class with me...from all over the world. I can't believe the diversity of the 23 people that sat in one room: black, brown, caramel, rich, poor, educated in the university, educated on the streets, American, African, young, old. It was beautiful. It was very Kingdom.

Jimmy Dorrell, my pastor at Church Under the Bridge, was the first lecturer tonight.

If you don't have time to read the rest of my blog, or you don't want to...Here's what he talked about:

Christians are called to serve the poor.
Christians are called to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.
Christianity is deeper than "my salvation."

Now...Here's a brief summary of my notes.

Old Testament Examples of
God's Care for the Poor and Oppressed:

1.) The Year of Jubilee:
Every 50 years was the year of Jubilee. All land was to go back to the original owner. It was to clean the slate and start over. God commanded us to do this so the rich don't get richer and the poor don't get poorer. Systems can become sinful...not just individuals.

2.) Amos and Micah:
Pretty much the social-justice guys! And, they were community developers!

Amos talked to a super-spiritual crowd (much like Baylor)...where the poor were being taken advantage of by the rich. God is sick of the rich's outward religious talk!

Micah told us in 6:8 to love justice and mercy and to walk humbly with the Creator.

3.) Isaiah 58 and 61:
Rebuild the cities! Good news for the poor is coming (Jesus)!! Stop doing religious fasting/practices, and help the poor!!!!

You must balance these religious practices with acts!!!
Get out there are care for the people!

Christians flock to the 'burbs...and the Church is no longer in the city!!!

It's about the New Jerusalem!!! The Kingdom!! The City!!

4.) Sodom and Gommorah (Ezekial 16:49):
Sodom's sin wasn't just sexual charades...It was the apathetic attitudes towards to poor and the overconsumption! Arrogant...unconcerned with the poor...overfed.

New Testament Examples of
God's Care for the Poor and Oppressed:

1.) Sheep and the Goats! (Matthew 25):
Christianity isn't just about MY salvation...it's about helping the least of these. You go to Hell if you don't help the least of these! Ouch! I've never heard that preached before!!

~Matthew 25: Judgement for those who don't help the least of these
~My Salvation: Judgemnt for those who aren't saved

***It's both! You have to do both! The ultra-Evangelical movement has made it all about MY salvation! The "turn or burn" movement took it to an extreme!! They are both true!! It's not either/or!

To be Biblically mature, you must have some tensions!

There is now a move of Christians going to the other extreme...making Christianity about social justice. HOWEVER!! WARNING!!! You cannot go to the other extreme! It is about my salvation and helping the least of these!

2.) Beattitudes:
Blessed are the physically and the spiritually poor

How do you deal with that?

3.) 1 John 3:17:
Specifically aimed at wealthy people who do not care for the poor.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"

Christianity is bigger than words. It's about your actions.

4.) Galatians 2:10:

Remember the poor.

We Then Talked About Serving...Why Do People Serve???

1.) People Serve... For Self-Interest
-volunteer work for your resume
-help 'cause it makes you feel good inside

2.) People Serve...Because of the Moral Order
-help 'cause it's a societal thing.

3.) People Serve...Because God Says So
-help 'cause God helped you and you should help someone else.

4.) People Serve...Because of Love
-help 'cause Christ's love compels me to.
-I can't not love the city and the poor, because God loves me.

THE BIG MOMENT!!! THE BIG POINT!!! DON'T MISS THIS!!

The Great Reversal: Early 1900s

-The Conservative Christians ran away from the Liberals!
AND...This incredible tension developed.

Conservatives: "Turn or Burn" Focus on Evangelism
Liberals: Social Justice

Must be both!!
The two sides must be integrated*!!!
Both are Christianity!

Here's the part for you to reflect upon:
What kind of church do you go to???

1.) Pillar Church: Power people, wealthy, strong downtown church, important, connections, money, influence.

2.) Pilgrim Church: Relocated to where their people are coming from, suburban church, focus on church growth, homogeneous, look alike, think alike.

3.) Survivor Church: In city, survived crisis after crisis, attitude of "yeah, but we're still here", been in the location for a loooong time.

4.) Servant Church: Take care of each one another. The kind of church you want to be at when you're sick.

5.) Prophet Church: Fighting against cultural norms, challenge the "wine-skins" of traditional church, heterogenous mix.

The image we have of our church changes and shapes the way the church does community development!

There are different people inside the churches who are challenging their church to be Kingdom-fill...
-Innovators!
-Early Adopters
-Middle Adopters
-Late Adopters
-Resisters

Who Are You???

I am definitely a LATE adopter, and I am still resisting some of this!!! : )
God, please soften my hard, selfish heart!!!!!!!

Well, basically, I am just sooo excited for this week!!!! This is exactly where I'm supposed to me right now! I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing!

Tomorrow morning, we're taking a tour of lots of different inner-city churches...and looking at everything from the type of cars in the parking lot to who their audience is to what type of ministries they run to who funds them!

I am so stinkin' excited!

Then, lots more lecutures and tours!

Please leave me your thoughts and questions!!!
I want to hear what you're thinking!

P.S. I met a guy tonight who spent 3 months in Haiti when he was 24 years old! We went by himself to learn what it's like to live in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. We talked a lot about our experiences pre, during, and post! What a blessing from God that was!

*Holistic (25 cent word for integration!)

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

Stitching Together

I've been doing some reflecting on who I am and what my goals are. And, I...again and again...see myself as a bridge.

I have an economic mind, who understands some realities of the world...while, at the same time, my heart is the heart of a social worker, pouring out for the people. I see myself as a bridge between the intellectuals and the grassroot workers. I hope that throughout my life, in school, in work...that I will be able to connect people together who desire to help the poor...but have different ways of thinking.

While I was in Haiti, I was blown away with the creativity of the people and the inventiveness when situations arose.

I gave a soccerball to my friend, Awol, and he shared that ball with everyone. That soccerball saw many feet and many goals! But, due to rocky terrain and rough-play, the ball eventually ripped. It completely deflated, and I was completely bummed. This one ball gave so much enjoyment to so many people in the community! I was so disappointed that it was broked.

The next week, I saw something that lifted my spirits up again! Awol was re-stitching the soccerball. With a needle and thick thread, he was re-weaving the laces in the ball. This broken ball, that so many suburban kids would have just thrown-away, was being rebuilt by my Haitian friend.

While Awol fixed the ball, I couldn't help but lose myself in the moment. We were by the beach. The air was warm, but there was a salty breeze coming in through the sugar cane plants. Awol was sitting on a pile of logs, later to be used for light during the dark nights. Four little boys were playing soccer with a homemade ball in their underwear on the dirt ground around us.

And, all the while, Awol was slowing weaving his worn, black fingers in and out of the soccerball, patiently attending to the needs of the ball. He quietly worked, knowing that the meticulous work would require much time and dedication.

Awol, now aware that I was studying his fingers, asked me to photograph him. I, excited to capture this moment on my camera, told him to just keep working. I took four pictures of him, while he continued to work away.


After I stood there for a while, I saw so much in common between myself and Awol. We both see potential in something that so many so easily throw away. So many people are quick to trash Haiti and are easily discouraged when something breaks. They think it would be easier to just buy a new ball, to just invest in a different country. But, like Awol, I will patiently use my resources, I will meticulously work at stitching together the beauty that I see in Haiti.

But, more than that...I hope that someone or something will capture my dedicated work in a timeless fashion. Like the photo of Awol mending the ball, I know that I can have my hard work and my visions captured...I want to make a lasting difference in one individual...in one country...in one neighborhood.

And, that is the connection I see between the first-world and the third-world. The connection is the thread. The connection is the people who see potential in something seen as unfixable.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Into Marvelous Light I'm Running!

Changing Perceptions

Finally, this morning I felt a gentle peace for the first time since being back in the USA. I went to my Waco church home, Church Under the Bridge, where I was greeted by many warm faces and words saying I was missed. For the first time, I felt not like a foreigner here in America. For the first time, I could breathe a sigh of gladness to be here.

I have been really sad being back here in America. Sadness is the best word I can come up with to expain how I've been feeling.

Things that last Spring I would have laughed at or merely ignored make me cry...

*In my Economic Development class on Monday, the first day of school, I was fighting to hold back tears in the middle of the hour and thirty minute class. Our teacher was talking about the numbers and statistics of poverty in third-world countries...he was using humor to intrigue the Baylor students with matters of Economic Development...he was poking fun at the rural working poor in developing countries. And, frankly, the joke was funny and it was not mean-spirited. This teacher has such an obvious heart for helping poor countries.

However...I couldn't take it. I couldn't stand the students giggling behind me. I couldn't stand how methodical the class was sounding. These weren't numbers of illiterate women...these weren't numbers of deaths due to AIDS.

HE is Emilio. SHE is Linda. HE is Kingston. SHE is Bernadette. HE is Makendy.
They are people and some of them are my family.

I am way too sensitive...but, the sadness has just been overwhlming.

*On Thursday night at Common Grounds, a trendy college coffee bar, I was sitting outside on a really cute patio with one of my friends. We were talking about her life and her new, exciting semester ahead...

...A girl who worked at Common Grounds was outside cleaning up empty cups and straighening up the tables and chairs...One chair was kinda losing the armrest....and, she came up to my friend and I and said something I will never forget. She said..."Man...it's like a third-world country out here." I couldn't believe her comment. WHAT?! I didn't know what to say...I just kinda looked down...very uncomfortably. There is nothing at this hip, upper-middle-class coffee bar that reminds me of a third-world country. What a disgusting comment.

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This morning at church, I finally felt at home.
I finally felt like I was surrounded by others who saw the Kingdom of God with similar eyes.

Jimmy Dorrell, the pastor of the church and a man whom I admire soooo much, spoke today from James Chapter 2:1-13. He talked about the beauty of Jesus and how so many churches and Christians in America do not understand the simple concept of unity under Christ.

Christianity is revolutionary because it is counter-cultural.
Jesus Christ draws crowds because it is so apparant that he is different from popular culture.

In Christianity, we are all equal. White, black, brown, rich, poor, middle-class...We are all the same under God. Church Under the Bridge is such a beautiful place to be. The church is so diverse and we can stand united under Christ is a way so revolutionary to today's capitalistic culture.

Any type of segregation within the church rapes the Gospels of God's Word. Any type of segregation...racial, socio-economical, cultural, gender based...

Today at Church Under the Bridge I saw a man and his wife (Jimmy and Janet Dorrell) living out the Kingdom of God. They live what Jesus preaches. They broke away from the middle-class mentality into a new way of living. They dedicate their lives to bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth in Waco, Texas.

When I first went to Haiti, I was with Jimmy and Janet. They have both had such a huge impact on my perspectives on the world. I look up to them so much.

If only we can just share what we have.
Isn't that so easy to say? If God gives us, we need to share. We must share the things that are given to us, generously, by God.
But, that is so hard to do. We like our things, and in fact, many people would argue that they-themselves worked to achieve those things on their own. (Myself often included)
But, for Christians, that is robbing God of His glory.
And, I desire to give glory to God.
I want so bad for Him to smile when He looks at my life.
I want to experience Him.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Viv Gloria Viv (Haitian worship song)