My natural inclination is towards caution. I remember riding go-carts as a young child and driving about 1/10th of the speed of everyone around me. Even my parents – the figures who normally urge children to use more caution – urged me to speed up.
My cautious nature causes me to evaluate and re-evaluate my decisions ad nauseum. It also leads me to hold off on making major announcements until I feel everything is in place and success is all but secured. But, I am learning that life isn’t perfect and there are far fewer sure things than I would like. Planting a church is one of them.
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Announcing a New Church Plant on H St. NE
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There’s a disturbing parable in Luke’s gospel about a rich farmer who has a bumper crop and decides to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones to hold his new found wealth. The parable ends in this way,
But God said to him. “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God. Luke 12:20-21
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Cautionary Tale on Building Bigger Barns
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When we think of people living in poverty, images of men in cardboard boxes often come to mind. We think of our first youth trip to the Appalachian Mountains or to the other side of the tracks to serve soup to the needy. We think of the single mother, living on section 8 housing in an area of the city we rarely visit. We think of someone else, somewhere else.
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Dignity and the Changing Face of Poverty
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My friend Travis Reed interviews Phyllis Tickle and receives some interesting responses. I think this piece is an excellent jumping off point for discussing the work and place of justice in the Christian community.
This past week, I was researching Wesley’s solution to assisting and elevating the working poor of 18th century England. Fascinating researching. In particular, I was intrigued to find Wesley assisted the poor through the development of a short-term loan fund – often financed from his own pocket. Think healthy payday lending meets micro-finance.
Wesley was ahead of his time.
After reading about Wesley’s alternative lending program, I ran across a Breakpoint story by Chuck Colson on payday lending. The subtitle was, “Setting the Captives Free.” What a powerful image, especially in light of Jeremy John’s post on Sojourners’ this week.
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John Wesley, Chuck Colson and Payday Lending
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