Faith & God

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Responding to Panhandlers

I don’t know about you, but I always struggle when confronted by someone asking for money. Whether they’re sitting at an intersection with a cardboard sign or they approach me on the sidewalk, I get the same conflicted feelings:

  • Give them money. Jesus said to give to those who ask.
  • Don’t give them money. They’ll spend it on drugs or alcohol.
  • Give them money. God loves the poor.
  • Don’t give them money. They should be working!
  • Give them money. The Bible says we are to love our neighbor.
  • Don’t give them money. There are soup kitchens and homeless shelters for that purpose.

I either end up giving a half-hearted offering that won’t solve their problems and only leaves me feeling slightly less guilty, or I just avoid eye contact altogether. Neither response feels right.

It was with immense relief that I read the following article in “Christianity Today,” written by a group of people I respect, a group focused on exactly the sort of issues I’m struggling with here. I trust their wisdom in this area.

Please click on the link and read the short article,

“Give to Street People? Don’t”

by Ron Sider, Gary Hoag, and Andy Bales.

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Who Do You Want to Meet in Heaven?

There are a lot of people I want to see when I get to heaven. First, of course, is Jesus. I think we’ll just hang out together for the first several thousand years. Then there are people I’ve known and loved here on earth. Of course I want to see them again. But what about all the new people who will be hanging out with God, people I’ve heard of but never met on earth? Which one do I want to meet the most?

I want to finally meet Noah’s wife. I want to get to know her. How did she cope with having a visionary for a husband?

See, when God told Noah to build the ark, He also explained why: “So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth” (Genesis 6:13).

Note here that God told Noah. Nowhere is there any mention of God telling Mrs. Noah about much of anything. Did God just leave her in the dark? Did she have to take her husband’s word for it all? It’s easy to imagine Noah going home and having a little conversation with his wife… Continue reading →

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Going

Should I go on a short-term mission trip this year? If so, where?

Our church recently announced this year’s short-term mission trips, and I was staring at the list. The glossy brochure, with its glowing descriptions of each destination and the life-impacting ministry we could do there, was very impressive. In keeping with our congregation of over 10,000, there were a lot of trips to choose from: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Israel, Egypt, India, Honduras, South Africa, Germany… with more to be added later. Our church is in partnership with missionaries and indigenous ministries in these and other places. Every year short-term teams are sent to help with projects, train local leaders, encourage missionaries, prayer-walk the neighborhoods, teach health and hygiene classes, provide medical care, lead Bible studies, love on orphaned kids, and “share the love of Christ in practical ways.”

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Here I Am to Worship…

I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.  —A.W. Tozer

Our band was wailing on the guitars, beating the drums. The trained vocalists’ voices were belting out the words of the latest “praise and worship” song loudly enough to drown out the rest of us. It was a typical Sunday morning at our friendly neighborhood mega-church.

Our church has an international reputation. Songs written by our worship team are sung in churches all over the world. Our School of Worship trains musically talented leaders to focus on God, not just sing songs. Hundreds of people attend our services specifically for the worship experience (although our speakers are equally gifted). In many ways, we set a standard for the American evangelical church.

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Look What’s Coming

January is a time for new beginnings. From making (and breaking) resolutions, to making new plans and starting new projects, January brings the hope that whatever happened last year, this year can be different.

While there is a certain amount of list-making at the end of the year—everything from “The 10 Best Android Games of 2010” to “The Worst Fashion Trends of the Year”—we usually forget all that come January 1. Especially in our culture, what’s past is past, and what’s important lies ahead. Overall, I think that’s a good thing.

As my history teachers liked to remind me, studying the past can provide valuable lessons. Yet, there is a difference between learning from the past and wallowing in it. Yes, someone may have offended us. Our cause might have lost an election—or a battle, or even the war. (I get a mental image of the civil war reenactment in “Sweet Home Alabama”—an actual, if somewhat dated, cultural reference!) We might have had a bad childhood, and bad marriage, or a bad year at school. It’s good to learn from mistakes, be them ours or someone else’s.

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Fully Planned?

What’s wrong with this ad?

No, it’s not the places they’ve chosen. True, these are not “frontier missions” trips—the gospel is already available in all those places. It would be difficult for a short-term missionary to accomplish much if they were pioneering a new work. Still, we are never done with evangelization, not until Jesus returns. Missionaries work in all those countries, and I’m sure they could use some help.

No, it’s not the “low budget” cost of the trip. That’s wonderful. It not only makes a cross-cultural mission experience accessible to more people, it frees resources to be used in-country.

Ah, yes. It’s the “fully planned.”

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Giving When We’re Broke

Pete and I enjoy giving financially. This doesn’t make us super spiritual, and I’m not trying to brag or impress anyone—it’s just that we both find giving to be lots of fun. I am quite sure our attitude is a direct result of God working in us, rather than anything we achieved for ourselves. It’s a gift from the Holy Spirit.

However, as I wrote a few months ago, we’re currently “treading water” financially. We haven’t received a paycheck since October. Since there’s no income, we have nothing to tithe on, and we’ve cut our discretionary spending to zero. It’s frustrating.

Well, frustration can be the impetus to start thinking more creatively. Sunday afternoon, Pete and I sat down together and said, OK, we can’t afford to write checks. How else can we give? Sometimes our culture is so focused on money, we miss other things we can spend. A bit of soul-searching was all it took to come up with a few ideas:

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Kicking the “Bucket List”

Bucket lists seem to be proliferating everywhere. There are ones you can buy (1,000 Places to See Before You Die, for example) and ones you make yourself. A quick web search turned up some pretty comprehensive lists of ideas ranging from places to go, books to read, and adventures to have, to financial and material success, skills to learn, and career ambitions.

Most bucket lists contain goals like visiting the Taj Mahal, going backpacking in Yosemite, or seeing a solar eclipse—or we write down our hope to earn a college degree, get married and have kids. Those are great things to aspire to. In fact, I’ve already checked all of them off my own list, and I recommend them highly!

Most people make their list by consulting themselves. They may get inspiration from other sources—friends, books, websites, etc.—but ultimately, they decide what they want to do with their lives. As followers of Christ, we need to come at making a bucket list from a different perspective. After all, we are not our own. We have traded everything we are for the surpassing value of Jesus (Philippians 3:8). We have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

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Merry Christmas

Over the years, our family has celebrated Christmas in lots of different ways. Sometimes we have lots of relatives. Sometimes it is just our small family—now even smaller with our daughters married, with homes and celebrations of their own. One year we had the flu, and quarantined ourselves. We usually attend a church service, with candles, carols, and a moment to stop and reflect. Every year has included joy and frazzled nerves, chaos and peace.

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But no matter how we spend Christmas this year, it’s still Good News:

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

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What to get the Person who has everything

Are you a last minute shopper? Judging from the crowds in the stores and the never-ending ads on TV and radio, you have plenty of company. Usually, I’ve almost finished my Christmas shopping by now—at least for the “easy” people on my list. But it’s the proverbial problem—what do you get for the person who has everything?

It’s astounding that we can even ask that question, really. After all, how many people in the history of the world literally have everything they need and most of what they want? And how can I, with my strictly budgeted gift fund, possibly get them whatever they might lack?

The real eye-opener came earlier this year when, at my family’s request, I tried to make my own wish list for Christmas and my December birthday. It was hard. Aside from a few minor wants (certainly not needs!), I couldn’t think of anything. I finally wrote down a couple of CDs I would enjoy, some books I’d like to read, and a list of ways I’d like to spend time with each person. Then, at the top of my list, I wrote “chickens.”

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