Ok, let me flesh out my last post a little bit. It’s been more than a week and I hadn’t intended to wait this long.
First off, part of my aim with my last post was to actually get a couple of comments. Comments have been sparse as of late in the blogmunity and I was certain I’d get at least a few comments.
Let me deal with each statement and tell you my thoughts…

The fact that there is massive poverty in the world means that the church is partially failing their purpose.

My simple thought here is this, if the all powerful, all knowing, completely loving God desired to feed hungry people (and Jesus’ life on earth leads me to believe that on some level it was important to feed hungry people) it would fit with his character and his past promises for him to do it via his body (i.e. the church). I mean, he did commission us to evangelize the world, to care after orphans and widows, etc. God has also promised to bless his body with all the gifts it needs. So hmm…lets think about this…the church today has more money in it than probably any other orginization in the world…hmm…the country that has become the epicenter for missions, the church, and religious activity (for better or worse) is the richest country in the history of time. Hmm…if only God in his infinite wisdom had doled out the appropriate gifts in order to bring about that sort of change. The only hang up is that statistically the church doesn’t give (by saying the “only” hang up I realize that I’m completely simplifying things).

The fact that there will always be poor in the world means that there will always be people who are lazy, with poor judgment, or given no chance.

Statement number two. Jesus said that there will always be poor people. My belief is that he said this not to free us from the burden of serving the poor, but because he knew the nature of man. There will always be lazy people. There will always be unjust systems that push certain people groups down. There will always be addictions. People will always have the freedom to make poor choices. This fact just assures us that when it comes to being the body of Christ we’ve got job security.

So what do you think?

do you agree or disagree with these statements:

• The fact that there is massive poverty in the world means that the church is partially failing their purpose.
• The fact that there will always be poor in the world means that there will always be people who are lazy, with poor judgment, or given no chance.

“…even though we’re the most blessed society in the history of the planet-our best selling literature (speaking of Christian literature) still focuses on how we can be more blessed.”*

Somewhere along the lines we forgot that Jesus’ simple request was to “follow me”. Jesus was a martyr. Even the guys who hung with Jesus, the guys who never really understood him or his mission until he was long gone, even those guys understood that to follow him meant possible death. Peter exclaims “we are willing to die with you!” Jesus asks us to take up our cross as a part of following him! Do we pause to realize how radical and awkward that statement would be during that time? The cross was a symbol of death, torture, public shame. “If you want to be my disciple you must take up your noose and follow me.”

Does Christianity today require death? What are we called to die to? Is it possible that many of us have so missed the point that the only death mainstream Christianity has asked us to partake in is the death of listening to quality “Christian”** music?

Not exactly connected to the thoughts in this blog is another great blog that a friend of mine pointed me to. Check it out if you have time.

Good luck finding your death.

*borrowed from Erwin McManus’ book The Barbarian Way
** It hurts me to use “Christian” as an adjective. It should be a noun.

Well it’s done. I’ve finally got my bus pass and I’m not a part of the solution.
Yesterday was my first official day as a public transportation rider and I read one chapter in a new book and snoozed for a few stops on the way home from work. It was beautiful.
Some observations…
First observation: People keep their bus passes in the oddest places. Mine was in my wallet. I saw one guy stop, take off his head phones, open up his walkman (yes, with a cassette inside), remove the tape, and flash his bus pass that he keeps under it. Another man flashed his pass and then carefully tucked it in between his stomach and the elastic on his sweat pants. And I’m pretty sure that the guy who keeps his pass in his wallet was the only one who lost his pass yesterday (only to be found on the ground later).
Observation Second: I need more transformation (duh). I think that it was Donald Miller in Blue Like Jazz who wrote about how hard it is to accept charity. We enjoy giving charity, but we don’t want to be the recipients of it. I have slowly started to see this about myself and it disgusts me. I love helping people. I love giving, I love serving, homeless people don’t freak or gross me out (unless it’s very appropriate to feel that way…and in some cases it is). I truly enjoy talking to and helping people in need. But I am not one of them! I’m not in need! Not like that at least. Don’t you dare lump me in with them! When I go to the DSHS (Department of Social Health Services) I immediately think to myself, “wow, I really don’t fit in here. I’m glad that I’m nicely dressed so that people will look at me and say, ‘wow, that guy doesn’t fit here, he’s more normal than us.'” I’ve found these same arrogant and terrible thoughts while riding the bus. I’m not one of them. I like to help them, but if you think about clumping me in with those people then you are seriously off. Pathetic! I’m ashamed of myself. Jesus didn’t seem to have any problems being lumped in with “them”.
God please don’t send me to “them”, I am in need of your charity like everybody else. I am them. God may you shine through me among them.

I think I’m going to enjoy riding the bus…as long as I’m not running late.

Do I need to go back to school? The thought makes me want to vomit in my clogs. The thought of adding one more thing into our schedule, the thought of adding school loans to our future, the thought of having to write papers again…
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy school. I love learning. I love reading. I love growing as a person. But it’s the process to get there that scares me.
The plan right now is to plant a church in Downtown Vancouver in 2009/2010. I would be the lead pastor. And I say that to say this:
Is it foolish of me to plan on being the leader of a church without more schooling? I mean, I know God can do anything. I know that plenty of people have/will lead churches with no formal training. But many of those people get to cut their teeth by leading youth groups for five years or so (I realize that youth ministry is not a lesser ministry, but there is a definite difference between being a youth leader and a a lead pastor. The youth leader can say stupid things or do stupid things and people just laugh. If the lead pastor says something stupid it’s liable that it will become law because what the lead minister says is directly from God!) My fear is that I do my future church an injustice by not pursuing more training now. I fear thinking too highly of myself, I don’t really need more school. I fear being ignorant, I can read books instead of going back to school. I fear making a poor choice.
I don’t think that learning more in school will take the fear associated with being a lead church planter away. I kind of always hope that I am full of fear at the idea of being the leader of God’s church (not that overcoming type of fear, but the fear that is necessary to develop and nurture courage, for faith, and for reliance upon God rather than my own abilities).
More than anything I’m tired of not being able to spend more time with people, doing ministry, and serving at/for/with Renovatus. Now that there is hope coming that I may soon be able to work full time with Renovatus the idea of adding something else that will take away from that time makes me sick…but then again…
…then again, maybe I’m just being ignorant because of my youth…or maybe I’m being arrogant because of my lack of experience…or maybe…