the drum|rob fairbanks

The Church: A Banquet for Your Friends or a Refuge for the Poor?

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

             The great eighteenth-century hymn writer and ex-slave trader John Newton marveled at the far-reaching impact of these words spoken by Jesus in Luke. “One would almost think this passage was not considered part of God’s word, nor has any part of Jesus’ teaching been more neglected by his own people. I do not think it is unlawful to entertain our friends” he says, “but if these words do not teach us that it is in some respects out duty to give preference to the poor, I am at a loss to understand them.” Looking at the current state of the American church, one can’t help but wonder if the “luncheon or dinner” Jesus was referring to could be what we call our church service today. We spend so much time catering our churches to our friends, brothers, sisters, relatives and neighbors, that we completely disregard those Jesus is calling to invite join us in our “banquet.”

            It’s not that Jesus commands us, his Church, to disregard those who we consider being friends, peers or of high economic status, for Jesus himself often ate with his peers and people of wealth. However, his mission was still for the poor. Jesus commanded that his disciples should share their homes and build relationships not with people of their class or higher, people they could profit from or that would pay them back, but with people who were poor and without influence. I believe he is calling his church to do the same; to be for the poor, with the poor, and in pursuit of the poor.

            Although I am unaware of any churches that actively turn the poor away, I am also unaware of many that actively seek out those in extreme poverty as being a part of their community. Most church facilities and services seem to be catered more to the middle-class who drive in from their different neighborhoods to come together with like-minded, similar looking people of their social class for once, maybe twice a week, fellowship and teaching. Although I’m sure many of these churches do really wonderful things to help the underserved and poor, it’s not as easy to make the case that they are designed “for the poor.” The Bible speaks of God as being “a refuge for the poor” (Isaiah 25:4; Psalm 14:6). Therefore the Church, as the body of Christ, is called to stand with the poor as a physical and spiritual place of refuge for them in this world. Is your church a banquet for your friends or a refuge for the poor?

Melissa

Eucharistic Mess

Jessica

Wealth and the Great Divide between Jesus & America

By Troy

In the Gospels, Jesus is unanimously portrayed as a person of poverty. From his undignified birth in a manger and to his being born the son of a carpenter, Jesus emerged without any of the world’s riches. Even during his earthly ministry, Jesus had no place to call home.

 

America stands in sharp contrast to the simple lifestyle of Jesus. Driven by the allure of consumerism, many of us drive fancy cars, live in fancy houses, play on our fancy technological toys, wear fancy designer clothing, etc. Ingrained in our brains are the ideas of the ‘American dream’ and the ‘pursuit of happiness,’ which keep us chasing after the world. Money might buy happiness, but it does not buy life (and I mean eternal life).

 

Throughout his ministry, Jesus frequently associated with the poor. This is especially remarkable in light of the fact that Jews in Jesus’ day understood wealth as evidence of God’s favor and poverty as a sign of God’s curse. Yet Jesus, “who, being in very nature God…made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:6-7). From the beginning, a major part of Jesus’ mission was to proclaim the Good News to the poor: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

 

I think it’s time we take Jesus’ words seriously. Unless we submit our wealth to the Lord, we will be less effective servants of the Kingdom.

 

I am equally as guilty. As I write this post, I’m typing on my Apple Macbook. I’m decked out in Nikes and a Blazers jersey. My Blackberry sits in my Jordan shorts as I watch the Blazers beat the Lakers on a large HDTV.

 

I think many Christians are like the rich young ruler. We go through the motions of Christianity – going to church, living a moral life, maybe even tithing some of our income! – but Jesus says this is not enough: “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have…Then come, follow me.” Go. Sell your stuff. Then follow me.

Capitalism and Christianity in the West

By Peter

In one of our readings about the nature and calling of the Church by Lesslie Newbigin, he writes that “the denomination is precisely that visible form which the Church takes when a secularized society privatizes religion”.  While I understand why differences exist between various denominations, I believe that the separation this has caused is not what the Church of the Kingdom was intended to look like.  This idea of church privatization is an idea that has made me think a lot more about the impact of capitalism on the Western Church. 

In a capitalist market, consumer behavior is said to be directed by an ‘invisible hand’ which is the rise and fall of prices that guides our actions in the market.  The law of demand states that the quantity demanded rises as the price falls and vice-versa. Competition is created as different producers try to make their own product more attractive than their competitors.

The western church seems to be operating under these same principles based on individualism and freedom of choice.  With all the different denominations that exis t today, each one seems to correspond, as Newbigin would say, to the variety of brands available on the shelves of the supermarket.  Everyone is free to make their own choice based on what seems most attractive.  The result is that church ‘growth’ in our country today is primarily just Christians moving between churches rather than new believers joining the Church.  This means that there is little in terms of actual growth as a percentage of the population.  On the other hand, the Church is growing faster than ever in other places of the world, in particular Asia and Latin America.  

I have not done a lot of research yet on this topic but am very interested in the connection that exists between the Church and capitalism and how capitalistic values are shaping the way the Christian faith is ‘marketed’ in our culture.  How does the exponential growth of the Church in Asia and Latin America correlate to the existing social and economic structures and the culture these have created?

How Do We Find Our Way Out: A Little Money Sense

These guys make a little sense.  Maybe someone will listen.  Do you think they are onto something?

 

Patience

               For me one of the most difficult things in the world is being patient. Due to the fact that I have grown up in consumer based culture, patience is not my best virtue. I find myself many times wanting something as quick as I can get. I believe this type of attitude transfers over to some of the attitudes in our churches. I can only speak from my own personal background and feelings toward this subject. It seems to me that some churches do take a more consumerist approach to cater to the needs of a certain group. The church has become commercialized. I see the church emphasizing programs that stress numbers. The numbers of Christians and converts become more important than actually developing people into Christ followers. The attentions of most modern day churches here in America have taken a corporate approach to the Gospel. This compromises of the Gospel highlights the positive attributes of Christianity and disregards the intense struggle Christianity can be. I believe that Jesus personified the Gospel through his relationships. This gets me to my point. I believe that many churches have concentrated on sheer numbers and not enough on actual discipleship. What is the point of numbers? Do numbers help us here or in heaven? This is one area of the church where I believe we have missed the point. Many new converts end up leaving the faith because the Gospel was not fully expressed to them. In other words they find the faith to be fraudulent and more difficult than expected. People new to the faith who undergo discipleship programs at least learn what Christianity is. I believe that churches need to be patient when they construct new programs and sermons. Understand that this is about God’s kingdom and his will. It’s not about having meaningless social status or having Christianity become the biggest religion based on numbers, but not actually practiced. Christianity is centered on God and should be taught accordingly. I’m not suggesting that this will fix the churches problem or create Christendom, but I’m suggesting that this will create people who are serious about their faith. Relationships take time and patience. Jesus took the time to express the Gospel to his disciples so that they could carry it out to all nations, and we are called to do the same.

-Cory      

 

National Budget Sense?

Ok, this guy makes some sense.  I don't venture into this topic frequently on this blog, but listening to this interview this morning gave me a glimmer of hope that there are still a small number of sensible people in the world...not many, but a few.