Ending Poverty: Introduction

"Managing Poverty is Big Business.
Ending Poverty is Revolutionary."

How I love this quote taken from a homeless mom.

Notice - Homeless Mom: Nameless, anonymous, and brilliant.

In other words: Prophetic Female(that'll strike a nerve somewhere).

The female is not very prominent in the American Pastoral Achievement Trophy world. So this ought to eliminate a few readers starting here since so much of the true care taking for the poor is done by females but that is another subject down the road.

An insightful, convicting charge to the Christian everywhere: to be mindful of the greater need in our surroundings. Ending poverty is the true revolution at hand. A reminder that I try to burn into my mind and my heart daily.

But what makes this so convicting and challenging and heartbreaking is what we will actually do with it. We live in a country that uses almost half of the world's resources. There has never been a time in the history of the world and the history of Christendom where we have had so much wealth before us. Where our "tables sag with food" and the gap between the haves and have-nots widens due to misconceptions and misinformed decision makers.

It is not an issue of the wealthy being selfish and evil by any means, but rather an issue of how the world of poverty and how the world of wealth collide. This is a difficult road to walk. Although the combined efforts of the impoverished and wealthy brings necessary tensions it has shown that it's thriving ability to walk in unity is quite possible and honorable to Jesus.

When Paul was commissioned on the first missionary journey of the church he was charged with this: "REMEMBER THE POOR."

His response: "I was already eager to do that!"

He wasn't told build stuff then remember they're out there some where. His charge was to build the church with them!! To include and care. That the way of the Kingdom is a life lived with the poor and together creating environments where no one is needy anymore because the burdens are shared. At that my friends is incredibly joyful.

Over the past two years, alongside several friends, I've helped move homeless families into apartments by hunting down donated furniture and food. The quietness of our effort caught the attention of some folks. They literally shelled out cash and bought us a Uhual truck to aid our effort and then someone else dropped $20,000.00 on our laps saying that they knew we'd care for the poor with all that we have.

The same folks that paid for everything also join our efforts in serving and laughing with us along the way still to this day. We have combined the impoverished and wealthy in an effort where we find Jesus humbling us all, holding us close and giving us the ability to create communities that have "no needy persons among them" [read pages 62-65 in The Irresistible Revolution].

I push hard to advocate on behalf of folks that just need someone to stand in for them as Ezekiel teaches us and because it goes against my nature as a man to do so - It is the Christ way to die to my agenda. However, it gets me in trouble with other Christians that use the downtrodden to gain attention for themselves but advocating with the poor has always been said to be the one place that people will come against you the most. This is true especially in a society that embraces consumerist approaches to everything including the way we "do" church. In fact, several plots to destroy Jesus were made because he defended the poor.

The more and more I dwell in the poverty of our cities and places of despair the more and more I see Jesus and where He really is. Because I used to think years ago that I was such a great suffering Christian by taking God into those places. How arrogant is that? That any body could ever think they're taking God some where. I have realized that where ever I get to go by the grace of God it is to a place that He has been consistently working in already and that we humans get to help out.

The disciples talked of power and Jesus began to remove dirt and camel-pooh from the crevasses of their toes. It is in the embracing of the Cross that demands "this way of pooh removal" to rule over my desires and creates a love for justice and mercy to continue to blossom in my heart and works its way out into the quiet covertly changing plans of a Kingdom that is coming down to rule(not a place to get ready to go away to).