Helpful Resources for Mercy Ministry

For anyone interested in helpful resources in the world of mercy ministry, here are some books and organizations that have been useful in shaping my theology and practice.

A Christian Perspective:

Ministries of Mercy: The Call to the Jericho Road by Tim Keller

Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just by Tim Keller

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor or Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

To Live In Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City by Mark Gornik

Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development by John Perkins

A Theology As Big As The City by Ray Bakke

Additional Resources:

A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne

Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Community and Economic Development Organizations:

Christian Community Development Association - www.ccda.org

The Chalmers Institute for Economic Development - www.chalmers.org

Broken

Broken.  This world is broken.

In God there is wholeness.  In sin there is brokenness.  There are some weeks that the reality of the broken world weighs on me like a ton of bricks.  This past week I felt that weight to a degree that I haven’t felt in some time. 

Broken.  This week brought an end to a very difficult and emotionally draining situation at work.  I won’t go into detail; just trust me that the 3 month long issue has been very taxing to witness.  Yes, even in the church, relationships can be broken.

Broken.  On Thursday in the midst of simultaneously running to a meeting and trying to feed 80 people at one of our tutoring programs, my car broke.  Something about the engine overheating, the pistons melting, no compression.   No warning signs – at least none that I picked up on.  It was a shock to go from having a car to not having a car unexpectedly.  I’ll tell you what else shocked me: the price it is going to cost to get it fixed.  My car is broken.

Broken.  Ron has been sick for several weeks (literally), but last week seemed to be the worst.   Perhaps the only reality harder than watching your spouse physically suffer is watching your child.  Since Ron and I do not have children, his suffering has been about as hard as it gets to watch, especially when I feel helpless to provide relief.  His body is not working as it should; it is broken.

Because of the second and third situation, I did not go to Boone on Saturday to spend the day with my brother and sister in law for Appalachian’s homecoming game against my alma mater, Samford.  My heart was broken.

While all the brokenness above has been very hard, perhaps the most difficult part of my week was the thread of steady reminders of our broken society.

Tuesday while tutoring a fifth grader, I happened upon a paragraph he had written.  He was embarrassed for me to read it; that was written all over his face.  He knew it was a mess: misspelled words that were on the kindergarten sight word list and grammar that was horrendous.  How could he get to fifth grade and not know how to spell kindergarten words?  How could he not know how to write a basic sentence?  Our education system is broken.  Add a brick.

Thursday I had lunch with one of the mothers from our tutoring program, and she was telling me about a situation she is going through involving her boyfriend.  Again, I won’t go into details, but I was acutely aware that God’s intention for marriage and family is broken.  I see that all across our city.  Mothers trying to raise their children with no father.  Fathers who have idolized their career so much that they are all but absent.  Parents who have divorced.  The family is broken.  One more brick.

Saturday I was at Barnes and Nobles, because our internet was broken (how very fitting).  As I was leaving I was approached by a couple asking of money.  When I asked about their need, they said they were homeless and were hoping to buy a night at the Express Inn.  I asked them how much they had and what they still needed.  They needed $15.  I gave it them in Jesus name.  Perhaps I should have gone with them to the Express Inn and paid in person, but honestly I didn’t have it in me.  I gave them the money and prayed that the act of compassion would somehow be used by God to not only provide for a physical need but draw them to God.  As I drove away and wrestled with my cynical heart, “I thought no one grows up aspiring to be a beggar.”  The fabric of our society is broken.  Yet another brick.

The brokenness is evident all around us.  Do you feel the weight of it?

What is our response?  It’s easy to play the blame game.  It’s the poor person’s fault.  It’s the government’s fault.  It’s the fault of unjust systems.  I’ve found that most people who respond through blame are the least likely to proactively respond to brokenness. 

Poverty and oppression are ultimately a theological issue.  In God there is wholeness; in sin there is brokenness.  The humbling reality is that we are all poor beggars broken because of sin and not functioning as whole people.  Instead of living in harmony with God, ourselves, others, and creation, our relationships in all these areas are fragmented.  This brokenness manifests itself in countless ways, one of which is poverty and oppression.  Since poverty and oppression are theological issues, it needs a theological response.  Thanks be to God that he has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  God’s reconciled people should be the ones who are at the forefront of addressing issues of brokenness and pointing people to the Great Reconciler.  So if you are reconciled to God and a part of the Church, what are you doing to address issues of brokenness, of poverty and oppression?  Let me know if you’d like to talk through some suggestions.

"Oil to the Head"

Rebuke . [ri-byook]

Here is the world's definition straight from Merriam-Websters: to criticize sharply; to reprimand.

The Biblical definition is so different, so richer, so much more beautiful. But we'll get to that later.

I have recently been reminded of the necessity of rebuke in the life of a believer in the context of a healthy community. Because salvation (justification) does not equal perfection, we need brothers and sisters who are willing to point out our weaknesses. The reality is that there are blind spots in our lives where we do not see our sin and many times God uses those in our community for our refinement (sanctification).

Why then do we so often shy away from rebuke? Several reasons come to mind.
1. "I've got a whole heap of issues in my life; I'd be a hypocrite to point out someone else's mess." If "for all have sinned" is coupled with "there is no condemnation in Christ," then we recognize that we all have sin in our lives and we do not come to a brother or sister thinking we have it all together, condemning them for their sin. Instead we come humbly as a fellow sinner offering hope in the gospel and desiring refinement.

2. "It's not my place to correct someone else." If you are a Christian and you are in community with other Christians, it's your place. Period. If you are in a position of authority (parent, boss, pastor, etc.), it is your responsibility to shape the character of those under your authority through rebuke. But don't let that be an excuse if you are not in authority over someone. If you are in Christian fellowship with someone and you see that they are in sin, you should offer rebuke.

3. "Someone else will do it." Everyone else is probably thinking that too, so if God has placed a person on your mind and heart, I would say that's a flashing neon light stating, "(Insert your name here) is the person to offer rebuke."

4. "Confrontation is really not my thing." That's a cop-out. Plain and simple. Biblical rebuke should be the regular habit of every believer.

An unwillingness to offer (or accept) rebuke unveils one or more of the following issues:
1. A lack of understanding of the role of other believers in the sanctification process.
2. Selfishness. You are choosing your own ease and comfort over your brother or sister's sanctification.
3. Cowardice. You don't have the courage to confront another person and address the issue head on.
4. A lack of care for the person you see in sin. If you understand that sin leads to destruction and death (James 1:15), then to not point out sin is to not care about that person and to watch them walk towards destruction without uttering a peep.

Here's what the Bible has to say about rebuke:
- As a father disciplines the son in which he delights, so the LORD rebukes us. Proverbs 3:11,12
- Rebuke from a righteous man is an act of kindness, of "oil to the head." Psalm 141:5
- To not rebuke a person in error is to share in their guilt. Leviticus 19:17
- If you are wise, you will love the person more because they confronted you. Proverbs 9:8b
- Rebuke is life giving. Proverbs 15:31
- Rebuke is a tool to gain knowledge. Proverbs 19:25b
- Jesus commands us to rebuke a brother in sin. Luke 17:3
- Rebuke should lead to repentance. Revelation 3:19

Here is where we see the stark contrast from ole' Mirriam-Webster's definition. MW connotes the idea of rebuke as stern, cold scolding that is critical and divisive. Au contraire MW! Rebuke is likened to "oil to the head." Oil was a sign of healing and life in the Old Testament. To rebuke a brother or sister is to confront him or her with an attitude or behavior that is making them "sick." By offering rebuke, you are raising the knowledge of the sin, giving them the opportunity to repent, and sparing them from the inevitable destruction of that particular sin. You are leading that person towards LIFE.

So here are some suggestions. Rebuke should be consistent, humble, and gentle. We should be equally as willing to receive rebuke as we should to offer rebuke. In other words it should go both ways. Rebuke should feel more like "oil on the head" than a "reed on the back." It will if it's done out of love at the first sign of sin. The problem comes when we overlook sin and allow it to become a habit in the life of a fellow christian. Woe to the christian who has to answer the question, "Why didn't you point out that sin in my life? You could have spared me from great pain and hurt." Woe to that christian because scripture says that you share in the guilt by failing to rebuke. But when rebuke becomes a regular pattern of our interaction with our brothers or sisters, it doesn't build up tension and feel like an explosion. Instead it feels like soothing, healing, life-giving words of love.

Feathers Ruffled!

“Cable TV,AC, and an XBOX: What is Poverty Today?”  This is the name of an article sent to me recently.  As I read the article, I became increasingly troubled by its content and concerned about what would be read between the lines.  The premise of the article is to question the material possessions of the 43.5 million people that the 2010 census deemed to be in poverty in America.  Poverty, according to the author, insinuates destitution and the majority of those in poverty enjoy “amenities” such as air conditioning, a stove, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a washer/dryer.  Many in poverty even enjoy “luxuries” like cable TV, a car (or two), gaming systems, DVD players, and (gasp) a flat screen TV.  It was thought that the homes of many of the American poor are in good repair and are not over-crowded.

The conclusion of the article is that “a family in the US that has a decent, uncrowded house or apartment to live in, ample food to eat, access to medical care, a car, cable TV, AC, and a microwave at home should not be considered poor.”  The author closes the article stating, “grossly exaggerating the extent and severity of material deprivation in America won’t benefit the poor, the economy, or society as a whole.”  I would say to the author, grossly underestimating the extent and severity of material deprivation in America as well as grossly misunderstanding of poverty won’t benefit the poor, the economy, or society as a whole.

Let me be clear that I am not writing this response with political motivation.  My goal is not to represent a democratic or republican stance; I’m actually registered as an independent.  If, however, being liberal in defending the poor makes me look liberal politically, I’ll be a liberal on this issue!

So why were my feathers ruffled by this article?

One reason is that it grossly simplifies poverty as merely a lack of material possessions.  Ruby Payne, in her bestselling book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” defines poverty as a lack of resources.  Certainly those resources include one’s finances, but they also include emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, and relational resources.  Additionally Payne points to resources such as support systems and a knowledge of hidden rules as resources often absent for those in poverty.  These resources overlap and really cannot be seen independently.  To isolate one resource and say that people are not poor because they have the means to afford material possessions is a misunderstanding of the complexity of poverty. 

Payne goes on to explain the “hidden rules among classes,” which shape expectation and behavior.  When talking about money Payne says,

“One of the biggest difficulties in getting out of poverty is managing money and just the general information base around money.  How can you manage something you’ve never had?  Money is seen in poverty as an expression of personality and is used for entertainment and relationships.  The notion of using money for security is truly grounded in the middle and wealthy classes.” 

Another reason I was troubled by this article is that it breeds implicit stereotypes and assumptions about the poor.  Stereotypes included in the article include a mismanagement of money, an unhealthy lifestyle, among others.  Even where there might be truth, there is no effort to explore underlying reasons.  Perhaps behind mismanagement of money or unhealthy lifestyles are a lack of education and a lack of role models.  Ruby Payne points out that the two most significant factors in a person rising above the poverty line are education and positive relationships.  Where those are lacking, poverty will persist.  Instead of discounting the reality of the poor, it might serve them better to establish relationships and teach impoverished neighbors about finances and health. 

To say that the overwhelming majority of the poor in the United States are well-housed, have one (or two) cars, are able to obtain necessary medical care, and have ample food does not line up with what I have experienced as I lived on the Westside of Chicago and what I see on a daily basis with low income neighbors in Winston-Salem.   Admittedly this is a personal and subjective observation, but my heart has been pierced by neighbors who have empty kitchen cabinets.  I have seen bedrooms with no beds.  I’ve picked up the kids whose parents had no personal mode of transportation.  I’ve received phone calls from neighbors who are desperate for dental care because their teeth are literally falling out.   I could go on.

While I have no political motivation in my response, there is a deep theological motivation.  This world is broken.  Sin has distorted God’s intention for all of creation and created a chasm not only between man and God, but also man and others.  Great disparities exist between the haves and the have nots.  Those in both groups are subject to the fall and the sin bends that come with each socioeconomic group.  There’s nothing inherent about being poor that makes a person view money incorrectly.  Sin affects everyone!  Mis-spending can happen just as easily for a middle class neighbors straining for the American dream as it can the poor (mis)managing their meager amount of money.

I am disheartened by this article and the mentality behind it because it shows an insensitivity and lack of compassion towards the poor or the lower rungs of our society.  For the Christian this should troubling for two reasons.  One, it reveals a lack of grasping the central message of Christianity.  That Christ - who possessed all wealth - became poor so that through His poverty I might become rich (II Cor. 8:9).  I should have a care for the poor because the physical reality of the poor points me to my own spiritual reality.  Two, the language of the Bible insinuates that a mark of true worship and faith is a person’s concern and care for the poor.  Repeatedly God says that true worship and faith inevitably will translate into caring for the poor and oppressed (Isaiah 58, Matthew 25). 

When I am guided by my own theology, I would rather be liberal is caring for the poor than not.  I would rather broadly care for the lower rungs than tightly hold onto resources questioning whether someone is poor or not.  That’s just me.  What do you think?

Marriage is "Dynamic, Not Static"

Holly Hinshelwood, a friend who served with me this summer, let me borrow a book entitled "Let Me Be A Woman" by Elizabeth Elliot which was written to her only daughter as a wedding gift.  It holds great wisdom and has been timely truth as Ron and I navigate the waters of our first year of marriage.  I was reading this morning and the following passage really hit home so I thought I would share it.

"Marriage is a dynamic, not a static relationship.  It gets either better or worse.  As people either grow or deteriorate, relationships between them must grow or deteriorate.  A common explanation offered for marital incompatibility is 'we outgrew each other.' It's been said that if a couple doesn't grow together they grow apart.  But for the couples who have in all seriousness said their vows before God and in the presence of witnesses the possibility of growing apart need not be allowed.  It need never be something which 'happens to' them, as though they were bystanders injured by some force which they were powerless to protect themselves from.  They have willed to love and live together.  They stand, not helpless, but in relation to God, each responsible to fulfill the vows to the other.  Each determines to do the will of God so that together they move toward the 'measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  And, if God is viewed as the apex of a triangle of which they are the two base points, movement towards Him necessarily decreases the distance between them.  Drawing near to God means drawing near to each other, and this means growth and change.  They are being changed into the same image of glory to glory.  There is no such thing as stagnation or that relatively innocent-sounding word 'incompatibility.'
There are tensions.  The strength of the great cathedral lies in the thrust and counterthrust of its buttresses and arches.  Each has its own function and each its peculiar strength.  This is the way I see the dynamics of a good marriage.  It is not strength pitted against weakness.  It is two kinds of strength, each meant to fortify the other in special ways.  It is not weakness for the boat to submit itself to the rules of sailing.  That submission is  her strength.  It is the rules that enable the boat to utilize her full strength, to harness the wind and thus take to herself the wind's strength.  It was not weakness in the Son of God that made him obey the will of the Father.  It was power - the power of His own will to will the Father's will."

Alexandra Gaskins: The Triathlete???

Those who know me know that I don't swim, bike, or run.  In fact I tried swimming when my ankles swelled to the size of grapefruits, got half way down one lane, and decided to switch over to senior water aerobics.  A logical question is "why in the world is someone who doesn't swim, bike, or run doing a triathlon?"  Two simple responses: 1. Someone believing in you is powerful!  I never considered doing a triathlon until Annah Matthews suggested I participate and told me I could do it.  She didn't just say it once.  She said it several times, and I started to believe that she really thought I could be a triathlete.  That was a strong motivator!
2. This is a baby or "sprint" triathlon designed for beginners.  The Rambling Rose is a 250 yard swim, an 8 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.  And somehow I'm told that this is a baby race.  I'm not gonna lie; any one of these activities - swimming 10 laps, biking 8 miles, and running 2 miles - would seem daunting to me separately, let along put them together back-to-back.  But I figure if I'm ever going to do a triathlon, this is the one to do.
I started training July 18th.  I began by seeing where I was athletically.  I could swim about one lap without stopping, I could run one mile, and I could bike about 2 miles.  With only five weeks to train, I wasn't sure how I was going to complete the race without hyperventilating.  But I have been so encouraged by the endurance gained over the past 4 weeks. 
Several observed motivators:
- Train with a group.  There are a whole host of us training together and we have been each others cheerleaders.  For those who are uber competitive (I can be that person), there is an inner-satisfaction of beating a teammate.
- Have benchmarks.  When I first started running, I tracked the mileage in my car driving down Darwick (main road off of our neighborhood).  Cash Lovell Stables is about a mile down the road, Triad Christian Fellowship Church plant is about a mile and a half down the road, and then the end of Darwick is about two miles.  I started by trying to run to the stables (about died!).  When I reached the stables, I slapped the mailbox in victory.  Gradually I was able to run to Triad Christian Fellowship and slap their mailbox (no damage done...promise). And then finally I was able to run all the way down Darwick and slap the stop sign (happy to stop, thank you.).
- Have a theme song(s).  Is it strange that I have the "Chariots of Fire" theme song, "We Are The Champions," and the "Rocky" theme song playing in my mind when I train?  Well, I do.  And it helps.  And it's fun.
The race is this Sunday.  I don't have a time goal; I just want to complete the race.  Completion will be a great accomplishment for me, especially having a chronic respiratory condition that has been at the forefront of my mind and has kept me sobered throughout the training.
Our tri-coach queen, Annah, posted this verse at the end of one of her emails and I thought it was perfectly fitting.  "Train yourself for Godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." I Timothy 4:7-8  As much as I have enjoyed training for the Rambling Rose (honest!), I hope that I am more zealous for training myself in Godliness.

And the dog came to us...

There have been many exciting events over the last month that I have been slack about posting.  I thought I would work backwards in recounting those events one blog post at a time.  Be patient with me; I don't have a great track record of uber-consistent blog posts.  Hey, it's quality, not quantity, right!? :)

Ron and I have been looking for a dog for quite some time now.  We agreed that we wanted a medium size dog that has some body to its hair.  Some might call that a fluffy dog, but for Ron's sake, we'll just say that we want a dog with full bodied hair.  We were open to getting a dog from the pound or the humane society.  We poured over websites, made dozens of phone calls, even filled out an application complete with references (seriously!?).  But we have had no luck. 

An unexpected turn of events this week may have led us to our newest family member.

I'm training for a triathlon.  I just heard your gasp of surprise.  Yes, it's crazy, but that's another blog post.  On Friday I was running and all of a sudden I heard a dog chasing me from behind.  I looked back and braced myself to be tackled by a fury beast, but this is what I saw instead:

(except picture her running behind me tongue out just as happy as could be)



At first glance it was clear that she was no threat to me, but it quickly became clear she was a threat to her own jolly self.  I was going to keep on running and not pay her much attention, because I didn't want her to follow me, but as I looked back to check on her, I noticed that she was running in the middle of the road.  At one point she was literally stopped on the double yellow lines with cars stopped on both sides.  At that point I decided I better go back and check on her.  Walking back it became obvious that everyone thought I was her horribly irresponsible owner who didn't care to put a collar and leash around her neck.  Despite their stares of judgement I continued towards little lady because I knew she needed a rescuer.  She was a danger to herself.  Unfortunately she had no identification on her, so I made a conscious decision to encourage her to follow me so that she wouldn't be in the road. 

When we got to the house, I rang the doorbell and Ron came to the door just a puzzled as ever.  I never come through the front door, let along ring the doorbell and let alone with a furry (and wet) friend.  When I explained the situation, Ron agreed that we should let her stay with us until we could find her owners.  She grew on us from the beginning with her long scruffy snout and her big black eyes covered by her floppy bangs.  She was playful and sweet, and we were excited to have her with us as long as the LORD saw fit.

A problem quickly arose: what to feed little lady??  What was the closest food I had to dog food?  Honey Nut Cheerios!  Hey, it was the best I could do and she seemed to love them.

Worried about her owners concern, we took pictures of her (and laminated them I might add) and made poster to put up along Darwick Rd.  When Ron went to put up the signs in the neighborhood, he noticed a cardboard sign that said, "Missing Scottish Terrier...Very Old and Deaf...Her name is Maxee...call ###-####."  BINGO!  Ron called the number and sure enough we had Maxee, their Scottish Terrier.  Despite her age and lack of hearing, apparently Maxee is quite the escape artist.  We were glad that she escaped into our hands and that we could now reconcile her with her owners.  But not for a week.

We found Maxee on Friday and her owners went on vacation on Saturday before we could bring them their pooch.  They told us to take her to Cash Lovell Stables and she was to stay in a stall until her owners returned...IN A WEEK.  Wanting to respect their wishes, I put the bone we got her and her stout self in my car and off we went to the stables:

I called Ron on the way to take her and we both were uneasy about our new friend staying in a stall for a week, especially with it being blazin' hot!  We agreed to offer our house for the week if the owners so desired.  When I got to the stables I met up with Cash Lovell of Cash Lovell Stables and told him that we were more than willing to take her back to our house for the week.  He jumped on that idea; apparently he wasn't overly excited about keeping Maxee with him for the week.  He called her owner and with a brief conversation we were headed back home for a week of caring for Maxee.

Even though Maxee has had several "accidents" in our house, gets up at 6:30 am and starts scratching at the bed and wants to get up on the bed with us (we're not quite ready to have someone else's dog all up in the bed with us), we have really fallen for this little lady.  So much so that we decided last night that we would like to get a dog just like Maxee.  Ron searched the web for regional breeders of Scottish Terriers and found one in South Carolina.  We put our name on the waiting list and sent in a deposit.  So it looks like we'll have a little Maxee either late October or around Christmas time (depending on the number of pups in the next litter).  We hope our expected pup is as special as our new friend, Maxee:

On a side note, I couldn't help but reflect on Maxee's oblivion to danger when she left her owners, started chasing me, and then proceeded to stop in the middle of the road.  I couldn't help but think of my own sinful self, so prone to not stay close to my Creator and wander forgetting the safety that comes with staying under His authority.  Thank you, Maxee, for the reminder to cling to my Creator!

Psalm 91:1, 2

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”