Radical Stewardship

As we have just entered into another Christmas shopping season and just survived another "Black Friday" I have been thinking a lot about material possessions lately. I must admit that this focus on thinking about material things actually started not just last week but about a month ago. Mars Hill Church which we now attend (Bellevue Campus) began it's "Generous Campaign" and made available (for no material gain) the book "Money: God or Gift" by pastor Jamie Munson. About the same time I picked up the book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" by David Platt. These together stimulated me to further reading and studying particularly the Bible's teaching on material possessions.

I want to share with you a sampling of quotes and thoughts from my reading which together I hope will give you an understanding of where I think scripture leads us and hopefully also cause us all to think more intentionally about how we handle material possessions this Christmas and beyond.

"Materialism is the single biggest competitor with authentic Christianity for the hearts and souls of millions... today, including many in the... church" (Craig Bloomberg in "Neither Poverty nor Riches" pg 132)

Steawardship of material possessions is according to Jesus' teaching "the most important test-case of one's profession of discipleship". (Craig Bloomber in "Neither Poverty nor Risches" pg 126-7)

Scripture shows that: "1. God hears, feed, satisfies, rescues, defends, raises up and secures justice for the poor who trust Him*; 2. God's response to those who neglect the poor is condemnation (Luke 16)" (David Platt in "Radical" pg 114)
*Job 34:28, Psalm 68:10, Psalm 22:26, Psalm 35:10, Psalm 82:3, 1Sam 2:8, Psalm 113:7, Psalm 140:12

Jamie Munson discusses 4 types of stewards:
1. Righteous rich stewards
2. Unrighteous rich stewards
3. Righteous poor stewards
4. Unrighteous poor stewards
"The money itself is merely a prop on the stage of God's story, used or pursued for good or for ill, depending on the intentions of the steward's heart." (Jamie Munson in "Money: God or Gift" pg 26-7)

"rich people who neglect the poor are not the people of God" (Platt pg 115)

"the battle against materialism is a war" (Platt pg 136)

"Is materialism a blind spot in the American Church today? ... is materialism a blind spot in your Christianity today?" (Platt pg 111)

Am I ready to be the radical (righteous) steward God wants me to be of my material possessions? Are you? Are we as the Church? Especially during this Christmas season?

Blessed Relationships

Robin and I have just returned to the US after 3 weeks in South Africa. We were incredibly blessed by the time there which absolutely flew by. Unfortunately due to some struggles with internet access I was not able to post a real-time update on our trip the final 2 weeks. So I want to give a brief synopsis of some of the highlights of the rest of our trip that included.

• Sweet reunions with our home cell group from Norwegian Church and so many other friends in South Africa
• The miracle of finding a new flat in town at the right price for Debbie, Rachel and Nunus; seeing their joy in having a better and more secure place to live
• The Ugu AIDS Alliance meeting during which Two Tunics and the other members shared their programs and mapped out who's working where in the Ugu District
• Our visits with Doug and Suzy Hufton to Moi at Sinekhono Project and Cornelia at Jesus Christ Cares Ministry
• Our precious time with Sharon Jones, our dear friend and manager of the Genesis Care Centre on her return from England on the day of our departure
• And most especially 12 September 2010, the day Rachel and Nunus (our "adopted" nieces) prayed to invite Jesus into their lives as Savior and Lord as we shared the gospel with them

The event of this last bullet will certainly be the most enduring memory of our trip and the one with a certain eternal impact. The amazing growth we have seen in the girls over these last 4+ years has been incredible to be a part of. (We also celebrated Nunus' 8th birthday during the trip.) The seeds planted through the commitment to get them weekly to the Norwegian Church services and children's church, the children's Bibles given and read with them, the Scripture Union camps and the gospel message shared with them last March have, through the watering and nourishment of the Spirit born fruit for a harvest now. God is good!

In my previous post about the first week of our trip I mentioned the word or theme that stood out for me was "progress". Progress that brought me a little taste of heaven. As I reflect on the highlights of the last half of our trip listed above another theme word is clear. That word is "relationships". Every one of the highlights listed above involves a very important and precious relationship that God has brought into our lives since he first called us to South Africa in 2005.

God is a God of relationships. He accomplishes His purposes through the relationship of His people with Himself and with other people. The Bible is full of the stories of relationships of God with his people and their relationships with one another. God initiates a relationship with us and then pursues it. As we respond and enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, He grants us life, faith, hope and love. And that love must be lived out in our relationships with other people. God has blessed us with incredible loving relationships with so many people in South Africa. Being with them again was such a blessing to us and another foretaste of heaven.

A Taste of Heaven

We have had a busy and blessed week since arriving in South Africa on Sunday. It has been great having Sandra and Douglas Shuff here with us this week from Northview Bible Church in Spokane. Sandra has been a part of two short-term mission teams that have served here with Two Tunics in 2008 and 2009, while it is Douglas's first time visiting.

Some highlights of the week for me:

• Worshipping at the tin shack church of Pastor Amos in the Mkholmbe shanty town
• Sweet reunions with the staff at Genesis Care Centre and many other dear friends
• Sandra's "Jesus Loves Me" presentations at 3 of our community creche (preschool) partners
• Home based care visits with Amos and Busi - humbling, disturbing and uplifting at once
• Seeing the "investment" in projects like Nokukhanya and Sinothando Creches bearing fruit (especially Lindiwe's teaching of the children and Pas's garden in a bag)
• Oh, and let's not forget lunch at the Waffle House and dinner at Edelweiss (it hasn't been all work and no play)
  

One of the words or themes that stands out for me this week is "progress". When one is here full time working in the community, frustration over lack of progress can become an everyday experience. The positive changes that do occur is so slow and incremental that it is easy to overlook them. Now returning after nearly 6 months away (our longest absence in 5 years) and with Sandra return 18 months after here last visit, it has been encouraging to see much evidence of positive changes around several of our partners.

I've already mentioned Nokukhanya Creche with Lindiwe's teaching of the children ( Two Tunics is providing her training through TREE) and Pas's incredible bag garden (Two Tunics provided "seed money" and training through Tim Barratt a local farmer). There are also many children Sandra remembered by names and faces who were sick, dull and full of rashes before who are healthy and vibrant now (thanks largely to good nutrition Two Tunics supplies through Food4Africa and Feed the Babies). And a man with TB lying dying on the dirt I saw during home based care visits in March is now sitting up, eating and interacting with his family (thanks to support given to family to consistently administer his medications and much prayer).

Yesterday I was reading in 2 Corinthians 5 and was struck by verse 4 which speaks of the mortal or dying being "swallowed up by life" (NIV). Paul was speaking about how through Christ, although our mortal bodies are dying we have future heavenly living bodies. But I was struck by the evidence I had seen this week that even while in these mortal bodies awaiting our desired heavenly dwellings, we can experience little pockets of life swallowing up death and hopelessness. This happens as each of us follows and serves Christ in the way he has been called. And I believe God is glorified whenever and however death is "swallowed up by life".

I thank God for the foretaste of heaven He has given me this week.