Why are we always serving the poor? People with money have problems, too, you know.
As I said in the response to yesterday’s question, I don’t think we get to choose who we will serve. We are humanity’s slave. That applies to where people live and it applies to their economic standing. We are called to serve the poor, serve the rich and everyone in between. A few thoughts to consider:
-University City Fellowship serves primarily the wealthy on Sunday mornings. Some of you would not necessarily agree with that, but nearly everyone who comes drives to get there in a car that they (or their family) own. That means they are “rich” from the world’s standpoint. Our messages and style are more focused on reaching out to those in the top 25% of the world’s wealth, mainly because if you live in this geographic region then you are in this category.
-I realize that money doesn’t solve problems and often it creates problems for people. That is one reason that we are doing life here in the Charlotte area and not in the streets of Calcutta.
-God does direct us to give to and serve to poor. It doesn’t take too much effort to find God’s heart for the poor in the Bible. One verse that I especially like is Proverbs 19:17, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD – and he will repay you!” It is kind of different to think of what we are doing as “lending” to God. I also simply love Jesus’ words that “when you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” I don’t know about you, but I want to serve Jesus and one of the best ways to do it is to serve and give to the poor. We will always be this kind of place with this kind of focus.
-I think God does a renovation in our hearts (with our attitudes and motives) when we serve the poor. Sometimes this renovation is a little trying and painful. Try it and see.
Showing posts with label homeless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeless. Show all posts
6.20.2008
A homeless man... a buffalo nickel... and God's plan!
First I want to introduce you to someone who has been to UCF twice. His name is Nans Bay. In the picture, Nans (on right) is standing with Joe Pelham, a regular at UCF. Joe met Nans in uptown Charlotte on a Sunday afternoon several months ago. 
Nans is one of our friends who doesn’t have a home and lives on the street. Joe picked him up for church back in May for his first visit and this past Sunday he came again with Joe.
At the end of this Sunday’s neighborhood gathering, I had planned on challenging everyone to give to two areas of need. The first was to Mike and Amy Rodgers (UCF’s missionaries to Ethiopia). They have just finished 9 months of language training and moved last week to their long-term home at Lake Langano. They have about $10,000 worth of one-time needs that are related to their move (things like furniture, generators, solar power system, etc). The second area of need was the UCF update we are planning for the Fall that includes all of our environments with particular attention to K-12th grades.
I challenged people to give $210 to each project. Why $210? Well, it costs $210 to provide for all of Mike and Amy needs for a single day and I thought I would mention that as well. Besides, $210 just seemed right. I have challenged people of the last few weeks to give a portion of their economic stimulus check that everyone has been receiving lately. After all, I believe it is simply God’s way of getting the US Government to fund mission work in Ethiopia. All it takes is our cooperation.
I think I was bolder than I have ever been, because in the middle of my challenge I simply thought, “if anyone knows a church that is doing more to reach out to the world around us with less, I want to know!” But instead of just thinking it I said it out loud. (That happens a lot in my world!) But the more I thought about it, the more I believed it. We are doing a great job of maximizing the money that comes into this place. And if there is another place that is doing more than we are with the same amount or less, I want to know so that we can learn from them how to do better. Bottom line, sometimes it isn’t about getting more for less, it is about challenging people to give more to places that are getting God’s work done! And right now, our mission needs to expand financially!
The service ended and I went to the Respond Area to spend some time with anyone who wanted to talk about the message. The first person that came up to me was Nans Bay. I greeted him with a hug because it was great to see him again. He said he needed to talk to me and he had a serious tone. He reached down and grabbed my hand and began to put something in it. As he was doing this he said, “now I don’t have $210, if I had it I’d of already gave it to ya. All I got is this nickel! Now it isn’t just any nickel, it’s a 1934 Buffalo Nickel. Now, I’m sure it’s not worth $210 but it’s all I got and maybe it can help your friends over there in Africa!” With a stunned silence, I looked down at the buffalo nickel he put in my hand. I was speechless as my eyes started to water a bit as I looked at Nans. He said, “I’ve been carrying this with me for a while now, but this is definitely where it needs to go!”
The story that immediately raced through my head was of Jesus and his disciples watching the widow give her only two coins to the offering in Luke 21…
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. 3 "I assure you," he said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."
In one of my favorite books of the bible, James writes these penetrating words…
My dear brothers and sisters, F5 how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? 2 For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting F6 dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor" – well, 4 doesn't this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives? 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 And yet, you insult the poor man!
I started to say to Nans, “thanks man, but you need this more than Mike and Amy.” But then the Spirit seemed to stop me. What I heard in my mind were two things,
“Don’t insult his faith by robbing him of the blessing of giving”
“I have a plan for that nickel.”
I thanked Nans and assured him that God has a plan for his nickel. He walked away and my mind immediately began churning on what to do with Nans nickel. Sunday afternoon I prayed and thought about it and here is what I sense the plan should be.
We are going to hold a Nans Bay Nickel Auction with all of the proceeds going to help Mike and Amy Rodgers work in Ethiopia. And here is how the auction will work, from now until July 6th we will be taking bids. All bids must be submitted in the form of a check made out to “UCF” with “Nans Nickel” in the memo line. The top bidder on July 6th will be awarded the nickel. The big difference in this auction is that all bids will be cashed! When you submit a bid by check, your check will be cashed and be added to the total. So let the bidding begin and check back here for updates!!!
You guys need to make this happen so that I can go back and tell Nans what God did with his buffalo nickel and his faith. Make it happen!
Nans is one of our friends who doesn’t have a home and lives on the street. Joe picked him up for church back in May for his first visit and this past Sunday he came again with Joe. At the end of this Sunday’s neighborhood gathering, I had planned on challenging everyone to give to two areas of need. The first was to Mike and Amy Rodgers (UCF’s missionaries to Ethiopia). They have just finished 9 months of language training and moved last week to their long-term home at Lake Langano. They have about $10,000 worth of one-time needs that are related to their move (things like furniture, generators, solar power system, etc). The second area of need was the UCF update we are planning for the Fall that includes all of our environments with particular attention to K-12th grades.
I challenged people to give $210 to each project. Why $210? Well, it costs $210 to provide for all of Mike and Amy needs for a single day and I thought I would mention that as well. Besides, $210 just seemed right. I have challenged people of the last few weeks to give a portion of their economic stimulus check that everyone has been receiving lately. After all, I believe it is simply God’s way of getting the US Government to fund mission work in Ethiopia. All it takes is our cooperation.
I think I was bolder than I have ever been, because in the middle of my challenge I simply thought, “if anyone knows a church that is doing more to reach out to the world around us with less, I want to know!” But instead of just thinking it I said it out loud. (That happens a lot in my world!) But the more I thought about it, the more I believed it. We are doing a great job of maximizing the money that comes into this place. And if there is another place that is doing more than we are with the same amount or less, I want to know so that we can learn from them how to do better. Bottom line, sometimes it isn’t about getting more for less, it is about challenging people to give more to places that are getting God’s work done! And right now, our mission needs to expand financially!
The service ended and I went to the Respond Area to spend some time with anyone who wanted to talk about the message. The first person that came up to me was Nans Bay. I greeted him with a hug because it was great to see him again. He said he needed to talk to me and he had a serious tone. He reached down and grabbed my hand and began to put something in it. As he was doing this he said, “now I don’t have $210, if I had it I’d of already gave it to ya. All I got is this nickel! Now it isn’t just any nickel, it’s a 1934 Buffalo Nickel. Now, I’m sure it’s not worth $210 but it’s all I got and maybe it can help your friends over there in Africa!” With a stunned silence, I looked down at the buffalo nickel he put in my hand. I was speechless as my eyes started to water a bit as I looked at Nans. He said, “I’ve been carrying this with me for a while now, but this is definitely where it needs to go!”
The story that immediately raced through my head was of Jesus and his disciples watching the widow give her only two coins to the offering in Luke 21…
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. 3 "I assure you," he said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."
In one of my favorite books of the bible, James writes these penetrating words…
My dear brothers and sisters, F5 how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? 2 For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting F6 dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor" – well, 4 doesn't this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives? 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 And yet, you insult the poor man!
I started to say to Nans, “thanks man, but you need this more than Mike and Amy.” But then the Spirit seemed to stop me. What I heard in my mind were two things,
“Don’t insult his faith by robbing him of the blessing of giving”
“I have a plan for that nickel.”
I thanked Nans and assured him that God has a plan for his nickel. He walked away and my mind immediately began churning on what to do with Nans nickel. Sunday afternoon I prayed and thought about it and here is what I sense the plan should be.
We are going to hold a Nans Bay Nickel Auction with all of the proceeds going to help Mike and Amy Rodgers work in Ethiopia. And here is how the auction will work, from now until July 6th we will be taking bids. All bids must be submitted in the form of a check made out to “UCF” with “Nans Nickel” in the memo line. The top bidder on July 6th will be awarded the nickel. The big difference in this auction is that all bids will be cashed! When you submit a bid by check, your check will be cashed and be added to the total. So let the bidding begin and check back here for updates!!!
You guys need to make this happen so that I can go back and tell Nans what God did with his buffalo nickel and his faith. Make it happen!
5.21.2008
Sunday and a man called, "Sam"
I think this past Sunday was an incredible wrap up to our UCF Backstage Series. I am in awe at God's providence and plan. I was excited going into the service because I knew the parts of the service that were going to be incredibly powerful - worship, parent-child dedication, the talk and the baptism video. Having a baptism video (that was shot at the baptism celebration on May 4th) at the end of the service was incredible. It is the capstone of all that we do because it is the outward expression of people choosing to trust Jesus and begin imitating Him. The baptism video was the planned part and a man who called himself "Sam" was the unplanned part.
Now regarding Sam, I know this may astonish some of you, but I believe that Sam was a person trying to scam our church and prey on the generosity of UCF. I did not know this at the point in the service when he stood up unsolicited and shared his story. For those who were not there, he shared that he was homeless, but had recently accepted Jesus as his Savior when someone shared Christ with him at a Burger King restaurant. He shared how God miraculously provided some clothes for him and that he had called his mom who had been praying for him. He stated that he was trying to get to Oklahoma to see his mom. I was stunned and felt compelled to let him tell his story. All I knew to do was pray for him and work out the details of helping him after the service. I prayed earnestly for him and thanked God for everything that we had been a part of in welcoming and showing love to Sam that morning. As soon as I sat down, during the closing song, I heard from a few people that this story was the same story that someone who called himself "Sam" stood up and shared at three other churches in our community recently. After a few seconds of thought and prayer, I asked Todd Murphy (part of UCF's Lead Team) to talk with Sam and decide how to handle the situation. There was a news report tonight on this scam taking place in several churches around the Charlotte area. Many of you handed me money to use for Sam's need. After talking with Sam and inquiring a little deeper into his story, Todd took him out to eat, dropped him at McDonald's to meet “his ride” and gave him a modest amount of travel money. He knew that we were on to him, but we still loved him and helped him.
Here is a few of my thoughts...
... the first thing that came to my mind when I realized what was probably going on was a verse in Genesis 50:20. Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers is now facing the challenge of forgiving his brothers as he is now the one in power in Egypt and they are at his mercy. And this is what he says, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done." Joseph knew that God is so powerful that He can work his will out through the selfish ambition and devious schemes of people. I believe that is what God did on Sunday morning. While "Sam" may have thought he was there to get some fast cash and pull off a scheme, he didn't realize that he was a part of a service that God had planned. He didn't realize that is words drove home the point of how important it is to love and serve people, no matter what their agendas are. We loved him, accepted him, put out a sign for him, set up a cafe for him, provided coffee and bagels for him, engaged him in conversation and generally loved him - even after we knew what he was about. He drove home the point of Sunday's message better than I could have and he didn’t even know it. What he intended for harm, God intended for good to accomplish what is being done at UCF.
... The message that many of you experienced on Sunday was real even though the motives behind the message from Sam was fraudulent. God genuinely moved in your hearts and you felt compassion for a man you didn’t know and you wanted to help. Do not allow the sin and selfishness of people to harden you to the real need that is all around you. The world is coming to us (19th fastest growing county in the US) and we need to meet them with generosity and compassion so that we can point them to the one that makes all the difference in the world – Jesus.
… Jesus said that we are sent out like “sheep among wolves” so we are to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.” I think we were definitely this on Sunday. We were wise and shrewd. We didn’t fill Sam’s pockets with money and allow his scam to work, but we didn’t turn him away either. We genuinely loved him, prayed for him and gave modestly to him. Everything that was given to me to give to him wasn’t needed, so I am giving it to Patrick Shaunessy to purchase some bus passed for our friends in uptown Charlotte who are homeless and really need some rides. We have limited amounts of time, money and energy. We must be good stewards of all of these so that we can advance God’s agenda most effectively in the world. We have to evaluate and make a plan. We didn’t necessarily have a plan for this scenario going in, but we had leaders in place who knew what to do and initiated compassionate, wise, innocent action. That is the community of God at work.
… Think of the boldness that it takes to pull off a scheme like that. To interrupt a service and boldly tell your story even though it is false. That takes guts and it is risky! He comes into our church and stands up and speaks up. I wonder what would happen if we went into our world and loved people with that kind of boldness and risk. I wonder what would happen if we went out with pure motives and took major risks to communicate love.
… Sam knew that we were on to his scam and yet he still experienced love and generosity moving towards him. I hope that Sam would be genuinely stunned by how people served him, talked with him, sat with him, and loved him – before and after we found out what he was up to. I am proud to be a part of a generous, caring, God-orchestrated community – keep loving loud… Sam heard it!
Love Loud… Risk Often,
David
Now regarding Sam, I know this may astonish some of you, but I believe that Sam was a person trying to scam our church and prey on the generosity of UCF. I did not know this at the point in the service when he stood up unsolicited and shared his story. For those who were not there, he shared that he was homeless, but had recently accepted Jesus as his Savior when someone shared Christ with him at a Burger King restaurant. He shared how God miraculously provided some clothes for him and that he had called his mom who had been praying for him. He stated that he was trying to get to Oklahoma to see his mom. I was stunned and felt compelled to let him tell his story. All I knew to do was pray for him and work out the details of helping him after the service. I prayed earnestly for him and thanked God for everything that we had been a part of in welcoming and showing love to Sam that morning. As soon as I sat down, during the closing song, I heard from a few people that this story was the same story that someone who called himself "Sam" stood up and shared at three other churches in our community recently. After a few seconds of thought and prayer, I asked Todd Murphy (part of UCF's Lead Team) to talk with Sam and decide how to handle the situation. There was a news report tonight on this scam taking place in several churches around the Charlotte area. Many of you handed me money to use for Sam's need. After talking with Sam and inquiring a little deeper into his story, Todd took him out to eat, dropped him at McDonald's to meet “his ride” and gave him a modest amount of travel money. He knew that we were on to him, but we still loved him and helped him.
Here is a few of my thoughts...
... the first thing that came to my mind when I realized what was probably going on was a verse in Genesis 50:20. Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers is now facing the challenge of forgiving his brothers as he is now the one in power in Egypt and they are at his mercy. And this is what he says, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done." Joseph knew that God is so powerful that He can work his will out through the selfish ambition and devious schemes of people. I believe that is what God did on Sunday morning. While "Sam" may have thought he was there to get some fast cash and pull off a scheme, he didn't realize that he was a part of a service that God had planned. He didn't realize that is words drove home the point of how important it is to love and serve people, no matter what their agendas are. We loved him, accepted him, put out a sign for him, set up a cafe for him, provided coffee and bagels for him, engaged him in conversation and generally loved him - even after we knew what he was about. He drove home the point of Sunday's message better than I could have and he didn’t even know it. What he intended for harm, God intended for good to accomplish what is being done at UCF.
... The message that many of you experienced on Sunday was real even though the motives behind the message from Sam was fraudulent. God genuinely moved in your hearts and you felt compassion for a man you didn’t know and you wanted to help. Do not allow the sin and selfishness of people to harden you to the real need that is all around you. The world is coming to us (19th fastest growing county in the US) and we need to meet them with generosity and compassion so that we can point them to the one that makes all the difference in the world – Jesus.
… Jesus said that we are sent out like “sheep among wolves” so we are to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.” I think we were definitely this on Sunday. We were wise and shrewd. We didn’t fill Sam’s pockets with money and allow his scam to work, but we didn’t turn him away either. We genuinely loved him, prayed for him and gave modestly to him. Everything that was given to me to give to him wasn’t needed, so I am giving it to Patrick Shaunessy to purchase some bus passed for our friends in uptown Charlotte who are homeless and really need some rides. We have limited amounts of time, money and energy. We must be good stewards of all of these so that we can advance God’s agenda most effectively in the world. We have to evaluate and make a plan. We didn’t necessarily have a plan for this scenario going in, but we had leaders in place who knew what to do and initiated compassionate, wise, innocent action. That is the community of God at work.
… Think of the boldness that it takes to pull off a scheme like that. To interrupt a service and boldly tell your story even though it is false. That takes guts and it is risky! He comes into our church and stands up and speaks up. I wonder what would happen if we went into our world and loved people with that kind of boldness and risk. I wonder what would happen if we went out with pure motives and took major risks to communicate love.
… Sam knew that we were on to his scam and yet he still experienced love and generosity moving towards him. I hope that Sam would be genuinely stunned by how people served him, talked with him, sat with him, and loved him – before and after we found out what he was up to. I am proud to be a part of a generous, caring, God-orchestrated community – keep loving loud… Sam heard it!
Love Loud… Risk Often,
David
8.31.2007
A "Dangerous" Church
I remember a conversation I had with someone who had been to UCF a few months and wanted to know a little more. At the end of our conversation he called us a "dangerous church." Dangerous in the sense that our desire to follow Christ takes on a barbaric, unconventional, sometimes inappropriate expression - but it IS unmistakably following Christ. Dangerous in that we are not bound by the usual thinking of most churches, dangerous because we are focused on the world, dangerous because we are clear in our focus, and dangerous because we don't seem to take the same path as most new suburban churches.
I think one of the things that makes us dangerous is the responsiveness of UCF as a community.
-A few weeks ago we received all the commitments necessary to provide 25% of the funds necessary for Mike and Amy Rodgers (missionaries to Ethiopia). Initially we committed to 17% of their support (which we raised in one day in Feb.). But two months ago we realized they were running short on their full support and needed to get on the ground in Ethiopia in August to begin language training. We committed to picking up another 8% of their support. You guys have stepped up in huge ways to make sure the mission of Christ is fully funded and fully resourced. Thanks for being responsive to this need.
-A few weeks ago, I talked with Rich Garretson who is leading our Habitat for Humanity work here in our community. He told me that over the last two weeks he has been overwhelmed with the number of people who have signed up for Sept 8th and Sept 15th. We have all we need, but he isn't going to turn anyone away. Thanks for being responsive to a simple opportunity to serve people in our backyard.
-We are approaching the 4 year mark of feeding our homeless friends every Saturday in uptown Charlotte. And we aren’t talking about 20 or 30, we are talking about over 100 each week. And it isn’t only about feeding people, it is about using a meal to build relationships with friends… friends who happen to not have a house.
-8 months ago, I knew I couldn’t ignore God’s directions to care for orphans. It started in James 1, but spread to the other parts of the bible. It began in my heart and mind but was exploded in my face on the streets of Ethiopia. In the last few months God has led several to begin the adoption process, we have a passionate point leader (Ron Smith) making plans, we held our first adoption workshop led by Aimee Pfitzner with 16 families represented who are open to what God has for them regarding the orphans of the world, and we have begun a plan to help fund adoptions for years to come which has over $30,000 in it at this point.
-on top of this is 8 houses built in Mexico, a family service every week like KIDSTUF, middle school and high school communities that are thriving, and a growing focus on changing lives one on one.
These things have left me thinking about who we are as a church. "Dangerous" is a good word. We respond to God, we respond to our world, we respond to our community and we respond to people! We engage what God puts before us and we make it happen. I talk many times with people who wonder how a church our size loves people this much. I mean we don't have a thousand people knocking these things out. The fact of the matter is those churches that do have a thousand people usually only have about 20-30% of the people actually loving people around them. I'm not sure but I think we probably have at least 75% of the people doing something to express God's love in our world. I wonder what a church that has 100% of people loving others looks like.
Note: At this point some of you are saying, "wait a minute, what do you mean by love people that much." All people love, all churches love... right! Well, love is measured by action not by words. People and churches can say they love people, but love is a verb! Love is responsive, love is active, love changes people, love changes the world around us. I love the way you guys love. Thanks for loving!
I think one of the things that makes us dangerous is the responsiveness of UCF as a community.
-A few weeks ago we received all the commitments necessary to provide 25% of the funds necessary for Mike and Amy Rodgers (missionaries to Ethiopia). Initially we committed to 17% of their support (which we raised in one day in Feb.). But two months ago we realized they were running short on their full support and needed to get on the ground in Ethiopia in August to begin language training. We committed to picking up another 8% of their support. You guys have stepped up in huge ways to make sure the mission of Christ is fully funded and fully resourced. Thanks for being responsive to this need.
-A few weeks ago, I talked with Rich Garretson who is leading our Habitat for Humanity work here in our community. He told me that over the last two weeks he has been overwhelmed with the number of people who have signed up for Sept 8th and Sept 15th. We have all we need, but he isn't going to turn anyone away. Thanks for being responsive to a simple opportunity to serve people in our backyard.
-We are approaching the 4 year mark of feeding our homeless friends every Saturday in uptown Charlotte. And we aren’t talking about 20 or 30, we are talking about over 100 each week. And it isn’t only about feeding people, it is about using a meal to build relationships with friends… friends who happen to not have a house.
-8 months ago, I knew I couldn’t ignore God’s directions to care for orphans. It started in James 1, but spread to the other parts of the bible. It began in my heart and mind but was exploded in my face on the streets of Ethiopia. In the last few months God has led several to begin the adoption process, we have a passionate point leader (Ron Smith) making plans, we held our first adoption workshop led by Aimee Pfitzner with 16 families represented who are open to what God has for them regarding the orphans of the world, and we have begun a plan to help fund adoptions for years to come which has over $30,000 in it at this point.
-on top of this is 8 houses built in Mexico, a family service every week like KIDSTUF, middle school and high school communities that are thriving, and a growing focus on changing lives one on one.
These things have left me thinking about who we are as a church. "Dangerous" is a good word. We respond to God, we respond to our world, we respond to our community and we respond to people! We engage what God puts before us and we make it happen. I talk many times with people who wonder how a church our size loves people this much. I mean we don't have a thousand people knocking these things out. The fact of the matter is those churches that do have a thousand people usually only have about 20-30% of the people actually loving people around them. I'm not sure but I think we probably have at least 75% of the people doing something to express God's love in our world. I wonder what a church that has 100% of people loving others looks like.
Note: At this point some of you are saying, "wait a minute, what do you mean by love people that much." All people love, all churches love... right! Well, love is measured by action not by words. People and churches can say they love people, but love is a verb! Love is responsive, love is active, love changes people, love changes the world around us. I love the way you guys love. Thanks for loving!
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