Saturday, February 28, 2009

Social Justice & Human Rights

A new cause for the 12:3 Conspirators to get involved with is the International Justice Mission (IJM).

Gary Haugen serves as President and CEO of International Justice Mission. IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems. His latest book, Just Courage: God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian (2008), is a resonant call to courage set on the frontlines of today's battle against violent injustice. I highly recommend Gary's book Good News About Injustice for a great introduction about global injustice.

Learn more about IJM and global injustice as it exists today here.

Watch an introduction about IJM below:

Friday, February 27, 2009

The Day with Others

So, I'm taking a little time today to study for the 12:3 Conspiracy. We are in week eight of the studies and I'm looking forward to teaching Romans 12:9 on Sunday. I thought it was cool that the 12:3 Conspiracy was starting Romans 12:9 (Let love be genuine...) on the same day we are starting our introduction to the 40 Days of Love at LHC. Anyway, I'm reflecting on something that I haven't done in a while and wanted to share it with you.

In his brilliant little book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has a chapter entitled, The Day with Others that talks about starting your day in reflection of Christ's sacrifice and readings in Scripture, especially the psalms. Then, Bonhoeffer tells us how to end our day in the fellowship of others. Bonhoeffer writes, "The early morning belongs to Christ...the break of light remembers the morning on which death and sin lay prostrate in defeat and new life and salvation were given to mankind." This is how we should start every morning if we are to take on the task of spending the day with others.

Spending the day with others, huh, I've never thought of it that way. Most of our lives are lived in routine. We are around the same people, almost everyday. The same people at work, church, the gym, Starbucks, and most routinely, our families. Do we genuinely think of the "routines" as "others?" I think there is a way to start. It's called practicing the one anothers.

Practicing the "one anothers" from Scripture starts by knowing what they are. Here's a list:

John 13:34
Love one another

Rom. 12:10
Be devoted to one another

Rom. 12:16
Live in harmony with one another

Rom. 15:7
Accept one another

Gal. 5:13
Serve one another in love

Eph. 4:2
Put up with one another

Eph. 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another

Col. 3:16
Teach and admonish one another

Heb. 3:13
Encourage one another daily

1 Pet. 4:9
Offer hospitality to one another

Ok, so it's easy. First, memorize the list so you can recall the one's you need at any given circumstance. However, while you're memorizing them, you could practice at least one a day. Let's say you choose "devoted to one another." What does the word "devoted" mean? According to Webster's it means: to give up or appropriate to or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc. When's the last time you spent time with others like that?

It would be cool to get some comments on this blog and to hear how this "practice of the one anothers" is going for you. Any ideas of how you are doing this? Any stories that could encourage someone else? Let me hear from you.

Let Love Rule - Genuine Love

Download the notes from Lesson 8 "Genuine Love"
Download here.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Radical Generosity

This weekend I taught from Romans 12:6-8. This is one of the lists of "grace gifts" or "spiritual gifts" found in the New Testament (the other found in 1 Corinthians 12). One of the most interesting gifts found on the "Romans list" is giving. The usual verb for giving is didomi, but the word here in Romans 12:8b is the intensified metadidomi, which carries the additional meaning of sharing and imparting that which is one's own. It is clearly a term used to mean generosity, or giving out of one's self to another; we call it sacrificial giving in the church. I call it radical generosity.

Do you have the gift of radical generosity? In an article I read recently entitled Compelling Generosity, I was drawn to phrases like "our culture's self-absorbed economy of excess" and "enough resources to contribute to the lives of others." In this, I found myself in the middle of paradox. I say I am always striving to meet my needs, when really I am striving to maintain a lifestyle. A lifestyle, quite honestly, that is complex and pressure-packed. And this is where the paradox became conviction. I immediately began to realize the measure of my generosity has nothing to do by what or how much I give, but by what or how much I am preparing my life to contribute to the lives of others. Radical generosity is a lifestyle, a gift, to be lived out among people I come in contact with everyday.

For me, radical generosity does not come from my willingness to give. Most of the time, I wish I could give more. Radical generosity comes from being in a place where I can give more. Have I designed my life to be generous? Now, I'm not talking about Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace thing. I'm talking about having the mindset that I can contribute what is mine to others now, not when I get my "emergency fund" together.* I think it goes a step further. It calls for radical changes in our lifestyles.

Over the years, I have heard of the spiritual discipline called simplicity. I have done some reading on the topic and it is a powerful experience when practiced. The practice of simplicity is simply (pun) to learn to live within our means. In effect, it means to be content. Too often, my generosity suffers from the complicated pace of my life or, my lack of simplicity. My life is so loud, fast-paced and over-crowded, that I really don't have anything (time or financial resources) to give. So, it's not that I don't want to give (generosity) or live in contentment (simplicity), it's just that I really can't; it's impossible.

In his book Freedom of Simplicity, Richard Foster writes, "Christian simplicity frees us from modern mania...It allows us to see material things for what they are—goods to enhance life, not to oppress life. People once again become more important than possessions. Simplicity enables us to live lives of integrity in the face of the terrible realities of our global village."

I guess the challenge of radical generosity is real. Real in the sense that I am becoming like everyone else—collecting and consuming everything I see with no regard for who I am becoming in the process. Generosity is integrity, and really, it's self-integrity. Generosity is knowing my true self enough to allow it to be reflected in the way I live my life. Too often, my life is an appearance, just a shadow of my desire to do good, a form of godliness, if you will. I want to change that, but I know it will take real changes, one's that take real sacrifice.

In closing, I would like to quote a friend of mine:

Radical generosity is generosity that flows from an encounter with this radically generous God we meet in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the Gospel takes root in our lives, it becomes the story that shapes, informs and defines the decisions and direction of our lives. So, just like Christ, we gladly become poor, giving sacrificially of our lives to enrich the lives of others. Just as our Savior poured himself out to rescue and enrich our lives, so we would pour out our lives to rescue and enrich the lives of others – not just friends and family, but even those who are removed from us.

Click here to read the article, "Compelling Generosity"

*I am not knocking Ramsey's stuff here. In fact, I think Ramsey does a fine job teaching biblical stewardship. I just find that most Ramsey-ites are learning stewardship for security sake. I believe biblical stewardship also includes risking our lifestyles for the sake of contributing to others.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Serving The Body of Christ - Radical Generosity

Download the notes from Lesson 7 "Serving the Body of Christ"
Download here.

Friday, February 20, 2009

What is the Body of Christ?

Download the notes from Lesson 6 "What is the Body of Christ?"
Download here.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Humilty & Grace Gifts

Teaching from Romans 12:3 now posted for download. Download all the teachings here.