May God Bless You With Foolishness

February 21, 2008 | Filed Under justice, missional | 3 Comments

light_cross.jpgMay God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

- A Franciscan Benediction

God’s Heart for the Poor

November 26, 2007 | Filed Under justice | 13 Comments

view-of-poor.jpgIf there was any doubt about God’s heart for the poor, widows, orphans and foreigners then consider this sampling of scripture.

Exodus 22:21
“You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 22:22-23
“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me. I will certainly hear their cry.”

Exodus 23:3
“And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.”

Exodus 23:6
“In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.”

Exodus 23:11
“. . . but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.” More>>

Free Rice & Improved Vocabulary

November 12, 2007 | Filed Under justice | 3 Comments

freericelogo.gifIf you haven’t yet discovered Free Rice be sure to check out this vocabulary game that adjusts itself to your level of language skill. The more questions you get right, the harder the questions. However, the main purpose of the game is that for each question you get right 10 grains of rice are donated through an international aid agency to assist in global poverty. Now that may not sound like a lot of rice but you will see how quickly it adds up.

Bono & Poverty

November 9, 2007 | Filed Under justice, missional | 3 Comments

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We are the first generation that really can do something about the kind of “stupid” poverty that sees children dying of hunger in a world of plenty or mothers dying for lack of a 20-cent drug that we take for granted. We have the science, we have the resources, what we don’t seem to have is the will. This is an opportunity to show what America stands for.

Bono in Tom Davis’ Red Letters

Red Letters: Living A Faith That Bleeds

November 7, 2007 | Filed Under books, justice | 1 Comment

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I recently finished reading Red Letters: Living A Faith That Bleeds by Tom Davis.  With heart-wrenching stories Davis shines the spot light on the devastation surrounding the issues of world poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. His message to the church is that the gospel is not just to be read, but it is to be lived. Furthermore, there is absolutely no excuse for the church to not step up to the task. He writes:

Poverty has many faces and none of them is pretty. Consider these difficult-to-comprehend facts: 1.2 billion people are estimated to live on less than one dollar per day, and almost 3 billion on less than two dollars per day. Do the math: That’s 3.9 billion of the 6.5 billion people who live in our world.

Doesn’t it seem ridiculous to you that billions of people are living in poverty? With all our wealth, all our technology, and all our resources, why haven’t we solved this problem? Almost 2.5 million children die every year because of malaria. Hello? We have medicine that kills malaria. It’s cheap. It’s easy to transport. Yet, we aren’t doing what it takes to get the medicine to the people who need it. Here’s a surprising and disturbing truth about poverty that really ticks me off: It’s preventable.

In regards to AIDS, which Davis calls the “greatest crisis” he states the following:

Experts tell us World War II killed 62 million people. Even with all of the advances in medicine, AIDS continues on a path to eclipse that number, having already killed 25 million people since the first case in 1981. The UN estimates that 39.5 million people are now living with HIV. Of that total, 4.3 million were new infections in 2006. There were 2.9 million AIDS deaths in 2006, the highest number reported in any year.

How do you describe a crisis like this? Catastrophic? Disastrous? Devastating?

Words just can’t paint an accurate picture of what this disease is doing to our world. Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of UNAIDS, said, “Countries are not moving at the same speed as their epidemics.” Without rapid improvements, the pandemic will only worsen, the officials said. This is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced.

Davis doesn’t leave the topics of poverty and AIDS without some specific ways to get involved. “Taking a step of faith can rescue someone from poverty, provide life-saving medicine for a person suffering from AIDS, or offer an educational opportunity otherwise unavailable to a school-age child.”

In the last chapter of Red Letters Davis shares 5 things every person can do to help the 50 million people in our world suffering from HIV/AIDS. Here’s how it works:

Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
Give 5 days a year to travel overseas & help alleviate poverty & suffering.
Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.

You can learn more about what you and your church can do at 5 For Fifty.

One Hit Wonder

November 2, 2007 | Filed Under justice | No Comments

onehitwonder.jpgAlan Hirsch has a post up this morning on onehitwonder. Here is a bit of what he had to say:

Here is a great idea that is easily achieved! My dear friends and colleagues from Third Place Communities and Forge Tasmania have come up with a way of blessing the world’s poorest. And all it will cost you is $1!!! ? Its called One Hit Wonder. Here it is…

We hope to gather 7.29 million dollars, one-dollar at a time, then give it all away to those who need it most. Here’s how we seek to do it. What if everyone in the world gave you one dollar? Have you wondered what you’d do with it? We have, & we’d like to see how many people across the planet will give a dollar & then give it away to the poorest communities in the world. Currently 729 million people have internet access. Imagine if just 1% of these people were willing to get involved & give one dollar. That would amount to over 7 million dollars to give away. Not bad for a measly dollar!

On December 25, 2008 we’ll begin to give away every dollar-90% to the poorest communities in developing countries, & 10% (plus interest) will be utilised locally. The money will be given through registered well-known organisations across the globe covering many regions & needs. Not one dollar will be used for administration or any other associated expense. These costs will be covered by us & our partners. For those concerned this is a scam we’ve asked Deloitte, one of the world’s leading accounting firms to audit onehitwonder.

Want to know more? Check it out at www.onehitwonder.org

Thirsty Planet

September 27, 2007 | Filed Under justice | No Comments

water.jpgHere is a link to part one of a series titled “Thirsty Planet” presented on NBC Nightly News this week. Part one discusses the very disturbing state of the Ganges River in India and the lack of fresh water for the 1.1 billion people who live in India. My question is why are there not water purification plants being built throughout the country? Does anyone know solutions that are in the works?

Blessing From Justice in the Burbs

September 24, 2007 | Filed Under books, justice | No Comments

justice-in-the-burbs.jpgMay the God of peace, justice, and hope lead you on the pathways of mercy and compassion. May you have the heart of God, the eyes of Jesus, and the leading of the Spirit as you seek to join with the work of those who have gone before you. And may you grow in grace.

“A Final Blessing” from Justice in the Burbs by Will & Lisa Samson

Night Light Ministry

September 24, 2007 | Filed Under justice | 1 Comment

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A couple of months ago I posted here on a ministry based in urban Bangkok called Night Light that combats the sexual exploitation of women and children. The devastating amount of pain and hurt those trapped in this trade experience is unfathomable. Yesterday we received an email prayer letter that illustrates the deep spiritual warfare that is taking place. Please take time today to prayer for these mentioned and for Night Light. More>>

Night Light Ministry

July 6, 2007 | Filed Under justice | 1 Comment

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While in LA a few weeks ago I became aware of a great ministry called NightLight. NightLight is based in urban Bangkok (and now they have a “branch” in LA) that combats the sexual exploitation of women and children. I have to admit that I was not fully aware of the extent of human trafficking around the world, including the United Sates, until hearing a woman from NightLight speak on the topic.

One of the unique ways this ministry raises support and offers employment for those rescued from the world of trafficking is through the selling of hand-made jewelry that you can check out here. I hope you will consider buying some jewelry to help support this ministry and then allow the jewelry to be a conversation starter to share with others how they can help. More>>