funding_theREVOLUTION

1_To the non-profits out there: what if we created sustainable solutions to our funding nightmares? How great would it be to not worry about developing donor buy-in? What if we spent some energy and money on creative ways to provide jobs and fund our revolution? I recently read an article about such an idea and I'm curious to know your thoughts. (link is at the end of this post)

2_To those with heart beats: i am sleeping on the floor of a friend's house and i had a gnarly biking accident that destroyed three of my toes -don't worry mom:) they're doing fine, i'm surfing again and the toes are almost good as new- the accident however has become quite the catalyst for opening my eyes. b/c of it i've been in the house unable to go anywhere on my own and hours at work have been slim to none. a totally demeaning experience to not be able to take yourself anywhere, to not have enough money to pay some bills, and to be unable to get jobs you know you're totally qualified for...basically just no dignity at all in life when you work your ass off but see no payoff for your efforts. the rad thing is that i have been able to internalize these feelings and really "walk a mile in some else's shoes." i learned how to pray those days i found myself stuck in the house alone. i began to ask God to provide jobs for those who needed them, to walk along side those in need, b/c i suddenly found myself seeing life from that perspective.

3_compassion and pop: did you know the hebrew concept of compassion literally means to suffer with. so when i was suffering within my circumstances He was there suffering with me; and when it says God hears our cries, has compassion on us, and answers from heaven it means He not only heard us but He was suffering right along side us the whole time. I'm not sure what all that means but i think an understanding of who God really is, not the image our culture (which is built around economic gain) and pop-christianity (which is the exact opposite of the beatitudes, and more an image and a system of economic gain and Pharisaic rule followers than a system based on love and wholeness) give us, but who He really is and who His followers really were could be a good thing to understand.

4_so what i'm doing now: i turned in an application for the next IC tour. i accepted a job offer to teach elementary kids in a low-income after school program and i interview aug.15 for a part-time gig helping REI build relationships with non-profits in the community and scheduling events. i really desire to live in community with people and to befriend those on the outside, the marginalized i guess is the academic term. i long for the days when my love for people and God is so great that i become among the marginalized. if you can there is an essay i'm going to read called "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of Contemporary Christianity?" I would really like to read this and discuss it with some of you. it is an examination of how local congregations in the early church spent their money and the implications for us today. I haven't read it yet but I think this is a good place to start taking a look at the earliest congregations so we can gain a clearer or more pure picture of just who these followers of the Way really were and possibly gain a better picture of Hashem. I have given you a link to this article if you'd like to read it. Maybe you could print it out and read it and we could share our thoughts on it...

5_comments on street signs and life: a friend once shared that the street signs may change but nothing really changes unless the inside changes. i've learned to embrace wholeness but i'm still not sure what my vocation or holly calling is but have suspicion its different than what i could ever imagine. maybe our culture has had it wrong our whole lives. what if a vocation isn't really a career but a way of life. what would happen if we started to live life where we were? what if we stopped trying to offer something to people and simply started to experience life with those around us? what if we're really not supposed to seek "God's will for our lives" but simply called to LIVE life and let wholeness be His will for our lives.

Reminder you can leave your comments by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post...if you don't have an account with blogger just select anonymous and you'll have to select post twice (the first time is to log in as anonymous and the second time is to post your comment).

Relevant Links:

non-prof funding article

Embezzlement Essay

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

endingPOVERTY...

Thirty-seven million people live in poverty in the United States.

In 2004, the average poor family eked by on an income of $10,007.

More than 1 billion people around the world live in extreme poverty (less than $1 per day), and more than 2 billion live on less than $2 per day.

According to the U.N., the majority of the people in poverty are women, who globally earn roughly half as much as men.

Throughout the Bible, Adonai shows a special concern for those in poverty and acts in history to lift them up. As worshipers of Adonai we are His people and therefore we share that concern. The Bible also teaches God’s command that society organize so that all members have genuine access to the resources needed to live a decent life and provide for those who are unable to care for themselves. The Hebrew prophets consistently say that the measure of a nation’s righteousness and integrity is how it treats the most vulnerable...Too many people are not just trapped in poverty,but also in the debate about poverty. In America, low-income families are stuck between liberal and conservative arguments, while neither political party has made the needs of poor families a top priority. Internationally America treats the poorest of the poor as short term mission projects and hides the faces and lives of billions behind a foreign policy more concerned with redemptive violence than justice, as if redemptive and violence work well together. Restoring the hope of our poorest families and neighbors will require nothing less than a national change of heart. It is a formidable challenge, but one the church should embrace. We must not be fearful of the many obstacles we face, but confident that our vision and commitment can provide an example that will spur our nation to action. Read more...[state-side possibilities] [global possibilities text]

Current policy and hopes for a changed public & foreign policy is never an excuse for our community to slack on lifting up those in poverty. Poverty is more than a lack of material goods. Today's american suburbs hold many toys and full pantries while having no shortage of loneliness & despair -all of which are a part of life in poverty. Rather than a simple lack in material goods, poverty is truly a system that traps people in relational, emotional, spiritual, and physical destruction. It is going to take a community to truly help those in the destructive traps of poverty.

can we, as the Church and communities of people, better organize ourselves so that all members of the family have genuine access to the resources needed to live a decent life?

May we act to lift up those in poverty. It is no good thing when a few in the family gain weight while some others starve.

Relevant Links:

Poverty Education

Malaria

Millennium Project