Missions

First, let me say from the start that I am all for missions, i.e. giving of money and/or labor for the purpose of spreading the Gospel message, as well as serving/ministering to people in need. Missions can be in the form of sending a check to a group or organization to actually joining in doing some of the work yourself. Missions can be local or all the way across the ocean. Missions can be in the form of talking to someone about their relationship with Jesus Christ or simply offering them a warm blanket, a hot meal, or helping clean up after a disaster. There's no "set in stone" definition. For the sake of this discussion, I am referring more to missions done in association with one's faith or religion. That doesn't mean that I think only Christians can be kind or that we've cornered the market on helping other.

Second, I've got nothing against what is typically referred to as foreign missions. My wife and I have supported a foreign mission for over 15 years with a monthly check. We'll never go there; we'll never see first-hand the impact of our contribution, but we receive letters from the missionaries so we know that our money is being used wisely and goes to help people that might otherwise not have some of the things we take for granted here in the United States.

All of that said, I think we've (and I have to include myself in this one) missed the boat on missions in the church today. Here's why I say that. In many--maybe most--of the churches I've been part of or visited, it seems the emphasis is more on foreign missions, which are not bad, but I can't help but think: "Aren't there some people around here that could use some help?...and why are we going all the way to Mexico or Guatemala when there are people right down the street that need our help?"

This past week, I became aware of a situation where a single mother was in need of some major repairs to her home, so much so the insurance company told her they could no longer insure her home in it's current condition. Large areas of siding were rotten and falling off. The fireplace and chimney had pulled away from the house and consequently was pulling the exterior wall down. A portion of the roof needed to be replaced and the whole house needed a good coat of paint, just to name a few things. The sad thing, this woman is a member of a local congregation I used to attend...and apparently no one knew about any of this situation!

What really made this scenario even more frustrating was this same church's pastor proclaimed on more than one occasion his goal for the congregation was to see at least 50 PERCENT of the budget going toward missions! Now, I don't recall if that comment was ever qualified, i.e. how much would be for local versus foreign missions, etc. but here's the deal---if there's ONE, JUST ONE widow in a congregation that is living in a home in need of repair, a lawn that needs to be mowed, a dishwasher that needs to be repaired...and that congregation is sending the Youth Group to Mexico for a week BEFORE the widows or needy in the congregation are taken care of THAT'S JUST WRONG!

So...a group of us got together and spent the weekend working to get the woman's house repaired. At any given time, there were at least 10 to 12 people hauling debris, replacing siding, scraping and priming, re-building a wall, etc. One thing that made it interesting, I noticed all of the workers no longer attended the previously mentioned church (another story) and all of us don't attend the same church now...we were just a group of people that cared about a fellow sister in Christ, saw a need and took care of it. No committee. No committee meetings. Just a group of people "doing church." That's how it should be.

And you know what? It was FUN! We worked, we laughed and we found muscles and joints we didn't know we had. Now, where did I put that bottle of Ibuprofen?

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress..." (James 1:27)   "...Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)

Can't Afford Christmas

A lady on TV receiving free toys from a local charity just said: "We're paying for a new car and a new house and we just can't afford Christmas this year."

Giving as I Say, Not as I Do

PBO and Mrs. PBO spoke to college graduates this past weekend, basically encouraging them to get involved and give back to society...as if these were NEW ideas. They may be with Democrats/Liberals and people like BO, but I've got news for the President and his wife: people have been "giving back" for quite a while!

Organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters (to name a few) didn't just show up on the map yesterday and people have been giving their time and money to these organizations longer than BO ever thought about being a "community organizer."

Don't get me wrong--I'm all about giving, but not because someone TOLD me I should or have to. My parents modeled that attitude all during my growing-up years and they still do today. I grew up knowing that everything...EVERYTHING I have is because of God's grace and goodness toward me. Consequently, my life has been filled with giving to others in the form of my time as a volunteer coach for little league sports, youth sponsor at church, participant in community projects for those less fortunate--as well as consistently giving a predetermined, conscious portion of our family income to our church, as well as many other benevolent organizations on a local and national level. I do it because I want to. I'd do it even if there wasn't a tax break for doing so. I do it because it's right. Sadly, doing what is "right" seems to have fallen along the wayside for many.

The Obama's spoke to the graduates as if the concept of giving rested entirely on their shoulders and that through THEIR giving and participation in community affairs, the planet would be saved. Hallejuah!! It's actually sad to me that graduates have to be encouraged to "give back." I guess that means they (a) haven't been giving all along and/or (b) their parents did a bad job instilling a more generous/thankful attitude in their children. Obama talks a pretty good talk, but according to this source:

Up until recent years when their income increased sharply from book revenues and a Senate salary, Obama's family donated a relatively minor amount of its earnings to charity. From 2000 through 2004, the senator and his wife never gave more than $3,500 a year in charitable donations -- about 1 percent of their annual earnings. In 2005, however, that total jumped to $77,315 (4.7 percent of annual earnings), and to $60,307 in 2006 (6.1 percent).

The old saying "do as I say, not as I do" comes to mind.

50k Pair- 50 Days

This is a very worthy cause. DONATE!