Comments on: I am famous. They are hungry.

By: jimhamilton

jimhamilton — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:34:01 +0000

Praise God for the Greek New Testament!

Jim

By: Oprah, False Gospels, Hungry People « Russell C

Oprah, False Gospels, Hungry People « Russell C — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:56:32 +0000

[...] 2. The gospel is for many Christians merely words. We hear the gospel preached, and by God’s kindness we are led to faith in Jesus Christ. We believe the truths of the gospel. Then, we go on with our lives working just like everyone else to raise good kids, do good at work, and save for a comfortable retirement. Our evenings consist of watching our favorite television shows, eating half the food we prepare, and hopeing for Friday to come. These things are by no means sinful, but they are not an outworking of the gospel we claim to believe. [...]

By: Jerry

Jerry — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:52:14 +0000

Russell…I appreciate seeing/hearing your heart today and also the heart of Steven Bush! I have no questions about your commitment and your desire to respond to the needs/opportunities presented.

But, I sometimes fear many will write a check or maybe two checks or maybe even ten or twelve but their lifestyle will not change, they will not respond to the homeless person who lives nearby, they will feel better because the “gave” but their Christian life will not show much, if any, change…a little cynical? perhaps! a lot wrong? I hope!

By: russellcravens

russellcravens — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:21:45 +0000

Rachel, I am by no means frustrated with any person, just aware of the defficiencies in my own willingness to do my part. With that, I aspire to lead you all to think about the same things.

Greg, As always, good thoughts.

By: russellcravens

russellcravens — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:27:24 +0000

Andrew, Word!

Matt, thanks. I look forward to going to Ethiopia with you to train those pastors who are leading the newly fed and converted.

By: russellcravens

russellcravens — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:25:34 +0000

Jonathan & Starr, Thanks for your willingness to engage the discussion. I know you are both having great influence on the people in your church to think about how to live out the gospel every day of their lives. Keep it up!

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:48:29 +0000

I was going to write about Rich Mullins and his influence on my perception of the poor, but I decided to turn it into a post on my blog, so check that out.

Building off of Clarity tonight, and what we talked about, I want to bring into the discussion how privileged we are as a nation. Not in a way that makes us feel guilty or anything, but inspires us to do good with what we have been given.

We in the West, particularly in America, require a very high standard of living. Some may see it as a curse, but I realized tonight that it may just be a blessing. The poor in America are rich compared to those Shaun Groves is advocating for. Because of that huge disparity in prosperity, even the crumbs that fall off our tables are enough to feed and fill those in true need. God has given us an opportunity to perform good works!

A little something can go a long way thanks to our high standard of living. One downside of this is our lives are so devoted to meeting that standard, we don’t have the time to go and help those in need. But we can provide support to those who can.

I’m a big fan of the organization Gospel For Asia. I wrote two posts about them on my blog under the “Missions” category. They are doing some amazing things in India, such as building wells and helping the poor. Most importantly, though, they plant churches and make disciples for Christ. They do it all with funds from Western nations, much in the same way that I described above. Our crumbs give them life, and everlasting life at that.

We have talked about these things in Clarity. What would it look like to live them out now? Maybe as a group we can sponsor missionaries in India, or build houses, clean water wells, or maybe even a whole church!

Thoughts? Opinions? Actions?

By: routlaw

routlaw — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:18:20 +0000

Thanks for talking about this stuff tonight in Clarity…and sorry we don’t know exactly how to respond in an appropriate way. I know it gets frustrating.

Maybe I get overwhelmed sometimes with the (amazing) responsibility I have as a Christian. Maybe the realization of this responsibility paralyzes me at times when it should spur me into action.

By: mattsetliffe

mattsetliffe — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:53:56 +0000

If this were church and I were in the audience and you were preaching I was stand up at this moment and yell SCORE!!! or AMEN or something! Then I would get on a plane and go somewhere needy!

How much time we in church spend on worthless things. You said it, but I agree.

Great post!

By: andrewminchew

andrewminchew — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:01:59 +0000

i like hearing these kinds of words, in an unusual way. like i swallowed a hand mixer, then turned it on.