Previous Post – The Book of James – Part 6

It is a strange thing to come into your vocation.  I have been a missionary for over 15 years, but it has been in the last few years, when I have stepped into the role of pastor of the church we planted (Little Flowers Community), that I have felt the most fulfilled.  However, it is also some of the hardest times in my life, bringing me closer the warning flags for burn out.  I believe in what we are doing, convinced that we are humbly following God’s missional identity for us.  The challenge is to try and make it sustainable.

Sustainability has to do with much more than just finances (though that is significant, as I will explain shortly).  The levels of energy and time required to form and nurture a missional community in an inner city context are far greater than we expected, tapping our reserves very quickly.  I am daily amazed by my wife & our small team of missionaries who willingly live on next to nothing, working long hours in (often) thankless service to God & others.  It truly is worth it.

However, I never thought that such a commitment might threaten our ability to have a family.  When my wife & I found out that, despite being seemingly highly fertile that we could not conceive, we began to look at other options.  International adoption was the most viable & responsible given our circumstances.  While local adoption was less expensive, we were told to expect a 10-13 year wait to get a referral, even then only after several other children came in and out of our home.  After the loss of our first child, we were not prepared for that.

And so we began the long and expensive process of adopting a child from Ethiopia.  The only benefit of the long process was that it allowed us to slowly save the necessary funds (or at least a good portion of them).  However, due to changing policies, etc. the adoption costs increased.  We buckled down, simplifying even more and saved every penny.  Things were looking promising.

This week, however, we learned from the Canadian “taxman” that I would not be eligible for the Clergy Deductions.  Essentially what it comes down to is that, because my church cannot afford to pay me and because I am therefore paid through my role as a local missionary (with YWAM), I am not technically a paid pastor.  As a result, the small return we were looking at receiving has now transformed into a bill to the Canadian government for over $3000.  Our first appeal was rejected and our second isn’t looking promising.  Thankfully, with the money we have been saving, we can pay it without going into debt, but it otherwise cleans us out.  The adoption fund is back to running on fumes.

I have every confidence that God will provide, as He has time and again throughout our ministry.  And as one of my new Haitian friends told me while I was visiting there last month, “Discouragement is not Christian”.  We are hopeful and trusting that God will provide for us our daily bread and we will be grateful for His sufficient provision, even if it isn’t what we expected.

That being said, I am finding it difficult not being discouraged.  It is hard to not wonder if we are riding on fumes ourselves, with the end just around the next corner.  I want to believe otherwise, but I am tired and drained.  People have it far worse than me, so I know I should get some perspective and move on, but I just feel like I have so little left to give.  Burn out isn’t a present reality, and having been there before, I am very thankful for that.  At the same time, it also means I am unwilling to go there again.

I do not mean for this to sound like whining.  Rather it is just the honest confession of a missional Christians seek to follow Christ’s radical call as best I can.  These are the realities of such a path.  It is an all too common story.  In part we must all learn together to persevere regardless of circumstances.  However, we must also band together to consider new and innovative ways to do mission & life together for the future.

]]> http://www.missional.ca/2010/06/family-missional-sustainability/feed/ 9 http://www.missional.ca/2009/10/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove-gods-economy/ http://www.missional.ca/2009/10/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove-gods-economy/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:52:48 +0000 Jamie http://www.missional.ca/?p=694

Previous Post – Missional Evangelism

Given our life & ministry as an intentional community in the heart of the inner city of Winnipeg, we have been deeply moved by the examples and writing of many in the new monasticism community.  One practitioner/writer who has most deeply challenged and encouraged me has been Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of several books, most notably for me “New Monasticism”.  His website gives the follow brief bio:

• Jonathan is an Associate Minister at the historically black St. Johns Baptist Church, and is engaged in peacemaking and reconciliation efforts in Durham, North Carolina. The Rutba House, where Jonathan lives with his wife Leah, their son JaiMichael, and other friends, is a new monastic community that prays, eats, and lives together, welcoming neighbors and the homeless.  Jonathan directs the School for Conversion, an alternative seminary that hosts courses around the country. He is Editor of the New Monastic Library Series (Cascade Books) and Associate Editor of the Resources for Reconciliation Series (InterVarsity Press).

Jonathan’s newest book, “God’s Economy: Redefining the Health & Wealth Gospel” (Zondervan), is a timely and important challenge to a church culture that has too often compromised to the seemingly overwhelming trend of materialism, individualism and greed.  The publisher describes the book as follows: “This practical guide to the good life details how to enjoy a rich, satisfying lifestyle, no matter how much or how little money you have. Rather than being at the mercy of unpredictable market factors, you’ll learn how to thrive in God’s economy of abundance as you tap into a wealth of community and generosity.”

Here is my interview with Jonathan on “God’s Economy”.

Jamie Arpin-Ricci: While this book is important for all time, do you think it is particularly important given current economic issues?

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove: Yes. Jesus teaches us to slip God’s Economy into this world through the cracks in whatever economy there is. Right now, everyone can see the cracks in our economy. I think the global financial crisis has opened our eyes to the fact that wealth doesn’t deliver on all that it promises—even if we work hard and invest wisely, we’re not as secure as we think we are. It’s the same sense many of us had after 9/11. These moments are pregnant with potential for us to hear the gospel in a new way, I think. The fundamental question Jesus asks is, “Who are you going to serve? God or Money?” It’s really the bedrock question of faith—whom do we trust to define why and how we live?

JAR: Was there any topic(s) that you wish you could have included in the book that didn’t make it?

JWH: I’m fascinated by the many ways people all around the world take Jesus at his word and begin to live God’s Economy where they are. My window on all of this is one little community in Durham, North Carolina, and the good people I’ve had a chance to come in contact with over the years. But God’s Economy is much bigger than that, and many of the people who live it most faithfully are underrepresented in this book because I haven’t had the privilege of knowing them and their stories. My hope is that in telling the stories I do know and paying attention to Jesus’ tactics for abundant life, this book  can foster spaces for others to share how God’s Economy is springing up in the church.

JAR: What was the most difficult section of the book for you to write and why?

JWH: I wrote and re-wrote chapter three on Jesus’ tactical imagination. For most of us in the West, it’s hard to put ourselves in the place of the peasants living in occupied Palestine whom Jesus taught and organized. But the whole book really hangs on this—the claim that all those strange things Jesus said about money begin to make sense when we see that he was teaching us how to live when we can’t drive the Romans out. A lot of people feel caught between the ideal they know Jesus exemplifies and the reality of life where they are in this world’s economy. We know there’s a tension between the two, but we also know that we’re not going to displace global capitalism tomorrow. The good news according to Jesus is that we don’t have to. We’re invited to begin living God’s Economy now, wherever we are, because we know that it’s the true Economy and that God gives us grace to interrupt the world that is with the world that ought to be.

JAR: Why do you think some Christians are suspicious of and/or resist many of the ideas in the book?

JWH: When Jesus talks about money, he sounds crazy to us. He says “give to whoever asks” and “store up treasure for yourselves in heaven.” We’re in the habit of either dismissing his tactics as verses we’ll never understand or spiritualizing them into a neat lesson for our souls, somehow separated from our wallets. I don’t think this should surprise us, given that we live in the richest nation to ever exist in the world. But I do think it should concern those of us who claim that Jesus is the hope of the whole world. If we don’t take God’s Economy seriously, who will?

JAR: If Christians in North America could make any external change of lifestyle in respect to this topic, what would you hope it might be?

JWH: I’d love Christians to be known as the people who are generous. You know, people talk about us outside the church. They say we’re killjoys or they say we’re Bible-thumpers. Some folks even say we’re nice. But we don’t have a reputation for being extremely generous. In these hard economic times, though, I’d love to hear rumors that churches are the place to go—that the people there are crazy enough to share when no one else will or even when they don’t have enough for themselves. It’s said that in some of the early Christian communities the whole group would fast if they found out there was someone among them who didn’t have enough to eat. I’d love to hear stories like that circulating about Christians these days.

JAR: Which books have most influenced you on this topic?

JWH: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Especially John. Jesus’ good news about abundant and eternal life in John’s gospel is really the heart of God’s Economy. It’s there in all the gospels, but John really stresses the point. I read John closely as I was writing this book.

I also found Jacques Ellul’s Money and Power to be helpful as I was thinking about why the prosperity gospel has such a grip on the church right now. It’s an older book, and it was written in a different context, but I think Ellul saw clearly the demand for allegiance that Money asserts in modern life.

JAR: Tell us something unusual about yourself that we would otherwise not know?

JWH: My first job was starting a small business with my older brother in our home town. I sold out at 17 to finish high school in Germany, but my brother kept at it. He still runs the business today. I just wear the T-shirts.

JAR: Thanks Jonathan.

NOTE: Jonathan will be visiting and speaking in Winnipeg next month.

Check out details here at st. benedicts table website.

Previous Post – Weekend Linkage #5 – Sovereignty Edition

While it has been a long time in the works, I am really excited to share this interview I did with Dewi Hughes, author of the must read, foundational work called “Power and Poverty: Divine and Human Rule in a World of Need”.  While our response to poverty and injustice is increasing in the Church, this book stands an important foundation, especially to the West, on how to understand and engage these issues.  I won’t say any more, as the interview speaks for itself.  Enjoy!

Jamie Arpin-Ricci: Why did you write this book on this topic?  Why do believe it is so important (especially now)?

Dewi Hughes: The occasion for writing was a request by my manager to produce a substantial work to mark the 40th anniversary of Tearfund in the autumn of 2008. Tearfund is an evangelical Christian relief and development organisation for whom I work full time as an in house theologian. I have been linked with Tearfund for almost 30 years and an employee for 22 and both my manager and I were drawn to Tearfund out of a conviction that evangelicals should be far more active in serving the poor than they were in the late 70s. [I should say, maybe, that evangelicalism in the United Kingdom is a somewhat different animal to evangelicalism in the US – maybe it’s more like evangelicalism in Canada. What I mean is that here evangelicalism is a lot less fundamentalist and right wing than it is in the US.]

That I focused on power probably goes back to a transforming sentence that I read in Jim Wallis’ “A Call to Conversion” many years ago – ‘The poor are not our problem. We are their problem.’ I also read something similar in Susan George’s “How the Other Half Dies: the Real Reasons for World Hunger” at about the same time. So, for the last 25 years or so I have been convinced that wealth and the power that goes with it and not poverty is the real problem. Some go without even the basic necessities because others have the power to demand far too much for themselves. I know that many will dismiss this simple equation as naïve and simplistic but I’m convinced that it is basically sound. So, how we use our power and wealth as rich Christians is a very important topic – it may not be the ground of our salvation but it certainly has a lot to do with the proof of it.

JAR: Issues of justice and poverty are increasingly gaining center-stage among Christians.  While this is an exciting shift, what concerns might you have about this current shift?  How does this book serve those who are pursuing this arena?

DH: I don’t think that the situation has changed that much in the UK in the last 20 years but I get the impression that things are changing in North America – and this is a cause of joy to me. I was struck by how far behind us North Americans were in the Lausanne Forum in Pattaya, Thailand in 2004. I was involved with the Holistic Mission issue group there. When the issue of HIV/AIDS was raised I realized that US evangelicals in particular were miles behind UK evangelicals in addressing this terrible pandemic. I think that any concerns I may have are a bit different for the UK and the US. In the UK I worry that the renewed interest in social action will be built on dualistic theological foundations – that what I’m witnessing is a swing of the pendulum from the ‘spiritual’ pole of the dualism to the ‘physical’. A lot of work is being done by Tearfund and others to make sure that this does not happen – especially with younger people – so I’m not that worried. The deep pragmatic element in the US character worries me. It’s a culture with a deep confidence that human ingenuity can fix anything – and this approach has even infiltrated deeply into the practice of evangelism and mission. The answer to my worries is a thoroughly theological/God-centred approach to the issue of wealth/poverty and I see my book as a little contribution to trying to make sure that this happens.

JAR: Were there any aspects of the topic that you hoped to address in the book, but were not able to?

DH: Lots! The book is actually an expanded introduction to the practice of overcoming poverty and I’m not surprised that one reviewer has blamed me for being too theoretical. I had intended to go on to examine 3 ways of overcoming poverty in the context of the theological foundations laid in Power and Poverty – emergency relief, community transformation with the church at its hear and advocacy. If Power and Poverty doesn’t do too badly I may get the opportunity to finish what I initially set out to do!

JAR: It is branded as an IVP Academic (here in North America), but it’s endorsement by people like Shane Claiborne & Christopher Heuertz will likely draw the non-academic crowd.  Who did you most hope would read this book?

DH: I was surprised and pleased to see the endorsement by Shane Claiborne. I have met Chris Heuertz a few times and have tremendous respect for him personally and the vision and work of Word Made Flesh. I was humbled to discover that my earlier book, “God of the Poor”, had been a blessing to the Word Made Flesh folk. The book was aimed at the slightly more academic end of the market but with a desire to influence influencers. I’m hoping that it may bring some folk back to the Bible as the wellspring of their social vision and that other folk will discover a social vision in the Bible – and pass on the vision.

JAR: The book is co-branded with Tearfund, for whom you are a theological adviser.  Tell us a little about that role and why you believe in Tearfund.

DH: Tearfund is an evangelical Christian relief and development organisation that was established in the UK in 1968. I left academia to work for Tearfund almost 23 years ago – firstly as the organisation’s representative in my home nation of Wales. For the last 9 years I’ve been a resident theological resource to the organisation. I contribute to its life in 4 main areas – with others I’m responsible for the spiritual framework policy, I do theological editorial work on publications, I network and I do some research and writing. I left a very fulfilling job as a college teacher to join Tearfund because I felt a strong divine calling to do so and because I had become convinced that Tearfund has been raised up by God to lead evangelical Christians and churches to a greater obedience to aspects of God’s revealed will that are often neglected. Of course the bottom line is blessing the poor by contributing just a little to the task of freeing the rich – which included myself – from the tyranny of mammon.

JAR: Which writers have significantly influenced you, especially concerning the topic of this book?

DH: Since I’m getting on a bit this could be a very long answer so I’ll mention a few highlights:

Francis Schaeffer rescued me when I was floundering as an undergraduate in philosophical doubt and existentialist angst and in the process introduced me to a holistic way of understanding the truth of God – and his “Pollution and the Death of Man” made me a bit of an eco nut. Rookmaker, Schaeffer’s friend and collaborator, led me to Abraham Kuyper and the Dutch Reformed school of Hermann Dooyweerd. Having become convinced that Jesus was Lord of all – including government and the economy – meant that it was inevitable that the poor would come into the equation.

Jim Wallis, A Call to Conversion – as I stated above one statement from this book has shaped much of my thinking – ‘The poor are not our problem. We are their problem.’

J. Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus.

Christopher J. H. Wright, Living as the People of God, – first published by IVP [UK] in 1983 this book – which was published with a different title in the US – laid the foundations for the ethical understanding of the OT that you find in Power and Poverty. Since then I have also been influenced by Chris Wright’s much expanded and updated version of his earlier works on OT ethics, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God [IVP, 2004] and his The Mission of God [IVP, 2006].

Glen H. Stassen & David P. Gushee, Kingdom Ethics [IVP, 2003] invigorated my love for the Sermon on the Mount.

Oliver O’Donovan, The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology, [Cambridge University Press, 1996] – I’m never sure that I’ve understood O’Donovan properly because his writing is so dense but chapter 5 of this volume in particular lit something up in me that is the foundation of the section on the church in Power and Poverty.

JAR: Thanks Dewi!

The process of lightening my life continue.  And so I have added the following titles to my sale page.  These are some great titles (”Dying For A Home” sells used for nearly $30 min online).  Click Here to see the full listing.  Enjoy!

Resident Aliens
by Stanley Hauerwas & William H Willimon (PB – some wear)
Recommended Price: $4

Eat, Pray Love: One Woman’s Search For Everything Across Italy, India & Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert (PB – mint)
Recommended Price: $3

Sailing The Wine-Dark Sea: Why The Greeks Matter
by Thomas Cahill (HC – mint)
Recommended Price: $4

Evangelicals & Catholics Together: Toward A Common Mission
by Charles Colson & Richard John Neuhaus (PB – some wear)
Recommended Price: $4

Catholics & Evangelicals: Do They Share A Common Future?
ed. by Thomas P. Rausch (PB – mint)
Recommended Price: $3

The Gospel According To Oprah
by Marcia Z. Nelson (PB – mint)
Recommended Price: $3

With Little Flowers Community moving forward, I have had to make some major decisions about life and ministry.  Perhaps the biggest has been stepping away from a few of my roles in YWAM regional leadership (though still fully engaged in YWAM here in Winnipeg).  The role of pastoring has been so rewarding, but incredibly demanding.  I want to be able to give more of my time and attention to my community.

There is a lot of talk about pastors being bi-vocational.  In a sense, Kim & I are bi-vocational in our role as pastors, except our role in YWAM is our other “job”.  Granted, there is a massive overlap in these roles, but it has almost doubled the demands on our time and attention.  This has raised some challenges.

We decided from the start that we were not going to receive any wages for our role as pastors.  Many of our people represent those dealing with genuine financial issues, some caught in poverty.  What little resources we have do not need to be spent on us.  Yes, we struggle financially as well, but our privilege does mean that we will ultimately not go without.

However, we do need to strengthen our support system.  The additional demands of this new ministry and in preparation to bring home our first child, we know that our current level of support is not adequate.  For those interested, here is a brief newsletter we prepared for the denomination:

Little Flowers Pastors Letter

]]> http://www.missional.ca/2009/03/facing-the-realities-of-pastoring/feed/ 7 http://www.missional.ca/2009/02/pks-seven-magazine-takes-on-the-almighty-buck/ http://www.missional.ca/2009/02/pks-seven-magazine-takes-on-the-almighty-buck/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:15:01 +0000 Jamie http://www.missional.ca/?p=296

Promise Keepers Canada launched the magazine ‘SEVEN’ last year in an attempt to produce more context specific material.  Managing Editor (and my friend) Doug Koop said, “The new magazine’s primary audience is Canadian men. It will focus on issues in the Canadian context, but will not ignore the rest of the world.”

Now, I will be honest.  I’ve not always been keen on Promise Keepers, concerned at some of the experiences I had at a few of their events, both in Canada and the US.  However, I’ve been following this publication with great interest, as it promised not to back down from the tough issues.  I was pleasantly surprised, then, at the Jan./Feb. 2009 edition on the theme: Money: How Much Is Enough?

It was, in fact, the cover image of Shane Claiborne that grabbed my attention, appreciating Seven’s commitment to listen to some important voices not typical of Promise Keepers norm.  On the next page from the Claiborne article was an article about Victor Thomas, a young and successful Canadian business man who shares how his faith impacts his work in high finance.  The contrast is excellent, giving two very unique perspectives from men who both seek to follow Christ is very different ways in very different contexts.

The issue may also set your teeth on edge, flying in the face of it’s own theme with the “Great games. Great toys. Great gadgets.” section, featuring all sorts of frivolous spending options, from a snowball gun to Baconnaise.  As though the contrast could not be more pronounced, in the bottom right corner of the section is an ad for Intercede International featuring a barbed wire protected sign saying “Intercede for the Poor”.

However, before you are too quick to judge the presence of these (and other) ads, I actually think it is important that they are there.  While we can debate different publishing and funding strategies, few (if any) magazines can avoid the tensions faced in this problem.  It would be easy to judge (or unsubscribe) from the magazine, citing that their use of these ads undermined the message of the magazine.  It would be much harder, but far more valuable, for us to recognize that we all live (and compromise) to this tension daily.

I say this not to excuse their (or our) compromises, but rather to underline the very real tensions we face when seek to deal with money in ethical and moral ways.  Choosing to shop ethically, for example, most often means choosing the lesser of evils.  Otherwise, beyond joining the Amish, we all must learn to do the best we can with the choices we face.

This issue of ‘SEVEN’ excellently (if very briefly) highlights the many sides and perspectives of the challenge of navigating our relationship with money as Christians.  Like ourselves, it does not do so perfectly or free of discomfort.  However, it deserves two big thumbs up.  If this issue reflects the quality of future issues, I think we have a lot to look forward to.