Life Meets Doctrine

i have been amazed lately how God repeatedly brings poverty to my attention. here are just a few ways he has done this:
* began praying for Omaha, NE, which led to discovering Open Door Mission
* Matt Chandler mentions international mercy ministry in a sermon
* Mark Driscoll mentions poverty and riches in a sermon
* Jase Wilson mentions extravagant giving in a time of financial crisis, referring to the story of the widow’s mite
* i read through A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, which is mainly for educators but has lots of insights on understanding people in the lower class in America.
* i read through Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider, which mainly deals with international poverty and hunger but has great sections of biblical understanding God’s heart for the poor
* i have a talk with Pastor Dominic from Kenya who deals with orphans, poverty, and hunger on a daily basis; it is the world he lives in
* i have a talk with the Reed family from Mozambique who also deals with orphans, poverty, and hunger on a daily basis; it is the world they live in
* i talk with Ben Wong a former pastor in Hong Kong who re-planted a church targeting the lower class in Hong Kong; we talk a lot about “simple church”; Ben has a great insight into unreach people groups and why they remain unreached. he says it might be because most of them are either (1) poor or (2) muslims or both. no one wants to be poor or persecuted so a lot of us end up not going to unreached people groups.
* in an intern meeting we watch a NOOMA dvd where Rob Bell talks about wealth and poverty; it is entitled “rich”
* i pick up a book that had been on the shelf for a long time and the next chapter to read is marked as “the discipline of social mercy”