Where the Streets Have No Name

See previous posts.

So after having a rock star (which I respect very much) challenge my faith and how I live it out in light of the AIDS crisis, I asked God to give me an opportunity to be a part of what He was doing in helping to minister to this terrible situation. A few phone calls to my church, and the next thing I knew I was going to monthly meetings with several moms and grandmoms, (I was the sole male, one thing I did learn also was that God loves to bring people together to do his will), who all had a deep passioin to show God's love to children suffering form AIDS. As a side note, all of these women quickly became my heroes as they strove to challenge their community and friends to make a difference. Together we strove to "kick the darkness till it bleeds daylight."

A few months later I found myself recruiting doctors and anyone who was interested to go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to visit, serve, and love people dieing from AIDS. God answers prayers, be careful what you pray for, I got my first trip to Africa. I got a trip to one of the worst places on the earth, but also one filled with the most beautiful people and grace and hope and love.

As my rock star "friend" has sung about Addis, being a place where the streets have no names, I can say that this is true. Most of the city (90% slums) has no recognizeable streets and certainly no street names.

Addis is a seething city of impoverished humanity. The sights and smells are overwhelming. Teems of young children in tattered rags begging for money crush you with a sense of helplessness, and worse yet, hopelessness.

We visited people dieing of AIDS, families suffering with this plague. Our doctors took care of them, we listened to their stories and we prayed with them. Through these visits I learned much. I learned the power of presence. That being with someone, showing love through your presence, your presence to a modern day leper, shunned by friends and family, is transformative. God's love compels us to simply visit, listen, and pray and for those who are outcasts, this presence is an incarnation of Christ's powerful love. People in Ethiopia turn to Christ simply because the people of Christ are the ones who visit them, care for them, and love them. This is the power of Christ's presence to the hurting of the world.

I also learned about suffering. On my second trip to Addis we visited a woman who was suffering horribly from TB, she was in a great deal of pain. We prayed for her and tried to comfort her, but in her suffering eyes, I saw Christ, in that I knew the true suffering Jesus had done for me. I say this not to trivialize this woman's pain, but to hold high the scripture of Matthew 25:41-46, where Jesus says he was sick but people did not care for him, and that whatever you do for the least of these, then you do also for Christ.

In any case, I believe that I learned much about my God from the people of Ethiopia suffering from AIDS, and what is more, the project we have worked with (check the link to the right: Ethiopia HIV Project) has seen that people who are loved, cared for, and given spiritual hope see their health improve to the point where many of them begin to minister to others. Grace given is a powerful thing that has the power to transform, physically and spiritually.

So I found in Ethiopia, dirt and despair, but I also found hope, grace, and the power of Christ. The power of love to turn people to God and change lives despite horrible tragedy. Flowers in the mud.

A line about Addis from "Where the Streets Have No Name" goes:
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Recently in concert, Bono has changed the lyric to reflect our eternal hope of heaven and redemption:
I'll show you a place
With no sorrow or shame
Where the streets have no name

The hopeless streets of Addis will one day transform into the hopefilled streets of heaven (we won't need street names there).

I have seen this change first hand.

Revolution of Compassion, II

See Previous Post

Ok, so I know what some of you are thinking: well what does this have to do with sharing the gospel, that should be our main focus? This used to be my perspective on the issue.

Stick with me here. First off, we should be committed to evangelism and sharing the salvific message of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for our sins. Second, we want to be biblical and essentially Christian, that is we want to obey the call of God's word in our life and live that out as a tangible and real Christian experience. So here are a few things for your consideration.

1. From the very start Genesis says that humans are made in the image of God. That is to say, humans are God's image bearers and they are inherently worthwhile, valuable, and important. The have an ontological dignity and an eternal purpose in glorifying and relating to God. Each human, no matter where they live or no matter what their status is valueable. They are so valueable to God that he sent his son to die on a cross for their redemption. Every human, even the AIDS plagued prostitute and the incorrigible sinner bears the image of God. Thus, we should be deeply concerned about all people (as God is) and especially evils in this world that remove the value and dignity of human personhood.

2. The chasm between evangelism and humanitarian work (as it were) did not always exist, and in essence, biblically it does not exist. In the past, committed evangelical Christians have paved the way for acting on issues of justice and mercy. William Wilberforce, toiled tirelessly to end the evils of slavery in England. William Henry Shepherd was a Presbyterian missionary in the Congo, who at the turn of the century defied the King of Belgium (at great peril) by speaking out against the slavery, injustice, and genocide that was perpetrated upon the people of the Belgium Congo (knowingly by the Belgian government). However, in the 1920's liberalism crept into the churches with the advent of the Social Gospel, which in short stated that man could bring about heaven on earth through advancement and good works. The Social Gospel was devoid of the life saving and transformational message of faith in Christ. In a reactionary move to save the gospel, evangelicals moved to a ministry mindset of evangelism only. Humanitarian and mercy work was abandoned to draw a strong distinction between them and the liberals. All that was needed was to save people's souls. The area of serving people's needs and hurts was abandoned almost completely.

Today things are changing. Rick Warren calls it a second reformation. A reformation of the heart, a reformation of the way we live out the Christian life. Moreover, this is a reclamation of biblical ministry. More and more, Christians are seening the need to do holistic ministry. People are reading the bible from perspectives of the new Christian movements in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and we are begining to set aside our white, middle class readings of the Scriptures. How can you do ministry in Africa if the Bible does not have something to say about AIDS, disease, and poverty, and if the gospel and Christians cannot offer something to change these ills. Moreover, Christians like Billy Graham, Bono, and organizations like World Vision and International Justice Mission are calling Christians to a deeper biblical understanding of mission.

3. Holistic ministry. Read through the gospels. He spends alot of time with or talking about the poor, the week, and the oppressed. Jesus who is announcing the advent of the Kingdom of God calls for the proclamation of the good news, but at the same time he heals people, he comforts the afflicted, he stands up and actually identifies with the oppressed, the poor, and the incarcerated. Jesus does both proclaim the gospel and serves the "poor in spirit" of the world. These two aspects of ministry go hand and hand (I will eventually write a more in depth explication of the gospel's focus on helping the poor and oppressed) and are motivated out of a deep love and compassion for the lost and hurting of the world. The gospel and God's Kingdom are both physical and spiritual. If we don't buy the western dichotomization of spiritual from physical and realize that to be truly human is to be both, then we see that the gospel has direct implications for our entire being, in this life and the heaven to come. Compassionate evangelism and compassionate mercy and service are two side to the same coin. They should not be divorced, especially if this is the way Jesus did ministry.

4. Relevance and context. How can the gospel of God's love, grace, power, and kingdom be relevant in contexts where immense suffering is taking place? Where there is hunger, sickness, and oppression, how can Christians (motivated by the love of Christ) not offer succor and relief? In a globalized world, how can we Christians in the west (attempting to live out the Christian life) not be deeply concerned for the relevant issues of our world; hunger, poverty, AIDS, child slavery, etc? If we are to be salt and light, how can we ignore the greatest darknesses of all time?

Is the gospel truly powerful and life transforming? Or is it merely a quick in to heaven, a nice pot luck dinner on Sunday nights, and prayer requests for a more congenial boss? Can it tackle the major sins and oppressions of this world, or is it self help- feel good mantra?

If the church is to be trully relevant in our global context, we must be motivated by Christ like compassion to act out against these horrible things. We know that they do not please God. We know that Christ calls us to action. A church that does not act missionally and convincingly against these evils, in grace and love, fails to be a church thatis enacting its mission, both to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Love of God and love of neighbor are at the heart of both. Moreover, when we demonstrate God's compassionate love to "the least of these" both the least and the great, must take stock of what we are doing and ask why. In causing them to ask "why," we force them to see Jesus, and in so doing preach the word in deed. A professor of mine liked to say, "Love never has to be defended, only explained."

5. Love and Grace. Christ's amazing forgiveness for us, as we were still deplorable and condemnable sinners demonstrates to us his powerful love and grace. If we receive such riches and blessings completely undeserved and free of charge, completely despite our selves, then should we not also pass this grace along. In fact, Christ commands it. He calls us to forgive other completely and he calls us to give of ourselves without hesitation. Therefore, our grace should not just flow to our friends and family, but to all our neighbors, and especially those who might be "samaritan" to us; the AIDS sufferer, the prostitute, the orphan, the inamate, and the impoverished.

In summary, evangelism and humanitarian aid endeavors are not diametrically opposed ways of serving God. They are both in fact part of being a whole and biblical Christian. They are when combined a complete way of serving and doing ministry, as Jesus did. As Christians we should be involved in both areas and be striving to bring the two together as much as possible. We preach the gospel and help the poor and oppressed. In God's upside down kingdom, where the last shall be first, we as Christians should be identifying ourselves with the weak, the poor, and the last of all.

Hopefully, as the church turns towards doing both equally with all of its might and resources, people will see our good works and glorify the Lord.

More to come on the issue in the future, and how it took me to Ethiopia.