I love the West Wing. It's taken me a while to find it, but it might be my favourite TV show ever. (I just looked at my facebook profile and realised there's nothing else that's not a comedy!) This afternoon, I watched President Bartlett tell his daughter, 'the only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was come home at the end of the day', and my eyes shed water.

ewiu

I think I've worked out what's so great about the show. It's about good old fashioned heroism. Being there for your friends, fighting for what's true and just, whatever crap gets thrown at you. But it grounds those stories in a modern western reality we understand, so we get it. It means more to me to see a big shot lawyer walk out of his board meeting to join a political campaign than to see some ancient fishermen drop nets and go on tour with a rabbi - though it's the same story.

wrb

I tell you what. I hope it's my story. I hope my story is all about a guy who left his ego and security for dead to go on an impossible adventure that matters. I hope it's as good as the West Wing.

Leadership

I noticed a couple of years ago that all the different house groups in our church had very distinct cultures. One group played endless pranks on each other, ‘I love you lottery’ and facebook rape; one group pulled in masses of well mannered young ladies; another seemed overrun with extrovert guys. My group were thoughtful, fun, and a bit shy. Then I got it – each of these groups were just like the people leading them.

I think this is a phenomenon common to all leadership situations. Through whatever mysterious combination of means, every team/group/community/organisation ends up looking a bit like its leader.

I’ve only just realised the scary import of this idea. If every team ends up looking like its leader, King’s Care is going to end up looking like me!

A specific: I was pacing my room one morning, asking God to make instant supernatural healing happen at our Sunday drop in, and he put a pretty clear idea in my head by way of reply. I wrote this in my journal: “If the project is going to break through into doing this, you’re going to have to do it first.”Convicted.

Of course, this is exactly the picture the word ‘leadership’ conjures up: someone moving forward, someone following behind them. We instinctively despise people in positions of leadership who aren’t ‘leading by example’. Think of Melchett in Blackadder Goes Forth: “remember, brave Tommy, I’m right behind you.” “About 35 miles behind you,” says Mr B.

If I have any dreams I want to see become reality, any vision for how King’s Care could be different, I need to realise it myself in my own life before it will appear anywhere else.

I’ve been reading a book on revival. Obviously I wanted to know what we need to do to get another revival on our watch. And I was surprised to read that recent and Bible history show NOT that we need to get worried about the evil in the world around us; but that we need to get tough with the evil in the church, the evil in ourselves.

A national paper once published a series of essays on theme What is wrong with the world? A man called GK Chesterton (read his stuff) sent in his in the form of a letter:

“Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, GK Chesterton.”

Ghandi apparently said, ‘be the change you wish to see in the world.’ This stuff about leadership gives us hope that we might see the rest of the world change, too.

Conscious of the need to develop myself in order to develop King’s Care, I recently picked up a copy of the classic business book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Guess what? This whole inside-out leadership thing turned up again! The guy says you can’t do anything to make your staff more committed or your kids achieve better. They will see through any leadership techniques to the essential truth that you don’t really love them, just want them to perform better for you.

What you actually have to do is change yourself to love and accept them as they are, and they will feel encouraged to contribute all they uniquely have to offer. The point is, you change the world by changing yourself.

I’m not telling you to lead by example. You already do. I guess I just want to let you off the lead to explore. How can that example be a better one?

Revival

For the first time, I’ve been getting excited about the idea of revival.

I was having a classic in depth with my great friends Chris and Lorna, and we were coming to terms with the reality that despite all our intentions, efforts and talents to change the world for the better, ultimately the best we seemed to have achieved was just to stop it getting any worse... for the brief time we were involved. Lorna spent a couple of years caring for mentally ill teenagers locked up for committing horrific crimes. It nearly killed her.

As usual, this is exactly what Jesus says we should expect. He said that people who follow him will act as ‘the salt of the earth’, preserving it like meat from going off. He didn’t say we could make it fresh again. This is also echoed by the scientific law of ‘entropy’; everything is gradually inevitably always breaking down, unless dramatic efforts are made to stop it. You can see this in relationships, in society, in your own body... Which led me to the question, on Chris and Lorna’s sofa, Mumford and Sons admitting they’d really fucked it up this time, as to why there was any good left in the world at all?

Jesus once said, ‘what is impossible for men, is possible with God.’ And I remembered my history. In the 18^th century Britain was on the verge of revolution. The Americans had done it in 1776, the French in 1789. It looked like we were next. But I read some historians say that we were kept from anarchy and bloodshed by a completely different sort of revolution: the evangelical revival. Famous for people like John Wesley (is a weatherman) and George Whitfield, the revival was a period of few years when millions of ordinary people in Britain stopped drinking their families’ money, stopped living hypocritical religious lives, followed Jesus, and as a result, completely changed the face of the country.

People who became Jesus-followers in that revival abolished the slave trade; pioneered massive social and democratic reforms in the UK, putting ahead of the rest of the world for a century; and built massive successful businesses like Cadbury and Guinness that nurtured their employees and made the British economy the most powerful in the world.

Do you think we need a revival like that again? Human trafficking and trade injustice today is at least as shocking as the slave trade then. 20% of the British population are cut off from the prosperity of the rest by a cocktail of addictions, depression, debt, family breakdown, and generational worklessness. And our economy is royally screwed.

I’m a realist. I don’t believe any government can sort out this mess. In fact, I don’t believe any people could at all. We need God to lay the smack down on our cynicism, selfishness, dishonesty and fear. To give us supernatural wisdom, skill and stamina (this is turning into Robot Wars). To so saturate our country with himself that the meat becomes fresh again, and everyone gets a chance to experience the joy of knowing Jesus.

Episode III: I guess that survey wasn’t so quick, after all...

You’ll need to read the last one to follow this.

2nd bit: EQUALITY

Whether by making dismissive jokes about ‘chavs’, or wanting to help ‘poor africans’, we are so often guilty of assuming the poor are in some way lesser people than us. This may be because for some reason we equate worth with performance, or even more shockingly, simply with wealth. I remember looking down on other kids because their sports trousers had 2 stripes, not 3; and when our family was bankrupt, discovering tesco blue stripy crisps in my lunch and hiding them in my pocket while eating them so no one would know.

The Bible slams this poisonous belief into touch. Rich and poor, all of us are humans created by God (Proverbs 22.2, 29.13). The poor are ‘your brothers’ (Deuteronomy 15.7-12, Matthew 25.40). We have much to learn from the poor, because Jesus says that in some way they own ‘the kingdom of God’ (Matthew 5.3, Luke 6.20), and are rich in faith (James 2.5).

In fact, compared with God, we are all ‘poor’ (2 Corinthians 8.9, Revelation 3.17). Neither Satan nor God values rich or poor any differently (Revelation 13.16). God sees us all as we are, and values us by the state of our heart (e.g. 1 Samuel 16.7, Proverbs 21.2, Mark 12.41-44...) – not by our good choices or the make of our trainers.

If it’s true that the poor are of equal worth to all other people, we have to make some other interesting deductions. For example, both rich and poor are responsible for their wrong actions and attitudes (e.g. Exodus 30). Both worship idols and go against God (Isaiah 40.20). The poor may actually cause or worsen their own suffering through laziness (Proverbs 10.4, 20.13, 23.21). The Bible does not sentimentalise the poor like famine relief appeals.

The poor often have less chance to hear and know God’s way of doing things; but the rich have the chance and still are evil (Jeremiah 5.1-5). Evil actions and attitudes are not caused by poverty (as has been claimed by many, including Nelson Mandela). They are caused by our very humanity – all of us are powerless against their control (what the Bible calls ‘sin’), until Jesus sets us free (Ephesians 2.1-10 etc.)

Just as the poor are equally culpable for doing evil, they are equally capable of doing good - but their abilities are less recognised (Ecclesiastes 4.13, 9.15-16). God expects big things of them; obedience and sacrifice, including financial giving (Mark 12.41-44, Luke 21.1-4, 2 Corinthians 8-9). He expects them to work for their subsistence, not live off handouts – fair work for fair pay (Exodus 23, Leviticus 19.9-13, 23.22, Deuteronomy 24.14-15, 25.4, Jeremiah 22.13-30). No dependant relationships, no begging.

But we know that people tend to rise to big expectations. I remember my drama teacher telling me off for sulking when my ideas were rejected by my group. He said, ‘I’m paying you a compliment. You’re too good to waste your input sulking.’ He also once told me, ‘If you don’t take a good speaking part in the next play, I’ll rip your head off.’ He was a big 60-something Marxist from Dudley. And he made me believe I was good at theatre.

God’s plan is to achieve reconciliation across social divides (Isaiah 11.1-9). Therefore, the poor are to be included in our communal life, particularly in celebrations (Esther 9.22, Luke 14.12-24). In church, they are to be treated no better or worse than the rich (James 2.1-9). Have a look round the room the next time you’re hanging out with friends. Are the poor there? Did they get an invite? Why not? They may be a perfectly natural reason. There may not. ‘They’d be awkward’ is not a good reason. To clarify: being poor doesn’t entitle you to special treatment (I don’t think the Bible sponsors reverse discrimination). It entitles you to equal treatment.

If all people are really equal, even the poor, then we:

We must keep people accountable for their behaviour.

We must tell the poor the same good news we would anyone else: we need to turn away from our slavery to sin, and ask Jesus to help us, so we can know him.

We should ask big things of the poor to stretch them and unlock their potential.

We should not try and ‘help out’ the poor, but seek their friendship and work together with them.

Thoughts?

Episode II: A quick survey

For kicks, I did a (relatively) quick look through all the occasions when the word 'poor' was used. I can't imagine how much more I might uncover on the subject if I were to look at the rest of the Bible's content on the subject (or how long it might take). A guy called Jim Wallis famously took his Bible and cut out every reference to the poor and our response to them, and was left with more holes than paper!

Here's three ideas I noticed constantly coming up. Each has some pretty heavy implications for our response.

1. God carries out justice on behalf of the poor
   
2. The poor are fundamentally equal to all other people
   
3. God expects his people to be compassionate to the poor
   

Warning: the following contains a serious amount of Bible text references. I don't like them either, but some of the things I noticed are quite startling and you'll probably want to check out what I've said.

1st bit: JUSTICE

The Bible clearly views oppressing the poor as 'evil' (e.g. Isaiah 32.7). And it recognises that oppression comes in many shapes and sizes:

• economic injustice (Isaiah 3.13-15),
  
  corruption/prejudice in the judiciary & government (Isaiah 10.2, Amos 5.12-15),
  
• dodgy business practices & power building (Amos 8.4-6),
  
• stealing from charity (John 12.6),
  
• business efficiency causing them harm (Exodus 23, Leviticus 19, 23),
  
• giving false testimony (Exodus 23.2),
  
• abuse of labour (Jeremiah 22.13-30),
  
• devising evil against individuals (Isaiah 32.7),
  
• favouring the rich(James 2.1-13)...
  

Oppression can happen through all areas of our lives, whether we're aware of it or not. This is only more true in our globalised world today. I've heard a lot of people express what seems a quite reasonable idea – that they're not hurting anyone, so why does it matter what else they do? I was thinking about that in one of those semi-conscious moments as you're waking up, and I realised – I'm doing loads of things which cause other people hurt, simply by living in this country and engaging in it's economy. And I remembered from somewhere, 'For evil to prosper, all it takes is for good men to do nothing.' And Maxi Jazz crooning, 'Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction'. We can't actually live without effecting, without hurting other people. So even if you look at it from a karmic point of view, we ought to be going out of our way to assist the poor simply to balance the harm we're doing all the time.
fdgege

Here's a sobering point that is actually quite encouraging when you think about it: the Bible clearly shows that God will enact vengeance on those who oppress the poor. For example, he may give hardships in life (Ezekiel 22) or ignore prayers (Zechariah 7.13). And as we just observed, we're guilty. In fact, the Bible shows that God will even enact vengeance against believers! (E.g. James 2.1-13; Jeremiah 2.34-35, 5.28-29; and many more.) This raises the question, 'In the western church, are our prayers for revival unanswered because we are oppressing, however indirectly, the poor of the majority world?' (Especially as 'revival' type fruitfulness has been common in Africa, East Asia and South America for the last hundred years – during which time the US and European powers have been particularly oppressive.)

And here's another discovery that surprised me: God enacts this judgement (against those who oppress the poor) in history as well as at the end of time (1 Samuel 2.1-10, Psalm 109, Isaiah 25.4, Jeremiah 39, masses of Proverbs...) If you look at Isaiah 26.6, you'll actually see that the poor will participate in enacting God's vengeance on their oppressors! One can't help thinking about international terrorism, as well as rioting, revolution and coups d'état in specific nations. This is heavy.

On a more positive note, God's justice involves practically helping those being oppressed. He defends & shelters them (Isaiah 25.4), provides for them (Jeremiah 39.10), answers their prayers (Isaiah 41.17), and gives them faith (James 2.5)... I've seen God answer so many prayers for people at our drop in, and provide food, accommodation, and money for me when I've been stuck with nothing.

What does this tell us about our role? Here's a few things that seem clear to me:

• We can expectantly pray for God to both punish oppressors and help the poor right here and now.
  
• We must pay close attention to every aspect of our lives to ensure we aren't oppressing people.
  
• It's not our job to punish oppressors ourselves.
  
  What do you think?
  

To summarise; have a listen to this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toVB_WevG_A

The question of the poor

I watched a child die. A little boy, maybe two years old, curled up on the edge of a hospital bed. His parents watched too. The clock ticked. There was nothing they could do. There was nothing to say. They would never get to know their son: never know his favourite food, hear him tell jokes, see him fall in love. He just dropped into a coma and died.

When a father has his infant son taken from him he feels the same about it; it doesn't make any difference if he has lost children before, or if his country has a higher rate of child mortality. As if he should have expected it, so shouldn't complain.

The father holding his dead child
in the smoking Beirut rubble

loves his child with a love

every bit as big as my love,

even though he has no money,

even though he has not read Shakespeare,

even though he was not born in the West. (Steve Turner, Fathers)

I've been thinking about the issue of poverty for years. My dad runs a Christian NGO, my uncle and aunt worked in Tanzania; I've been surrounded by it. I've observed it, talked about it, written songs and plays about it. I've actually got involved in doing stuff too: working with homeless people in London, rough kids in Southampton, young adults in Cape Town and Kampala. These days I lead a Sunday drop-in, participatory drama group, and other services for people struggling with homelessness, worklessness, mental ill health, addictions, and criminal records, as part of a church in Norwich. And nowhere have I found a more realistic and helpful response to the issues of poverty than in the Christian Bible.

The Bible describes people like the man above more bluntly than we might. My modern English translation calls them 'the poor'. There are many different words in the original Hebrew and Greek, which fit into three or four main ideas. The first very much expresses the experience of the father mentioned above: the word 'dangling' is often used, communicating the idea of extreme vulnerability; people living by the skin of their teeth. Similarly, 'the poor' are those who are destitute – they have been left with literally nothing. Think of refugees, trafficked women, rough sleepers. Thirdly, people who 'crouch', or are 'browbeaten'. Those who are perceived and/or perceive themselves as 'beneath' other people, and publically kept that way. Perhaps people of a lower class or caste, the unemployed or underemployed, even people with lower academic ability. Another expression for this might be 'the oppressed'. This is the word translated 'the poor' in the New Testament. Virtually every time Jesus, Paul, or anyone else refers to 'the poor', this is what they are describing.

Finally, there is a variation on that last term, conveying in some ways an opposite sense; voluntary humility. This is the word used in Isaiah 61.1, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has appointed me to preach good news to the poor." These are Jesus' "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5.3); and the term is specifically used of those who will let God save them. If you've worked with the poor you will know that this is definitely not everyone! Although it does extend to anyone prepared to accept Jesus as Lord, the term still carries with it the emphasis of poverty, and so helps us to understand that from God's perspective, we are all poor (2 Corinthians 8.9). Equally, the term also emphasises the Bible's teaching that the materially poor are often also more 'poor in spirit' than the rich (Luke 18.25).

I know all this noodling around with language doesn't seem particularly productive, but answering the question of the poor is not another game of Bible Trivial Pursuit. People around us are swallowing more than their share of simple human tragedy. Their pain is real and there seems little hope that it will not keep happening. When I look at stats like 'half the world's population live on less than $2 a day', I think "I guess that's not very much. Maybe that's not very fair. But then, money isn't everything. Don't people who visit Africa always say how much happier people are there?"

I don't see what those figures look like in people's lives: every day a boy getting up, going to school, coming home, doing housework, playing with friends... and then having his only meal of the day, a small bowl of plain porridge. Or the father losing as many children as he keeps, the pain of every loss enduring through all the typical hardship of life long after I have forgotten him, never knowing when disease may take another away. That is what poverty means, in practice, in reality, in experience. Someone called it 'stupid poverty'. There is no reason why it should be allowed.

The Bible clearly shows that God doesn't want poverty. His intention is that "there shall be no poor among you."(Deuteronomy 15.4) A guy called Mike Pilavachi pointed out, "the only topic that has more teachings devoted to it in the whole Bible is idolatry."* Jesus expects every one of his followers to respond to the question of the poor – he says, "when you give to the needy" (Matthew 6.2). According to the gospels he spent the majority of his time ministering to them, and he promises that "whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do."(John 14.12) So the question of the poor seems to be directed to us: what are we going to do about it?

idfhd

I feel like too many preaches, books and songs on this subject only take us as far as saying 'something must be done'. If the Bible is 'profitable for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work' (2 Timothy 3.16-17), surely it must speak abundantly and potently into the practical contentions of working against the evil of poverty? I'm going to do a series of blogs over the next few weeks, not just to draw together the Biblical view of the poor, but begin to grapple with some Biblical responses to their need. I hope you'll join me.

*I wonder if, as idolatry is the opposite of the greatest commandment, 'Love God', accepting poverty is the opposite of the second, 'Love your neighbour' (Mark 12.28-34).