Tag: giving

Those impious Galileans

Rome

In the 4th Century, Roman Emperor Julian was bent on returning Rome back to it’s roots and away from the newly appointed Christian faith.

It had been less than 50 years since Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the State and Julian was set to return his country back to it’s roots.

In an effort to drive Christianity out of Rome’s “ruling class,” Julian restored pagan temples which had been confiscated since Constantine’s time, repealed the stipends that Constantine had awarded to Christian bishops, and removed their other privileges, including a right to be consulted on appointments and to act as private courts.

And in February 4, 362, Julian proclaimed a new law guaranteeing freedom of religion across Rome.

The new law proclaimed that all the religions were equal before the State and that the Roman Empire would return to its original ideals of all religions being equally accepted and where the Roman state did not impose any religion on its provinces.

Unfortunately for Julian and despite his best efforts, Christianity continued to flourish (strengthening the argument that the Church grows best when it’s not in the seat of power).

Julian wrote of the Christians:

These impious Galileans not only feed their own poor, but ours also; welcoming them into their agape, they attract them, as children are attracted, with cakes… Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. See their love-feasts and their tables spread for the indigent. Such practice is common among them and causes a contempt for our gods.

Seeing the affect the Christians had on the Roman citizens, Julian encouraged the pagan priests to start their own charities to care for Rome’s needy.

How generous must the Christians have been for it to lead the government to care more for it’s citizens?

Rob Bell says in Velvet Elvis that Christianity should be good news for everyone. Not just good news that you get to spend eternity in heaven, but good news for the single mom next door, the Athiest down the street, the Muslim at work, the under-resourced in your city – everyone.

The love and generosity that grows out of our faith should have amazing positive impacts on everyone around us.

And obviously in the past – it has.

What would it take for that kind of generosity to take place in our communities of faith?

How would it change your family to see you living out that kind of generosity?

What would your neighbors think? What would it do to your neighborhood? And your city?

“When we truly learn to love, socialism won’t be necessary and capitalism won’t be possible.” – Shane Claiborne

Taxes and giving

I need some help understanding something. Hopefully there are some folks out there that read this blog that can help me out.

I keep hearing folks who are mad and upset about the way Obama is spending their tax dollars. I heard similar things from the other side of the aisle when Bush was president. And I can understand that (from both sides).

But if you don’t like the way your tax dollars are being spent – why don’t you simply find a non-profit organization that you approve of and give your tax dollars to them instead?
Continue reading Taxes and giving

Happy “unofficial” anniversary to my Life

Three years ago today — I sent a txt message to a beautiful young woman.

The message read, “standby for a knock at your door.”

where I first met Laurie
where I first met Laurie

She didn’t get the message till 4 or 5 hours later and yet she hasn’t stopped getting my txt messages since.

Yup. 3 years ago today I met my wife for the very first time… (in person that is.)
Continue reading Happy “unofficial” anniversary to my Life

you first

the greatest joy in giving the greatest sacrifice…

we joined another part of the body of Christ this morning, so missed our usual gathering with encounter – but Brian brought it this morning for sure. watch the video (the message starts about 15 min in).

video on ustream

Helping those in need – for FREE

homeless

I think its safe to say that we’d all like to be able to help a friend in need. It’s probably even safe to say that many of us would be willing to help a stranger if it didn’t take too much out of our own wallet or time or energy.

I personally wish I was less selfish myself and more giving — even when it stretches my wallet or time.

But perhaps we can all re-think a corporation’s generosity (aka marketing) to help those who are hurting and in need.

This week @sgalloway re-tweeted an idea that while many were jumping on Oprah’s FREE KFC coupon offer for themselves — perhaps the better idea would be to print out the coupons and give some free food to the homeless or others in need. (unfortunately you can no longer print off the coupons – but if you’ve printed the coupons off – they’re still good for a week or so.)

I had ignored the e-mails I had seen up until that point, but after seeing the idea, I quickly jumped on it and printed out my 4 coupons to buy a meal for someone else.

Today I saw another freebie from Sonic :: FREE CroisSONICâ„¢ Breakfast Sandwich with purchase of a large drink.

I’m not sure what the normal price of this CroisSonic is but I’d bet you’re saving $3-$4 with the coupon.

So you buy a drink for yourself and get a FREE breakfast sandwich to give to someone in need. Or better yet, spend a buck or two and get a sandwich and a drink for someone else in need.

I bet there are promotions like this popping up all over the place. Perhaps we can re-think these promotions and rather than scoring a great deal for ourselves – we can better help someone else in need.

What promotions have you seen recently? Anyone else put this into practice?

Photo from strandloper

Paying for other’s needs

LOVE THIS!

Keith Taylor started ModestNeeds.org to help people with small, immediate needs and prevent a single overdue gas bill, for example, from leading to financial ruin. The foundation provides $100,000 dollars a month to help regular people stay afloat. Madeleine Brand talks to Taylor about how Modest Needs helps everyday people deal with financial a crisis.

Listen to the story from NPR

Modest Needs exists:

* To prevent otherwise financially self-sufficient individuals and families from entering the cycle of poverty, when this might be avoided with a small amount of well-timed financial assistance;
* To restore the financial self-sufficiency of individuals who are willing to work but are temporarily unable to do so because they do not have the means to remit payment for a work-related expense; and
* To empower permanently disadvantaged individuals who otherwise live within their limited means to continue to live independently, despite a temporary, unexpected financial set-back.

In keeping with its mission, Modest Needs offers the following three types of grants
* Self-Sufficiency Grants
Modest Needs makes Self-Sufficiency Grants by remitting payment to a creditor / for an expense on behalf of an otherwise self-sufficient individual or family for a relatively small, emergency expense which the individual or family could not have anticipated or prepared for. In making a Self-Sufficiency Grant, our goal is to prevent an otherwise self-sufficient individual or family from entering the cycle of poverty as a result of the financial burden posed by a relatively small emergency expense. For example, we might make a Self-Sufficiency Grant to cover the cost of an emergency auto repair that must be made if an individual is to continue working.
* Back-to-Work Grants
Modest Needs makes Back-to-Work grants by remitting payment for a small work-related fee or expense on behalf of a temporarily unemployed individual. In making a Back-to-Work grant, our goal is to provide a willing but temporarily unemployed individual with the means to return to work. For example, we might make a Back to Work grant to cover the cost of a professional license renewal for a temporarily displaced worker.
* Independent Living Grants
Modest Needs makes Independent Living Grants by remitting payment to a creditor / for an expense on behalf of persons who are permanently unable to work but who nevertheless are living independently on the limited income to which they are entitled – their retirement income, or their permanent disability income, for example. In making an Independent Living Grant, our goal is to empower financially responsible persons who cannot work to continue to live independently on their limited incomes, despite an unexpected expense which no conventional agency is prepared to address. For example, we might make an Independent Living Grant to cover the cost of maintenance on a piece of accessibility equipment not covered by Medicaid, to cover an unexpectedly large prescription medication co-pay, or to assist with a large summer cooling bill.