Comments on: Biblical Message for the Day http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2007/11/08/biblical-message-for-the-day/ let's activate something Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:13:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: SteveK http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2007/11/08/biblical-message-for-the-day/#comment-5272 SteveK Fri, 16 Nov 2007 04:52:45 +0000 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2007/11/08/biblical-message-for-the-day/#comment-5272 In my minstry to the homeless, I don't find that there is a group I can point to to say "stop" at. (Okay, I did do this with my local police at one point, but that was minor compared to the overall crisis) I get a couple other insights from the Nehemiah passage. First of all, he listened to the poor in his community. Right now, there is not a forum for the homeless to speak to the issues that made them homeless, especially in the church. How can the Nehemiah's today do something about the poor when all they are handed are statistics, not people? Also, I see that Nehemiah saw the poor as a part of their community. The poor weren't people that needed to be "saved", nor were they people who weren't treated as citizens, or proper church members. They weren't seen as a problem, but people, equal with everyone else in the community. Again, I think that the solution to this is integraton. There is a clear segregation between the desperately poor and the middle class (read-- the ruling class) in our country and in our churches. We need to love by getting to know people, not just serving them meals or making policy statements. To know people, to listen to them, to be emphathetic with their hopes and tragedies-- that is what will change the realiy of the poor. Steve K In my minstry to the homeless, I don’t find that there is a group I can point to to say “stop” at. (Okay, I did do this with my local police at one point, but that was minor compared to the overall crisis)

I get a couple other insights from the Nehemiah passage. First of all, he listened to the poor in his community. Right now, there is not a forum for the homeless to speak to the issues that made them homeless, especially in the church. How can the Nehemiah’s today do something about the poor when all they are handed are statistics, not people?

Also, I see that Nehemiah saw the poor as a part of their community. The poor weren’t people that needed to be “saved”, nor were they people who weren’t treated as citizens, or proper church members. They weren’t seen as a problem, but people, equal with everyone else in the community.

Again, I think that the solution to this is integraton. There is a clear segregation between the desperately poor and the middle class (read– the ruling class) in our country and in our churches. We need to love by getting to know people, not just serving them meals or making policy statements. To know people, to listen to them, to be emphathetic with their hopes and tragedies– that is what will change the realiy of the poor.

Steve K

]]> By: Jon A http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2007/11/08/biblical-message-for-the-day/#comment-4923 Jon A Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:45:29 +0000 http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2007/11/08/biblical-message-for-the-day/#comment-4923 I wish I had read this post before I wrote my half-comprehensible ramblings in the comments under the Anti-Materialism post. You sum up much more eloquently what I was trying to say. Thanks for that. I wish I had read this post before I wrote my half-comprehensible ramblings in the comments under the Anti-Materialism post. You sum up much more eloquently what I was trying to say.

Thanks for that.

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