I agree with the comments above about teaching of Jesus, and not just of social change. True followers of Christ already help the poor as a bi-product of Christ’s character being made manifest within them. He changes our hearts and outfits us for eternity with Him. This is the process called sanctification.

ONE is very “humanistic”…..it’s the “we can do it on our own” attitude. This sort of attitude was present at the Tower of Babel as well. The true Christian knows that we can only do it through Christ’s grace and mercy and His love being made present in us to give to others. Indeed I think that making our pastors aware of the vast need in the world is good. But as a Christian, I know that anyone’s real need, along w/ food and water and shelter, is to know Christ as a Saviour.

Craig V is right. God will hold us accountable for the good we COULD HAVE done, but did not do.

I have a problem with calling this thing a Sabbath. The only “Sabbath” I know of was established by God in Genesis for the human race, and I believe it was present before then in Heaven and such. Of course there is more to it than that, but hopefully you get my drift. Calling this a “Sabbath” is dangerous ground. ONE would not want to claim what belongs to God for itself, even if by name only. I pray that ONE will reconsider the title of this effort.

“Living the faith” is something I believe in. Giving to the poor is something I believe in and do. Raising awareness is good. Getting government do help with these efforts? That’s a grey area. Getting them to perhaps donate the people’s money is one thing….but effecting policy? Making people be good and help others? Can you legislate morality? This is another interesting area that ONE has delved into. Is government itself a moral body? Indeed it is the duty of Christ’s body, the church. So perhaps ONE would like to play both sides of the fence, but I hope they don’t try to take the fence between church and state down…..we’ve seen what this has done in the past. And hopefully we know that the only church-state that can last is one set up by God Himself.

Anyway, sorry for my long and somewhat scattered reply. To summarize, do good as God would have you do! If you know that helping the poor is right and just, then do so! And to summarize my other ramblings: don’t see this as a unifying factor for all faiths because different faiths do good for different reasons……

I’m with you on one thing…thought and prayer needs to go into a sermon topic. Having a congregation look behond their own walls and face the horrors of poverty and injustice, and not simply say “oh those poor people” yet do nothing, is worth nothing (see the second half of James 2). “What does the Lord require of you but to “Live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 Love is more than warm and fuzzies about your neighbor and fellow human beings its actually about putting feet to it. This concept is scriptural.

I’m not sure how familiar you are with the ONE campaign but its purpose isn’t to get your money but rather to inform, start dialog, and get people to use their voice in order to draw further attention and action to issues like global poverty and AIDS. As for the federal funding, the many of nonprofits that you likely value receive grants from the government, the YMCA for example. They aren’t steeling, its outsourcing. I’d rather have a nonprofit do things like this than the government, wouldn’t you?

I’m sure the main thing that makes you uncomfortable is that this is multi-religion. BUT SO IS POVERTY… I would LOVE to see the American church lead the charge towards poverty alleviation, but often we’re figuratively too overfed, comfortable, sleepy and self focused to even look at poverty…or worse we somehow blame the starving person in Ethiopia for being lazy. So rather than sit back and criticize others for how their doing it, ask yourself what you and your congregation can do to help end poverty. It doesn’t have to be through ONE.org either. Just make sure you’re doing something, God is going to hold us accountable.

Craig V.
Christ follower, Missionary, and Faith-based Nonprofit worker

First things first; and I’ll quote you something that you quoted me.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”

The problem with this is that I’m a realist. Pessimists get angry often at that which they have to walk through. Optimists, are busy not facing reality for what it is. Realists will let you know when something is flawed and isn’t going to work, where, why, and how. (In the natural of course).

For the Rev.:

You seem to have missed the context of my post in relation to the original message placed upon the mantle of the mighty internet by Adam Phillips. I’m neither shocked nor dismayed in this, nor with the fact that a Reverend posted up Matthew 25. Charity, when it truly is charity is right and good. One.org, while giving great lip service to charity, is anything but charitable. One.org uses other methodology by which it aquires the single most massive portion of it’s funding that’s supposedly goes to the impovershed. Government treasuries and most notably, what some would call “little white lies”. Also known as misdirection. Now, I’m not sure where you are from, but here in the states, and not really known to the public, hides the small fact that the governments funding comes from the people. It’s the peoples money. The populace holds the government accountable when they misappropriate federal funding for stuff…..as I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of in the news lately. As a Reverend, you ought to know that for charity to be profitable to the heart and soul, it needs to be freely given, and given with no reserve. Then and only then will your charitable dollars profit you. Taking money from government coffers isn’t charity. It’s theft. Are you in bed with a theif? Asking your congregation to pray about donating to One.org, dollars and sense is fine. That’s charity. You doing it with either your own money or the chruch coffers by the direction of the Almighty is profitable to you and to your church. This too, is charity. Supporting the political agenda of an organization that uses misdirection to support it’s socialistic principles while bilking federal funding is not.

Would you like to discuss this further or maybe clarify your stance should you feel so inclined? I’d be happy to listen.

To give meaning to our planet and that does not turn in vain, we try to live and spread the following instructions:

A day without a smile is a day lost;
I believe that laughter is the true sign of freedom ;
You know a man by the way ride ;
The most useless of the days is that without much rice ;
Do not try to stop what you love, or end up loving what they are ;
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty ;
The fearless, perhaps, does not live forever but the cautious do not live at all ;
Courage is the first of human qualities because it guarantees the others ;
Many times in the small things that you know a big brave ;
The spirits of truth and freedom are the pillars of society ;
True freedom is not never having to apologize ;
Freedom is the measure of the maturity of a man and a nation;
The passions never make wrong calculations;
The wait attenuates mediocre passions and increases great ones ;
A child must live our house like a stranger adventurous and happy;
The wise son rejoices his father, but what saddens stupid mother;
Children give much more emphasis on what parents do, that what they say ;
The world there are more idiots that scoundrels, the scoundrels otherwise would not have enough to live on ;
The doubt is one of the names of intelligence ;
L ‘intelligent loves education, educate the stupid ;
Impossibility: a word that is found only in the vocabulary of the fools;
Will be better times and in the end all we can see the dreams ;
Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure ;
You can tell me that I am a dreamer, but I am not alone ;
If you can dream, you can do it ;
The flaw can be seen after the sweet ;
If Laura had been Petrarca’s wife, think he would have written sonnets all his life? ;
A woman should never act in such a way as to give reason to her husband ;
We have all the cloth in which the first fold will not disappear anymore ;
Amami when on less, because it will be when I need more.

A kiss and my passion for your life !!

I hope we pastors, rabbis, priests and preachers always preach with God’s direction, and check in with the Almighty first.

One of the places I hear God calling me to preach about the movement to Make Poverty History is Matthew 25:31-46, or Isaiah 61.

Peace,
Paige+

Matthew 25:31-46, New International Version

34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

or Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

For those that speak to their pastor or preacher concerning this, remember the aforementioned.