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| Last Week's SCORE Devotional: Attitude Check
James 2Favoritism Forbidden 1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If
you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say,
"Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand
there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen,
my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of
the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised
those who love him? 6But
you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?
Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
After looking at this passage in the last SCORE meeting, I thought I'd just share a few of the reflections we had.
I can't help but think of a line from one of my favorite movies:
Zoolander: Did you ever think there's more
to life than being really, really � really ridiculously good looking? I
mean maybe we should be doing something more meaningful with our lives.
Like helping people.
Brint: Uhhhh � Derek, what people?
Zoolander: I don't know. People who need help.
Haha...Zoolander rules. Anyway, often when we approach social concerns issues, we assume that we are needed to help "these people". Yet this is presumptous and condescending. This passage accuses James readers of insulting the poor. I think we can indirectly insult the poor as well if we serve them with the attitude that they need us or something like that. Someone mentioned this sunday a quote they remember from Mei Kee Wong at ACCESS (or was it Becky Bailey), which was something to the effect of "The poor in this world have always gotten along, it is we who need them more than they need us." We have so much to learn but we think we are the ones doing all of the giving.
So yea, as we prepare for the upcoming year and all the different activities we have on the table, I hope we can really check our attitudes before we serve. Let's serve with the wisdom that comes from having humility before God, each other, and those we serve. And if you're interested in helpin out, e-mail us at cbcgb_scm@gmail.com!
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| Starting next Sunday, 9/10! Be there or be square! Remember, all SCORE members are required to attend this sunday school unless they have to go to prestudy. If you're not on SCORE, we highly recommend you check the social concerns sunday school out anyway! Meet in the chapel at 9:30.
Engaging a Broken World
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Psalm 82:3
God's
heart for the poor and the oppressed rings loudly throughout
Scripture. How can we, as His people, reflect His heart in today's
world? Beyond guilt, beyond charity, how can the Kingdom of God
transform prevalent issues such as poverty, race, immigration,
exploitation, and political division? Through a mixture of lecture,
media, and discussion, we will explore theology, current events, and
personal action, seeking concrete and practical steps of response for
us as individuals and as a church.
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| If you're interested in reading an example of economic oppression,
check out this Boston Globe 4-parter on the debt collection industry.
What can happen to people who fall into debt is pretty scary:
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/debt/
(It's pretty long, but I recommend reading all 4 main articles.) | | |
| One of the purposes of this blog is to help better inform us about the issues going on out there. A lot of us...uh...sometimes need distractions at work, so if you need a distraction come here and maybe we can learn some stuff too! To begin with, here's an article on mortgage lending that was forwarded to me. Check it out:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/08/25/color_coded_mortgage_lending/
"Last fall, the Federal Reserve released nationwide mortgage lending
data for 2004. The numbers showed that African-Americans and Latinos
were more likely to receive high-cost loans than whites... But study after study has shown that people of color of every income
face discrimination obtaining housing in certain cities and towns, and
repeated analyses of lending data by the Massachusetts Community &
Banking Council show disturbing differences in outcomes between people
of color and whites.""Rather than be gouged, many people of color will avoid the housing
market, our country's most proven path toward upward mobility."
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| Hello and welcome to the social concerns blog! Check here for announcements, deep thoughts, and the general going ons of the social concerns ministry. If you're wondering where we're at right now, the social concerns core team (SCORE) has currently split up into three task groups:
1) New Ministries
2) Charis Large Group Events
3) Existing Ministry Development
These groups are meeting on their own and each have various tasks that they are tackling. Feel free to e-mail if you have any questions about your role or what's going on, or if you're interested in getting involved. That's all for now!
Standing Meetings:
SCORE - 1st Sunday of each month after church (except September, which will be 9/10)
General Social Concerns Meetings - Quarterly, TBA
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