It's who you know

We went to a "boot camp" last May to learn about all things related to church planting and part of that education was, not surprisingly, about money. That's usually one of the first questions people ask if they're curious about what we're doing. Sometimes they're a little hesitant about asking because they don't want to offend, but it's a good question. How exactly is this whole thing funded?

About half of it over the next three years is being funded from our denomination (or, for you United Methodists out there, our annual conference), but the other half is coming from donations from friends, family, and acquaintances and (we hope) people who commit to being a part of this new church. We sent out a letter to our family and friends a few weeks ago asking not so subtly for them to support us financially. And this was a learning for me: The person leading the boot camp said, essentially, that those family and friends won't necessarily be giving out of altruistic purposes or they feel led by God to give. All that may be true, but the main reason they're giving is because they trust and believe in me.

It's easy to feel a little awkward about that, but when I think about my own giving, it's true. I wouldn't give to the Washington County Hospice if it sent me a letter, but I supported it because my Aunt Cathy was doing a walk to support it. Same with numerous other charities that we support. We give because of the relationships.

Our intern at Urban Village Church, Anne Williamson, preached at another church last Sunday night and she said a really helpful thing. She was using Luke 1:26-38 and noted that Mary said yes to the angel not because she knew what exactly would happen in her future or because all of her questions would be answered. Mary said yes because she knew who was making the request. It was God. Mary trusted God, loved God, and may have thought that this request was absurd, but she said yes because of trust and love.

I have prayed this week that my trust and faith God can continue to deepen so that I can continue to say yes to whatever it is that God is asking.

Mary's witness

From my contribution to our eNews:

Tuesday was World AIDS Day and, rightfully so, emphasis has been given in recent years on the AIDS epidemic in Africa. While that certainly deserves our attention, I also remember Darryl on Dec. 1.

I first moved to the Chicago area in 1992 and soon started volunteering with an organization that was then called Open Hands Chicago. My task was pretty simple--deliver meals in the Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods to people with AIDS who were unable to make meals for themselves. Darryl was one of those people. We were never close, but our relationship reminded me that there were real people at these addresses who struggled as they lived with this disease.

It's appropriate that World AIDS Day comes during the Advent season. While I enjoy the pre-Christmas preparation as much as anyone (I'm listening to "Silent Night" on Pandora as I type this), it's important to remember the radical words that Mary sang when she discovered that she was pregnant: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowlinesss of his servant...He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (an excerpt from Luke 1:46-55).

Mary reminds me that God came first to the the forgotten, the sick, the lonely. We must never forget that because the only way that God will lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things is through you and me doing things like delivering meals, advocating for the voiceless, and loving the lonely.