Spreading Light by Inspiring Generosity

I follow a Facebook page called I Like Giving.  It was created to support a movement that began when Brad Formsma published a book by the same name.  I am a fan of this movement because it touches on the heart of what Se Luz is working towards–living generously.  The memes and stories posted on this page are meant to inspire others to act and live in ways that embody the fruit of the Spirit (that’s my claim, not the page admin’s).

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

Living up to these qualities is no easy task.  Just ask ANYONE who has been on social media during this past election season (yes, I went there).  It takes grace to act with love towards your neighbor who advocates for policies that, when carried out, would have a negative impact on you or your loved ones.  It requires forbearance, gentleness, and self-control to engage with that person in meaningful conversation to shed light on a different perspective (and to learn about theirs).  Choosing joy and peace when so much of the future is uncertain is a spiritual discipline.  If we take the fruit of the Spirit as a package of traits that we Christ followers aspire to, the net result is generous living.

Like Mahatma Ghandi, I believe generosity has more to do with one’s attitude than with the capacity of their giving.  Too many people are hindered from generosity because they think they have nothing to give.  Yes, donating money is generosity.  But so is serving others, volunteering, making connections, using your special gifts to benefit others, listening, forgiving someone who’s hurt you, being considerate of others’ needs… I could go on all day.  Generosity is being in tune with what advantages you possess (time, talent, treasure, status), the needs of others, and how God is calling you to connect the two.  

The Bible’s New Testament (the OT does, too) provides many examples of what it looks like to live generously.  The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), the poor widow (Mark 12:42), Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9), Jesus’ entire life (Gospels), the early church (Acts 2:45-47)… Furthermore, the book of James teaches us that it is not enough to simply believe in these principles, but that we must allow our faith to propel us toward action (James 2:14-26).

 Our Se Luz group in Guatemala have a special opportunity, right now, to inspire generosity in the Santiago community.  We recently learned about a family of orphaned (to AIDS) siblings (age 4-24), who’s home burned to the ground.  In response to a local radio station’s appeal for donations, several community members came together to raise $670 (Q5,000) to help this family.  That’s a pretty strong community response, considering the economic level of families in Santiago.  As an organization, we have a plan to leverage our position to encourage the community to give even more.  Publicly, Se Luz is committed to providing the manual labor needed to build a new home for this family, plus 50% of the material cost (total budget is $4,000).  Our hope is that this commitment will inspire more families and businesses to give what they can to help these siblings with their urgent need for a home.  Privately, we are willing and able to fund 100% of the project (and will do so if necessary), but we highly value and desire community collaboration.

Se Luz’ mission is to Bring the Light of Christ to Guatemala through Discipleship and Service.  Traditionally, the mission has been focused on our youth and their good works in the community via service projects.  In light of inspiring generosity (pun intended), our mission becomes a challenge to the broader community to shine the light of Christ through generous living.  For many reasons (cultural and historical contexts), this type of generosity is pretty radical for Guatemalans.  While hospitality is a clear strength in generosity for our Guatemalan friends, charity is an opportunity area for growth.  For ten years now, Se Luz youth have been modeling generous living; the time has come for us to invite others to do the same.

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Today is #GivingTuesday.  We are inviting you to join us in our mission to shine Christ’s light in Guatemala–through discipleship, service, and also generosity.  In order to achieve our mission, we depend on YOU, our generous community to take action.  Please consider making a donation today, and spread the word about our important work!
Link for online donations: http://www.razoo.com/story/se-luz

STORM (Service to Others in Relational Ministry) camp and Pastor Dave Brown deserve credit for the formation of my thoughts on servanthood and generosity.  Bethel Seminary Master of Arts program in Community Ministry Leadership, and the ministry of Greg Meyer and Jacob’s Well have also helped me flesh this out.  Many thanks!

Going Deeper with Comfort Zones

Today, September 3rd, 2015, marks the 10-year anniversary of my move to Guatemala to start what we know now as Se Luz Ministries, Inc..  It was at once the best decision I’ve ever made, and the most difficult day of my life.  I admit, I cried myself to sleep my first night in Guatemala.  It was lonely.  I had boldly stepped out of my comfortable and predictable life, and firmly planted myself in the unknown.  It was scary.  I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a mistake.  Yet I knew that my decision was founded on a clear conviction of calling and faith in a great God.  Despite my loneliness and fears, God’s grace empowered me to understand that that date, September 3rd, 2005, marked the beginning of a great adventure.

My first blog on Comfort Zones didn’t satisfy my appetite for discussing this topic with you.  I keep thinking about Jesus’ interaction with regular folks in the gospels, and how he was constantly calling people out of their comfort zones.  Even way before Jesus, God was in the business of making people uncomfortable in order to be great.  God called Abraham to leave his family and go where God led him, God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt (which, if you re-read the story of the Exodus, you’ll see just how uncomfortable this made Moses), God had the prophets doing all sorts of crazy things (would you marry a prostitute, like Hosea?  willingly enter the lion’s den or burning furnace, like Daniel?  go naked and barefoot for 3 years, like Isaiah?). Coming back to my point about Jesus, let’s look at a couple of gospel examples of how this call played out:

• Jesus call the first disciples (Luke 5).  A couple of fisherman are not catching anything.  Probably, their fathers and grandfathers were fisherman.  Boat life and fishing were their comforts.  Jesus called them out of the boat, away from their nets to follow him.  They did it, and they inspire us to do the same.
• A rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could earn eternal life (Mark 10).  Jesus, testing him, told him to sell all of his possessions, give to the poor, then follow him.  The young ruler couldn’t bring himself to leave his comfort zone of wealth, and walked away a sad man.  Jesus used that interaction as an example of the negative power our comfort zones have over us.
• Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman at the well (John 4).  The simple act of talking with her drew her out of her comfort zone.  Through their conversation, she developed a kernel of faith, and because of her testimony, many believed.
• Jesus called Zaccaeus down, out of the tree, and invited himself over to lunch at Zaccaeus’ house (Luke 19).  The result was an exaggeratedly generous episode of justice for those whom Zaccaeus had cheated as a tax-collector.
• Jesus taught an expert in the law and the disciples that to be a neighbor to someone means to go out of your way to help them, sacrificing the time and expense necessary to meet a need (Luke 10).
• Jesus taught that taking care of the least is equal to caring for Jesus himself (Matthew 25), and conversely, not doing so is equal to rejecting Jesus.
• Who can forget the teaching of Jesus that we must take up our cross daily and follow him (Matthew 16).

Upon further reflection, isn’t the very act of ‘taking up our cross’–of dying to ourselves–just another way to describe leaving a comfort zone?  So then in order to identify your metaphorical cross, you’d need to know where the boundaries lie that form your comfort zone.  Most of us experience a comfort zone that is geographical and/or material.  Clearly, not everyone is going to pack their suitcases and move to Guatemala to test the theory.  😉  Leaving the zone of material comfort could be as simple as venturing into a new neighborhood to volunteer, or giving a warm greeting to the signer at the busy intersection.  Just as universal as the physical comforts of having things and security, are the emotional comforts of belonging and having value.  Have you considered what it would mean to leave that comfort zone?  A couple of times in the last week, I’ve read statements in social media along the lines of, ‘this opinion may be unpopular, but (states opinion)’.  These people, by declaring an “unpopular” opinion, are exploring outside their emotional comfort zone.  You might call this being vulnerable.  Try thinking of an issue that is important to you.  How likely are you to speak out about that issue, to educate others, or to put your beliefs into action?  If you hesitate, it’s probably because you struggle with leaving your comfort zone.  Today, I want to encourage you to try it.  Speak up.  Take action.  Your voice is unique and the world needs to hear it–no matter what is the topic.  Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself outside of your comfort zone…

And that’s good, because by the looks of it, that’s where all the great stuff happens.