Pillar 1: Care for the Poor

Last week during our Launch Meeting, I introduced a framework for the next five years of ministry here at Redeemer. We talked about one vision - to see a movement of new people joining the family of God and to reverse the trend of those leaving. We talked about the two reason for our vision, that half of those living in our neighborhoods do not believe that Jesus is Messiah, and that over the next five years that number will increase rapidly if things do not change. We talked about the three goals for the next five years. We want to celebrate the baptisms of thirty people. We want every single young person in our church fully pursued, and we want everyone who calls Redeemer their church community to participate in the mission of God.

And then we talked about the four pillars of our ministry over the next five years. Four areas that we will prioritize as we pursue this vision together. These pillars are: Caring for the poor, church planting, disciple-making, and family ministry. Over the next four weeks, we’re going to talk about each of these pillars in more detail, because it’s important that we understand why we’ve chosen these areas to be our emphasis. What is it about these four things that qualify them to be our highest priority over the next five years. What makes them worthy of such a central place in our collective hearts? That’s what we’re covering over the next four weeks.

So this morning, we’re going to talk about the first pillar, which is our care for the poor.

From the beginning there are two considerations that need to be noted before we talk about why and how we intend to minister to the poor. The first thing we need to note is that “the poor” are not monolithic, meaning they are not all the same. The people who live in poverty are just as diverse as those who don’t. Your story is profoundly different than your best friend’s story. The stepping stones that brought you to where you are today are unique to your experience. While your life may resemble your peers, the route that you’ve walked, the things you have done, the things that you’ve benefited from, the obstacles that you had to deal with, all of these things vary from one person to another. And it’s the same with our neighbors in poverty. “The poor” are not a monolith.

The second things to note goes with the first. Poverty is an incredibly complex issue. The factors that contribute to poverty are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Personal factors, systemic factors, cultural factors, geographic factors - all of these frequently play a role in the life of someone experiencing serious poverty. It is never just one thing. It is never just personal failures, anymore than is it just systemic injustices. It’s more than just affordable housing and better wages. It’s more than just poor work ethic or childcare. Poverty is incredibly complicated.

And as Christians, we should be the first to recognize that. Every Christmas we sing about Christ’s salvation extending, “as far the curse is found.” We believe that the curse of sin, the stain and effect of sin has infiltrated every aspect of human life, and it is truly in poverty that we see just how far the curse of sin is found. So from the beginning we need to recognize that “the poor” are not monolithic, and the issue of poverty is unbelievably complicated.

So, given just how complex an issue it is, and how many sectors of our society are needed to solve the problems, it begs the question: what is the church’s role in caring for the poor? Because what we’re saying on the outset of this big transition, as we move our mission to Lawrenceville, by making this a pillar of our ministry, we’re committing ourselves to wading unto the vast quagmire of poverty alleviation, we’re committing to spend ourselves for the sake of the most vulnerable, but that begs the question even further: Given the scope of the work, what does the church bring to the table?

Well, I think the answer to this question can be found in Luke 4:16-21.

Where are we in the biblical story when we open up Luke 4? In the beginning God created all the universe and intended for us to live with him in peace forever. But all the universe fell with the introduction of sin and evil, so God enacted a plan to redeem the universe, and this moment in Luke 4 comes to us at the climactic moment of that plan for redemption.