3371 Chattanooga Valley Road Flintstone GA 30725 706.820.2833

3371 Chattanooga Valley Road Flintstone GA 30725 706.820.2833

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Justice & Mercy


He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?
                                             Micah 6:8 (ESV) 


So which is more important... mercy or justice? 
If we don't wrestle with this question, we are kidding ourselves! 
Hope for Northwest Georgia will be leading a time of conversation and learning on this subject at Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church on August 4th. 
Interested in Hope leading a training at your church or ministry? Contact the Hope office.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Toxic Charity: A Good Read


I am currently reading Robert Luptin's Toxic Charity. A good read -yes. A MUST read, really.

If you are involved in charity on any level, whether giving a regular tithe to your church diaconal fund, volunteering at a local non-profit, or enjoying full time employment in a local ministry, there is something for you. Actually, there is something in this book which you urgently need to hear.

Instead of attempting to re-word Luptin's already masterfully written work, let me instead include a short paragraph from his chapter entitled "The Anatomy of Giving":

Mercy is also a portal through which we glimpse the heart of God.  The tug on our heartstrings draws us in. But soon we encounter brokenness so overwhelming that neither tender heart nor inventive problem solver feels up to the task. Our solutions fall short. Pathologies are too deep, pathologies too entrenched. And we descend into our own poverty, a poverty of spirit, a crisis of confidence in our own abilities to rescue. And, like the broken, we find ourselves calling out to God for answers. When our best efforts have failed us, we are left with nothing to cling to but frail faith. ...In a strange twist of divine irony, those who would extend mercy discover that they themselves are in need of mercy. Out of our own need, we are readied for service that is both humble and wise.
...And that is just one gem from page 42! Read this book. I promise it will be well worth your time. Luptin has taken the time (40+ years) to learn that not all charity is good charity. Some can be quite deadly to both giver and receiver. However, Luptin does not merely tell his readers to stay clear of charity; but he instead spurs them on to be excellent in acts of mercy and justice, in the Lord's name.

Read this book.