Preaching to the Poor
Mar 25, 2021.
Some ministry assignments are exciting and esteeming; some are not. When I’ve been directed by the Lord toward some tasks, it is amazing how quickly I have found myself wondering how it will look to my peers. We all want to be engaged in honorable and noteworthy ministry. But how do we handle the less-than-honorable assignments that Jesus needs us to do? Are we willing to pursue them despite how it will look to our ministerial cohorts?
#JesusStories: Matt 11 tells of an interaction between Jesus and Johns’ disciples. John had been in-prisoned by Herod and sent some of his men to inquire if Jesus was really the Messiah? Jesus’ reply was eye-opening: “Go tell John…the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is being preached to the poor.” Notably, this was the list of salvific activities that Jesus read from Is 61 at the synagogue when he announced his mission at the beginning of his ministry. In other words, he was doing exactly what the prophecy said the Messiah would do – healing folks and preaching to the poor. On the list of ministry tasks, healing is an impressive assignment. Most of us won’t refuse that assignment (unless we’ve been weirded-out by a TV evangelist). But preaching to the poor? That isn’t a very impressive ministry engagement. Our clergy friends might say things like, “How’s your church service for the homeless going?” Or, “How are you ever going to fund your church by reaching out to those people?” But you will get the point – ministry to the poor isn’t impressive to your friends. Now if you were building a multi-million dollar church campus, hiring a multiple staff, and drawing in thousands every week to hear you preach – now that would be impressive. But doing church for the poor? Not so much. And yet, that was exactly how Jesus VALIDATED his ministry. Let me say this plainly: any Christian leader who is preaching to the poor will make a deep impression upon Jesus Himself. And that should mean something.
#DinnerChurchQuotes: “Church Leadership in this Post-Christian Era is about disappointing your people over and over again at a rate they can absorb.” -Tod Bolsinger
#PracticalStuff: A significant percentage of the Gospels reveals Jesus being with the poor. This is supposed to be an ongoing activity of Christian leadership. So when are you going to be with the poor next? Here is a profound cornerstone of discipleship: PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR! I know, I know, that sound too simplistic. But if you never get around to calendarizing your Christ-like-ness, it remains ‘all talk‘. So, when are you going to be with the poor next? Do you have a Dinner Church? Can you find a nearby Dinner Church to attend? It is most likely that you’ll find financially-challenged people at a Jesus Table. A lot of Christian discipleship is about just showing up at the right places with the right folks.
Dr. Verlon and Melodee Fosner have led a multi-site Assemblies of God Dinner Church in Seattle, Washington since 1999 (www.CommunityDinners.com). In this decade when more churches in the U.S. are declining than thriving, and when ninety-six churches a week are closing, Verlon and Melodee sensed that a different way of doing church was needed for their 97-year old Seattle congregation. It soon became obvious that they were not the only ones in need of a different path. They joined the FX team in 2016 and founded the Dinner Church Collective. And then in 2019 founded the Dinner Church School of Leadership. There is a lot to be gained when church leaders begin to see open doors in the American landscape that they had previously overlooked. Therein lies the journey for those who will forge a new future for the American Church.
Categories: Uncategorized
03.25.21
By: Josh Gering
The fact that you even had to address this shows how far we (I) have drifted from serving and pastoring from the heart of Jesus to some hybrid of celebrity pastoring, bringing in the most people. This temptation to measure ministry success by “nickels and noses” has trapped a lot of us. I feel it though. I have struggle throughout my ministry with what success really is. I’ve never considered myself an entrepreneur but it seems that wherever we go, we end up pioneering or starting something. When I’m in the position if planting/pioneering, if I were to measure success by “nickels and noses” I would have quit long ago. Perhaps the measure of success is actually studying what Jesus did and simply doing that? Novel concept…
03.26.21
By: Joe Garber
Thank you Verlon. Several years ago we started a dinner church after I attended a seminar that you and your wife led in Sinking Springs, Pa at a church there. today we are still continuing. It has been rewarding to see recent new members come. We are still small but God is working in the “small”. recently another leader in the church inquired as to how to start a dinner church as they reach out to a family on the margins. thank you for sharing this very insightful blog and Jesus Story. Luke 19 gives us insight into the kingdom of God. Whether we view that as the present reality here on earth or future reality there is a reward of increased responsibility that accompanies faithful obedience that produces kingdom awareness. What “city” has God been asking me to be responsible for? Is my dependence on him releasing his Holy Spirit power through me for kingdom awareness to be manifested into the lives of others? help me Lord to be a faithful steward.
03.26.21
By: Verlon Fosner
Joe, so good to hear your report. Blessings upon your work.
03.26.21
By: Marion Sortore
Sometimes it just takes someone to do it. Jesus did it. He fed, healed, ministered with the poor.
But I am plagued with can I do it again? I’m older and fatter and in a new land. Will I be able to handle this? The answer is clearly “No”. Not with that attitude. Through this series of courses I am rediscovering my first love – walking the journey with people others throw aside. I have so much to learn about doing this…and as I learn, I am blessed. That is success.
03.29.21
By: Carl Bauchspiess
It baffles me how this is not obvious to every church leader. From the beginning of the Book to the end, caring for the poor is center stage. Jesus even goes so far as to say that lack of care to the poor means separation from Him! God help us.
04.1.21
By: Rodney Martin
Another way to look at this challenge is that we want to be “cool” or “fit in” and that means we need to be successful. To be successful is to have a large church filled with influencers. Jesus seems to throw everything upside down and inside out. I’m not sure Christ cares about what we consider to be successful. At the end of the day will we be called “good and faithful servant” if we neglect the poor? I have a long way to go on this journey. To truly belong is to be a child of God and hang out with Jesus as he hangs out with the poor.
04.7.21
By: Roger Bird
I have been shocked at the pushback that I’ve gotten from some notable people in our leadership as I’ve talked about dinner church and the centrality of inviting the poor. To be honest, there is a little bit of anxiety in me too, but the resistance that I’ve encountered in responses like, “Well, we need to reach out to everybody,” or “Jesus, ate with rich tax collectors too,” showed me the stubbornness that I was dealing with from some key leaders.
Not to open a can of worms here but these conversations of, “We need to reach everybody,” felt very similar to other recent discussions I’ve had with folks around the issues of race in America and the common defense of, “ALL lives matter”. Of course, in the grand scheme of things everyone matters and we want to reach every person for Jesus, but in the moment those statements are just ways to reaffirm the position of the powerful and maintain a safe, protected distance from hurting people. Seeing the hurting people, actually acknowledging their existence and their pain, has to be our first step towards them and to being more like Jesus.