Wisdom and Money | Resistance in DC

Friends,

The weather is perfect: 70s, sunny, breezy. I'm outside on my deck enjoying the promise of fall.

And the political climate is a perfect storm. Violent actions, violent words. I struggle to find my foothold. I have no words of wisdom on this, I just keep plodding along with ideas of what church could be.

I hope it helps.

-Liz

Wild Ideas to Care for the Poor

Bryan Stone's book Evangelism, written for mainline congregations, argues that the way that we proclaim good news is by living it. That the Kingdom of God is at hand is demonstrated rather than preached. A group of Christians living totally outside the norms of society is the sign people are seeking.

The only problem I see with his argument is that we don't do it. Church isn't much different than the world around us.

Or, in some cases, the difference is that church is more judgmental, has more rules, is more petty, has more fighting than outside the church. We focus on individual piety, on superficial niceness, on not rocking the boat. I'm sure you'll agree these traits are not signs of good news.

I have some ideas on how church could choose to be radically different. There is no question the good news calls us to care for the poor. What if we really figured out how to do that?

As part three of my blog on what churches can do about poverty I present ideas that I dream of. I don't have examples of congregations that do these things. I've never suggested them to churches I've served. (Or I've only suggested them with tepid, half-hearted language.)

Here are my ideas:

• Share Your Wealth: In the early church Christians shared what they had in common. We could do that in our local congregations! Members give the church their excess funds. (You will have to figure out the definition of that. Consider something like "above 125% of median income" for your area.) This creates a fund that is redistributed to those who make below the median income, providing each member household with a monthly check. Limit this to members, and I think it's reasonable to have significant criteria for becoming members. In the early church confirmands studied for a year before joining.

• If that is too much, a partway step would be a Voluntary Shared Wealth Fund. For this fund, people still give from their excess, but they choose how much to give. There could be financial planning classes to help people choose to give generously. Those whose income is below the median would also receive a (smaller) monthly check in this model. In both of these, it is important that the people with less resources need not ask for the money, or explain what they are going to use it for. The money is presumed to be God's, the congregation is God's people, and so it is God's money being redistributed more fairly.

• Give Away Money during the Offering: I've stolen this idea from the book Stranger in A Strange Land. Since reading it I've fantasized about giving money to those who come to worship. Maybe $50 or $20; maybe once a week, or once a month? Random dates if you are anxious that people will plan on it? The instructions would be that if you make over the local median income you should find a place to give it away. If you make under the local median income you should keep it.

• Collect and distribute $10,000 gifts: It is amazing what a difference $10,000 can make to someone who is poor. It would provide first, last, and security. Most credit card debt and medical debt is just under that. With $10,000 a person can move to a cheaper location, and will have some leeway for finding a new job. It can pay for ten days of inpatient mental health care, or two weeks of rehab for addictions. Raise $10,000 a year, or a quarter, and find a person to give it to.

What do you think? Can we do it?

Do you have wild ideas of what church should be? Let me know by replying to this email. ​
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Do you wonder what to do with your money? This website is about how ot use money faithfully.

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Washington DC has been creative in how it has resisted occupation. Read these ideas to get ready for the next one.

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