Monday, July 25, 2005
Why always go to the ghetto?
I used to attend a small church in Memphis. The ministers had vans and they would go to poor urban neighborhoods (the ghettos) of Memphis to win over lost souls. I used to always wonder why they never felt the need to venture to more well to do neighborhoods in Tennessee such as Cordova (which wasn't too far from Memphis) Why do most churches feel they only need to go to the poor neighborhoods to spread the news about Christ? I don't think money gives anyone an extra edge to christianity. Now that I am in Illinois, I see the same things. There are more people reaching out to non-christians in Chicago then the many northern suburbs. God doesn't look at status or race but that we are all His lost children. I am not saying that poor people don't need Jesus, we all do. But I know more people in the poorer neighborhoods pray and go to church then the ones who have more money and take life for granted. Remember Jesus telling that rich man to sell all his possessions and follow Him? He wouldn't do it, because he valued his possessions more. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 19:23 NIV So let's go out and witness to all souls about the good news of Christ.
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10 comments:
Hi Telika,
Welcome to the blogsphere (I came by way of La Shawn Barber). It is great to have another Christian blog to add to my blogroll.
Your comments are well thought out and well put. I agree with you. $ does not = religion. Everyone needs outreach from ministers.
Rod Stanton
Amen! In my ppinion, "Americanized" Christianity is warped. We're so quick to equate being blessed with material wealth.
I love the thought provoking questions that you pose on your blog (not to mention the cool blog name). I've added you to my blogroll also. Be sure to stop by and say hi.
BTW, you might want to add Trackback to your blog.
Thank you all for reading! please continue to read my blogs and feel free to read them all! I am new (my blogs been up for about 3 or 4 months) and not sure how to do certain things so please be patient with me. Thanks again:-)
Hi Telika! I'm here via La Shawn too and I like your writing! Whenever I'm in Chicago over a Sunday I like to worship with Lawndale Community Church and with Moody Church downtown. Talk about different sides of the same coin!
Welcome to the blogosphere Telika!
Great post and good points made. From my experience the explanation has always been three-fold. One, Jesus when he was in the flesh ministered to mostly poor people and somehow the church is to extend that ministry today(although this is not entirely accurate as you pointed out). Two, that the rich are harder to minister to because they feel they are alright because they are well off financially, money=morality idea. Three, dove-tailing from two, the poor are more receptive because as a man/woman of God you are meeting them right when they need the Lord the most. Therefore they will be far more receptive to the Gospel message. Unfortunately this leads to exploitation and manipulation by false teachers as well with promises of financial blessings in exchange for a "seed" offering, etc.
Hi Telika.
While I think we all agree that everyone should hear the Gospel and God does not give rich or poor any more respect, ministry of the Gospel has always focused more on the poor. This is because the rich can access anything they want including the Gospel if they wish to have it. While the poor may be ignored and have less access to resources. As Jesus said:
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Matthew 11:1-6 (New King James Version)
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
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Notice the attention given to helping those who are hurt and the poor. The Gospel is going to the rich, although you may not notice it. I can say it does reach the rich and there are plenty of churches in rich areas too. But the idea is to help those who are less fortunate and we all know the poor can often be forgotten. So yes the ministry in poor areas must continue. Missionary trips to the poorest of areas must go on. Yes always the "ghetto" to help those with the least since they don't have much (either by their own doing or circumstance).
Trust me, the rich really are getting the Gospel. Just some have so much they don't wish to accept the Lord. As we are blessed we ourselves rub shoulders with more rich people and minister to them in our daily walk. But as we are blessed we must ensure we still minister to the poor. So they can know the same Jesus that blessed us.
Hi Telika,
I took La Shawn's encouragement and visited your weblog today and found myself in full agreement with you regarding the need to witness for Christ in the suburbs as well the inner city. I was a pastor for many years in the Chicago suburbs and know firsthand that men and women are in need of meeting Christ personally in both areas--in Jerusalem and Judea, yea unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
Thank you for the reminder. I plan to visit you often at your blog as a fellow citizen of God's kingdom! Be encouraged--Maranatha!!
Hi, Telika! Welcome to the blogging world. I especially liked your post on Faith versus Fear and will
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