To Love And Serve
There can be little argument that the goal of the Christian life is to be more like Jesus… to act and think, to respond and speak like Jesus. And therefore, we must also aim for the priorities of Jesus. âThe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good […]
Start Small
John Wimber once said, âIf youâre not going to care for the poor, then donât use the Vineyard name.â We have taken that statement seriously since early on in our church and have tried to care for the poor in some way. Ministry to the poor in a church almost always starts small. It certainly […]
One Simple Question
I have a distinct memory of sitting in my study one day as I was pulling together thoughts and materials related to stepping out on yet another church planting adventure. I was quite excited, feeling that rush of risking faith that these types of pioneering ventures demand, ready to pull together my demographics, cultural analyses […]
Remember The Poor â How Can We Serve The Poor?
Getting Involved With The Poor There is so much injustice in our world today, we can feel paralyzed by the sheer scope of need. Yet if we ignore injustice, and turn our back on the powerless and the poor, the Scripture tells us that something very sad happens. God hears our worship as ânoiseâ until […]
Remember The Poor – Becoming A Compassionate People
Compassion is a word we often use in the Vineyard to sum up the kind of Christians we want to become. Jesus âhad compassionâ on the harassed and helpless (Matt. 9:36), and this moves us to want to have compassion in all that we do as churches. Compassion literally means âto suffer with.â When we […]
Affirming People’s Dignity
âMy greatest challenge is that many people [at middle class churches] havenât been exposed to anything but middle class life. When a poor person comes in, it almost feels like weâre invading their space. Weâre first analyzed through a series of devaluing questions that focus on our âdisadvantagesâ of being poor…. They like to save […]
Remember The Poor â A Vineyard View Of The Poor
Who are the poor? Today, we often see poverty through the lens of economics or personal financial weakness. In the New Testament, however, the poor are generally seen as those who are powerless in society, and who therefore lack the basic necessities they need to sustain their lives. Without resources, and without a voice, they […]
A Community United
The other day I was talking to a friend on the street while walking home from work. A guy came up to us, âHey, can I get a couple bucks?â Sound familiar? ‘You know, friend, I canât give you any money, but if youâre hungry and you show up at our church tomorrow, weâll hook you […]
Start Small & See Where God Takes It
VUSA: It seems there is a lot going on with compassion ministry in the North Phoenix Vineyard today. How did you get started? MF: In 1996 my pastor, Brian Anderson, asked me to come on staff at the church. I had already been a part of the church for about five years. One of the […]
A Journey of Justice
My life changed one day when I was minding my own business on the elliptical machine at the gym. I was reading through some chick magazines when I came across an article about little girls in Nepal. I had spent a month in Nepal while in college and had fallen in love with the people […]
