Micah Mandate

Ryan Fasani and Eric Paul-

‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.’  -Matthew 25:34-40 (ESV)

Let me just say it:  Christians don’t like Matthew 25.  And as the scriptures Christians don’t like go, so goes Matthew 25.  It is relegated to the catalogue of biblical obscurity, and ultimately pushed right out of many Christians’ mental back doors, never to be heard again in bible study or from the pulpit.  In other words, Christians systematically “un-believe” it.  The result is a tragedy—a tragedy we need to take seriously if we are to live faithfully in urban America.

We (the authors) think Matthew 25 is actually quite clear.  Given the array of possible interpretations of, say, the beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads in Revelation 13, or the “woes” to the rich, the well fed, the laughers, and those spoken well of in Luke 6, Matthew 25 only has two possible interpretations.   The first possibility:  serving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, being hospitable to the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick is just like (similar to) serving Jesus.  The second possibility: serving those in need and being with the suffering is actually (literally) serving Jesus. Read the rest of this entry »

Morgan Daniels-

Wilson Morgan was at rock bottom.

Wilson Morgan serves food at New Life Cafe. (Photo by Morgan Daniels.)

He had no money, no friends and no family support.

He spent six years in prison and had 10 felony charges, including accounts of manufacturing meth, drug trafficking, possession of listed chemicals, and several accounts of theft of over $500 and $1000.

It was when his mother confronted him that he knew something had to change.

After more than 15 years of alcohol and drug addiction, fighting and stealing, Morgan realized an emptiness inside of himself that he could never seem to fill.

He received a stern letter in jail from his mother, Lynn Guillory, in February of 2009, Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Fasani and Eric Paul-

“The gospel does not merely bring the kingdom of God to the poor; it also discovers the kingdom of the poor, which is God’s kingdom.  The gospel does not merely call to conversion and faith.  It also shows that the poor are God’s fellow citizens, like the children to whom the kingdom of God already belongs.” - Jurgen Moltmann

God associates with the poor. In the Exodus narrative, God liberated God’s own poor and oppressed people.  Likewise, God became poor and homeless through the Incarnation (Matt 8:20) and his call to ministry (Luke 4:18ff), and God even pronounces blessing upon the poor—for they will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:3).

Does this indict the rich?  Not necessarily.  Does it disrupt Christian notions of financial security and upward mobility?  Certainly.  The mere utterance of the phrase “God associates with the poor” makes us middle-class Americans rather uncomfortable.  What kind of a God chooses the poor to be blessed, and what exactly does that blessing look like?  Honestly, we don’t know!  Perhaps, even more than disrupting our notions of financial security, this is an indictment of the way we do church.  Fundamentally, the mission of the church must find its purpose and vision as it relates to the Missio Dei, the Mission of God.  In short, where God chooses to be and with whom God chooses to associate, the church ought to follow.

We’ve already covered some ground without a word about our project.  We’re heading on a journey and you’re welcome to follow.  We’re exploring the distance between God and the church—God and so many of God’s disciples.  More substantively, we’re exploring the distance between the church and the poor and looking closely at the shortcomings of the church’s predominant method of missio: charity. We share common experience in our attempts at serving faithfully in East Nashville and we deeply desire to see the Missio Dei in our midst, guiding our vision of service. Read the rest of this entry »