Sub-merge - Hayes

I just finished a book, Sub-merge,(Regal, 2006) by John Hayes (founder of InnerChange) that reminded me of the experience the Shaw’s (missionaries in Manila - developing the street paper, Jeepney) are having. Sub-merge is a book about people who are seeking to live WITH the poor. It is worth reading and very challenging. Here are a few excerpts:

Nearly 1 billion people in the world, one-third of urban residents, live in slums. Even more alarming, slum populations are growing faster than any other demographic sector. . .

The new ground does not have a church building and its ministries at its center. In the developed and developing worlds, the unreached poor dwell in places that are increasingly inaccessible to traditional Christian outreach efforts. (15-16)

Although two-thirds of the world’s human beings live in poverty or hover close to it, only a small fraction of Christian workers actually go to live and work among them. Piecing statistics together, only about 6 percent of mission workers actually minister as poor to the poor, and that figure may be generous. We have a math problem. Either God is not calling many to do this, or we are not hearing him. (18)

Someone said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” (42)

We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye . . . The hand is the cutting edge of the mind. (Jacob Bronowski, 49)

American Christians began the new millennium giving only about 2.6 percent of their incomes to charity, just a percentage point above non-Christians, who averaged 1.6 percent. (61)

Wealth . . . is not a sin. God is a God of abundance, who delights in seeing His children live abundantly. Riches are, however, a heavy responsibility to steward, given that Jesus says it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (see Luke 18:25). Paul spoke unambiguously when he wrote, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (I Timothy 6:17-18) (87)

The important thing is that God meant for there to be no poor in the land, and we have no reason to believe He has changed His mind today. We often hear people submit Jesus’ statement, “the poor you will always have with you” (Matthew 26:11), as evidence that God is somehow resigned to the fact of, or willing to tolerate, poverty. We believe that as the people of God’s new covenant, we should be just as concerned today, both individually and systemically, to work toward God’s intention of having no poor.

. . . Essentially, God clarifies that we will never win the war on poverty. But He goes on to command that we should pursue the battle vigorously. (92)

Most people applaud and admire works of mercy. When it comes to speaking against systemic injustice in a way that might entail changing life-styles or sharing power and influence, there comes an awkward silence. (102)

We live in an age of information, of mass messages. It is an era with an uncanny ability to multiply words. Yet an increasing number of the world’s people live lives without real change and without Christ. The world doesn’t need more words, not even more “right” words. The world needs more words made flesh. The world needs more people to live the good news incarnationally, in a way that can be seen, heard, and handled. (113)

The world needs more “words made flesh.” What does that mean for your life? How are you the Word made flesh?