Let Go of Your Stuff

Below are some of the statistics that Sandy Wilson, pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, gives in his message, "Let Go of Your Stuff." The key text is Deuteronomy 14:22-15:23, which is one of the primary passages that helps us understand the Missio Dei (mission of God). In this passage he talks about the relationship between our money and the poor throughout our city and the world. One of the questions he seeks to answer is, "Am I my brother's keeper?" The audio can be found here. Notes can be found here.

· If you make $25,000/yr, you are in the top 10% of the world's wealthiest

· If you make $25,000/yr, you are just above the poverty line in this country

· If you make $50,000/yr, you are in the top 1% of the world's wealthiest

· Two million children (mostly girls) will be traded in sex traffic this year

· There are more slaves in the world today than there have been in all points of history combined

· Women work two-thirds of the labor hours in the world, and they get paid less than 10% of the wages. And they own less than 1% of the property.

· There are 33 million refugees throughout the world

· The gap between the rich and the poor is growing. In 1820 the ratio was 4 to 1. In other words, the wealthiest person was four times as wealthy as the poorest person. In 1913 that ratio increased to 11 to 1. In 1950 it rose to 35 to 1. And in this last decade it rose to 75 to 1. So now, the wealthiest person is 75 times as wealthy as the poorest person.

· The biggest gap is found in China. The U.S. is in second place.

· The joblessness rate in the U.S. is now 10%. In the urban core it is over 30%

· The average church member gives 2.6% of his/her income. During the Depression Americans gave 3.3%.

· Just 2% of our giving goes overseas.

Christmas, Consumerism and Ideas for Gift-Giving

Hello. My name is Robert and I'm a consumer.

Black Friday is tomorrow, so here are some thoughts I have on the topics of Christmas and spending money. I've never gotten up early to go shopping on Black Friday. In the past, it was because I didn't like traffic jams, long lines, and overly caffeinated and energetic people crowding all around me. Now, though, as my community has been taking part in Advent Conspiracy, I've learned that not only is consumerism bad for me, it's bad for others, plus this alternative story (worship fully, spend less, give more, love all) is so much better.

At the same time, I am often a sucker for a bargain, and I love the challenge of stretching my dollar (a positive way of saying I'm cheap). I'm a little torn. So I will probably buy some Christmas presents over the next few days, though it will most likely involve sitting in front of my laptop rather than going anywhere. What I've learned I have to watch out for is spending too much time trying to save money. It's really not worth hunting through online stores trying to save $5 on a Wii game for Adam. So I shall cease from doing as much research this year.

If you're new to this story, or perhaps just coming to the conclusion that consumerism does not equal happiness, then here are a few ideas to help you bring some change to your life/family/spending this Christmas.

One of our community groups put together a great gift-giving guide with lots of links and ideas.

Check out Trade as One's website, as well as the video I posted yesterday. They have a lot of great gifts you can buy for your loved ones that have multiple bottom lines.

The Simple Dollar has a 10-part series on great homemade Christmas gifts, including cookies, personalized cards & stationery, and meals in a jar. A lot of these ideas are very kid-friendly as well.

Trade as One

This is one of the videos we showed last Sunday night at NC.

Healthcare in Haiti Before Earthquake

From Newsweek...

• In 2008, three fourths of the population had no access of any kind to healthcare
• Only one doctor for every 3000 citizens (compared with seven doctors for every 3000 US citizens)
• Life expectancy is 61 (78 in US)
• Infant mortality: 60 deaths per 1000 births, which is almost 10 times the U.S. rate and four times the rate in Memphis (US rate is 7 per 1000; Memphis: 15 per 1000)

Persecution

Yesterday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Last night our church met and spent some time praying for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are suffering for their faith in Jesus. I did a little reading on Saturday and discovered that over 200 million Christians are suffering from persecution. They define this persecution as being interrogated, arrested, tortured, or killed. I also read a story of a man who has faced persecution every day since he became a Christian. I realize that I'm in the exact opposite place. In all of my years of being a Christian, I've never truly experienced persecution. This obviously makes me question "Why?" The second question I have to ask myself is, "What am I now going to do with this knowledge?"

During our prayer time, Adam was becoming a bit of a distraction, so I took him to the back room. I asked him if he would like to pray with me. He said yes, and so we sat in the floor, held hands, bowed our heads, and I said a thirty second prayer. When I said Amen, he looked up and smiled at me. It was one of those truly great moments for a dad.