Lantern Road review chapter 4 Total Church

Social Involvement - there was a time when the Church was the social compass, thermostat and conscience for all society, but that ministry has been abandoned to secular agencies with most often underlying motives. With that in mind I believe the church should step up whenever it can find an opportunity. I also believe that the church should be creative in finding ways to provide for the poor and marginalized. I would take issue with the writers inference that marginalized does not as often include those who are financially secure. I believe marginalized should encompass all those who are poor in spirit. Those who recognize that they are spiritually and morally impoverished. I do appreciate the application of the title "enemy" in reference to those who do not know the king of the universe. I also appreciate that Jesus died for us when we were still enemies of the cross. The writers get the parable of the prodigal right. Jesus does show the glory of God's grace as father of the prodigal, but the parable was addressed to the insensitivity of the pharisees. The ultimate point of the parable is will you join the party of God's mercy and for the most part the church has refused to attend. Jesus mission was the poor and marginalized. The writer states that Jesus went out of his way to touch them, but actually they were right in the center of the path of the Father's will for him and also for us. Unfortunately we really do have the idea that ministry is "going out of the way" instead of right on the way. When Jesus said "go" in Matthew 28 it was in the context of his own parable of the wedding feast when he told his servants to "go into the highways and byways and compel them to come in". Our real poverty in the church is that we have lost our way and that we have no idea what "compel" means. For some it means preach fire and brimstone, but really it is the idea of a compelling love that invites people into community. On page 73 it says "Indeed part of our evangelism to the rich is our evangelism to the needy" and that is exactly right. Paul said to instruct the rich to help the needy. It goes on to say, "We subvert their preoccupation with power and success as they see us loving the unlovely. We expose their self-righteousness and selfishness as they see us eating with outcasts. They begin to see Jesus living through us." I would also add that this is how we expose those who are rich in our own body of believers to the opportunity to share with the needy, as we invite them to join us in our reaching out to those who have not.
I was also challenged by the story used as illustration on pages 74 and 75, especially the statistic on page 75 that 80% of Christians live in the top 20 wealthiest areas in the country. I realize this was a specific statistic to, I believe, England, but it is likely reflective of our own nation. I also liked the idea of reversing socioeconomic concepts. For sure the concept of the kingdom is reversed from the ideology of western values. I asterisked most of the section entitled "A Word for the Poor and Marginalized" on pages 76-79. On page 78 I deeply appreciated the thought regarding keeping the eternal plight of people in mind as the only way to keep from allowing the natural need from always forcing its way to the top. They state, "The most loving thing thing we can do for the poor is to proclaim the good news of eternal salvation through Christ." That is our chief help for any person rich or poor and without that hope all else is meaningless. Then they state their 3 assertions about the relationship between evangelism and social action, I thought this was very good.
I also marked up most of the section titled "A Community for the Poor and Marginalized". On page 81 they make a very true and pointed statement about what moved Jesus concerning the Pharisaical response to the woman who wiped Jesus feet with her hair, "What provokes him into action is not the sin he sees in the heart of the woman, but the sin he sees in the heart of Simon the host." The final page of the chapter, page 84, is rich with insight. "God gives the gift of faith disproportionately to the marginalized." is a powerful statement. Also the final two paragraphs deserve much meditation. I have recently read reports of discouragement in third world nations where the prosperity gospel deceived many and has led to much questioning in the lives of people who were taught that their lives would change in the realm of finance if they accepted Jesus. His heart must be stirred to the discouragement of false promises decreed and proclaimed in His name. Eternity waits and there is no poverty in forever with Jesus.