Paradigm Shift

Dear Friends:

In the past, I’ve felt burdened to ask for money to keep Advance funded. Unfortunately, I have been approaching funding incorrectly. I have viewed you, our supporters, as a means to an end, the end being Advance Memphis’ existence. In doing so, I had the wrong goal in mind. Friends, the end is, and always has been, God’s kingdom. Advance Memphis is just a platform.  

Over the past year, God has used Transformational Giving principles taught by Eric Foley and Dr. Larry Lloyd to change my heart and Advance Memphis’s methodology. These principles have helped me shift my vision away from a concern for ministry funds and towards a heart for each of us to carry out the work of the Lord while moving toward full maturity in Christ.

While Advance will always need money to operate, my focus is now on finding brothers and sisters who will join me in growing to maturity in Christ through Advances’ Biblical cause: ransoming the captives. There are certainly other biblical causes (works of mercy), and one way to explore these in a focused way is by reading Eric Foley’s The Whole Life Offering. At Advance Memphis, we’re focused on ransoming the captive: seeking to serve the community in 38126 by setting them free from what enslaves them--poverty and unemployment.

“Ransoming the captive means the expensive day-to-day function of redeeming, or buying back, individuals taken captive...It’s about mirroring the character of Christ to the world.” Eric Foley

In scripture, I’ve found that God invites us to join him in fighting for these causes. Isaiah 61:1 states, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."

My prayer is that our supporters will attach deeply to the work of “ransoming the captives” that is found in scripture, rather than to this organization called Advance Memphis.  Advance should simply be a tool for this to occur in ALL of our lives, whether paid staff, volunteers, employers, students, or tutors.

So let’s join each other in:

•     Searching scripture to see where God calls us to live out the mercy we've been shown.
•     Ask ourselves how God has ransomed us.
•     Ask ourselves how we can participate in ransoming the captive in Memphis. 

We want you to be involved in Advance’s mission not only financially, but also with your head, hands, and heart. Please forgive me when I fail to lead us all in this, and join us in becoming owners of this cause and growing to full maturity in Christ.

Sincerely,

Steve Nash

And They Have No Comforter

Photo credit: Gretchen Shaw

1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: 
    I saw the tears of the oppressed— 
        and they have no comforter; 
    power was on the side of their oppressors— 
        and they have no comforter. 
    2 And I declared that the dead, 
        who had already died, 
    are happier than the living, 
        who are still alive. 
    3 But better than both 
        is the one who has never been born, 
    who has not seen the evil 
        that is done under the sun.
                        (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3, NIV)

This passage speaks to the utter despair and loneliness that many poor and oppressed persons experience. 

In verse 1, we are confronted with the fact that those who undergo the deepest forms of suffering and experience it the most frequently are also those who have the least support to cope with it. Their miseries are severe yet no one seems to notice, no one sees their hurt. We also learn that while the poor are the most common victims of injustice, they have no comforter because those who have the power to help are the ones benefiting the most from the broken systems that keep the poor in oppressive circumstances. History affirms this truth: the dominant culture in society has always been naive to the way things work against the lower classes. 

As unsettling as the description of verse 1 is, the author makes a more shocking statement in verse 2.  Here he states that those in the grave are better off than those who continue to exist with oppressive burdens. On the surface, this seems like an awful thing to say.  Doesn't the Bible teach the sanctity of every human life, no matter how lowly one may appear to be? However we interpret this verse, we cannot dismiss these words as being flippant (12:10); they are the result of seeing the anguish that is common to the poor.

The wise Teacher draws our attention to the fact that oppression and heartache are simply the facts of life for the poor. However, I don't think that this is the main point in the passage. The real evil that this passage draws our attention to is the unawareness and/or apathy of society’s mainstream toward the despair of the poor.  In other words, it’s bad enough that the poor are made to suffer so often, but it is far worse that they are suffering alone with no one to comfort them.  The writer states this truth in a matter-of-fact tone; we as believers should be scandalized by this reality. 

We have a High Priest who is able to sympathize with us because he sacrificed his comfort to identify with us in our struggles (Heb 4:15).  In addition to dying for our sins (something we cannot imitate) he also became “familiar with suffering (Is 53:3) and “carried our sorrows” (Is 53:4). 

• How are we doing at demonstrating the empathy of Christ?  
• Are we aware of all the heartache of our neighbors? 
• Do we mourn with those who mourn? 
• Or have we segregated ourselves and our families, pursuing comfort and safety to the extent that we have isolated ourselves with the poor out of sight and out of mind? 

“You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, 

and you listen to their cry” (Psalm 10:17). 

Andrew Vincent

avincent@advancememphis.org