All posts by Rob Kendall

About Rob Kendall

Rob Kendall is a husband, father, grandfather, speaker and co-author of The 180 Program. Rob is the Founding Director and Chairman of the Board of Against the Grain, a not-for-profit organization that provides life recovery services in jails, halfway houses, homeless shelters, recovery centers and low-income communities in Tennessee. Rob is the Founder and President of Renewing the Mind Network, a national ministry that equips the church to be the church by providing Biblical solutions to real life struggles.

Part 4 – Reources, The First Fundamental Element

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As I stated in the last post, God created humans with needs and provided Four Fundamental Elements for those needs to be met. The Four Fundamental Elements are Resources, Opportunity, Instruction, and Relationships. With these provisions, humankind could live independently and have a full life.

Adam had a need for the resource of food and water and God provided for that need in the Garden. There were four rivers that ran through the garden, which would provide water and food was literally hanging from the trees. Adam had a need and God met that need. With these resources, he and Eve would be able to stay alive.

While this may sound elementary, this is God’s first Fundamental Element and God continues to provide resources to mankind when He wants something accomplished.

Let’s fast forward to Noah. For some reason God called Noah to build an ark instead of just giving him one.

Wouldn’t it have been easier if God had just told Noah, “Hey. I’ve put a big boat out in the wood full of everything you need...all you have to do is climb in and ride out the storm.” But He didn’t…God wanted Noah to do the work Share on X

But God provided Noah with the resources necessary to complete the task. Now Scripture does not tell us exactly how Noah got the resources, but it seems pretty apparent that they were available in the surrounding area. And unlike the Hollywood movie, I don’t think that a box full of tools found its way to Noah’s front porch and the wood wasn’t delivered by the Go 4 WOOD company.

Again, this would have been easier, but God had Noah do the work. In fact, Noah probably had to fashion the tools just to do the work. Now I used to remodel houses and I had the benefit of pneumatic tools, electric saws and trucks…and it was still really hard work. Can you imagine how much harder it had to be for Noah? But for some reason, God had Noah do the work. And work he did…it took him 120 years to build that ark.

Every time God called people to accomplish something, He made the necessary resources available. When He called the Israelites to build the Sanctuary, the resources were already in their possession. When God called Nehemiah to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, the resources were provided through the king in Nehemiah 2.

God made people do the work to accomplish His will, but He always provided the First Fundamental Element, Resources. He provided the Resources that were necessary for the work to be completed.

Part 3 – Intro to God’s Plan

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If you read the last post, you know that my wife urged me to close my company and take a year off of work (a sabbatical) to figure out what God wanted to do with our family. That year ended with a Biblical model for serving the poor and our commitment to empower a group of single mothers and help them gain the skills they needed to become everything God created them to be. Now that we’re up to speed, let’s continue with this post.

Watching my grandchildren grow and their thirst for knowledge and independence reminds me of one of the first things I learned during the sabbatical. That day in April 2002 when I read Genesis, it wasn’t the first time I read the creation story. In fact, it wasn’t even the first time I had read through the book of Genesis. I had failed many times at reading through the Bible, although I would always finish Genesis before February came and I abandoned my New Year’s resolutions, but that day was different. My reading began with the same verses that most every “Read through the Bible” venture begins with.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Gen. 1:1-2)

The statement “The earth was formless and empty” brought up my first set of questions. For the first time, I thought about the fact that God had a completely blank canvas that He was working with. It was a clean slate. God could have made the world, and everything in it, any way He wanted to. Why did He create the things He created? Why did He create them to do what they do? Why did He say that what He created was good?

I did some research and found that the word translated as “good” in the Hebrew means that it was perfect. It was beautiful, better, or even best. He created exactly what He was trying to create, but I didn’t understand why. As I continued to read through the creation story and into chapter 2, that’s where things got interesting. I noticed something I’d never seen before.

This may not shock some of you, but it did me. I learned that God had a plan. He didn’t randomly create things for no reason. God had a plan for how He would take care of humanity and how all of creation would work together within that plan for our good. Share on X My grandchildren’s desire to learn and grow is a perfect example of God’s plan at work.

We see His plan played out in the life of every child. At a certain age they don’t want us to take care of them anymore. They want to begin doing things independently. They want to care for themselves. Their desire is expressed through words that strike fear in the heart of every parent as they ring through their ears: I wanna do it. At that moment they take their stand and begin their journey towards independence.

For some reason, God created Adam with the need for a constant supply of food and water. It’s important we remember that Adam was created with a need for these things. God could have created Adam with no needs whatsoever because, remember, He was working with a blank slate and He is God and could have done it however He wanted. For His creation to be considered “perfect,” humans would die of thirst and starvation without food and water.

God provided for those needs through the garden. God also established a plan for Adam to meet those needs independently. We see God’s plan introduced in Genesis 2. As soon as God created Adam, in verse seven, His plan was put into place. God’s plan included four Fundamental Elements that are required for us to provide for our needs.

The Fundamental Elements are Resources, Opportunity, Instruction, and Relationships. With these four elements, Adam would be able to live and have a full life. In the next post, we’ll look at each element and where they are found in the life of Adam.

If you don’t want to wait for the next overview of Breaking the Broken – click here to order your copy today.

Part 2 – Our Story

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We had made it. After years of struggling we had achieved the American Dream. Our lives were finally working out as we had planned. Meredith and I both owned our own businesses, we had three beautiful daughters, were part an incredible church, had great friends, and were preparing to build the perfect home. We were finally getting everything we had worked and hoped for.

All that changed with a phone call in January of 2002. Meredith was on her way to a business meeting and I was loading up to head towards a job site. Meredith didn’t begin with the usual pleasantries. There was no “hi” or “good morning,” just a simple statement. “If this is the American Dream, we’ve been lied to.”

I didn’t know how to respond, but she continued, “I want you to close your business, take a year off of work and figure out what God wants to do with this family.”

My answer was short and to the point. “No!” We had worked for years to get where we were and I had no intention of changing our course. Long story short, we argued…I lost. I was going to close my business to “figure out what god wanted to do with our family.”

I spent the next year reading, studying and praying. I learned that life was not about me, but more importantly I learned that God has a plan for how we are supposed to serve the poor and many of our services are actually causing additional pain and holding people in bondage.

God has a plan for how we are supposed to serve the poor and many of our services are actually causing additional pain and holding people in bondage. Share on X

As the year ended, Meredith went to a women’s retreat and provided a ride to a young woman at our church. During the 2 ½ ride, Meredith heard her story. She was a single mother in generational poverty with very little hope of changing her future.

Our oldest daughter (Amanda) was also on the trip and was beginning her prodigal stage. During one of the session breaks, Amanda was in Meredith’s face, saying, “You can’t tell me what to do. Just leave me alone. I can make my own decisions.” You know, the normal stuff for a rebellious teenager. Well, this young mother looked at Amanda and said, “If I only had a mother like yours, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” In the excitement of the weekend, Meredith replied, “I’ll be your mom.”

When Meredith came home and told me this young ladies story, I knew exactly what we should do. I ran down stairs, flipped open my laptop and wrote out an outline. I handed it to Meredith and she began to cry. “This is exactly what I thought we should do,” she said.  We called the young mother and invited her and her children to our home for dinner that night.

After dinner we talked about how we could help her overcome the challenges that were holding her down. We told her we would not give her money, but would walk with her and help her gain what she needed to live independently. She accepted the help and our lives changed forever. By June we had nine moms with 28 kids that we were working with.

We were both excited and completely terrified, but we knew this was so much bigger than we were and we needed to get some structure around it. While both of us had run our own businesses, neither of us had experience setting up something like this.

I met with my pastor and another local church that was active in the community, but found that the churches were not able to help and they didn’t think it would work. Meredith and I met with the moms and told them that the churches weren’t able to help. Their response hurt, but confirmed everything I had read over the last year.

“That’s ok, we don’t trust the churches anyways,” they said. “They come in, start a program, and we get all excited because we begin to believe our lives could actually change. Then something happens and we are left hanging. So we get out of the church what we can get out of the church.”

Meredith and I learned that our service had been counterproductive. We had been making things worse and adding to their struggle. We were actually breaking the broken.

For the last 15 years we have used God’s plan to help people break negative cycles and become everything God created them to be. In the next post, we will take a look at God’s plan for mankind.

Part 1 – Intro to Breaking the Broken

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This blog will begin a series of posts outlining Breaking the Broken. You will see how the whole thing began: Our call into ministry, God’s plan for mankind to be self-sufficient, how we serve the poor depending on their unique situation, and the results of using God’s plan. Basically, I will cover all the major themes of the book over the next several posts.

The subtitle of the book is “Debunking the Myth of Social Justice.” Even though I discuss the downsides of social justice programs in the book, there is some new information I wanted to share before we get started. Let me make one thing clear: social justice began with a good heart. It was started by people who wanted to help their fellow man. They saw hurting people who were struggling, and they wanted to help meet their needs.

What became known as the United States war on poverty began as legislation introduced under President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. In President Johnson’s explanation of his legislation he said, “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it”.

I have to ask, has it worked? Has the war on poverty helped? Let’s look at the numbers. When President Johnson began the war on poverty, the poverty rate was around 19%. As of 2016 the official poverty rate dropped to 12.7% which is a reduction of 6.3%. This sounds like a pretty good improvement, unless something has been changed.  What changed? The way we count those in poverty.

Before 1964 and the war on poverty, those in poverty would not have received any government benefits because these benefits didn’t exist. What do you think the poverty rate would be if the current measuring model didn’t include dollars received from government assistance?

Columbia University did a study to find that out. They found that by using the pre 1964 model of counting poverty, the rate would not be anywhere near 12.7%. By using the same measures that were used in 1964, the current poverty rate would be 29%.

That is an increase of 10%.  Many advocates of social justice programs have said this shows how many lives have been improved because of these programs, but we haven’t “improved their lives” by creating sustainable solutions, we’ve just paid them not to be in poverty. They are still stuck in a hopeless cycle and President Johnson’ dream has not become a reality. We haven’t cured it and we haven’t prevented it…we’ve made it worse.

Now this is a book that is written from a Christian worldview and many Christians believe social justice displays God’s love. They believe it benefits those who are served. They believe it is the example Jesus gave in His own life. But those are all misconceptions. Social justice does none of these things.

Social justice is demeaning. Social justice creates hierarchy. Social justice creates division. Social justice is transactional. Social justice is hopeless. Social justice does not work and is further breaking those who are broken.

We spend astronomical sums of money on social welfare programs, but what are the results? Is life getting better for those in poverty? Are the numbers decreasing? Are we making any significant progress? In the war on poverty, poverty has won. The benefits of social justice are a myth. The experiment has failed, but God has a plan.

God’s plan offers dignity. God’s plan creates equality. God’s plan creates unity. God’s plan is relational. God’s plan offers hope. God’s plan has worked in centuries past and will work again. God does not call us to social justice—He calls us to heal the broken.

Over these next few posts, you’ll learn about God’s plan. You’ll learn the what, who, why, where, how, and when. You’ll see His plan in action. You’ll see the hope God’s plan provides. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take God’s plan to the lost and hurting and heal what is broken.

Relational Ministry?

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Why do we say ministry is based on relationships when most of the time we offer events? Share on X


Over the years I have asked this question to many pastors, non-profit leaders and volunteers who are involved in the lives of those they serve. The usual response is “Oh…we have a great relationship with our clients.”

I often ask them to tell me about it and here are several things often included in the list:

  • I know them and their kids
  • I stop by their house on a regular basis
  • I know where they work
  • I know what they like and don’t like
  • I know what they struggle with
  • I have their number in my cell phone
  • I just love our clients

In the loosest definition…that technically is a relationship, but that’s not a real relationship…that’s just information. You know as much about them as you can find out about any celebrity on the internet.

We have to understand that having all this information makes it a one-way relationship at best and using the term “our clients” might even be give you a little insight into the truth about this.

Let’s reverse a few of these questions to find out if you have an actual relationship.

  • Do they know your family and your kids?
  • Do they stop by your home on a regular basis?
  • Do they know your cell phone number?
  • Do they know what you struggle with?

If you haven’t figured it out by now, real relationships are a two-way street. A relationship shows a connection between two or more parties. But if you know all this information about them and they know nothing about you, the connections are different. You are not equal in the relationship.

To be perfectly honest, if you were saying all these things about a celebrity instead of your client, we might be hearing your story on the news because you might just be in line for a restraining order as a stalker.

Relationships are hard and can get messy. Relationships include people sharing life together, something that is sadly missing in today’s society. After 15 years on the front lines of ministry I understand the need for boundaries and having time to recoup, but I need that from my own family once in a while.

Maybe it’s time we change the way we live out relationships in ministry and see what kind of amazing transformation can take place.

The Kid Around the Corner

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I was recently at a dinner and a church was being recognized for their outreach and service. As the pastor talked about how their church impacts their community he said, “We are very active in our community. Every month we do a clothing and food give away and give backpacks to the kids every fall.”

A picture popped up on the overhead of this Pastor and a child as he went on, “This is the child that we support in a third world country.  We got to meet him last fall on a mission trip and our support is helping this young man break free from the bonds of poverty.”

As the crowd rose to their feet with applause, to shouts of “Amen”, “Great Job” and “Praise God”, I wondered, “Why do we want to break the bonds of poverty in  Third World countries but the kid around the corner only gets a backpack and a box of food?”

“Why do we want to break the bonds of poverty in 3rd World countries, but the kid around the corner gets a backpack and a box of food?” Share on X

I have started asking this question to Pastors and have received blank stares from some and a grimaced reality from others.

One Pastor responded, “Exactly”, as he proudly told me about their monthly food and giveaway programs. I am fairly confident he did not understand the question.

I asked his question to social media and got some very good responses.  While there are thousands of reasons, below are the thoughts of others as well as a few of my own as to why we only meet the immediate need to the kid around the corner.

  1. Some have a superman complex. They need someone to save. People on the other side of the world are not a threat. If you help the kid around the corner too much in ways that lead to independence and this person that used to be on the receiving end is now your peer/equal you have lost your power.
  2. It’s easy to write a check, pat yourself on the back, and move on. Not so easy to make a commitment, invest time in someone’s life, then see them continue to suffer. We live in the age of instant gratification in which we think 140 characters in ten seconds should yield a miraculous return on our investment. Besides, it’s harder to help someone you will see again because they might expect more of you, Rob! People don’t even want to walk across the street and meet their neighbor for fear of getting too close, much less look a hungry child in the eye because we might be compelled to try to help in some way, and then feel the pain when we fail to make a significant difference.
  3. Your post reminds me of a fav quote of mine from World Relief leader, Jenny Yang:
    “Charity removes us from the hard work of building relationships with people who make us uncomfortable. We have to transition from charity to justice.”
  4. We live in America…the land of opportunity. If somebody really wants to change, then they will change. Besides, we pay our taxes and the government takes care of them. They give them educational opportunities, healthcare and meet their immediate need. We limit our service because if this kid really wanted out, he’d “pull himself up by his bootstraps.”
  5. We alleviate our responsibility by not acknowledging the problem here in our own backyard. If we begin to invest ourselves in real solutions in our own communities, our reality will have to change. It could be considered a form of denial or self-protection to ignore the real needs of the kid around the corner, but help those who don’t really affect you in any way.
  6. Helping the kid around the corner is scary. It’s cool to go to an unknown, possibly dangerous place in a third world country for a couple of days, but the kid around the corner lives in a community that we try to avoid. He lives in communities with gangs, drugs and violence. We wouldn’t want to go there and we certainly would not our children to build a friendship with that kid.                                                                                       Last but certainly not least:
  7. We don’t really love our neighbor as ourselves. We want to do the minimum so that our ministry box gets checked and we can go home knowing we are good Christians.

The problem is, we are not being good Christians. We are not loving our neighbors as ourselves. To love the kid around the corner as you love yourself, you have to put yourself in their shoes. You’d have to ask the hard question, “What would I want if I were in their situation.”

Maybe a better question would be “What would I do if my child were the kid around the corner?” Share on X

Gentrification…In the Name of Christ

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Gentrification, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.

Gentrification has caused many low income families to be pushed from their homes and communities and they are often unable to secure an affordable alternative. This is a reality that Meredith and I have seen many times over the past 15 years as we have worked in low income communities and homeless shelters and our friends have been forced out of their homes.

One of the pillars of the Christian Community Development (CCD) belief system is Relocation, and many people within the CCD circles have chosen to relocate their own families and live among the people. As a neighbor in the community they will begin to see, hear, and feel the reality and injustice that are an everyday part of life for their struggling neighbor. This new understanding will help them become a better advocate and voice for the voiceless.

With the voice of the new advocate, positive changes can begin to take place.

  • New children and parents in schools can result in better funding and needed improvements.
  • Services can increase as more people approach local authorities to point out what’s missing or under-developed.
  • Businesses are more likely to open additional or new locations near a community that is being revitalized.

There are many positive things that can result from CCD relocation.

But there are two sides to every story and there are always unintended consequences to our choices.

Relocation can have a downside.

As people move in and advocate for the rights of those living in the community and things begin to improve, the property values will inevitably increase. Other families and investors will notice the potential and choose to get in on the up-and-coming neighborhood before the prices get any higher. Others will purchase properties to fix up and flip or keep as long-term investments. While some property owners in the community will benefit, many renters will be priced out and the most vulnerable will still be pushed from their homes and often end up raising their children on the streets.

A second option within the CCD circles is to operate a Christian version of Habitat for Humanity. They purchase older homes and tear them down and rebuild a new affordable home. They work within the community and help low-income families, who have a history in the neighborhood, purchase these new homes at an affordable payment.

While this alternative is an improvement and guarantees a home for some of the residents, for others, the same result will happen. Young families, who may not be able to afford a home in a newer neighborhood, will see home ownership as a possibility and the new interest in the community will drive up the value of the homes. Investors, with deep pockets, will easily outbid the nonprofits and build much larger homes in the community. The scariest reality is that by moving into a community or building new homes for residents, we may actually be aiding the improvements and speeding up the process and, in the end, the neighborhood will still be gentrified.

I don’t have all the answers, but there are a few things that could be done differently. On top of a couple of people relocating, what if the churches began investing in the community. What if we provided educational opportunities and assistance for residents, both children and adults? What if we helped people in the community start businesses, hire them to do the work we need done and introduce them to our circle of friends with recommendations? What if the church began to purchase the rundown and abandon buildings and rented those spaces at a discounted rate to businesses that we have helped start? Maybe we could even offer space in these buildings at a much lower cost to outside businesses and help them keep their overhead down on the condition that they hire people from the community and provide services at a lower cost?

By investing in people and economic drivers, the church will lead the way in serving poor communities. Share on X This will result in the existing residents will become even more invested in their community and the church. The neighborhood will go through the process of renewal and rebuilding, but the middle class in those homes will be the residents who have gotten jobs, started businesses and improved their economic position. They will be the ones to rebuild the community.

Gentrification is a reality and it will never be completely eliminated. It is going to happen, but it can be reduced. If our Christian service is limited to relocation and building a few homes, but our actions increase the possibility and speed of displacing the poor…all we’ve accomplished is gentrification in the name of Christ.

Treating the Symptom Never Ends the Struggle

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783 million people lack access to safe, sanitary water.

I was recently doing some work around the house and had the radio on and heard a commercial for an organization that is trying to address this crisis. I was surprised and encouraged because of what I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear a famous person make an appeal. I didn’t hear that for the cost of a cup of coffee I could provide a case of water for a family on the other side of the world and I didn’t hear about their efforts to load up planes and boats and take bottles of water to villages in third world countries.

Nope, I didn’t hear any of that. What did I hear that encouraged me?

I heard about a group that is actually working to end this crisis by helping people gain permanent access to clean water. I was impressed as I listened to the commercial because they were trying to create “sustainable solutions” to this crisis that claims the lives of millions of people.

Why don’t we deal with other social issues in this same manner? Why do we consistently treat the symptoms instead of providing sustainable solutions for those we serve? People being thirsty is only a symptom of the real problem, which is lack of access to safe, clean water. Many of our ministries treat other symptoms, but treating the symptoms never ends the struggle.

While we must meet the immediate need and provide assistance with our ministry resources, these efforts are lacking. God calls us to do more.

God calls us to provide life and healing in the lives of those we serve. Share on X

The real work is in providing long-term, sustainable change.

Yes, we absolutely must provide a box of food for a hungry family or help a single mother with a light bill, but that’s not  that’s not the long-term solution and that’s not where we end. We have to take the next step and provide sustainable solutions. Let’s help them gain the resources, opportunity and instruction necessary to find employment and then let’s walk with them in relationships and help them overcome their struggles.

How about a job’s ministry attached to the food program? What about getting business owners in your church or community to take a chance on someone who doesn’t have the greatest work history and then work with that employer and their new employee to help them build a new work history.

If you are interested in learning more about creating sustainable change in the lives of those you serve, there are a few options as you move forward.

  1. Begin by ordering your copy of Breaking the Broken and learning more about God’s plan to provide life and healing to the poor and hurting.
  2. Contact us and learn how we can help your church or organization develop specific solutions to address the needs of the least, the lonely and the lost in your community.
  3. Click here and join us for the Sustainable Change Conference 2017.

If we really want to “serve like Jesus” then we need to provide sustainable change, because, like I said, Treating the symptom never ends the struggle Share on X.

A Problem in Thessalonica

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Paul was not a guy who liked to mince words. If he saw problem, he addressed it straight on. Well there was an obvious problem in Thessalonica and Paul addresses it with the believers living there on at least three occasions. The problem? There were people in the church that would not work and meet there own needs. The first time Paul brings this up is in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, where he writes:

1Th 4:9 – 12 –  About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.

Here are a few points we need to recognize from this passage?

  1. “About brotherly love…do so even more…” – Caring for yourself is a display of love to others.
  2. “As we commanded you…” – this is past tense. It is a command that Paul had given when he was with them. Here he reinforces that command.
  3. “That you may walk properly…” – Working to care for your own needs is proper, it is the way we should live.
  4. “Not be dependent on anyone.” = We are not to ask others to provide for us if we are able to do the work on our own.

Paul wasn’t done with his instruction on this subject. He addresses it again in 2 Thessalonians 3.

2Th 3:6 – 12 – Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us. For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us. In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” For we hear that there are some among you who walk irresponsibly, not working at all, but interfering with the work of others. Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ that quietly working, they may eat their own food.

For further understanding of this passage, here is a segment from Chapter 4 – God’s Plan in the New Testament, from Breaking the Broken.

There is a lot here, so let’s take this passage one step at a time. Just like Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 4, he makes this a “command,” but this time the command is different. This command is very serious. This is the only command, in all of Paul’s writings, which is given “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Could Paul have been any more serious when he made this command?

Paul “appeals” to them to pray fervently in Romans 15. Nine different times Paul “urges” people to display unity, to love, to live sacrificially for Christ, and to walk worthy of their calling, but here Paul “commands them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The importance of what is coming next cannot be overstated. It could be argued that Paul believes this is the most important message he is going to deliver to the Thessalonians.

Paul introduces what is so important. They should “keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us.” Paul actually instructs them to break the relationship, but what was the tradition of Paul? That he worked hard to provide for his own needs. Paul says those who don’t do this are “irresponsible.” Notice that Paul refers to those who do not work as “irresponsible”
three times.

Paul reminds them that he and God’s coworkers had a right to support, but they did not accept it because they did not want to be a “burden.” If these believers worked so they weren’t “a burden,” then wouldn’t the opposite be true? Those who are able to work, but don’t, are a burden. Paul also worked hard to set an example for others to follow. If working to care for your own needs is an example worthy of following, then those who do not work live a pattern that should not be imitated. Paul believed so strongly in this teaching that if any of his coworkers did not support themselves, they did not eat.

Paul started this teaching and he ends this teaching with a command in the name of the “Lord Jesus Christ.” How much more of a priority can he put on this instruction? There is not any other passage of Scripture that Paul wrote with this high of a priority. So what was the final command in this section? To work quietly and eat their own food.

Final words are important. They are the last thing heard and often the first thing people remember. Living out God’s plan to work and independently provide for our own needs is the final instruction Paul gave to the Thessalonian church. Paul believed it, preached it, demanded it for his companions, and personally lived it out. Living out God’s plan was a really big deal to Paul.  (Breaking the Broken Pages 56 – 57).

There is a progression to this teaching of Paul on work. When he was in person he made it a command that people cared for their own needs. When he wrote the first letter he compared working for our provision to loving our brothers and emphasized again that this was a command. The last time he wrote about it he really made it clear. It is a command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and if someone isn’t willing to work then they should not be provided food by others.

God provided ways for people to gain dignity and work for their own food. Providing for others, if they are able to care for themselves, is not good for them or the one serving.

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FAQ 4 – What’s wrong with Social Justice?

Breaking the Broken, , , , , , ,

Debunking the Myth of Social Justice

“The Bible is all about social justice…it’s talked about from the beginning to the end.” That was the comment the gentleman made. He had come by the booth several times, stood several feet away and read our info from a distance. He didn’t want to engage in conversation, but certainly wanted me to know his position.

His statement is similar to a question I have received from several people. What’s wrong with social justice? To find the answer, let’s turn to Page 78 in Breaking the Broken.

The subtitle of Breaking the Broken is “Debunking the Myth of Social Justice.” There are certain aspects of social justice that are good, but there are many that are not. The good part of social justice is found in the dignity of every human being. We are all created equal. Those who preach social justice believe we all have the right to gain the resources, opportunity, and instruction necessary to meet our basic needs, but these are not new teachings. They are straight out of Scripture and are laid as the groundwork for social justice. Unfortunately, as the theory of social justice has evolved, it has begun to go against God’s plan for humanity.

Today, social justice focuses more on giving and distributing than it does on gaining and creating. It seeks to provide preferential treatment for certain groups by forcing a “just” outcome, but who gets to decide what’s “just”? Social justice creates top-heavy systems run by distant, detached people who are more concerned with rules and regulations than what is best for those being served. Social justice is reduced to a transaction. The benefits of social justice are a myth and do not exist.

Now this may appear to have taken a political turn, but trust me, this isn’t political. It’s biblical. I don’t trust the government to have any answers for the poor. I look to God for real answers. God created things to work a certain way, and I am opposed to anything that goes against His plan and systems.

God says we should not deny justice to the poor, but we are also not to give preferential treatment to the poor, which often is the goal of social justice.

“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it. You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.”
(Exod. 23:1-6)

God calls for justice for everyone, but God wants more than social justice. God’s plan provides restorative justice. Restorative justice is always better than social justice. God’s plan provides what is best for every person involved: those who are rich and comfortable, and those who are poor and hurting.

The last point from this passage is the call for family members to care for their own and not have them be a burden on the church. Helping people who are able to help themselves takes vital resources that could be used for others who are truly in need. This hurts those served and those serving and creates frustration, distrust, and antagonism. God calls us to help the poor, but we are to help in the proper way. Share on X God’s plan provides what is best for everyone involved. The antagonism and frustration that drives wedges between us can be eliminated. Now we need to learn the difference between those who are truly in need and those who should be caring for themselves.