Kamp's Missional Community.

Summer seems to be a natural season to step back, slow down and simplify. Christianity and the accompanying church life has become increasing complicated. The life that we have been given has become marked by condemnation rather than grace and chaos rather than peace. Jesus said that the essence of Christianity could be summed up in two inseparable commandments: Love God and Love Your Neighbor. Simple yet more powerful than we know. This summer we are committed to learning and living out the wonders of loving God and others simply and powerfully.

Consider the words of Robert Lupton:

"It is more blessed to give than to receive," said Jesus.

Receiving is a humbling matter. It implies neediness. It categorizes one as being worse off than the giver. Perhaps this is why we tend to reserve for ourselves the more blessed position. I came to the city to serve those in need. I have resources and abilities to clothe the ill-clad, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless. These are good works that our Lord requires of us. And there is blessedness in this kind of giving. But there is also power that allows me to retain control. My position as a helper protects me from the humiliation of appearing to need help. Even more sobering, I condemn those I help to the permanent role of recipient.

When my goal is to change people, I subtly communicate: Something is wrong with you; I am okay. You are ignorant; I am enlightened. You are wrong; I am right. If our relationship is defined as healer to patient, I must remain strong and you must remain sick for our interaction to continue. The process of "curing," then, cannot serve long as the basis for a relationship that is life producing for both parties. Small wonder that we who have come to the city to "save" the poor find it difficult to enter into true community with those we think needy.

"It takes everyone of us to make His body complete, for we each have a different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others" (Romans 12:4,5).

I need the poor? For what? The question exposes my blindness. I see them as weak ones to be rescued, not as bearers of the treasures of the kingdom. The dominance of my giving overshadows and stifles the rich endowments the Creator has invested in those I consider destitute. I overlook what our Lord saw clearly when he proclaimed the poor to be especially blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20). I selectively ignore the truth that monied, empowered, and learned ones enter his kingdom with enormous difficulty. The community into which Christ invites us is one of interdependence. We are called to mutual sharing and the discovery of gifts Christ has concealed in the unlikeliest among us.

Please join us at SKYLINE this Sunday, June 15th at 11:00am. My friend Stuart Cranford will be sharing a Father's Day message about the impact of the life and sudden death of his own father. Please visit www.SkylineOKC.com for more info and driving directions. There will be no KAMP's Gathering that night.

Mark your calendars and make plans to participate in a care and celebration day with Refugees on Saturday, June 21st or Sunday, June 22nd (be flexible as the date is a bit in limbo as of this morning). We will be coming together to love more of our neighbors simply and powerfully. Please be thinking of ways that you can bless and engage these beautiful people.

Please let us know how we can serve you and serve with you this week.

Giving & Receiving.
Ben.