Saturday afternoon in Rwanda

A quick check in before I head over to the conference:

Alycia has been there for a few hours already. More lecture stuff. But I want to head over to get a couple of stories to share with you and to meet with Gaylord from the ELCA to make sure our support of Rwanda is effective and best for those receiving that support.

While I haven't been terribly engaged at this point in stuff here my conversations with Alycia have been worth the trip. She is so passionate about truly impacting people and countries like Rwanda. She also is keenly aware of what really works and what creates a more passive, victim oriented culture. She's always pointing out areas where we tend to be paternal and patronizing vs. real partners.

For example, supporting projects that the people carry out is a good model. Another great model is for entrepreneurs to start businesses that provide jobs and much needed services.

The question is, how do we see ourselves as partners with our friends in Rwanda rather than a bank? (Not that we see ourselves as that--but it's one of the pitfalls of simply giving money without any other real investment). How do we as Christians work for justice in the world, not only feeding the hungry but breaking down the social and political and religious systems that create poverty in the first place? How do we lift people up and empower them to take control of their own lives vs. keeping them dependent?

She's really stimulated my thinking when it comes to our entire mission at Grace. What does it really look like for us to be a transformational society, bringing grace to the oppressed, the abused, the hungry, the ignored, the written-off, in a way that truly frees them to care for themselves.

We saw some great models of this last night on the Rwanda network, as they showcased stories of successful people who are coming back to Rwanda after leaving due to the genocides of the 1950's and 1990's, and using their success to rebuild the country through jobs, goods, serves, etc.

The series we started on Sunday looking at the revolution Jesus came to bring, will help us focus on these issues. All too often Christianity focuses on saving our souls for heaven. Jesus came to bring the future promise of heaven to earth right now--bringing a taste of the future through justice, mercy, forgiveness, hope, love, and healing both personally and globally.

This has been stretching stuff for me as I've spent so much of my ministry trying to introduce people to Jesus. My sense now is that my calling as pastor is to work with our community of faith to bring the power of grace to the world in tangible ways that include advocacy, justice work, feeding the hungry, and creating opportunities to empower people to become who God created them to be. A bit fuzzy for me yet, but I'm confident that together God will bring some clarity.

Pastor Muzigura from Nyamata, the Lutheran Church here in Rwanda we sponsor, just called. He's waiting for me downstairs. I didn't know he was coming! So gotta run. Forgive any typos! :)