chasing the negative split

Photo by 'through my eyes only'. Used under Creative Commons licence.

If you happen to be one of those serious marathon runners who thinks little of fitting in a quick 10 miler before breakfast, then you’ll probably already know about the negative split. For the rest of us trapped beneath the duvet, an explanation: the negative split means deliberately running the first half of the race slower than the second, giving yourself time to find a pace and then improve on it, planning to have enough in the tank and cross the finish line knowing that you gave everything you had in those final miles. The negative split is the discipline to master if you’re serious about going the distance.

Jesus taught that true generosity is not a matter of who gives most, nor is it a question of easing off once we have given ‘enough’. Generosity plays by a different set of rules. Generosity, it seems, has far more to do with our response to our heavenly Father than the specifics of our finances.

Which brings us back to the idea of the race. If we see generosity as a one-off event only to be engaged when we feel sufficiently guilty, we won’t be fit for purpose. We were made for more than just ‘doing our bit’ or offering ‘the least we could do’. We were created in the image of an overwhelmingly generous God, so is it any wonder that we should feel the urge to give? Forget all you’ve seen of the way the uberwealthy live - with their high gates and privacy glass. What we have should not isolate us from the world around. Instead, it should draw us closer to others.

But what about those negative splits? This innate urge to give needs training. Just as discipline and preparation matter for the serious runner, so it can help us to be deliberate in our acts of generosity. Spontaneous giving is good - just like the quick burst of pace that is called for by unexpected changes in the race - but aren’t the best givers among us the ones who have woven generosity into the fabric of their lives? Don’t we want to be part of a community of generous givers that keeps on going, keeps on giving, keeps on growing?

That’s why 40acts matters so much this Lent. Sign up and you’ll be joining with thousands of others who are choosing to make generosity a priority, not just a passing fad. Each day of Lent the 40acts email will offer a challenge that will bring you closer to your community and your environment, strengthening your generosity for the years to come. Join us, and together we’ll get better at being generous.

the underground world of generosity

For those who regularly travel on the London Underground, tubes can sometimes feel a tad unfriendly. There’s nothing like spending your commute squeezed into someone else’s back to ensure you arrive at your destination a little flustered. 

However, over the past seven months, The London Underground have been displaying a series of posters by the artist Michael Landy, inspired by people’s stories of nice things that have happened to them whilst travelling on the tube as a result of the generosity of others. Here’s just a few of the countless stories Landy has received so far:

“I was made redundant on my birthday. I was feeling pretty deflated and the staff at Pimlico noticed my change in mood. Imagine my joy and surprise when they presented me with a massive chocolate birthday cake! That gesture really gave me back my sense of self worth. I took some back the next day with cans of pop for them at break times. Our tube workers are everyday subterranean heroes. Thank you.”

“I lost my gloves on the Central line. A good three months later I was about to get off the Tube at Mile End and a passenger said, "I think these are yours?". They were mine and they were/are special gloves to me. As I was getting off I only had a second to say, "thank you". I have not seen him since, but he had taken those gloves on to the Tube every day for 3 months hoping to reunite them with me. A true act of kindness that I still say a BIG THANK YOU for.”

 “I was on the way to a party where you had to be smartly dressed when I realised my shoes were dirty. I was frantically trying to brush them clean with my hand and noticed the woman opposite me rummaging in her bag. She whipped out a brand new suede brush and asked "could this be what you need?". It was exactly the thing. I walked off the Tube with clean shoes and a big smile! I wonder what else she had in her Mary Poppins bag!”

“The underground, such a public place to be hit by private grief. I just couldn’t help the tears. I had to get off the tube, onto the platform and aim for a seat. A stranger in the rush asked me “are you ok? Can I help?” She had already.”

“As I leapt through the closing train doors at Finsbury Park, my left foot was caught and one shoe fell off onto the platform. I sat down, one shoe missing as the train pulled away. ‘I’ve just bought these’, said a woman opposite, opening a Russell & Bromley bag. ‘See if they fit’. They were perfect. The woman gave me her address so I could return her brand new shoes. Which of course, I did.”

What is striking about these acts of generosity is their simplistic nature. None required much of the giver, but open eyes and a giving heart.

As we approach the period of Lent, many people will be looking at those things they may want to give up. Here at Stewardship we are challenging people to go one step further this year and to not only give something up, but to give something out to others as well in an act of generosity. 

Over 40 days, we will challenge people to take part in 40 simple acts of generosity. Will you join the 40acts movement? Sign up at www.40acts.org.uk or visit www.facebook.com/40acts for more info.

To read more stories of kindness on the underground, please visit the TfL website here.

the generosity of our resolutions

New year, new you! Lose weight, feel great! Ditch the smokes! It’s everywhere at the moment, isn’t it? As soon as the indulgence of Christmas ends, people start wagging the finger of resolution, promising it’ll make you happier. And we all know that a hastily-made resolution to give up chocolate only lasts until M&S slash the prices of their Yule logs. Surely real resolution – real transformation - ought to last longer, and have more of a domino effect, than that? Is it really just about how we as individuals transform?

Over Christmas I sit and evaluate all that has happened during the previous school term. Hard work, exhaustion, receiving verbal abuse, physical assault and very little thanks! Then I remember the lives of those kids; the broken homes and disappointment they carry. I remember with a warm glow that those same kids are now moving forward, feeling loved and beginning a life of transformation.

All those years ago I was one of those kids, worse than most of them!

After a life of crime and drug addiction I found myself in prison, serving five and a half years for armed robbery, but God had a transformational plan for my life that I could never have seen coming and it was much more powerful than any resolution I’ve ever tried to stick to by myself. While in HMP Wolds I attended an Alpha course and Jesus broke into my life. From that day on I have lived for Him and use my testimony to reach those who think they are beyond reaching and inspire the Church to reach further than they thought possible.

I joined Hope Corner Community Church on the 4th August 2000 and I am now a minister with Assemblies of God. I am responsible for running Xcel Youth Ministries and The Progressive Social Inclusion Project (PSI) - our award winning and highly successful social action project, working with excluded and marginalised young men and women in Runcorn, Cheshire. We are currently building a new centre to house the growing project and congregation. The new building will also house the Hope Corner Academy - a church-run independent SEN school.

I am married to my beautiful wife Rebekah and I have two children – Benjamin and Lydia-Grace. I graduated Mattersey Hall (bible college) and received full ministerial status with Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) in 2009.

If you had told the man I used to be that such a transformation would happen, I would have thought you were mad. All this has come about because of the faithful, generous believers coming into the prison, with their testimony of transformation on their lips. Through them Jesus found me and through me Jesus is reaching others; what an incredible domino effect!

God is now using His story in me through my book ‘Unreachable’, and in just two months since its launch 100s have responded to God’s invitation. They have begun their story and I’m sure they will pass it on too, but will you? You have an opportunity this New Year to allow God to help you make a worth-while resolution, and in doing so, achieve a transformation that ripples beyond what you could ask, hope or imagine.

The generosity challenge:

Spend the start of the New Year in prayer. Ask God to show you how you can show His love in your community, with the aim of creating lasting transformation not only in your life, but in the lives of those around you. Use the topic of New Year’s resolutions as a talking point with your colleagues, friends and family, and share your vision of a resolution that leaves a legacy far beyond the cold mists of January.

> If you would like to support our ministries you can find more details at http://www.hopecorner.co.uk

> Or join me on the journey through twitter http://twitter.com/PastorDHCCC

The Christmas Tree - an advent gift from Stewardship

The Christmas Tree is an advent gift from Stewardship to you.

Inspired by the tale of two trees; surprise gifts for two unsuspecting families, we offer simple tales of miracles, hope and generosity.  We hope to inspire you.  To remind you of the wonder of Christmas; a celebration of generosity, of God’s greatest gift to all mankind.

Take a moment to explore our Christmas tree.  Play. Sing along. Giggle. Be inspired. Share.

Wishing you a blessed Christmas.

Stewardship.

she speaks/he speaks: preparing for Christmas

Debbie:

As a mother of four girls I used to look forward to Christmas the same way my mother - also of four children - did: with doom and gloom. Rather than a glorious celebration of family, feasting and fun, all I looked forward to was the endless lists to tick off, novel presents to buy for my ever-growing family and innumerable God-children. Cards, presents, food preparation, decorating the house, let alone fitting in nativity plays, Christmas concerts and church prayer evenings. When did I ever turn into such a scrooge and such a kill joy? It all had something to do with setting my sights on perfection. The perfect day, present, outfit, family gathering, the perfect meal, - oh and let’s not forget the perfect homemade Christmas card. My pursuit of perfection of course never quite happened, and each year I vowed I would start earlier, plan better, buy a bigger freezer perhaps. I had become a slave to the ‘perfect Christmas’.

Last year that all changed. A friend’s husband suffered a critical life changing stroke in early December and it turned their family life upside down: Christmas was put on hold and suddenly the real priorities in life appeared. I was caught up short! I couldn’t believe how my relentless pursuit for a perfect Christmas had so subtlety enslaved me and how I had become so ‘way off the mark’.

Where was my perfection and planning in that nativity scene? Mary and Joseph were refugees, Jesus was born in an animal shed as no hotel room had been booked - there was no forward planning for them! But in all of this God’s glorious generosity was on display, his outpouring love showered upon us, breaking into our world in the form of a helpless babe. It was if the scales fell from my eyes, and instead of looking inwards, I now look outwards and upwards. I still have my lists (I can’t completely abandon to a free-wheeling existence, but perhaps I’ll be persuaded by Advent Conspiracy this year) but now my eyes and my heart are fixed on Christ – God made flesh. That jaw-dropping, miraculous event has become the centre of my preparations and the centre of our Christmas.

Sam:

Perhaps it is when you hear ‘Slade’ blasting out across the supermarket floor, or when you first pull on that maroon coloured turtle neck sweater. Maybe it is when the Z-list celebrity ('He starred in Doctor Who, he was the guy on the left in the mask, oh, and he was once in Paddington Green, do you remember?’) arrives to switch on the village lights. Maybe it’s when you finally get the tree up and the tinsel on, dreading the following six months of hoovering up pine needles from behind the sofa. Perhaps only Marmite causes as great a war of opinions as the question of when the Christmas season actually begins. ‘Far too soon’, you scrooges out there cry; ‘Not soon enough!’ reply the romantics who have been wearing knitted Rudolf socks since mid-August.

For me, however, Christmas begins when the adverts kick in. No longer is it acceptable to simply add a cheesy Christmas hit to a standard advert in order to sell your Christmas stock, no, it seems inherent now that a Christmas advert must get Mike Tyson reaching for the Kleenex. And when I saw the John Lewis Christmas advert the other week I was suitably impressed. I had heard rumours of grown men reduced to tears in front of their television screens (something unheard of outside of relegation battles, F.A Cup Finals and the odd episode of the X-factor) and it did not disappoint. The advert ends with the tag line ‘For gifts you can’t wait to give’. Ultimate cheese you may say, and you probably have a point, but the adverts message has an echo of something a Nazarene bloke said over 2000 years ago; ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’. This guy was counter-cultural; he turned the world upside-down, everyday thinking turned on its head. Like the advert, with Jesus the ‘ending’ was not what the beginning might have suggested. A new King born ends up dead on a cross, the ultimate sacrifice; the ultimate gift.

Christmas is about generosity; not my generosity, nor yours (and definitely not that of the fat bearded man in the red coat), but the generosity of our God, who sent his only son into our broken world to pay the ultimate price for our sin. Generosity that was not changed despite the full knowledge that his son would be ridiculed and abandoned and the gift would go unappreciated by millions. If that isn’t enough to encourage us to be generous this Christmas then what is?

Debbie Wright is Head of Content at Stewardship. Sam Gibb is our guest author this month: click here to see his bio.

want and need

Camel-hair shirts and the locust diet.

A long time ago, in a garden overflowing with goodness, a naked young lady was convinced by a talking snake that she wanted more.  This lie was an enormous whopper the like of which no-one had ever heard because, in reality, this young lady wanted for nothing.  All of her needs were met.  But from the moment the lie was heard, she itched for more.

The problem spread down the centuries and into every human heart until, one day, a desperate crowd stood by a desert river and said to a man,

“What should we do?” (Luke 3:10)

The man was John the Baptist, a desert preacher who had no possessions whatsoever.  He ate locusts and wore a robe made of camel-hair.  He dedicated his life to not wanting, so he was qualified to speak on the matter.  He answered,

“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” (Luke 3:11)

Notice that John didn’t say give all your shirts, just the ones you don’t need.  But I bet no-one who heard him speak that day offered him a shirt or topped up his supply of locusts.  But that’s OK; it wasn’t a literal instruction – it was massively more important than that.

Giving away half your wardrobe does not immediately give you spiritual and personal fulfilment.  You do not become perfect by donating to charity shops.  So we can’t ignore the next tsunami or stop giving to the DEC because we cleared out our least fashionable shirts.  Rather, John the Baptist was talking about a life of absolute generosity where everything we own is to be halved and shared with those who don’t have enough.

That was a tough calling, but the people responded.

John the Baptist was immediately surrounded by a host of ‘sinners’ asking for individual advice and direction.  ‘But what about us tax collectors?’ ‘What about us soldiers?’  Every answer he gave was different in the detail but the same in spirit. 

Use only what you need and give the rest away. 

This message was so radical (apparently) that people began to wonder if John the Baptist was the Messiah (Luke 3:15).  They hadn’t even met Jesus, the real Messiah, who would set the bar at the highest level.

Give back. Give more. Give yourself. Give from the heart.

The itch of want will take over and blind us to the need of others, if we let it.  Giving generously helps undo the process.  So I suggest we start small and build up. 

The generosity challenge:

First, throw open your wardrobe door and pull it all out.  Find the good stuff that (for whatever reason) you just don’t wear.  Bag it up, and give it away to a worthy cause.  I know John the Baptist didn’t mean this literally, but why not, eh?  Give it a go.

Secondly, when you’re queuing to pay for your coffee, count the money in your wallet or purse and divide it by two.  Pay for someone else’s drink even if it means changing your own order.

Thirdly, look for an opportunity to give a substantial amount to a cause.  Make personal sacrifices so that you feel the pain of giving.  Forego a pleasure or want so that you can fulfil the need of another.  If your wealth is in time, hospitality or skills, give from those.  If it is financial wealth, you know who to talk to.

This blog series is the next step on from Stewardship’s Lent initiative, 40Acts.  We don’t have to restrict sacrificial and generous giving to the time of Lent.  Why not carry on the Lent challenge throughout the year?  Find an opportunity to give – and I mean really give – this October.

Planning for Harvest

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 9 and you’ll come face to face with some bumper sticker verses: ‘whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly’ (verse 6), ‘God loves a cheerful giver’ (verse 7) and ‘God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’ (verse 9).

If you weren’t a fan of context you could take these as fuel to fire a prosperity gospel: after all,  if we give a big enough offering with a big enough smile we’ll surely end up with a whopping great blessing on our lives, right?

Sadly, that’s not quite what Paul has in mind, but the passage is still dynamite when it comes to the subject of our giving.

Paul’s right when he says that we reap what we sow, but we should remember that Paul’s using the agricultural term metaphorically here, and so we are not meant to take the words literally. Instead of giving as a transaction, Paul paints a picture of a bolder, brighter way of being, one where our choices are motivated by our heart rather than our wallet. Each of us should give ‘what he has decided in his heart to give’. As the late John Stott commented, ‘there is a sense here of a settled conviction about how much to give; of a decision reached after careful consideration, and always with joy and cheerfulness.’ 

Stott also made the link between this passage and Paul’s earlier letter to the Corinthians where he encourages planned, systematic giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). While there’s nothing wrong with spontaneous, Spirit-prompted acts of generosity, we primarily need to approach the matter with care, prayer and time. Decisions about what, and how, we give should not be left to spur-of-the-moment emotions, just as a harvest cannot be reaped when the farmer feels ‘in the mood’.

Harvests, like generosity, take time, purposeful planning and an eye for the long game. As well as making us more efficient in our giving, this also allows for a greater connection with God through the process. As Paul says,

‘This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.’(verse 12)

We 21st century Christians have such potential. We have the power to become informed about so many areas of need, and the possibility to plan our giving in ways that make a sustained, effective difference right where we feel God is calling us. We have the opportunity to share our stories with others across the planet in an instant, and the chance to let our generosity become one of the driving forces in our faith. What a great, indescribable gift!

Take action:

Engage more with this harvest time: go to www.biblefresh.com and read more of Stewardship’s blogs. 

Take stock of your budget and accounts and spend some time reviewing your giving.

Tinned goods have become ubiquitous at harvest, but tin cans sitting in the back of dusty cupboards are poor symbols of God’s abundance and generosity. This autumn let’s reconnect with the idea of celebration and generosity, go to or even run a harvest supper or harvest celebration.

it isn't what you have...

What can it possibly mean to live simply and generously in the 21^st Century? One holiday a year instead of two? Not owning the latest mobile phone? Having a monthly standing order to a couple of charities?  Our definition will no doubt depend on how we think our lifestyle compares to that of our friends, colleagues and neighbours. The result? We’re probably a bit unsure how to live a life that finds true fulfilment in Christ in today’s world.

Sometimes I suspect as Christians we don’t like to hear the harder messages Jesus spoke. We like to focus on the Jesus who is our friend, who carries our burdens. This is right and good. But what about the Jesus who called us to deny ourselves to follow him (Luke 9:23)? The Jesus who tells us to seek first God’s Kingdom and that stuff like food and clothing will follow (Matthew 6:33)? Why did he say all this – was it just to make life miserable for his followers?

It doesn’t take much scientific research to realise there are many people with a lot of possessions, who just aren’t happy. Just as today possessions don’t automatically equal happiness, I suspect they didn’t in the 1^st Century either. Jesus knew full well the hold possessions can have over our lives. The recent London riots, while surely caused by multiple factors, do perhaps point to the dangers of greed and consumerism in our society. Jesus didn’t though say that money and possessions are inherently wrong, but rather that our use of them needs to be directed to putting God and his purposes first, and that actually in this we will find fulfilment. Jesus relied on the support of wealthy women for his ministry (Luke 8:3), Paul relied on Lydia’s hospitality (Acts 16:15) and Jesus knew how to enjoy life  - think of the wedding at Cana and what a great example of a celebratory feast that is.

What if though our culture has become so tied to money and possessions that we no longer realise the hold they have on us? Maybe we’ve become so used to having things instantly, of quick fix consumerism, that we’ve forgotten the value of a feast and saving things for a special occasion. And perhaps, we’re the ones who are really missing out. There are lots of ways we can begin to reassess how we use what we’ve been given, to find a way that’s more fulfilling than mere possessions. Mission Year might just be one of these. It’s an opportunity to live together with others, serving and supporting a local church in a deprived area of London in its work in a local community, working alongside ministries such as CAP, Foodbank and XLP. It’s an opportunity to pool resources, to consider how money and possessions could be used to enable others to serve. Teams are realising just how they can more effectively use what they have for God’s purposes. What’s more, it’s turning out not to be about dogmatic asceticism, taking all the fun out of life, but rather people are discovering just what Jesus meant when he said when he came to give us life in all its fullness: life that finds its identity and satisfaction first and foremost in him and loving those around, not in what we own.

Susannah Clark, Mission Year Project Manager

TAKE ACTION:

- Take some time to consider where your money goes each month, and think about whether there are small changes you could make to enable you to give more away.

- Check out the Evangelical Alliance’s Simplify Campaign tips for ways you can begin to make a difference to your lifestyle http://www.eauk.org/simplify/tips.cfm

- Get connected to the Breathe Network and share with like minded people looking to live more simply and generously http://breathenetwork.org/

- Check out the Mission Year website and consider signing up to join a team for a year of serving, training and living in community: www.missionyear.org.uk

- Pray for the young people caught up in the riots, that they might come to find worth, status and value not in rioting and consumer goods, but in Jesus.