Tag: Haiti

Help Haiti by joining your church?

Mars Hill Church has been doing some big stuff to help churches in Haiti recover from the earthquake. Mark Driscoll flew there to get a first hand perspective and the event has significantly altered the preaching schedule for Mars Hill according to lead pastor Jamie Munson’s blog.

Here’s Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Haiti.

Obviously Mars Hill and the leadership team there have been deeply affected by the situation – but their blog on the subject came up with what I think is a fairly odd application. If you’re at Mars Hill and you’ve been affected by the Haiti situation you should:

  • Start giving to the church.
  • Quit living on your own and join a community group.
  • Pursue church membership and align formally with your church family.
  • Confess to your community group about lack of giving or participation in Jesus’ mission.
  • Consider financial coaching: get help building a budget so that you can align your finances with right priorities.

That doesn’t sound right to me. To be fair the church has given incredibly generously to aid Haiti. But I’m not sure how these points relate. How does becoming a member help Haiti?

While I’m on the subject of Mars Hill – here’s an interesting little video from Mark Driscoll about why they use video. I like that even in a video about methodology Driscoll clearly presents the gospel, and our responsibility in the light of it.

January 26, 2010

Pat Robertson is an idiot who needs to read the Bible

It takes a natural disaster to bring out the best and worst in Christianity. Pat Robertson is one of those insidious televangelists who will jump on any bandwagon in order to promote his gospel – not the gospel – his gospel.

So it doesn’t surprise me to see him trying to capitalise on a terrible tragedy (the horrific earthquake in Haiti).

Here’s what Jesus says about this sort of situation in Luke (12 and 13)…

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[c]”

Luke 13

1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

January 14, 2010