HCFA Doxa with Nick Nowalk
Whether conservative or liberal in their political leanings--it makes no difference--Christians in western society all too often find themselves tragically compromised in how they pursue and handle their finances.
Where Jesus says "either/or!"at the line demarcating the love of God and the love of money (Matthew 6:24), we try to say"both/and!" Our witness to the gospel--to the story of the God who generously cancels our debts and freely enriches us as a gift of love--is irreducibly tainted by our refusal to take seriously in our communities what Irenaeus long ago called "the economy of God"--that is, the ways of God with us in Christ through the Spirit, which ought to structure our own life together and be embodied in our own economic life. In this talk (followed by Q & A), we will look at the apostle Paul's own long-term passion project to rally his churches over many years to financially support impoverished Christians in Jerusalem (seen most clearly in 2 Corinthians 8-9). This "Jerusalem collection" was deeply personal and profoundly theological for Paul, who saw in it an extension of Jesus' own radical grace for us to others through us. Generosity to the poor and needy turns out to be close to the very heartbeat of both the character of God and the shape of faith among followers of Jesus who have tasted of His goodness in their own lives.
