Margot Starbuck - Small Things with Great Love: Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor

I am old enough to remember when caring for poor and oppressed peopleor at least feeling guilty about not caringwasnt a very high priority for middle-class Christians.

Back in the days before overseas mission trips and inner-city summer programs became basic expectations for youth group kids, before Christian colleges began offering courses dealing with racism and sexism and cultural imperialism, before economic development and social justice entered the vocabularies of pastors and missions committee members everywhere, we church folks concentrated on more pressing questions: Could we serve real Communion wine instead of grape juice? Was Christian rock and roll music a dangerous compromise? Was it wrong to use any Bible translation other than the King James Version?

Oh, some of us were always out there, waving our arms and shouting about Jesus and justice and poverty and the kingdom of God, but we felt like sideshow performers, far from the center of the action. At some point, however, things began to change. Ron Siders Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger jump-started the conversation among evangelicals; Dorothy Day and then Mother Teresa inspired the Catholics. Church people started listening to John Perkins and Jim Wallis and Bruce Ritter.

It didnt happen quickly or easily, but it happened: the rest of us figured out that the gospel of Jesus isnt just about getting people to heaven. The gospel of Jesus is also about letting the Holy Spirit use us to make this world the kingdom of God, which means it is also about you and me actually and practically loving our brothers and sisters in need.

The problem, of course, is that most of us dont have a clue about where and how to start. We know Jesus calls us to care for the poor and the oppressedbut we dont know where to find such people, let alone how to care for them. Or do we?

For many years I have done my best to motivate Christians to build the kingdom of God by reaching out to people in need. Some of those people have banded together to start inner-city youth groups, orphanages in Africa, literacy centers in Haiti, AIDS hospices and other wonderful ministry programs. From them I hear great testimonies of the glory of love. I hear other testimonies, however, from people who feel alone or afraid, or who simply want to do more.

If you want to experience the glory of love for yourself, then this is your lucky book. If you have been looking for a wise, understanding, thoughtful, encouraging, experienced and very funny people-lover to talk you through the process of getting into people-loving yourself, then Margot Starbuck is your lucky friend. Here is a real woman of God who doesnt pretend to have all the answers or to be especially holy or to be unbelievably sacrificial, but who has a unique and very helpful angle on getting better at the stuff that matters most. Margot is one of the up-and-coming leaders of a generation of Christiansthe kind of people she and I call Red Letter Christianswho are taking seriously the red letters of the Bible and trying to live out what Jesus commanded his followers to do in his name. In this book, Margot deals with how to be a radical follower of Jesus while living what some might say are ordinary lives. Her insights make what is often ordinary living into something extraordinary, if the values of Jesus are implemented in the home and in the workplace.

I am old enough to remember when a book like this wouldnt have been possible, or very much in demand in any case, and when an incredible leader like Margot wouldnt have been possible either. Thank God those days are over.

Tony Campolo

My Reluctance About Following Super-Jesus

T oo often, I have failed to engage with a world in need.

Ive done it quite sincerely, especially when Ive cloaked someone like Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Teresa as a red-caped, neighbor-loving superhero. This convenient posturing inoculates me against actually doing anything. Rather, the unspoken assumption becomes that, since Im just a regular gal, I obviously wont be doing anything superhuman like demonstrating for garbage workers or touching the pus-filled wounds of a dying stranger. This way Im able to feel warm and fuzzy inside, admiring my heroes without the complication of actually joining them. Dont even get me started with Super-Jesus. Basically, if I make loving the poor a big thing, then Im off the hook.

I think Mother Teresa must have known how Id try to weasel around Jesus clear invitation to engage with a world in need. So she said, We cannot do great things, only small things with great love. Small things happen when I learn the name of my daughters school bus driver. Small things happen when I listen to the dreams of a woman who lives in a group home on my block. Small things happen when I risk crossing a language barrier even though I look really stupid doing it. Small things, of course, put me back on the hook.

My Friend Hugh

So if engaging with a world in need feels overwhelming to you, I get that.

Because managing laundry, a Visa bill, email and dinner are already unwieldy enough, entering into relationship with someone who is poor can feel more than a little daunting. This awareness is never more palpable than when I think of my friend Hugh, who shares life with folks who are homeless in nearby Raleigh, North Carolina. When I think of Hugh, I can start to feel guilty as I mentally scroll through all the ways Im not engaged with the poor. This list is quite extensive.

Recently Hugh had a chance to share with one local church that was filled with very well-meaning people. He challenged them to consider investing in relationships that cross boundaries of shelter and race and religion and income and class. One churchy guy there named Chuck was inspired by the vision. Like me, hed bought into the big idea about Christians loving folks who live on the margins; at the same time, he wanted Hugh to hear what his life was like.

I commute at least one hour, each way, to my job, explained Chuck. I work at Research Triangle Park. I love what I do and I work hard at it. The one day of the week I do have at home with my family, I dont want to go to the park and meet homeless people.

Often its best to just lay it out there.

Hugh thought for a moment, and then asked Chuck, Do you have an office?

Yes... Chuck replied, not sure where this was heading.

Hugh continued, Is there someone who cleans your office?

Yes, Chuck carefully answered again. Theres a woman who cleans my office two or three times a week.

Whats her name? Hugh asked.

I dont know her name, Chuck admitted.

Hugh pressed, How long has she been cleaning your office?

Seven or eight years, Chuck estimated. By this point he was beginning to catch on.

Several weeks later, Hugh answered his ringing phone and heard a voice blurt out, Her name is Regina! Chuck had taken the time to meet the woman who cleaned his office, and he had learned that Regina was working two jobs to provide for her children.

You know this has messed me up, right? Chuck demanded of Hugh. By messed up, he meant that being in relationship with Regina had sort of ruffled the comfortable, insulated life hed been enjoying.

Smiling to himself, Hugh acknowledged, I know.

You want to know just how messed up Chucks life got? Chucks family and Reginas family spent Christmas together last year.

It was a holy mess.

But Wait, Wait...