Trash Bags

"America spends more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods.

One billion people in the world do not have access to clean water, while the average American uses 4-600 liters of water a day.

More than half of the world lives on less than 2 American dollars a day.

40% of people in the world lack basic sanitation...

Church is not ultimately about attending large gatherings.
Church is people.
People who live a certain way in the world.
People who have authority in the world, but authority that comes from breaking themselves open and pouring themelves out so that the world will be healed...

In a world in which there are 27 million slaves, 4,500 people in Africa will die of AIDS today, and 840 million people will go to bed hungry tonight because they cannot afford a meal, Jesus wants to save our church from the exile of irrelevance. If we have resources, any power, any voice, any influence, any energy, we must convert them into blessing for those who have no power, no voice, no influence."
-Jesus Wants to Save Christians, A Manifesto for the Church in Exile,
-Rob Bell and Don Golden

From two different sources today, I've heard the phrase, "be a part of the solution not the problem." I pray that Mosaic is a part of that solution here in Baltimore. 3 weeks ago we gave away our entire benevolence fund to the congregation during Sunday morning service to share with our neighbors. Tomorrow morning we're kicking off a 2 week long serving frenzy. These acts are not solutions unto themselves, but we hope will be tools to help us build a community of believers who will convert our power, influence and voice into blessings for those without.