PROCLAIMING GOOD NEWS. TO THE POOR OF A KINGDOM JUBILEE. Viv Grigg PROCLAIMING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR OF A KINGDOM JUBILEE Viv Grigg Urban Leadership Foundation June 2006 (to be edited) I bring you greetings from the church in the slums of Manila, Kampala, Hyderabad, Chennai, where at times I have been over the last months Thank-you for your prayers the last two months as I have been travelling. It has been a time of fruitfulness as we press towards 50,000 cross-cultural workers for the slums.

When people heard him, what did they understand? Jesus came to preach good news of the Kingdom of God to the poor, to set the captives free, to declare the acceptable year of the Lord (– the year of Jubilee) (Luke 4:18, 19). So what do we train pastors in? Churchplanting Holistic churchplanting Kingdom Economics I will share some of this with you and make application for you here in the Tab It begins by affirming the pastors in their central activity of preaching the Kingdom. But what is the Kingdom. To understand this we look at the social and econnomci and ppoitical aspects of the Kingdom. This begins in Luke 4:18 It is reasoanable to understand that this acceptable year that Isaiah is refers to refers back to the Jubilee in Exodus. When people heard him, what did they understand?

The Jubilee (Lev 25: 8-55) – proclamation, celebration 8. Count off… 49 years, then have the trumpet sounded everywhere…proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants…The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines…eat only what is taken directly from the fields… 13. In this year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.

Jubilee – Economic Redistribution 14. If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him do not take advantage of each other. You are to buy on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. When the years are many, you are to increase the price and when the years are few you are to decrease the price, because what he is really selling you is the number of crops.

Jubilee – Freedom from bondage 23. The land must not be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are but aliens and tenants... 39 If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work until the Year of Jubilee. Then he and his children are to be released…

1. The Jubilee (Lev 25:8-55) Every 50th year A time of equalizing. I. SLAVES ARE SET FREE II. DEBTS ARE TO BE CANCELED. III. CELEBRATION. IV. REDISTRIBUTION

2. Jesus’ Message of the Jubilee Jesus describes it as a proclamation of freedom a release from oppression the coming of a special year. Not a year but an age of Jubilee The Gospel is liberating The Gospel is economic The gospel is one of celebration

I. A LIBERATING GOSPEL To be released from oppression is good news. Did you come this morning oppressed? financial bondage?

II. A CELEBRATING GOSPEL In the Jubilee, life is a celebration. Our task is to bring the joy of Christ into situations of darkness, the hope of Christ into situations of despair. Jesus knew how to enjoy life At parties with the rich he did his evangelism. For as the proclaimer of Jubilee, he was calling people to celebrate.

III. AN ECOLOGICAL GOSPEL The Jubilee involves the redistribution of the land Christians work with slum dwellers to gain land rights In NZ, evangelism last decade hinged on leadership in land rights issues for Maori This decade it will hinge on Christian leadership of environmental issues And the fight for young couples to have their own land Half the world is disposessed This involves confronting the oppression of the “legal” rich, violence, murder Raineer Chu – Lawyer who rescues communities in land conflicts

IV. A RECONCILING GOSPEL Immediately after declaring his mandate in Luke 4:18, Jesus began to talk about ministering to Gentiles. They tried to throw him of a cliff The jubilee is reconciling. That is the basis for a multicultural church. V. AN ECONOMIC GOSPEL

3. Jubilee Economics in the Acts Community (Acts 2:42-44) FIRST PRINCIPLE: CELEBRATION SECOND PRINCIPLE: COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS THIRD PRINCIPLE: FORSAKING FOURTH PRINCIPLE: MEETING NEEDS FIFTH PRINCIPLE: PRIVATE OWNERSHIP WITHOUT POSSESSIVENESS SIXTH PRINCIPLE: VOLUNTARY GIVING SEVENTH PRINCIPLE: THE EQUALIZING GOSPEL AN EQUALIZING GOSPEL A RANGE OF JUSTICE & EQUALITY

4. Summary of Principles of Kingdom Economics Genesis/ Jubilee Gospels & Acts Epistles 1. Creativity God the creator Spirit sets free 2. Cooperative Economics Let us make Sharing Provide for others 4. Productivity Good outcomes Labour in gospel Work with hands (1 Thes 4:11) 3. Rest God rests Jubilee come 5. Cooperative Economics 6 Redistribut’n for Equality Jubilee –return of land Tithing No needy one Weekly Giving Global redist’n (2 Cor 8,9) Simplicity(1Tim6:6-8) 7. Savings & Debt Jubilee cancels debts Debts cancelled Owe no man 8. Celebration It was good Worship daily 9. Ownership / Own home / Forsake all, / Provide family (Levites) yet own home (1 Tim 5:8)

Gospel Transformation of Poverty Upon Conversion Release from sins of drunkenness, gambling, immorality, bitterness Release from demons Stability in work God answers prayers Supportive community of faith New vision, new zeal A passion for learning Faithfulness, honesty lead to promotions

Gospel Transformation of Poverty II Cooperative Economics: Savings in the Slums II. Credit Cooperatives Savings: 10 people contributing $1 per week into a common fund Given to one person to capitalise a small business They repay week by week, others keep contributing Trains people to do basic bookkeeping III. Microfinance Only viable after 1-2 years of savings and credit cooperatives, only works with the proven Too high a level of management for most poor

5. Jubilee and International Redistribution (2 Corinthians 8,9) The Principles of Jubilee seen in Jesus community then in the Acts community are further extended globally in Paul’s teaching on global redistribution between the churches If this church is to become a genuine mission supporting church

Sacrificial Simple Lifestyles International Redistribution II Cor 8,9

I Tim 6:6-10

Credit Cooperatives in a Western Church What would happen if the church cut out the moneylenders (Banks)? What if twenty families paid in $40 per week to a common fund? What if the common fund was then used to pay off one mortgage…

What to Do Internationally? Repent, Engage, Go Sit down with family and determine what to do to simplify lifestyle Commit to costs of training one pastor ($50) Seed fund one project, one co-op ($1000) Buy a church (set a congregation free, $10-20,000) Work with us in one training program, assist with video, typing CD

Be set free Time of symbolic commitment Or time for reflection with your small group Leaders can pray with you at front

Towards 50,000 Cross-cultural Churchplanters in the Slums Recent Training in Kampala, Uganda Hyderabad, India Time in Uganda saw 45 pastors trained and in India 90 pastors and their wives trained in grassroots churchplanting. They have committed to training another 650 churchplanters. 30 years of pioneering works in the slums has left me with leadership of an alliance of some 50 slum movements from around the world. Part of that is developing the training for leaders of movements around the world. In this last week, I have seen the consolidation of 4 years of work as 3 institutions have committed to deliver an MA in Urban Leadership that I have been designing for some years. This will mean probably 1000 movement leaders significantly trained in the next decades. Setting up a masters training program with three institutions for slum movement leaders

Urban Leadership Foundation 30 years catalysing slum movements By faith… Expanding simple base Need to move from garage to 2 room office for 5 people Need volunteer bookkeeper, database manager, conference organiser This we do by faith, trusting God to provide month by month, without any visible means of support. My base for this has been Urban Leadership – operated from my garage. Dependent on your prayer… I am in need of couple of offices for four staff, an administrator, a database person, a bookkeeper – all of whom will trust God for their support. Also need to expand my board Brochures Books on table Free? Cheap? ^