When: April 13, 7 p.m.

Location: Hope Fellowship Church, Cambridge
On April 13, Robert Zachritz will be sharing with us about advocating on issues of global poverty. He will be talking about how we should approach this as Christians and also go in-depth about issues of aid, trade, and debt.

Robert Zachritz

As Senior Policy Advisor, Mr. Zachritz’s primary areas of focus for World Vision include Global AIDS, Food Security, International Food Aid, and the Congressional Appropriations process. Prior to joining World Vision in 2003, Bob worked for almost fifteen years within the U.S. Congress for both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress. Most recently, he served as Rules Committee Associate and foreign policy advisor for former Representative Tony P. Hall (D-Ohio).

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. – Colossians 3:1-4.

A typical reading of this passage might lead us to think that setting our minds and hearts on things above means to remember our eternal destinies and the transience of life on earth. To focus on the promise of glory in heaven and the joy of being with God. That is an apt reading.Yet, there is another.

I went to a missions conference in 2004. When I saw that this text was the focus of the keynote, I expected another sermon on the delights of eternity and heaven and remembering how brief our current life is and how we should look ahead to our permanent home. I was wrong. The speaker instead interpreted “set your minds on things above” as focusing on things of eternity, here. He then showed us a powerpoint of Africans in poverty, pointing out that these images depicted eternal matters. That consistent with Scripture, God’s heart was for the poor and the marginalized, the hurting and the destitute. By “setting our minds on things above,” it meant being here on earth but investing in people, God’s children. Lifting up the poor. His heart hurt for them, hurt for the oppressed. He was a bringer of justice, and as His children, we were to be be as well. We were not off the hook in merely looking forward to heaven. We were to bring God’s kingdom (justice and mercy) to earth.

I left the conference a bit shocked but empowered. I wanted to set my mind and heart on things above. All I had to do was look around me.

— Evelyn Hsieh

There’s a good article over at Relevant that encapsulates much of the theology that permeates what the Boston Faith & Justice Network is about. Give it a read.

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Also, don’t forget about this Friday’s FREE movie at Hope Fellowship Church. It’s a documentary about South Africa, and it’s sure to be thought-provoking. Click here for more details.

Be blessed today!