Extravagant Giving

I'm probably not going to make a lot of friends with this post in the church leadership community but I hope that is not ultimately what happens.  I write because of some recent information brought to my attention in a board meeting at "Bridge of Hope York County" that crushed my spirit and almost brought me to sin in anger.

First I want to say thanks to all the generous people out there that get it.  They understand everything they have is not their own but given to them from God to do his work and so when they see a need in the community they are always the first ones to respond.  They are also mature enough in Christ to not be judgemental towards the people that are in need or the agencies that are there to assist for direct and targeted service. 

Which brings me to the object and target of my blog today.  Bridge of Hope York County of which I have the pleasure of being on the board is a ministry to at risk or homeless mommies and their children.  We welcome the families in need as they are with the knowledge that where they are today will not be where they will be upon graduating in the program.  (Go to http://bridgeofhopeinc.org/ to learn more about our model).  Although our families are paired with a mentoring group from a local church we do not in the model "REQUIRE" church attendance to be accepted into or benefit from the program.

This has become a stumbling block for some people and churches in helping Bride of Hope and ultimately these families.  This kind of thinking is bewildering to me as I can not find an example of Godly giving that would withhold help in or outside of the faith community for such as the families we help.  Christ understood very well He could not minister to the spiritual side of a person until first he ministered to their physical needs first.  He was moved to compassion time and time again to meet physical and emotional healing and feeding of people before he would minister to them with the manna from heaven for their spirits.

Another point I want to build on again is nothing we have is our own.  Now I'm not repeating what President Obama said that you didn't build or work for what you have but that its not really yours anyway.  Everything we have, much and little is because of our cooperation with God and his blessings to us.  We have in proportion differently than others around us here and around the world each according to how God ordains.  Will we be faithful with what little or much we have been given? 

Remember the early church was under much persecution and poverty and yet all their needs were met from within and even the far off churches collected and sent money to the church in Jerusalem to help with the needy.  We see in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 of how the Churches in Macedonia who as Paul descibes were under the most extreme suffering and poverty voluntarily gave  and even begged to help Paul with the blessing of the saints in Jerusalem.  This passage rings true even today as when I grew up in the poverty of the streets of Baltimore the poor churches were always the ones that were the most generous to me and my family when we were in need.

They fed us, clothed us, helped pay for gas for the car or even oil for the furnace in the winter until my mom could get on her feet.  We were not even Christians at the time but that didn't matter to the good folks at "The Little Tabernacle" church at the corner of Caroline and Baltimore Street. My brother and I got hugs and our hair shook up by loving men and women of mostly different backgrounds than us but they had the unconditional love of Christ that said these folks need our help and never asked for anything in return.  This kind of love and generosity is what helped the beginning of our faith journey and to this day I find a special place in my heart for those people and I ask all of you to have the same hearts as the church in Macedonia and the one in Baltimore that helped my family. 

Give extravagantly to the needy and not out of what you wont miss or what wont even hurt.  We are coming up on the Holiday Season for our families and some of you may be stressing of how will you ever get all the presents you need to make everyone happy as this has been a tough year on a lot of us in the community.  Can I say and even ask that you give till it hurts to Bridge of Hope York County?  Can I say if it hurts to give without any expectations of church attendance or even a thank you to do it anyway to share in the blessings as the church of Macedonia understood.  It would be an awesome feeling of Gods Grace to have people begging how they can help homeless mommies and their children in this town as Paul was being begged to help the church in Jerusalem.

TO get involved with helping us help these families takes money, time, and talent.  Please call me at 717-515-0913 and lets talk on how you can get involved to shower the love of Christ on these families in need.  God Bless! 

Brian Winograd

Has it been that long?

Hello all!  A lot in life has changed since my last post and I apologize for not keeping up to date but there were more pressing issues.  Tomorrow is not promised to anyone nor is the tomorrow that you thought you would have or have worked and planned for.

Thats the lesson I learned in the last 20 months through many trials and tears and yet I am thankful to our God and King for the grace to carry me through.  Amen.  My wife of 23 years and best friend for 28 years all of the sudden just left me and the kids and has already remarried.  Ill spare you the details as they dont matter as it relates to this blog but I will tell you it knocked me and the world as I knew it for a trip out of orbit.  The hardest part was watching my three great children suffer and cope through it as well with not much I could do but pray, trust God and love on them.

So what I can say and report is this.  God is good!  He has been faithful to me even though my wife wasnt.  He has been a protector of me when the enemy tried to take my youngests life in the midst of all this.  He has provided finance in the midst of a finacial attack.  He has blossomed love in my oldest son and daughters lives as they have found significant others and the ones they will vow the rest of their lives together.  He has brought my friends close.  He has taken away all bitterness and replaced some of my thinking with a new understanding.  What the enemy thought would tear me down the God of the Universe has used it to make be stronger!

Take nothing for granted.  Assume nothing.  Run after God!  Those are the hard lessons of this in a nutshell.  I pray you dont have to cry the same tears as I to also learn these things and that you live today serving the Lord and the purpose he has created you for with everything within you.  Shalom!

Brian Winograd