PROCLAIMING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR OF A KINGDOM JUBILEE Viv Grigg Urban Leadership Foundation June 2006 (to be edited)

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PROCLAIMING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOROF A KINGDOM
JUBILEE Viv Grigg Urban Leadership
Foundation June 2006 (to be edited)
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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 418, 19).

• When people heard him, what did they understand?

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The Jubilee (Lev 25 8-55) proclamation,
celebration

• 8. Count off 49 years, then have the trumpet
  sounded everywhereproclaim liberty throughout
  the land to all its inhabitantsThe fiftieth year
  shall be a jubilee for you do not sow and do not
  reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended
  vineseat only what is taken directly from the
  fields
• 13. In this year of Jubilee everyone is to return
  to his own property.

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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.

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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

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1. The Jubilee (Lev 258-55)

• Every 50th year
• A time of equalizing.
• I. SLAVES ARE SET FREE
• II. DEBTS ARE TO BE CANCELED.
• III. CELEBRATION.
• IV. REDISTRIBUTION

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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

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I. A LIBERATING GOSPEL

• To be released from oppression is good news.
• Did you come this morning oppressed?
• financial bondage?

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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.

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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

Raineer Chu Lawyer who rescues communities in
land conflicts
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IV. A RECONCILING GOSPEL

• Immediately after declaring his mandate in Luke
  418, 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

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3. Jubilee Economics in the Acts Community (Acts
242-44)

• 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
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4. Summary of Principles of Kingdom Economics
Principle 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 411)
3. Rest God rests Jubilee come
4. Productivity Good outcomes
5. Cooperative Economics Let us make Sharing Provide for others
6 Redistributn for Equality Jubilee return of land Tithing No needy one Weekly Giving Global redistn (2 Cor 8,9) Simplicity(1Tim66-8)
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 58)
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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

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Gospel Transformation of Poverty IICooperative
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

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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 Pauls teaching
  on global redistribution between the churches

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Sacrificial Simple LifestylesInternationalRedis
tributionII Cor 8,9
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I Tim 66-10
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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

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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

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Be set free

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

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Towards 50,000 Cross-cultural Churchplanters in
the Slums

• Recent Training in Kampala, Uganda
• Hyderabad, India

Setting up a masters training program with three
institutionsfor slum movement leaders
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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

Free? Cheap?