For those of you who don’t know, Gift Aid is the means by which organisations that have been afforded charitable status can claim back the income tax that has been paid on any gifts that they’ve received.  This usually means that for every £1 that’s given to a church, they actually receive about £1.20.

In churches where biblical generosity is practiced, this extra 20% can make a big difference to their annual budget.

I’m sure many of you reading this are thinking “what’s wrong with that?  Surely that money is better used by churches than to fund wars?”  And sure, in one way I agree.  I’m not opposed to the church having access to extra funds.  What I am bothered about is the conditions and restrictions that are tied up with Gift Aid, and the churches growing dependence on state.

The early church came about during the time when the Roman Empire was the dominant world force.  Becoming a follower of Jesus during this time meant risking your life.  To be a Roman Citizen, and thus a friend (not an enemy) of Rome, you would proclaim “Caesar is Lord.”

When the Roman army invaded a place, the choice given to it’s people was: pledge allegiance to Caesar, or die.

Followers of The Way (the early name for those who followed Jesus) made the highly controversial statement, “Jesus is Lord.”  Instead of accepting hand outs from Caesar, they redistributed what they had, so that those who were poor among them were taken care of.

Joining The Way was a highly political activity that challenged the authority of the empire.  Following Jesus meant choosing Him as Lord instead of Caesar, even if it meant that your personal safety and security was under threat.

Fast forward to 2011, when the British Government offers the church hand outs (in the form of Gift Aid), providing they fulfil certain criteria, which is determined by the Charities Commission.

A Government Agency dictates the activities that must be pursued by Followers of The Way (the church) in order for them to receive a considerable chunk of their annual income.

Does this sound strange to anyone else?

When the government talks of cutting back Gift Aid, Christians are up in arms.  They lobby, they pray, they send emails to other believers, all with the aim of securing their access to this tax money.

How did such a counter cultural, empire-threatening group become so preoccupied with state-provided financial security?

He [Jesus] goes to visit the home of these two women. Martha takes her assigned role taking care of the kitchen, taking care of preparing food. Mary, on the other hand, decides to go and sit at the feet of the rabbi as only men were allowed to do in those days. Here is a woman breaking the social morés of the society, sitting, learning Torah from a rabbi with other men. Martha complains. At this point, Jesus says, “Martha, Mary has chosen the better thing to do.”

Charles Finney was the Billy Graham of the 1800s. When you came down the aisle and accepted Jesus as your personal savior at a Finney revival, he took you in the back room, where there were two tables, one table to sign up for the anti-slavery movement and the other for the feminist movement. When they took you in the back room, they didn’t give you a Gospel of John. You had to sign up for what he believed God was doing in the world at that time. And at that time, he saw that the great movements of God were the abolition of slavery and the liberation of women from their servitude.

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Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers – in some ways less so – but more open.

(Thanks Ashley & Rosemary)

Our journey with Joseph began just two months ago. We were walking and praying that Jesus would lead us to people who would like to follow him, and, as we rounded the first corner, there he stood.

That particular day he was out looking for someone who would lend him 100 Rand (£7) so that he could pay a visit to his doctor. He had a worsening back condition from a road accident that happened when he was cycling to work ten years ago. The doctor had told him that he would need a wheel chair.

When we met Joseph he told us about his back pain, how he had metal rods in his back, plates in his head and had been in a coma for 15 days when it first happened.

So we offered to pray for him.

When we were done, he showed us where he lived and we agreed to come and visit him the next day.

On our return he was smiling as he told us, “I feel fine”.

The next time we went we had Walter with us, and he was able to determine (through conversing in Xhosa) that Joseph was feeling considerably better, and was walking around comfortably. For the first time in years he was sleeping all through the night. He asked that we would come back every day and tell him something about Jesus.

Since then we’ve returned two or three times each week to encourage, pray and read scripture with Joseph and his wife Lulama. They are excited that they can gather their family and friends in their home and learn together about the life of Jesus.