The SOLD Project Archives - Page 5 of 7

Remembering the Poor – And Also the Spiritually Poor

I’m exploring Galatians 2 this week. Here is the passage from the NIV:

“James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

As I said in my first post, it is obvious that Paul is saying that when he went out into the world, he was …

Remembering the Poor

There’s a passage in Galatians 2 that has always intrigued me, so this week I’m going to share three posts on the topic. This is from The Message translation of the Apostle Paul’s letter:

“Recognizing that my calling had been given by God, James, Peter, and John — the pillars of the church — shook hands with me and Barnabas, assigning us to a ministry to the non-Jews, while they continued to be responsible for reaching out to the Jews. The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that.” …

Boystown

If you read this blog you know that I’m passionate about uplifting the poor, supporting the oppressed, and challenging systems that perpetuate injustice. That’s why I co-founded PathLight. It’s why I serve on the board of The SOLD Project. It’s why D’Aun and I support a variety of other endeavors.

I came across this short video on the 24-7 Prayer. It’s about an amazing woman doing some amazing things. Or more accurately, God doing some amazing things through her. I don’t know her and have no connection with her, but her story will touch many people I …

Biblical CQ

As far back as Sunday School I’ve been taught to consider the cultural context of a Bible story. It wasn’t explained that way to me, of course, but cultural understanding was critical for understanding the sometimes bizarre stories of Scripture. In college my religious studies courses emphasized this over and over.

Here’s an example of how important it is. Our church just started a series on Ruth. In the first sermon, the pastor had to spend half his time explaining the cultural context for the book. He couldn’t get past even one verse without having to paint the cultural backdrop!…

Goble Properties Staff Retreat

During the 30-years that I have been at Goble Properties we have never had a staff retreat. Ridiculous, right?

Well that has been corrected. Last week D’Aun and I spent three days in Napa at the Silverado Resort with some of the nicest people on the planet. Our staff are scattered from Cathedral City to San Jose to Pleasanton, so it was good to pull everybody together.

We built our meetings around the book ReWork by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. What I love about this book is that it understands the mindset of a small business owner. …

Within a yard of hell….

The English missionary C.T. Studd said, “Some want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”

An admirable conviction! I have friends all over the world who are living that way, and I’m in awe of their perseverance. Courageous and faithful, they serve the poor, heal the wounded, and care for the least of these from Belize to Thailand to Zimbabwe and hundreds of places around the world.

Of course, in his day C.T. Studd was talking about an actual geographic location: far from the …

The Cultural Intelligence Difference, by David Livermore

Over the past couple of years I’ve been reading David Livermore’s books about cultural intelligence, or CQ as it is called. David has a knack for putting academic insights into readable form that make a complicated topic approachable. For instance, the first book of his that I read was “Serving With Eyes Wide Open” and it immediately went on the list of recommended books that I ask all PathLight International volunteers to read. I know the folks at The SOLD Project also utilize the book.

Subsequent books by Livermore about cultural leadership were excellent. They focused on the …