I Have Questions

Last time I said Jesus made it simple – a community centered around Him.

And I promised to link that to the FREEDOM TOUR.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this paraphrased observation from Richard Halverson (U.S. Senate Chaplain 1981 – 95):

The church began in Jerusalem as a community centered on the person of Jesus Christ. It moved to Greece where it became a philosophy, then to Rome where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. Finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise.

As FREEDOM TOUR moves past our 10^th anniversary, we seek to operate as a Jesus-centered community. We don’t want to relegate Jesus to philosophy, institution, or culture status.

But I’m asking myself, and everyone else, a few questions.

We raise funds to support the Home of Hope, and raising funds can look a lot like an enterprise. On the surface, successful fundraising is difficult to distinguish from any other business.

Can a Jesus-centered community also be effective fundraisers?

Or does a desire to support the kids transform community into enterprise?

We’re a mission, not a church. Those have different purposes. Does that matter?

Is there such a thing as “Jesus-centered fundraising? If so, how does it look different?

If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them.