A loose end I forgot about

Hello? Anybody still have a feed open?

This is a picture of the Dickson family. Matt and Jenna used to be members of our church, but they moved. The reason they moved is an interesting story -- they sold their big house in order to live is a smaller house; they wanted to live in a smaller house because they wanted to serve God with their money, rather than to serve their money.

That's an interesting idea, isn't it? Serve God with your money.

However, that's not why I'm violating the hiatus to post this. I linked to this video about a month ago:



In 2 weeks, Matt is slated to start work in Carrollton, TX, with Gospel for Asia.

Because 100% of all money given to Gospel for Asia for missions work is sent to the mission field, the home team missionary staff must raise their own financial support. The Dickson's goal is to raise a total of $3,600/month in support to meet their family's salary and insurance needs. This support is provided by those who feel led by God to partner with them in helping reach the 2.7 billion people who have never heard the Gospel.

Today, they have sufficient support in one-time gifts to make the move, but they are short by about a third in continuing dollars. Rather than overwhelm you with what a third looks like, here's what I'm thinking. Go to their blog, read their story, watch the video a second time (you didn't watch it the first time? One of my readers?), and send them a commitment for on-going support.

Now, under normal circumstances, about 300-400 people a day read the blog. With the hiatus being all official and what-not, there are maybe a couple-hundred hard-core hangers-on who are reading today. In that, I'm going to make two specific requests:

[1] Al Sends: contact Matt and Jenna and see if you can plug them on your radio show, dude. If you can't support them with $20 a month for the next 5 years, maybe you can get their story into the ears of 50 people who can. Even if they are Presbyterians.

[2] The rest of you: Think about $10/month to support this family who is going to serve God rather than money. Matt is giving up a great job -- the kind most of us are still clawing up the ladder to get -- in order to go and serve the Gospel with the talents he has. Jenna is, well, following him there, and taking 3 boys under the age of 10 without any questions. If 100 people can commit to give $10/month for the next 5 years, it will be a foothold for the Dicksons in their new life in world missions.

This of it this way: there are usually about 22 week days in any given month. Get a jar, and label it "Jesus Loves Matt and Jenna". Every week day, when you come home from work, drop 2 quarters out of your pocket change into that jar rather than dropping those quarters in the ash tray of your car. And when you drop that money in there, pray like this: "Father -- I'm grateful that at the end of the day I have a place to stay safely, and I have more than enough to live on. These two quarters are a gift which I usually take for granted, but today I'm not going to treat the extra you gave me as if it was worthless. Bless this money and the work of those it is going to support. Keep the Dicksons safe, and thank you for their example about what my priorities ought to be. I love you, God, and I am glad I can remember your grace even in this small way. May your name be glorified in this. Amen."

At the end of the first month, you can send the Dicksons $10, and you can keep $1 for an ice cream cone or something -- maybe the hardcore among you will give that $1 to your church as a love offering. But listen: even though this isn't Katrina or anything, this is the time we have to answer the question about who we serve.