Imago Dei Blog

Practicing Resurrection

As Easter was approaching this year I started thinking about how we could practice resurrection all year long. Sometimes we have to fight to keep ourselves living into the resurrection; new life is not always the dominant experience we have. We need tangible ways to remember that in the midst of a dying world, new life is breaking in and it started with Jesus who overcame not only our sin on the cross but our death as well.

I was looking for some kind of experience that we could participate in as a whole community that would remind us each week that Jesus is alive and breaking into the world in us, through us and for us. My friend Don was at John Weece’s Church, Southland Community in Lexington KY.  He told me John asks his congregation each week to give one dollar to a particular offering. They take that entire offering and give it to someone in need outside of their church.

I had my handle on how we would practice resurrection. We stole John’s idea (thanks for your creativity John and the courage of the people of your community as well!!!).

Change for a Dollar
We named the initiative Change for a Dollar and I shared that each week we are going to take an offering and all we want from each person is one dollar. We have these big metal pails with stickers that say Change for a Dollar. Each week we are then able to share the story from the week before, of whom the money went to and how God made change for a dollar through his resurrection people.

The first week, one of our pastors connected with an old friend who was working as a social worker. She was discouraged about her faith feeling weary from persevering with families who are going through significant problems.  Our pastor shared that we had this money that we wanted to give it to her, to give to a family in crisis.

God Makes Change
The cool part was that She was super encouraged and realized that even though she was working in really broken situations and seeing the effects of sin everyday, God was there and he was using her in these peoples lives. She took the money to a women she was working with who had four children and had to relocate because of domestic violence.  Being out of cash and going through massive transition and stress, our social worker friend was able to give a check with a small note that said

“This money is given to you in the name of Jesus from your friends at Imago Dei Community.”

The mother was pretty overwhelmed and at first didn’t know how to respond, she started saying that she had a church, and seemed to think it was an odd recruiting technique. Then she was told there were no strings attached it’s just a demonstration of the love of Jesus in the midst of a difficult place.

The first thing she did was to purchase shoes that her kids needed really badly. Now she can get herself settled and hopefully do something to celebrate with her kids that God is paying attention to them and he cares.

Go and make change for a Dollar
So steal the idea I stole from John and make it your own, so that resurrection can break in and we can all stand in awe that we serve a God who can take a dollar and turn it into hope for a social worker and empower a single mom to buy new shoes for her children! God makes change for a dollar.