Ministry Archives - tangible theology

How Pro-Life Are You?

August 10, 2015 by Chris Sicks 2 Comments

My atheist aunt once told me: “If you Christians are going to be against abortion you better be willing to adopt those children!” She’s absolutely right. It is far easier to speak against something than to labor for something. We have shared stuff on Facebook about Planned Parenthood. We have talked about how awful the videos are. We have prayed for the lives of the unborn. However, people who believe in the sanctity of life should be just as concerned about the children who are … [Continue reading...]

I Want to Punch Mother Teresa in the Face

July 17, 2015 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

This is a guest post by my friend Kimberly, one of the Grace and Peace Gals, who live and work in in Cambodia serving women and children who have been sexually exploited. They courageously, and tangibly, bring hope and help into very hard places. I love her honesty about how hard ministry can be. It was a quote, typed over Mother Teresa’s face, posted on Facebook that tugged at my heart one day. Her deeply wrinkled face stared serenely at me, her head tilted with a bit of a knowing smile. … [Continue reading...]

What’s Important To You?

June 30, 2015 by Chris Sicks 2 Comments

My church has been very generous in giving me some time off recently to care for my wife and family. Sara’s breast cancer has spread to her brain, and continues to grow there despite multiple surgeries, radiation treatments, and drugs. So she has at times been unable to walk, and still cannot drive or use the stairs. Having more time at home to invest in my family has revealed something to me: I’m even more selfish than I realized. I used to think I’d be more patient and spend more quality … [Continue reading...]

Pour Yourself Out

November 1, 2014 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

My fraternity, which periodically did service projects, had a very good motto: “Give expecting nothing thereof.” It’s based upon Luke 6:35—“love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” Do you see how radical this is? Jesus wasn’t saying, “love your coworker, even if he’s unable to do anything for you.” Or, “love your wife and don’t expect anything in return.” Jesus was actually calling us to love our enemies, and expect nothing in … [Continue reading...]

Humility Incarnate

October 9, 2014 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997. Three million people showed up for Diana’s funeral on September 6, and it was broadcast around the world. Do you remember who died the day before Diana's funeral? It was Mother Teresa. How fitting that the world was so absorbed by the death and burial of a famous princess that they hardly noticed the passing of humble Teresa. I think she would have wanted it that way. The world values fame and fortune, power and prestige. God values humility: This … [Continue reading...]

Especially Eternal Suffering

January 25, 2014 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

The gospel should compel us to move out into the world, addressing both earthly and eternal suffering. But we so often choose one over the other. The danger of splitting the church's mission like that is explained powerfully in this excerpt from John Piper’s address to the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization: One truth is that when the gospel takes root in our souls it impels us out toward the alleviation of all unjust suffering in this age. That’s what love does! The other truth is … [Continue reading...]

A Bruised & Dirty Church

November 27, 2013 by Chris Sicks 2 Comments

Pope Francis recently wrote: "I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security." A challenge to all Christians, don't you think? How often are we (as institutions and individuals) motivated more by our own security than God's command to get our hands dirty? Have you ever heard of Deacon Lawrence in Rome? In the year 257, Emperor Valerian … [Continue reading...]

She’s A Bright Light

October 16, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

Grief over children who have recently died. Fear of their houses being bulldozed. Lack of a place to use the bathroom. Injuries from childbirth that make it hard for them to carry water. Above all, the fear of dying before their children are raised. This is the humbling, sobering list of problems that ladies bring to a support group led by Liz Polk in Ethiopia. She and her husband Jason are friends of mine who serve families struggling with extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and a shortage of … [Continue reading...]

Alien Altruism

September 27, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

When I tell people that my job involves helping widows and refugees and the poor, some of them respond, “Oh, that must be very rewarding!” I think this reveals a misunderstanding about the motivation for merciful deeds. Their response carries an implicit assumption that I must be in ministry because of the ways I benefit from it. Why else would I do something so challenging that pays so little? (I do, of course, like my work and it is frequently rewarding. But my income was the same eighteen … [Continue reading...]

Feeling Fruitful?

August 26, 2013 by Chris Sicks Leave a Comment

I think Jesus must have had Psalm 1:3-4 in mind when He said, I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (John 15:5-6) Jesus and the author of Psalm 1 describe two types of people, those who abide in the Lord and bear fruit, and those who dry up because they … [Continue reading...]