Jobs for Life Applications

Jobs for Life classes will be held at Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church in Flintstone, Georgia starting this January. The first class will be held on Monday, January 4th. Classes will run on Mondays from 7:00 - 9:00 pm through the beginning of May.

If you or someone you know might be interested in participating in the class, you can download the application here but do not mail it to Greensboro (as is stated at the bottom of the last page of the document). Instead, email or mail it to the Hope office.

Positions for volunteers are still available. Please contact the Hope office for more information.

The Characterists of a Deacon

What does it take to be a great deacon? Check out 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The Bible gives us a wonderful picture of the kind of person suited to fill this role.
Because Hope does not seek to replace the work of the church -and the work of deacons, more specifically- we often work closely with the Diaconate of our participating congregations. It is a privilege to work with men who are so willing to give themselves to this work! Although it is important that the church grounds are cared for -since we are commanded to be good stewards of all the Lord has given- how much more then, are we called to care for the needy who live next-door?
This is a daunting task, especially if a deacon has always thought of their job as being custodial and nothing more. Ministering to the poor can seem like an "add-on" -but it's not! Diaconal Ministries Canada has a fantastic website with very helpful resources for deacons. Their motto is "transforming communities for Christ," and if that doesn't sound exciting, I don't know what does! This site has helpful tools like FAQs deacons might find helpful in understanding their roles, as well as workshops and workbooks. Their Guidelines for Benevolence has been extremely helpful to our work at Hope. This document is helpful in creating specific guidelines for a church's mercy ministry policies. By creating limits to the kind of help a church provides as well as a rationale for why the church does/does not do what it does, a church can minister more effectively to the needy in it's community -without doing harm!

Check out this website. Even if you are not on your churches Diaconate, it may help you to understand the importance of demonstrating mercy thoughtfully, carefully, and prayfully.

Welfare: a brief history

At the Hope offices this morning, the topic of Welfare came up in conversation. I found myself wanting to know more about it, and other types of government aid. What kinds of aid are out there? Who gets what, and what are the limits? If one of our participants gets employment, is this going to be more helpful or harmful in the long run?

I never thought that I might say that work might be bad. -not that I am saying this still- However, it is not as clean cut a thing as to be able to say work=better. Unfortunately, society and those structures in which we all live do not support such statements. I do believe, as a Christian, that work is good. In doing work, we are imitating our maker. We are creating, making new, pressing on, to bring him glory through the work of our hands and minds. The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:15, God "took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." And in Genesis 3:23, after the fall, God still says that man will work. I could, of course, go on and on, because the Bible is full of passages on work. In Proverbs, again and again, we see that man should work for his food, labor with his hands- and that idleness is not to be rewarded. For the sake of brevity, I'll just say this: Work is good!

But what happens in a world that does not run in accordance with the Scriptures? What happens when the rulers and powers that be do not see the poor as image bearers? Even if their intentions are good, it is possible to do harm -great harm- by attempting to "fix" by the standards of the world.

Take a moment to read through the following link on the history of welfare. As you read, think about what God has to say about work and about poverty.

Who is responsible for the poor?

When is it good/bad for a man to work?

Why do we work?

How can the church act on behalf of the poor?

http://www.welfareinfo.org/history/

Please feel free to email us here at the Hope office with any comments or questions on this particular issue, or anything else that comes to mind.

Skill

It has come to my attention that my "skill level" is not as impressive as I once thought. A friend of mine was recently seeking to employ someone as his administrative assistant. He casually asked if I might be interested in the job, and then went on to list the various skill sets he was requiring in order to hire- all of which he assumed I must surely possess, having worked in such an office setting for quite some time. I don't. I can get by on the bare necessities, and if I really need to, I can [eventually] figure it out. A little doggy-paddling here and there, and I can hand you a nice piece of work. I type a very average 50 words per minute on my 9-inch notebook. But here is the thing: if I lost my job, which -let's face it- is a definite possibility in today's time of financial unknowns, could I find and keep another? What kinds of competition am I up against?

I've posted a few office-friendly training courses. They are all free, and all worth your time. Just click on the links to the right under Develop. I found the Word courses very helpful, since you can sort through what you already know and not waste a bunch of time finding out how to cut and paste, etc. Even if you are feeling safe and secure in your present employment, it can never hurt to give your employer even more from your time under their employment!

Read This

Sometimes helping the poor can be painful. You might find yourself sacrificing time, money, or other resources. It can be a draining experience or one that does not turn out quite how you might have expected. ...But did you ever wonder just what this help has done for those on the receiving end of all your efforts? What if what you have been working so hard at has actually done more harm than good? A frightening thought.

Steve Corbett and Dr. Brian Fikkert have written a book that attempts to enlighten the reader (and church, group, or organization) on this very subject. For more information, go to the Chalmers center website. The book is also available at Amazon.com.

Jobs & Debt

Here at Hope, we have been working on a Financial Literacy Course based on the work of Larry Burkett as well as Jerrold Mundis' How to Get out of Debt, Stay out of Debt, and Live Prosperously. In this time of recession where so many are short on cash and out of work, credit checks could create an even graver situation for the unemployed individual experiencing financial crisis.
To find out more, check out this article in today's New York Times.

Jobs for Life at Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian

Several months ago, I made mention of Jobs for Life being held at Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church in Fall 2009. That class has now been moved to begin January 201o. Hope is very excited about their partnership with this church in Flintstone, Georgia, and looks forward to this winter start date.

Karen and Gerald Collins will be Site leaders for the 16 week course. If you are interested in participating as a student or volunteer, please contact the hope office at 706.820.2833 or email heather at h.prettyman@gmail.com.

To learn more about Jobs for Life, check out their website!