So recently I went out to Brazil to spend some time with Everton, our CVM man in Brazil.
Everton has a faith that inspires you and challenges you whenever you meet him.
I remember on one occasion he came to stay with me in the UK at my place. His flight was long and delayed and he arrived exhausted. We had planned to get up at 6am to walk and pray together for an hour, just encourage each other but with the flight and sitting up late chatting, he was worn out.
I woke up at 6am in a bit of a rush, went downstairs and it was all quiet. I thought to myself, ‘ah, he’s slept in, don’t blame him.’ As I turned into the living room he was sitting on my sofa, bible open in prayer and he’d been their since 4:30am.
This deep commitment to prayer is so tangible in his life, once a desperate drug addict and criminal, he has found a source of life that he just wont neglect, even when he’s exhausted.
On this recent trip to Brazil he informed me that he had be given R$3,000. That’s a good lump of cash for a bloke who lives on R$600 (£1500 a month.)
He set about spending this money quickly and I was absolutely speechless at his radical generosity.
He booked a venue for the weekend, invited over 50 families, ordered all the food, then drove around picking anyone up who couldn’t get there. He worked and worked all weekend, up first to bed last. He paid for it all, no one had to pay a penny. They arrived, relaxed, played with the children, swam in the pool, sat and heard the gospel. A few of us spoke about families, relationships, marriages and the truth of Jesus Christ. I shared our winning men vision and CVM’s heart for winning men to Jesus.
But behind all this I was so humbled watching Everton serve others. He could have legitimately pocketed that 3K and sorted out some of his own financial needs. I asked him about it, and why he did this, and his reply was ‘I want people to meet Jesus Nathan, that’s all.’
I was silenced fellas, I have seen men of God get edgy with each other over 3 Euros change on a meal out. In truth, at times I have been driven by this too, and we must guard our hearts when it comes to money.
Keep your heart soft for the gospel and spend yourself on championing Jesus in any and everyway you can. If it costs you and your pocket then do it. The amount of times I have seen one bloke foot the bill for a men’s event, silently paying the bill because it’s about getting men to hear about Jesus.
Lets operate with a radical generosity, that sometimes hurts us to do it if it means men hear about Jesus.
