Brother Andrew - Dan Wooding

We recently read the biography/life story of Brother Andrew by Dan Wooding, and greatly enjoyed this story.  While serving as a biography, Christian testimonial and an account of high-danger evangelical missions, the book remains a very entertaining account from cover to cover, and serves as a powerful reminder of the power of prayer, and of God's deliverance from situations of seemingly impossible peril.

One of the people mentioned in the nook really caught my attention, and probably stood out to me more than anything else in the book.  Brother Andrew recalls his time with William Hopkins (aka "Uncle Hoppy") during his time staying at the headquarters of the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade.  Brother Andrew notes that:

"I soon learned that Uncle Hoppy gave away ninety percent of his income to various missions.  And whenever he found a tramp in need of accomodation, he just took him home with him and he and Mrs. Hopkins cared for that down-and-outer."

I've heard from a couple places of the idea of a reverse tithe, or the idea of giving away 90% of your income and living on the 10%.  Rick Warren, of Purpose Driven Life fame, supposedly follows this model (and seems to be gettin by ok).  This model of stewardship is one of just incredible faith in God's provisions, and I've prayed for the faith and ability to give like this someday myself.  Another section caught my attention:

"When a tramp would stop him in the street and ask for money, he would immediately dig deep into his pocket and hand over some cash.  'But Uncle Hoppy, he will only use it to buy more booze,' I would protest.  My English friend looked at me, as if I shouldn't have questioned his action.  'Andrew, the Bible tells us to give to those that ask, and that's what I'm doing.  You should always do the same.  Don't question their motives."

I've been thinking about that, as there are a number of folks to solicit for money along the I-45 over-passes, and like Brother Andrew, I've had the same thoughts about where the money goes to.  At the same time, I think Uncle Hoppy does make a fair point to consider, as no one can really know for certain what those individual motives would be.

We've moved on to a bio of Corrie ten Boom, but I'd like to revisit the Brother Andrew story someday and check out God's Smuggler.  His story is a very inspiring one, and makes for excellent supplemental material for family worship time.