Giving in the Hard Times

"When the going gets tough, the tough ... keep giving?!?"

Okay, so I manipulated that classic motivational quote, but I hope you'll hang on long enough to get my point.

All across the globe, the economic season is "recession," and the forecast isn't very positive. When the economies of the world turn sour, the first things to suffer are non-profit organizations that rely on financial gifts from supporters. In the drive to hold onto their money, givers tend to turn down the faucet or completely shut it off. This can be devastating to great NPO's that rely on support to survive.

I work for an NPO, and our organization works with several other NPO's. All are hurting, but the needs of the people we serve are only growing. Lessened support plus greater need equals pending disaster.

Yesterday, I referenced a newsletter I received this week that noted the sharp drop in giving to a denomination's missions fund. This is playing itself out, not just in the mission fields of the world, but also in our backyard at the neighborhood church.

Giving is down everywhere, and people are justifying it by claiming they just don't have it. And, you know what? They're right. They don't have it.

Now, we could debate all sorts of reasons why this is, but the bottom line is that the money just isn't there to continue giving. So, even if people have good intentions, they just can't give.

Or, can they?

One of the lessons I'm learning about God is that He is the master of the paradox. Reason and common sense point the way in one direction, but God's Word points in the opposite direction.

The last shall become first, and the first last. If anyone strikes your right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you. When you give to the needy ... do it in secret. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

I could go on, but I hope you catch the point. The behavior and reasoning of man is not the same as God's. In fact, we will probably miss it more times than not.

In the area of giving, the natural tendency is to cut out giving when our finances grow tight. But, the biblical examples indicate that these are especially the times when giving should continue. Jesus pointed out the widow who gave all she had as an offering, and she was poorer than you and I could ever imagine. He had high praise for her faithfulness.

God promises blessings for our giving. Why would we in turn ruin those blessings by stopping those gifts in the most crucial times?

Ultimately, it boils down to a trust issue. Do I trust God to do what He says He will do? Most times, our actions reveal that we do not. My challenge to you would be to maintain giving and cut out the other areas of our lives that seem to be eating away our NPO giving.

Missions and Money

Yesterday, I received a newsletter from the Missouri missions department of a Christian denomination. It was unfortunate to hear how financially strapped they are going into the fall months.

To date, their funding is down more than $30,000 compared to this time a year ago. If giving does not improve, and conditions do not change, they may see an annual drop of over $45,000 in the mission funding plan. In hard times, that is a lot of money that missionaries around the world won't have to further the spread of the Gospel.

I would imagine that this scenerio is similar in just about every other denomination out there. When economic times get tough, sacrifical giving and tithing are some of the first things people cut in their budgets.

This week, I will be discussing giving and the church. Why should you continue to give when there doesn't seem to be enough to go around for yourself? What is God's plan for giving during rough economic times? And, how can you be a blessing to others through your giving?

For what it's worth, those 2010 figures I referenced above were down from the denomination's 2009 numbers, which were down from the 2008 numbers. Times may be hard and resources dwindling, but the need is growing.

Teenagers

Today, I am the father of a teenager. I knew this day was coming, and must face it again two more times. Even still, I didn't think I was old enough for this, but the birth certificate says I am.

So, Happy Birthday to my 13-year-old, Jeremiah. Love you, boy!

Eliminating Idols

This week I've been looking at idolatry. Many of us are familiar with the false god's of old, such as the Greek, Roman and Egyptian gods that were created by mankind to explain different aspects of nature, business and life.

We often overlook the less obvious idols that we establish by placing things above God in our lives. These could be material items, such as money, our homes, cars, clothing, food, etc. They could be people, such as family, political and religious leaders. They might even be good causes such as charities or even the church. Anything we place above God on our scale of importance -- anything we love more than God -- is an idol.

So, how do we eliminate idols from our lives. I won't profess it to be easy, because it isn't. But, it starts with a personal relationship with Jesus. If you ask Jesus to come into your life and proclaim him as your savior, then God will send His Spirit to reside in you. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly sense when we are establishing idols.

Through consistent prayer and Bible reading, Christians can start to identify the things that are out of whack in their lives, and then put them in their proper place. What's cool about this process is that while God is a jealous god, and will not share His role with idols, He is also a very patient and gracious God. He gave the Israelites plenty of time to try to correct their behavior before pouring out judgement. I believe He will work similarly for those Christians that recognize their shortcomings and work to repent of them.

What is an Idol?

I started this series with a quote from Pastor Mark Driscoll that defined an idol as "good things that are turned into god things and they become bad things." That definition differs a little from the idols of old that we think of when we talk about idolatry.

Traditionally, we view idols as little wooden or metal figurines, or large statues inside temples. These are intentional religious idols that men have created as a way for followers of those religions to connect with their gods. The Greek temples are the best known example of idol worship.

Paul points out this fact in Acts 17 when he addresses the Athenians. Scripture notes that Paul was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw in Athens. He saw shrines to Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Apollo and many others. Paul even found an altar to an unknown god that the Greeks had set up just in case they had missed one. They, of course, didn't want to offend this "unknown god."

Entire cities were established around the worship, commerce and tourism of some of these idols. Paul was chased out of one town when Christianity had destroyed the business of those who made idols. Idolatry had become ingrained into the fabric of the Greek society. That is the kind of idolatry we think of when discussing this topic.

But, there is a second kind of idol that isn't meant to be religious, but the importance we place on these items suggests they have taken a god-like role in our lives. Pastor Driscoll defined them well. They can be anything that we place above God in our lives. They can be our jobs, our spouse, our children, our car, television and bank account. There is an infinite list of things that can start out as good, but when we place them above our reverence and love for God they become godlike to us, thereby making them a bad thing.

Parents live their lives vicariously through their children, sacrificing time with God in order to make the weekend tournament or recital. A man sacrifices his family and his God on the altar of a better paying, but time consuming job. A woman wraps her identity around her husband instead of basing it on God. Couples become convinced that they must have a high-end lifestyle, because what their friends think of them is more important than what God thinks.

I could go on and on, but I don't think I need to do so. The point is that when we replace God as the most important thing in our lives, regardless of whether it is overtly religious or not, we are establishing an idol that the Bible says will lead to destruction.

Idols of Old

When you read through the Bible, you will find many warnings against idol worship.

Exodus 20:3-6 makes it clear that God does not put up with idol worship. I think it is significant that this is the first of the ten commandments. While all ten are important, this one carries the most weight.

In this passage, God declares that He alone is God. He also states his intolerance for false religions, and for His people placing their love for other things above their affection for Him.

It's interesting that God says those who place Him above all else in their lives will be lavished with His love for a thousand generations. However, those who chase after idols will receive God's punishment. And, that punishment will be so severe that it will affect their children, grandchildren and even the great-grandchildren.

Elsewhere in scripture, God instructs the Israelites to not marry people from foreign nations. (Side note: Some have assumed this is an instruction against intermarriage of the races, but that's not really the case.) This order was designed to prevent the Israelites from introducing false religions into their homes and nation.

Sadly, as time passed, the Israelites didn't keep this command, and intermarried with other nations. Eventually, Israel was infected with these false gods, and their worship practices. These ordinances included temple prostitution, sorcery and human sacrifice.

Eventually, God displaced Israel and Judah as punishment for their violation of what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment: loving God first and foremost. But, it wasn't like the Israelites didn't have advance warning of what was coming.

Moses warned the people on several occasions about what would happen to them if they stopped following God. Many prophets provided ample opportunity for the people to turn from their evil ways, but each generation slid farther down the slippery slope of immorality. God was generous in the amount of time He gave the people. Eventually, though, judgement had to come.

What followed were several decades of exile and ruin. The people eventually returned, but the land God had given to the Jews remained occupied territory until the nation's sovereignty was restored in 1948.

God takes worship very seriously.

Idols Among Us

I've been reading through the book of Deuteronomy this month, and time after time God tells the Israelites to not go after false gods and the idols made for them.

That began a thought process about idolatry in our world today. So, this week I'll be blogging about idols, and putting perspective on them.

Pastor Mark Driscoll had one of the best takes I've ever heard on idols. In the following video, he points out that "idols tend to be good things that are turned into god things and they become bad things."

Cool is Temporary - The Church is Forever

This week, I've been talking about "coolness" and the Church.

Everyone wants to be considered as cool. The cool person is the one everyone else wants to be around and be like. Cool people dress cool. They act cool. They drive the cool car.

I remember back in high school that the coolest kids seemed to excel at what they did. And, if they didn't excel, they gave off the appearance that they had excelled. But, something funny happened. Graduation.

Graduation has a neutralizing effect on high school coolness. Everyone goes their separate ways, and the guy who once was cool is now a stranger in the adult world. That's the way coolness works. What's cool today won't be tomorrow.

Look at fashion trends. They change with the passing seasons. And, what some try to pass off as cool fads eventually become the horror fashion of a generation (bellbottoms, anyome?). We all laugh at our photos from a couple of decades ago, because what we thought was trendy then is laughable today.

Coolness is clearly temporary. In fact, all but one thing is temporary.

The Bible tells us that eventually everything, including Heaven and Earth will pass away. They will be no more, and will be replaced by a new Heaven and Earth. However, Jesus said in Matthew 16 that His church will last forever, and that nothing could destroy it. It will weather the storm while coolness will burn away.

With that in mind, I think a church and its congregants need to be deliberate in keeping their focus on the Gospel message of Jesus, while also keeping a finger on the pulse of the culture around them. This is important, because just as the landscape is littered with churches that sought after coolness, it is also littered with those that have sacrificed ministering to the culture to protect the church's culture, and are now close to death's door (or already buried).

I think there needs to be a series of checks and balances - evaluations, if you will - to ensure that a desire to be cool doesn't turn the fire for the Gospel into a lukewarm message.

What are your thoughts on the coolness factor of churches?

Cool Church Can't Be That Bad

This week, I'm giving my take on an article written for Relevant Magazine by pastor Cole NeSmith. I've been mulling for a long time on the idea of churches that strive to be cool.

One one hand, being the cool place at the moment isn't necessarily a bad thing. A wise church would use it's current popularity to further the spread of the Gospel.

We are humans, however, and our nature has us striving for the shiny, new thing, or better yet, trying to be the shiny, new thing. When a church follows this line of thinking, the results can be devastating for the congregation.

When the church wants to be cool, it realizes that the culture is constantly changing, so it will constantly change to keep up. Nothing wrong with that, except that the changes in culture always lead in one direction...toward immorality. At some point, the cool-seeking church will face a decision that causes it to pull back from the brink or go along with the destructive culture.

The landscape is littered with churches and denominations that have sacrificed God's truth in order to pursue the culture. They were at one time the strongest in Christianity, but today are toothless dragons. Their people long for the days when they were once cool, but never for the days when they were effective ministers of the Gospel.

These remind me of the churches at Sardis and Laodicea that are mentioned in Revelation 3.

So, if coolness isn't where it's at, what is? Find out tomorrow.

Cool Churches - Good of Bad

Yesterday, I pointed my blog to an article by Cole NeSmith, the pastor at Status in Orlando. Cole wrote on Relevant Magazine's site about coolness and Christianity. He essentially pointed out that the church errs if it strives for coolness, because what is hip today will not be tomorrow. However, the Church will last forever.

This struck a cord with me, because it has been one of the issues I have been chewing on for a while. Each of us has a certain style of church that we like, from the music to the preaching and kids programming. We tend to search out the church that best fits who we are, and there is nothing wrong with that, provided we are growing in our relationship with Jesus.

But, at times we find churches that, over the course of time, become the cool place to go. Inevitably, the focus of the church can trend away from biblical mission to one of being cool within the culture. We justify such moves by telling ourselves that we are simply being relevant, or trying to reach our culture by using things they're familiar with.

Don't get me wrong. Short of sin, everything in the world is fair game to use in order to bring people to Jesus. But, there is a gray line that exists between being relevant for the sake of mission and relevant for the sake of being cool. In fact, it's so fuzzy that I don't think a church realizes it has crossed the line until it is fully over it, and dug into the mindset of being cool.

Tomorrow, I'll continue with my take on the cool church.

Cool Christianity Redirect

Today's blog entry is a redirect to an interesting article on Relevant Magazine.

Let me know what you think about "Christianity Shouldn't Be Cool."

Blogging Schedule

As I return to blogging, I'm toying with the idea of a schedule. With a wife and three kids, plus a full time job with leadership responsibilities, finding time to blog can be difficult at times. So, I will probably be toying with many different ideas and formats over the next several weeks.

It's Hard to Grow When You Don't Eat

I have three children at home, and as any parent can attest, there are no two kids alike. They all behave differently, eat differently, sleep differently, grow differently. They're just different.

As different as they are, some things are the same. For instance, if they want to grow up to be healthy and strong men, they need to eat good, nutritious meals. And, they can't just pick at them either. They have to eat it all in order to get all the vitamins and minerals they need. Without them, their growth is stunted.

Our spiritual lives are much the same.

A lesson I have learned is that when I don't read my Bible or pray daily, my spiritual growth sputters, and I actually shrink in my relationship with God. What's interesting is that just like my children's growth is dependent on them actually feeding themselves, my growth with Jesus depends solely on me. It has to be my choice to "self-feed." I have to be the one to open my Bible. I have to be the one to pray. I have to make the conscious decision to grow closer to God.

The best illustration I can come up with is that of the prodigal son. At the end of the story, the father (representing God) was always waiting for his son to come to him. The son (representing all of us) had to make the personal decision to return to the father.

So, what's keeping you from growing back to God?

I'm Back

I just checked and it has been about a month and a half since my last posting. That's awful if you want to build a blog.

So, where have I been? I'd love to say that I've been taking a sabbatical to renew and refresh and all that stuff, but I haven't. Truth be told, I got sidetracked. Derailed. Lost focus. Complacent. Dried up.

Yeah, there are a lot of excuses, and that's all they are...excuses. Have you ever done that? You know, dropped a project you had an interest in only because you lost interest? Let's work together to pick up where we left off.