Selling what no one wants

Did you know that no one wants a drill?  You can walk into any local hardware store like Ace or into big box home improvement stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot and find that they have dozens of drills for sale.  From a few dollars to hundreds there are a vast variety of drills available for purchase.  For 102 years (the first electric drill was made in 1916) companies have been manufacturing and selling tools that no one really wants.  It is an international industry with production spanning the globe, and accounting for vast sums of wealth in R&D, fabrication, distribution, marketing, and support all for something that no one wants.

A portable hole would make a drill obsolete 

People do not want drills! What people want are holes.  If you can develop a means that can produce a hole quicker, better, smoother and cheaper than a drill you can become wildly wealthy and make the drill obsolete in an instant.  You may recall the “Portable Hole” which the Road Runner used to thwart the efforts of Willie Coyote.  What we really want is a hole.   What we use to gain our objective is a drill.  I stand firm in my conviction that no one really wants a drill; they want a hole and the drill is just a tool to gain the objective.

God doesn’t need or want our money. Offerings and sacrifices are not something on God’s got-to-have list, but throughout the scriptures the theme of sacrificial giving is a major part of God’s conversation with His people.  How important is it to God that our giving be generous and heart felt?  In Malachi 1, God addressed the giving of His people.  Their offerings were less than their best. They gave the least they thought they could get away with.  They asked for God’s blessing but their giving was marked by apathy.  To this kind of giving and worship God responds with,  “Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”  God said He would rather have the doors to the house of worship closed than for His people to come with offerings that are apathetic.

So, if God doesn’t need or want our money why does He consistently call for sacrificial giving?  No one wants a drill they want a hole.  God doesn’t want the money He wants us to learn lessons we can only learn by sacrificial giving.  There are lessons that a human being can never learn except through the experience of giving away their wealth.  I would contend that there are five lessons that we will never fully learn unless we begin to give sacrificially. 

•       Vision

•       Maturity

•       Fellowship

•       Spirituality

•       Pastoral Care

These areas of our lives as disciples will forever remain superficial and shallow as long as we fail to be faithful, generous, joyful givers.

However, learning to be generous is possible.  Like any other discipline of being a disciple it requires teaching, practice and most of all the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  But God will bless us as we bless others in His name. 

Churches benefit greatly from a yearly call to examine and reflect on their giving as a disciple.  If your church has not recently had a dedicated program to train the practice of generosity, contact me and let me share with you a powerful, simple and affordable tool that will help you along the way to being a more generous congregation.

Jesus, Matthew, Simon and Trump

I have recently been working on a project in which I conduct surveys about issues that are deemed most important in a given community. It has been interesting to say the least, and I believe I am gaining some useful tools for application in the local church.  One of the most fascinating phenomena has been the reaction of “Christians” concerning our current president.

While national politics is not part of the focus of the surveys, I let people talk about what they feel matters most.  In the course of a couple of surveys, I received two radically different reactions from two people who would both, in some way, identify as Christian.  In many ways each of these people represent a much larger segment of our society and I suspect the church.

First, a middle-aged woman launches into a diatribe about how as “Christians” we must support a specific policy.  As she gathered steam her vitriol turned specifically to the President.  As this point her language became laced with profanity.  She didn’t drop the F-bomb, but that was the sole exclusion.  The profanity reached a crescendo then spilled over on to members of the President’s cabinet.  A few interviews later a young professional man shared with much passion, but not profanity, his disdain for those who opposed the President and especially those of the President’s own party that lacked the courage to stand up for and with him.  While his language was more polite he was no less hostile to the opposition.

Do not imagine this is an isolated occasion.  While working on a different project I listened to a similar attack on the President specifically and all things Republican in general by a dear, elderly, church lady.  She never used profanity, but I got the sense that those words were near the surface.  On a separate occasion, I listened to another woman of nearly identical demographics refer to Democrats as “Demoncrats” and sharing her convictions that they are all inspired by the spiritual powers of darkness.

I am not advocating that our faith should not shape our convictions or that all Christians should have a singular position on all issues.  But I am distressed with the way we often allow our political convictions to interrupt our Lord’s command to “love one another”.  Often in social media “Christians” will post things in such a way that it appears they want to provoke a bitter conflict.  In Hebrews, as the end draws closer we are commanded to, “provoke one another to love and good works.”  Comments that are meant to cause a person to hate any part of the political spectrum clearly fail to follow that command.

Some would argue that the divisions are too great and the differences so deep that we must accept within the body of Christ this kind of division.  I would disagree.  In your imagination, go back to the moment when for the first time Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector sat together as Jesus’ disciples.  The Zealot, the sworn enemy of Rome, a terrorist who would advocate violent revolution if it had a chance of success, a man who may have been part of acts of terror, sits down with the collaborator, the traitor to his own people the lackey and boot-licker of Caesar and his hated thug army, who extracted by force the very livelihood of his own people to send the money to a godless, pagan, brutal despot.  How did they look at each other? What words did they mutter when the master was not near?  Did they suddenly embrace each other and strike up in perfect harmony of Kum Ba Yaw?  Were there occasions that Andrew or Thaddeus stood between them to keep it from coming to blows?  Did Peter have the sword because Matthew insisted that the Zealot could not be trusted?  Did Judas carry the money because the of the Zealot’s protestations?

The happy band of Jesus’ 12 disciples may not be as happy as we imagine from Sunday school lessons and movie depictions. There were big personalities, strong convictions and life long prejudices in this group.  But in this context Jesus says, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  Did Jesus look from the Zealot to the Tax collector as He said that?  “Here is how this hate filled world will know that you are my follower/friend.  If in spite of your differences and disagreements you really love each other.” 

I am stunned at the hate I hear expressed from the left and the right; I am especially heart broken when I hear it from “Christians”.  I am at times discouraged to despair at the hostility I see in church fights.  But then I think of the transformation that occurred in the life of the Zealot and the Tax Collector.  Tradition tells us they both went to Persia as evangelists; Matthew later going on to Ethiopia.  What if during that first mission they traveled together as partners in mission and ministry? Did Simon break down in tears when he got word that his dear Matthew was stabbed to death in Africa?  If the body of Christ today began to manifest radical love, even if we didn’t always agree, I think the world would notice and might believe we are the Lord’s disciples.

A Realization that Empowers and Encourages Ministry.

It was one of the rare occasions where all three Persons of the God-head were manifested together.  On such occasions we are prudent to pay especially close attention.  The Son is baptized, the Spirit descends in bodily from like a dove and the Father speaks.  

The words of the Father, “Thou Art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased,” are powerful not just in themselves but also in their placement chronologically. The Father does not offer these after the resurrection or the cross; these are not given in response to a teaching or a miracle. In terms of the ministry Jesus had not yet done anything.

While the doctrine of Divine love may be in our heads it is often absent from our emotions or our gut-level reality. The world's system of merit-based love has so permeated our lives and experience that we project it on to God. We may not say but we feel, “God will love me if I do good and if I do it well.” Or “God loves those who accomplish great things for Him.” But as far as we know Jesus has yet to preach a sermon, teach a lesson, perform a miracle, or cast out a demon and yet the Father declares his affection and delight. What better way to begin a Ministry or for that matter a day than to start with the realization that apart from any merit of accomplishment the Father is moved by great and tender emotion?


Most of the frustration of life is built on the frustration of failing to meet expectations. Expectations that are set for us or are self-imposed, prospects of career performance, personal success, individual greatness, expected purity. Like a hamster on a wheel we exert effort but we never achieve what we hope for and therefore we live with a sense of personal disappointment and perhaps Divine rejection. Trapped by our own performance expectations we must stop, listen and make part of our very being the voice of God, “You are my precious and delightful child and I'm glad you're mine and this apart from anything you can or plan to do.”

Perhaps more than anything else your Father would just like to sit with you, talk, and tell you He loves you and is delighted that you are His child.

Political Campaigns and Church Growth

I hate to be the one to tell you the bad news, but the political campaign season is up- on us.  This is an off-year (non-presidential) election but that doesn’t mean that you will be spared exposure to persons running for political office who are seeking your support.  The yard signs are already popping up like mushrooms in a damp forest.  The “our guy is a great guy” ads have begun to be aired.  There are even attack ads placed by special interest groups informing us that one candidate is a bad guy who lives in “The Swamp”.

In the US, the energy, effort and resources spent on political campaigns is truly stunning.  In one contest for a state senate seat, that pays just under $30k a year, the two campaigns in the last election spent an average of just over $1,000,000 in their respective campaigns.  Obviously, this is not about the money but about the ideals, values, ideology, and convictions of the candidates, their supporters and their constituents.  And it is not just about having lots of money to spend.  More than one candidate has out spent their opponent and still lost.  It appears that the real power of an election is what we might call the ground game.  The ground game is when the candidate and his/her committed supporters to get out in the community and talk to people face to face.  The power of a handshake, an insightful question and genuine concern trumps all else in a campaign.  One friend of mine who lives in Florida and is very active politically tells me that he and his teammates plan on visiting 30,000 homes and make over 30,000 phone calls before the November elections.  In temps often above 95 degrees and near 100% humidity they will be walking door-to-door in an attempt to engage supporters. 

The church needs to have the same kind of passion and energy for her mission.  Let us ask a few questions to compare and contrast the church and the political operatives.

Whose message is more critical?  The church.

Whom does the Heavenly authority command?  The church

In 10,000 years who will still be celebrating their victory?  The church

Who has the message that can transform eternity for every man woman and child? The church

Then why is it that the political operatives appear to be much more committed to their cause than the church?

As I think about that question there doesn’t seem to be one answer.  There are, no doubt, a host of answers that are as unique as the individual believer or congregation.  Perhaps it’s laziness that borders on indolence?  Maybe it is apathy; we just don’t care if people go to hell?  Maybe we are so distracted, fighting battles for control of congregations, fellowships or denominations, that we have lost our focus.  Maybe we are committed to ineffective methods that we are used to, and are therefore comfortable to us. I would be most thankful if you would contribute your opinion to this core dysfunction of the church.  But more importantly, I would cherish your suggestions about what we can do.  The decline of the church will only be reversed if we repent.  If nothing else, we know that is the starting place.