Worldwide impact from any size church

We look at mega churches and are often impressed with their international missions.  We feel that we could never do what these mega churches do in terms of worldwide impact.  But that is only partially true. 

A friend of mine ministers in a church that has an international impact.  His church runs a fantastic mission in Central America.  This mission has a school for children, a medical clinic, a training center for native evangelists and several churches in the area.  Their impact is disproportionate to their size as a congregation of several hundred.  There are two factors that have made this possible.  First, they have made missions a priority in their budget and second, they have developed a mindset of generosity over years of training.

We cannot do this kind of training if we do not honestly and frankly teach about giving in our churches.  A mission giving campaign is an excellent way to teach generosity as a lifestyle in our churches.

Let me offer four reasons to develop an annual missions giving campaign in your church:

·      First: most churches don’t talk enough about giving.

      1.  Giving as an act of worship is God’s ideal not ours.  We sometimes act as if we are embarrassed to talk about giving.  God was never shy to talk about giving; we should not be either.

      2.  There is some really bad teaching about giving and unless we present the truth about giving bad information will spread.  In fact, some teachings about giving are 180 degrees opposite of what Scripture tells us about giving. 

      3.  Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.  As we stopped talking about giving people have left.  We have lowered the commitment level in order to attract people and as a result many churches are a mile wide and an inch deep.

·      Second: Jesus talked about money more than any other subject except for the Kingdom of God.

      1.  Sometimes He used money as a metaphor or teaching tool.  If you want people to pay attention talk about money; they may not like it, but they will listen. 

      2.  Jesus also warned against the affection that humanity tends to develop toward material things.  In our consumerist society that message is too rarely heard. 

·      Third: Giving is good for people.

      1.  Generosity is a powerful tool for our well being.  The data is clear; giving is good for us.  It is contrary to our nature, or I should say the flesh, but the evidence is irrefutable giving is the best use of our resources. 

      2.  Failure to talk Biblically, honestly and faithfully about giving robs God’s people of the full council of God.  We would never withhold God’s words about the destructive effect of hate, addiction, or racism.  So, why do we do that about the soul cancer of greed?

·      Fourth: The resources of God’s people can do great good.

      1.  The church needs to put its money where it’s teaching is.  There is a world of good that needs to be done.  Often doing that world of good requires capital to be accomplished.  It takes money to pay the salary of Bible translators, printers and distributors.  The food that will stave off starvation has to be bought with money not good intentions, feelings or Facebook likes.

      2.  The care of the hurting and needy can be a great witness.  No one else in the world other than the church is doing the great work of the Gospel.  It is God’s intention that the freewill offerings of His people ought to support the propagation of that message. 

We will one day give an account of what we did in this life and with the resources God entrusted to us.  When that day comes we want to be able to answer well and part of that includes that we taught people to be generous. 

If you would like more information about how to develop a mission stewardship program please call me.

Charlie

352-548-4837

A Recurring Stupid Idea

I am working on a project right now that involves asking a simple question of residents of a given area.  The question is by design open, so to allow for a wide variety of answers.  This question is producing an answer that is so often repeated that it reflects a common belief.  It also reflects a stupid idea. 

QUESTION: What do you believe is the greatest need for this community?

ANSWER THAT REFLECTS A STUPID IDEA:  We need more recreational activities so kids will not get into trouble. 

One lady’s answer epitomizes the idea.  “We need more for the children to do; especially the teenagers so they don’t break into peoples’ houses and cars and steal stuff and get into fights.”

This opinion works its way across most social-economic boundaries.  I have heard this from people of all ethnic groups, from people of ultra low income and from the very wealthy.  It presumes that the source of bad behavior is boredom or a lack of entertainment options.  If that premise is true then the presence of something entertaining and fun should keep bad behavior at a minimum.

Don’t tell that to Joshua Martin who was horribly beaten, to the point of brain damage and a coma at a bus stop at an amusement park.  In the shadow of millions of dollars worth of entertainment equipment, a gang beat Joshua nearly to death.  There was plenty for teenagers to do to enjoy themselves.  The article about the incident and the settlement is worth reading and might give you insight about family vacations. https://www.ajc.com/news/local/35m-case-cobb-teen-brutally-beaten-six-flags-quietly-settles/egESN9ru8RpJUtgzCdV6PM/

The opinion that recreation options will prevent bad behavior is so pervasive as to be almost universal; it has even worked its way into some churches.   It is completely misguided.  People do wicked things because they are sinful and wicked.  We have a terrible time admitting this glaring fact.  I recently watched an interview with the mother of a boy who is serving a long prison sentence.  The mom of the boy said, “My son is a good boy.”   No, he is not, unless there has been a great conspiracy to frame the boy the fact that he is in prison means he is not a good boy.  In a separate interview a woman in prison was saying, “I made a mistake.”  She was referring to her killing an innocent individual while driving drunk.  That is not a mistake that is an act of selfish evil because she was selfish and evil.

In the age of church growth and pulpit, mass-therapy the church has apparently lost its ability to talk honestly and frankly about sin.  We have become afraid to say, “We are sinful people in the hands of a just and righteous God.  We are more evil than we can imagine because even our imagination is evil.” 

We have become very comfortable with sin, especially our own sin, and we pass that license on to others.  We must rediscover the part of grace that we are uncomfortable facing.  As John Newton wrote: “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear….” Before we say, “God will forgive you,” we must first say, “You need forgiving.”  We must proclaim the part of grace that leads us to say,

For I know my transgressions,
            And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
            And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
            And blameless when You judge.

We do not need recreation options to help people stop being bad.  We need the grace of a true repentance; we need a change of heart that results in a change of behavior.  No one in the entire world except the church can declare the glory of grace.  And that includes the grace that tells us we are sinners, we are evil, and we are lost and are going to hell apart from the cross. 

What do you do if a sex club moves in next door?

A Modern Temple of Aphrodite

That was the circumstance faced by a Christian school in Nashville a few years ago.  A sex club purchased a building behind the school and began transitioning the space to meet their needs.  During the process the sex club attempted to identify itself as a church in order to use freedom of religion as a way to avoid eviction. Nevertheless the school was able to force the relocation of the sex club through the actions of the court.  We might stop here, happily with the view that the good guys won, and that the bad guys had to move on.  But that is a somewhat shallow victory.   

We need to remember that this is not the first time the church and a sex club came into conflict.  For example that conflict occurred in Corinth.  According to one report the temple of Aphrodite in Corinth was so expansive that it employed over 1,000 female companions.  But apparently some of those women working at and/or customers of the brothel came to become believers.  Paul writing to the Corinthians, “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (Emphasis added)

Perhaps in the church at Corinth were sex workers from Aphrodite’s temple.  Maybe one prostitute became a follower, found in the church a community of loving grace and acceptance, and went back to tell her friends about her new life.  We have no ideal of how all these sexually immoral people came to hear the gospel, or who witnessed to them.  But people like those at the Nashville sex club, became believers and became part of the Christian Church in Corinth.

While we can be glad when porn shops, sex clubs, strip clubs close their doors; we need to remember that is only a small victory.  Over the years of witness and ministry the gospel permeated Corinth and finally the Temple of Aphrodite closed.  Not because a court ruling, but because the gospel changed the hearts and the culture of the Corinthians.  It is a good thing to remember that the best defense is a strong offense.  When the church appeals to the courts the actions of the state is only a defensive measure.  It may protect the church property and community propriety, but it can never call a sinner to repentance, nor will it ever love the broken and wounded.  The offensive game plan of the church is evangelism and discipleship the one to one witness of a changed life that will eventually reach into the darkest places with the Gospel.  And the Gospel is the only thing that will really change the world. 

The challenge is how would we react to having strippers, hookers, gigolos, in our church?  Can we love people with a troubled past with the grace of Christ?  I am really happy that the sex club closed.  But heaven would rejoice if one of the members repented.  Let us not be satisfied with a shallow victory.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2015/04/24/nashville-sex-club-church/

What pre-creation eternity could have taught Zack Smith.

Zack Smith a former position coach at Ohio State University allegedly abused and battered his wife.  As I listened to the news and commentary last week it brought to my mind a question, “What did God do before creation?”

Let’s begin with two agreed upon statements:

#1 God is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

#2 God is love. 

So then, who did God love before the creation of nature, angels and mankind?  Before time and the creation of anything in the community and unity of the Godhead the Father loved the Son and the Spirit, the Son loved the Father and the Spirit and the Spirit loved the Father and the Son. 

Then comes creation and God says that man will be created in His own image.  “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” Gen 1:27.  In the creation of the first couple God placed His unique mark or image of the Trinity.  The marvelous union of a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage and their becoming one flesh (which results in the two becoming three) is a part of the fulfillment of the image of God.  The “one flesh-ness” of a couple is not a mere symbol or token expression.  It is a very real experience; it is the reality of life that uniquely pictures the unity and community of the Trinity. 

This is why sexual sin is such a disaster for a person.  Any expression of sexual intimacy apart from the marriage covenant perverts the intended picture of the community and unity of the Trinity.    Adultery, fornication, pornography, sexual assault, frigidity or spousal abuse (this list could go on and on) each is a mockery of the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It explains why homosexuality is portrayed in Scripture as an abomination.

This understanding of marriage is critical for our time.  We are a society that is very much aware of the problems of abused wives (and sometimes husbands).  We are seeing the rising tide of polyamorous acceptance and many believe that with the social normalization of homosexuality polygamy will be the next front in the sexual revolution.   There are the rumblings of a pedophilia scandal in Hollywood and we are aware of the evil men in the media and entertainment industry who have used their power to exploit young women.

We have seen the rise of movements to attempt to address our current situation such as the #MeToo movement.   Another is an attempt to empower men, especially football players, as advocates of women’s protection.  While there is some value in some of these there is no solution.  Actions and movements and rules and awareness can never reverse the effect of sin and will never change the soul of anyone.  They are, to use a military analogy, a fighting retreat in the face of overwhelming evil; they cannot win, ever.  They all fail for the same reason they are ‘Man’ centered.

The solution is to restore our understanding of marriage to a Genesis 1 picture.  Marriage is a part of God’s creative process to provide a picture of the relationship within the Godhead.  Beyond time in all of eternity the three persons of the Trinity love, support and give of themselves to one another.  That is what marriage must be for it to be all it can be. 

Zack Smith allegedly did not treat his wife the way the Father treated the Son and the Spirit.  If these accusations are true it is likely because Zack Smith never thought about his marriage as a way to live out the relationship from the perspective of heaven.  Until a person sees the universe and their own lives from the perspective of the throne room of Heaven, we are bound up in our human solutions and that is not a very promising thought.   The mess at OSU is not unique; it is just more obvious evidence that when we are the ones who write the terms of marriage, we write misery into our very hearts