Through “Stranger” Eyes #2 – People think the church is too Into American Consumerism

This week we are looking at the Stranger’s article where a group of journalists covered (here is the first article, click here to read yesterday’s article).

My second impression from reading the reviews of 31 visits to 31 houses of worship was that, for many, Christianity = Conservative, consumer American culture.

Paul Constant wrote of one mega-church, “This Hummer of a church, with its coffee shop and valet parking and banners proclaiming “desire,” “worship,” and “attitude”(?!), is already a testament to all things smug and ugly about America.  And it is about America. [The pastor] brings out some button-nosed kindergarteners who affirm their gratitude for living in “the greatest country in the world.” I’m an atheist, but [this church] brings Bible imagery to my mind. Standing in all the gaudy sound and tacky fury, all I can think of is the perverted temple that Jesus Christ ripped to pieces with his bare #%#& hands.”

Though that’s the only quote that stood out, this theme is through some of the article and most of the conversations I’ve had with people outside the church.  I know it’s tempting to want a cool, Christian t-shirt, but when you steal Harley Davidson’s logo and put the words “Heavenly David’s-Son”, you’re coping out.

We don’t need to out-market the world.  We definitely don’t need to steal their ideas.  Why not be creative and original?  Let’s innovate and become catalysts in our culture.

Along with this marketing schmaltz, let’s be clear that the prosperity gospel doesn’t help our cause.  Bible reading Christians should know that it is heresy.  People far from Jesus just think that we’re using Jesus as a way to accomplish the materialistic American dream.  Jesus is better than that … let’s live like it.

Tip to Church-Types: Let’s be clear that Christianity is not Consumerism.  If you’re not sure about this, read through David Platt’s Radical, Francis Chan’s Crazy Love or Richard Foster’s The Freedom of Simplicity (or all three!) and let their concepts sink deeply into your soul.  (Or, to make matters more simple, just read the Gospel of Luke and realize that Jesus wasn’t talking in metaphors when He blesses the poor.)

Tithing as Worship

I have a love / hate relationship with the tithe.  Though tithing has been my practice for most of my life, I want to make sure that we never put people back under the law.  I don’t want to steal one law from Moses so that we can pay the bills … and set people free from the rest of the law.

In Galatians we see people returning to circumcision and kosher, and in doing so they abandon the Gospel.  In America we come close to putting the tithe back in “Law status” and run an equal risk of shipwrecking our faith.

The tithe isn’t a law anymore … but something in my gut (and my brain) tell me that this principle is bigger than the law.  After all, Cain and Abel were motivated to give sacrifices to God before there was any compulsion.  Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek hundreds of years before Moses was born.  Members of the early church sold property and gave the profit to the church.  Giving is more than just tithing, and I believe that sacrificial giving is an indispensable part of discipleship.

One helpful view is to consider Tithing as a free act of worship.  Dean Shriver, pastor of Intermountain Baptist Church writes:

In Scripture, “tithing as worship” was practiced prior to both the establishment of “tithing as covenant” and the perversion of “tithing as legalism.”  The principle of “tithing as worship” is “pre-Law.”  It’s established in Genesis 14:17-24 where Abram gives a tenth of his plunder to Melchizedek, King of Salem.  Melchizedek, in turn, blesses Abram.  Hebrews 7:1-10 defines the significance of these acts, declaring that it is the superior who blesses the inferior, and the inferior who pays tithes to the superior.

“Tithing as worship,” then, is first an act by which we acknowledge that God is both our superior (the Sovereign Lord) and the source of all blessing.

But “tithing as worship” does more than acknowledge God. It expresses our personal allegiance to Him.  We see this in Genesis 28:10-22.  Here, God reveals Himself to Jacob in a dream.  In response, the patriarch vows, “the Lord shall be my God…and of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”  For Jacob, the “tithe as worship” became a natural expression of his decision to follow the God of His Fathers.  In the same way, the “tithe as worship” becomes an almost instinctive way for us to express our allegiance to the God of our Salvation.

A third, and critical, element of “tithing as worship” is thanksgiving.  “Tithing as worship” expresses overflowing gratitude toward God.  It breaks free from guilt as the motivation for giving.  Its ultimate focus is the condition of one’s heart—not the percentage of one’s income.

On the topic of percentages, I find the words of John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill to be practical.  They write,

“How are we to show our gratitude to God other than by giving back a portion?  If 10 percent was considered an acceptable portion by God as an expression of gratitude then, why should we view it any differently today?  We might consider 10 percent as a benchmark just as we consider 15 percent a benchmark for tipping.  The extent of the customer’s gratitude and appreciation is demonstrated in the size of the tip.  It would be considered the ultimate rudeness or the consummate insult to leave no tip at all.  So it is to God if we return no portion to Him.  In addition, there are occasions when the situation calls for a contribution exceeding the benchmark.” (Old Testament Today; Zondervan: 2004, 270-271)

Again, it must be said—ultimately, “tithing as worship” isn’t about percentage of income.  It’s about the overflow of one’s heart.  Second Corinthians 8:5 is clear.  When we first give ourselves to the Lord, any act of giving pleases Him—whether above or below the “benchmark.”  “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12)

(Read the full article “Can we Preach the Tithe” here.)

Grateful or Greedy?

I found this chart in Jamie Munson’s book “MONEY.”  Before you read it, remember that you don’t have to have money to be greedy.  I know lots of broke people who have a sense of entitlement and who make money (or lack of money) the main center of their identity. As I deal with people and money (and my own heart’s attitude toward money) I’m learning that the #1 defeater of selfishness is thanksgiving.  If I’m thankful for what God has entrusted me with, it’s difficult to be greedy for more.

	Gratitude	Greed
Attitude	Humility (Phil. 2:3)	Grumbling (Phil. 2:15)
Perspective	Grace: “I am a sinner who deserves death but Jesus paid the price and gave me his perfect righteousness.”	Entitlement: “I am a good person who deserves heaven—plus a comfortable, pain-free existence in the meantime.”
Desire	Jesus is enough to satisfy my life.	Jesus is not enough. I want wealth / fame / comfort / power as well.
Money	God gives. Therefore my money is his, and I use it to glorify him.	I earn. Therefore my money is mine, and I use it however I please.
Possessions	Contentment: I have enough	Covetous: I never have enough
Church	Serve as a member of God’s family	Be served as a consumer
Job	Work heartily for the Lord; cultivating thanks for God’s provision (Deut. 8:17; Col. 3:23)	Work begrudgingly for the man; becoming bitter and jealous against others (James 3:16)
Family	A blessing to embrace	A burden to escape
Future	Eternal: optimistic/hopeful (2 Cor. 4:7–9)	Temporal: pessimistic/anxious
Worship	Time, energy, and resources go to God	Time, energy, and resources go to me
Identity	Jesus and his achievement	My abilities and my achievements
Giving	Generous	Guilt- or gain-motivated (or non-existent)

Which column most accurately describes you & your attitudes?

Where are you dong well?

Where do you need to make some changes (by repenting and believe in the Gospel)?

Would you be willing to talk to a friend / mentor / growth group leader about this and get some real help?

God’s 5 Investment Funds

We can invest in eternity … today.

For a few weeks at CGS we’ve been talking about using our Time, Talents & Treasure for God’s purposes.  These are Kingdom investments, and unlike anything Wall Street can offer, these investments are secure, risk free and they come with guaranteed interest… kingdom investments yields dividends forever.

The Bible says, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” – 1 Timothy 6:18–19(ESV)

The following is from Rick Warren, and give us Five Ways to Invest our Time, Talents & Treasure (adapted from Rick Warren’s message, Enabling the Vision – Purpose Driven Giving)…

1. Invest in God’s treasury fund (worship).

This is the investment fund most of us know about – tithing. We invest in the treasury fund by using some of our money to express worship.

There’s nothing we can give God that he needs. And God certainly doesn’t need our money. But when we give an offering to God – an undesignated, planned, and proportional offering where and when we worship – we’re saying, “God I love you.”

The Bible says, “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income.” (Prov. 3:9 TLB) We honor God when we tithe. It’s an act of worship. God wants us to give to this fund before we invest in any other fund. He doesn’t want our money; he wants what it represents.

2. Invest in God’s mutual fund (fellowship).

God also wants us to use some of our money to encourage fellowship, to show love to other believers, to build relationships.

Anytime I give my money to God, it draws me closer to God. Anytime I give my money to another person, it draws me closer to that person. When I give money to people in my small group or I invest in my small group, I grow closer to those in the group. Anytime I buy a nice card and write a note of encouragement, I’ve just invested in the mutual fund. When another believer is discouraged, and I take him or her out for lunch, I’ve just invested in the mutual fund.

Investing in this fund brings in dividends from elsewhere as well. The Bible says, “When you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible” (3 John 1:5 MSG).

When we invest our money in developing relationships within the church, it points others to God. Investing in the fellowship of your church helps bring people to Christ.

3. Invest in God’s growth fund (discipleship).

God wants us to take some of our money and invest it in ourselves – in personal and spiritual improvement. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:18, “Grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (TLB)

There are many ways to waste your money instead of using it to grow. But God wants us to use some of our money to grow spiritually, to develop skills, and to educate ourselves – so that we can become the kind of person God has shaped us to be. The Bible says, “Buy truth and don’t sell it for love or money. Buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight” (Prov. 22:23 MSG).

Anytime we use our money to buy a Christian book or a CD that helps us grow, we’ve invested in this fund. Or whenever we use our money to take a class or to learn something that makes us more of what God wants us to be, we’re investing in our growth fund.

4. Invest in God’s equity service fund (ministry).

God wants us to use some of our money to help people in need. God didn’t put us on this earth to live for ourselves.

This is all part of God making us more like himself. God is generous. Everything we have in life is because of God’s generosity. We wouldn’t have anything – we wouldn’t even be alive – if it weren’t for God’s generosity. And God wants us to be generous like he is.

God particularly wants us to be generous with the poor. All throughout the Bible, God tells us he is watching how we help the poor. For example:

• “Give to the poor, and you will never be in need. But if you close your eyes to the poor, many will curse you.” (Prov. 28:27 TEV)
• “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.” (Prov. 19:17 TEV)

5. God wants the people of your church to invest in his global fund (missions).

God wants us to use some of our money to take the Good News to the whole world.

Luke 16:9 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the entire Bible. Jesus says,“Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed in eternal dwellings.” What in the world does he mean by that?

I believe Jesus is telling us that he wants us to take some of our money and use it to help other people get into heaven. So when you die and get to heaven, those same people will welcome you there and say, “Thank you for investing in me. I’m in heaven because of you. I’m not your friend for life; I’m your friend for eternity. I’m in heaven because you cared enough. You bought me a Bible. You bought me a ticket for an event. You did something with your money to help spread the Good News to my village. Because you gave, I’m now a follower of Christ, and I’m in heaven because of you.”

That’s the greatest possible use of our money! We can use the money from this fund locally or we can use it globally. Are there people in your church who want to participate in short-term missions, but they don’t think they can afford it? Encourage them to invest (or save) a little money each month for their global fund, so they can take the Good News of Jesus Christ to another country.

Investing in these five funds is eternally important. If your church members invest their treasure on earth, all they’re doing is piling up treasure here. But if we invest in eternity – in God’s eternal purposes – we’ll enjoy our investment forever and ever and ever.

This article is adapted from Rick Warren’s message, Enabling the Vision – Purpose Driven Giving.

Financially Liberating … Spiritual Refreshing

Early in my ministry I met a man with a huge goal.  He wanted to give away $1,ooo,000 (that’s one million dollars) for ministry at one time.  This goal drove his life and his faith, leading him to take big steps in business, pray with passion and stay on target.  With a goal like this, its hard to spend time collecting shells, playing video games or buying classic cars.

Jesus said:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

As you increase in generosity, you’ll find your finances liberated and your spiritual life refreshed.  As  James Montgomery Boice wrote:

“. . . one of the best things that could happen to many believers would be for them to be led to give away, all at one time, a substantial part of their savings.  That is, they should give a substantial part of their capital.  Why?  Because there is something about giving away a sizable percentage of one’s money – and, of course, the amount would vary entirely from one individual to another – that is spiritually invigorating.  And there is seldom a case in which a large gift does not throw the Christian back on the Lord and increase the feeling that he is all-wonderful and that he is more than able to care for the one who trusts him.  I have seen this happen in many instances.  And I have never known a true Christian to be sorry for even the most sacrificial giving afterward.” – James Montgomery Boice, Philippians (Grand Rapids, 1971), page 290.

On the “Love of Money?

Last Sunday @ CGS we looked at Hebrews 13 and how worship impacts our lips and lives.  I didn’t get to dive deeply into every part of the passage, so I thought this post from Jonathan Parnell at Desiring God might be worth sharing …

Hebrew 13:5 is one simple verse, but the argument is amazing. Readers of Scripture know that the love of money is dangerous (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13; 1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Timothy 3:2), but here the writer of Hebrews gives us more.

The two commands in verses 5a and 5b have an important connection. Both of the commands are positive: “keep your life free from love of money” and “be content with what you have.” We can see that the “love of money” stands parallel to “what you have.” So then, the commands for freedom and contentment are somehow concerned with our possessions.

Using Biblearc.com, I have represented the relationship between verses 5a and 5b to be a progression. The command to keep free from loving money (the potential to have more) progresses to the command to be content with what we have now.

This would be enough for us. But the writer goes on. He gives us a basis for this freedom and contentment.

Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The command for us to be free and content is grounded in the promise that God is always there. At this point, we press deeper into this text for theological reflection.

The basis of our freedom from loving money and our contentment with what we have is that God is always with us (stated negatively in the promise “I will never leave you”).

So how is the presence of God related to money and our stuff? We can be free from wanting more and happy with what we have because we have God.

Freedom from loving money and contentment with what we have is based on the reality that we can always say “we have a better possession and an abiding one” (Hebrews 10:34). The LORD is our portion. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us and the awakening work of the Spirit, God has become our treasure. And he who is most desirable will never leave us. He will never forsake us.

How Much Should I Give?

Giving is always a tough subject.  The general “rule” is for people to tithe (i.e., to give 10% to the church).  Sometimes this leads to interesting conversations.  Many people will debate whether their tithe should be on their net income or gross income.  Others will (successfully) prove the point that tithing is not mandated in the New Testament.

Interestingly, I’ve never had a discussion around these topics where people were arguing for reasons to give MORE.

The truth is that tithing has been a helpful rule since Abraham first gave a gift to Melchizedek and that people who love God have freely given from 10%-100% of their resources to support God’s mission and His people.  We never see giving demanded as a way to earn God’s favor.  Instead, we see followers of Jesus freely giving their money as needed.  (See Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-37 and 2 Corinthians 8-9 for starters.)

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, says it simply.  When in doubt, give more:

I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.  In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.  If our charities [giving habits] do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities [giving] expenditure excludes them. – C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

To learn more about giving to CGS, click here.

Age of Anxiety

The Baby Boomers are reaching retirement … and even though their lives have been marked by change, many assumed that retirement would happen the way it always has.

Then life hits, 401K’s turn into 201K’s, a pink slip hits you in your early 60′s and you find retirement looking very different from what you imagined.

This poll, found on www.thedaily.com, shows how Boomers are feeling about their retirement prospects.

Don’t waste your retirement, either with worry or with seashell collecting.  You might not live as comfortably as you were expecting, you might need to lean on your community more than you’re accustomed to … but it’s possible to walk every step of your retirement years on mission with Jesus.

Use your wisdom, time and resources to invest in the next generation.

Take time to pray, maybe consider learning to fast.

Memorize Scripture.

Invite a single mom to live (or rent) your extra room.

What other ways can you think of to leverage your retirement years to get on mission with Jesus?

Why Are Some People Poor?

If I were God, the world would be a much shiny-er, idol-filled mess.

For example, I would make sure that there were no poor people.  My friends who are unemployed would find work.  Children in impoverished nations would have X-Boxes and flatscreen TV’s … not distended stomachs from crippling hunger.  New Jersey would be completely edible, like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.  That’s just where I’d start.

Why does God allow people to be poor?  Spurgeon, in on of his devotionals, considers this question.  He knows that God could make it rain bread and quail.  He knows that the streets of heaven are paved with gold and precious jewels.  He knows that making people materially rich would be an easy thing.

He also knows that making people rich with money isn’t God’s ultimate goal.  He writes …

…[God] allows them to suffer want, he allows them to pine in penury and obscurity.

Why is this?

There are many reasons: one is, to give us, who are favoured with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of him and when we pray to him; but if there were no sons of need in the world we should lose the sweet privilege of evidencing our love, by ministering in alms-giving to his poorer brethren; he has ordained that thus we should prove that our love standeth not in word only, but in deed and in truth.

If we truly love Christ, we shall care for those who are loved by him. Those who are dear to him will be dear to us.

Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord’s flock—remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart—recollecting that all we do for his people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to himself.

Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, Complete and unabridged; New modern edition. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006).

“The very motto of a Christian should be, ‘I Serve’.” - Charles Spurgeon

Why Be Generous?

Sometimes it feels like churches just want people’s money.  While that’s not really true … we do need to talk more about money than we normally do.  Money is a basic necessity in our ministry culture.  More-so, it is a powerful tool that can be used by the Devil to twist us … or by the Spirit to transform us.

We have 3 guidelines when we think about giving: tithe, sacrifice, and responsibility.

The tithe guideline points us to times of both spontaneous giving and structured generosity.  The first tithe was given by Abraham spontaneously after he won an important battle. (Gen 14:20)  Later, believers were required to give a tenth of their income to the church in the Old Testament.

Though the New Testament doesn’t specify a tithe, we have greater responsibility for generosity this side of the cross. The tithe for us is a minimum. The Macedonian Christians demonstrate sacrifice. The Bible says “they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability”. (2 Cor. 8:3). The responsibility guideline means balance, in Acts 11:29 Christians give “according to their ability”. Planning is necessary for Christians in order to give responsibly.

More important than that we give, is why we give. Giving must be a joyful response to God’s grace! Paul put it this way: “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:8-9). What a test! Paul says the difference between giving to gain favor with God and true Christianity is that a Christian wants to give as generously as he or she received. You always give effortlessly to those things that give your life meaning.

Investing in the Church of the Good Shepherd is strategic, wise, and far-reaching. Strategic because CGS has a unique ability to bring the good news of Jesus to hurting people. Wise because God has done a great work in the past 40+ years through CGS, and this legacy continues as new people join our community every week. Far Reaching because when you impact the city, you impact the world. As the place where you have the greatest personal accountability and commitment, and as the place that is feeding and equipping you, we ask you to invest in CGS, making it your priority in giving.