Manny being Manny

just found out on the news that manny went ahead and signed his contract with the hated dodgers for two years at $45 million.  he said he needed to settle for that amount because the economy is so rough right now.

thanks, manny.  may your sacrifice inspire us all.

i love baseball.  manny is one of the most entertaining and gifted baseball players i have ever witnessed.  i am one of his fans.  but this one just kind of torqued me this afternoon.

i feel better now.

Fifteen Important Questions – #13

here’s today’s question:

what is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

of all the questions i have posted, this is probably the one that has the potential to impact our lives the most…in a practical way.  in the economic situation we find ourselves in these days, a sound financial plan is an absolute necessity.  does your financial condition control you…or are you controlling the condition?  what do you need to do about it…right now?  who are you going to tell?  where are you going to get help?  don’t do this one alone!

Giving

wanda and i made a decision years ago (over 30 of them babies…) that we would live off of a salary that was provided by the money that people put in the offering plate each sunday.  i’m not incapable of earning a living doing something else.  i’m sure we wouldn’t have starved.  i have a highly marketable degree in recreation (a fancy word for play) from san diego state university, for crying out loud.  go aztecs!

but living by the plate was our chosen course.

i feel like i put in a good days work just like the next guy.  i have goals and expectations and a job description.  sometimes i work overtime.  i take days off periodically, though sundays are work days!  i study, i write, i lead, i counsel, i preach, i teach, i manage programs, i oversee teams, i train leaders, i marry, i do funerals, i unplug toilets, i change light bulbs, and chase down an occasional dead rat smell.  like i said, i’m just another working guy…doing my best to earn my paycheck.

doesn’t sound very spiritual, does it?  

honestly, there’s not a week that goes by that i am not humbly reminded that i get to do what god has called me to do…simply out of the gracious generosity of good people.  every week when the plates are passed around our church family, i am drawn deep into the realization that it is sacrifice that has made my life possible all these years.

there are loving people who do without so i might have my share.  

i’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now…

10%…another look

i have almost a love-hate affair with the ten percent.  looking back, without being taught the discipline, i don’t know if i ever would have developed the habit of giving that i have in my life right now.  and without the regular pattern of giving, i don’t know if i would have ever experienced the grace to truly trust god to not only provide for every need, but also to live with the freedom to let go of money.

i guess the “hate” part comes from the inference that it is still a requirement from god.  and worse yet, a bar that all believers are to somehow shoot for.  giving ten percent is a time-honored tradition of the church and a sound financial practice (just ask your tax guy).  i’m not arguing this point.  it’s just that the tithe, according to scripture, is a little different than the tradition that has been passed down.

the children of israel were required to tithe.  in fact, they were required to give multiple tithes…as much as 23% percent and even beyond.  it was similar to our system of taxation.  it was not a matter of the heart, it wasn’t a matter of choice.  it was demanded and there was a consequence if the demand was not met.  

when jesus arrived on the scene, the jewish requirements for tithing were still in place.  but jesus brought a redefining of jewish legal requirement:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  Matthew 5:17

historically, the church has emphasized that jesus did not abolish the tithe.  my problem with this is how the church has gone about picking and choosing which of the laws we were still going to conveniently require and which of the laws we were going to let slide.  and if we’re going to require them, why aren’t we really requiring them?  ah, law…so much more to say.  i’ll save it for later.

let me make this clear.  if you believe the ultimate goal set before you is to give ten percent of your income to the local church, somebody has sold you a lemon!  if you think that god is somehow pleased when you let go of a percentage of your money, it’s time for a fresh perspective.  jesus did not come to abolish the law of tithing.  i think he came to explode it!

he came to give us all a brand new take on what it means to know that god is the creator and owner of everything, including every dime we think belongs to us…what it means to live underneath the his lordship…what it means to seek the kingdom of god first…what it means to put our money where we say our hearts are.

the real question is not what percentage i put in the offering plate, but what percentage stays in my bank account.

what do you think?

10%

somewhere back in the hard drive of my past, i learned that giving ten percent of my income in the offering plate each week was what i needed to do.  i’m glad i learned to do it.  i’m glad that wanda and i have always shared that same perspective.  

through the years, ten percent has never really been our goal.  it’s always been like a starting point.  a place where our giving begins and moves on from.  for the most part, ten percent has been what we have always given to the general budget for the ministry of our church family.  other giving has always been above and beyond that.

the ten percent starting point is never negotiated.  it is never questioned.  it’s never lowered.  it is never up for debate.  it just is.

do i think god requires it?  nope.  do i think we are under the same laws of the old testament?  no way.  do i think that jesus would want me to give ten percent?  i honestly don’t think he thinks about it.  does it make me better than others?  i wish.  is god pleased when i give it?  i suppose, but it doesn’t occur to me to think about it.  will i be punished if i don’t give it?  please…  

so why do i do it?  i think i’ll tell you over the next few days.  i hope you stay tuned.

Money crisis

david foster is a pastor-blogger from nashville that i read.  here’s a link to his site.  this week he wrote some thoughts on the current financial crisis we are facing.  i couldn’t have said it better!

7 Benefits of These Good Old Bad Times

Well it’s official.  We’re going through bad times.  When you hear CNN, Fox News, and other major networks use words like “crisis, never seen it this bad before, no one knows what to do, the bail-out isn’t working,” it’s official.  These are bad times.

But remember.  There is always an upside of every down time.  Here are seven I’ve been pondering.  Maybe you can think of more.

1.    These good old bad times give us a chance for group humility.  Let’s face it.  We Americans pride ourselves on our ingenuity, our know-how, and our can-do spirit.  We’re educated and we’re proud of it.  All of our education and organization has led us to this place where we’ve lost trillions of dollars worth of value in markets across the board in a short period of time.  Let’s face it.  It’s time for repentance and acknowledging that we’re not as smart as we thought we were.  This could be a good thing because it helps us appreciate the things that we overlook when we’re going too fast and making too much money.  Humility is a thing God values and places a high priority on.  He says that He raises up the humble and brings down the proud.

2.    These good old bad times explode the illusion of command and control.  It’s an illusion if you think you are in control of the world and that you can command things to right themselves.  It’s the old illusion of power.  Power is a good thing, but it’s a limited thing.

3.    These good old bad times break us of the belief that more money solves all things.  The 700 billion dollar bail-out was supposed to be a cure-all and the markets were bound to turn around and bounce back immediately.  That hasn’t happened.  Money doesn’t solve all things.  The Scriptures teach us that it’s illusive, that it promises one thing and delivers another.  Those who love money and depend on it are always disappointed.  Surely we know this by now, but will we remember it?

4.    These good old bad times provide us a great moment to start over smarter.  Maybe you’ve lost your job, your company, your house, or maybe everything.  And it’s a terrible thing, but it’s not the end of all things.  Remember the Scriptures warn us that we come into this world with nothing and we’ll go out with nothing.  So starting over smarter is not the end of the world.  As a matter of fact, it gives you a chance to free yourself up of a lot of baggage that you gather over the years in building a business, a career, or just about any other thing.  Starting over smarter, leaner, and with a simpler approach can be a blessing.

5.    These good old bad times call us back to the basics.  We have two epic struggles going on: greed and fear at war with faith and hope.  There are those who believe the economy runs on greed and when it won’t run on greed, it runs on fear.  And yet there are those of us who believe that God created the world to respond to two more epic important and redemptive forces: faith and hope.  Faith in our God, not in our institutions, or the value of the dollar; and hope that God isn’t done with us; that He is still here working, bringing about His purposes, building His Kingdom which has as its themes, redemption, restoration, reconciliation, and renewal.  These are our marching orders.  These are the basics of a life well-lived.  Each and every day, faith and hope always win.

6.    These good old bad times give us a chance to recognize that we need each other.  There aren’t enough assets, money, insurance, or securities to make us islands all to ourselves. It’s during bad times and down times, it’s at the time of loss that the tribe of the Christian faith is at its best.  Christianity has always faltered in prosperity and always blossomed in tragedy.  This is our opportunity as Christians, instead of forcing our way through political mandate, winning the day by standing up as a voice of sanity, love, grace, hope, and redemption.  Will we seize it?

7.    These good old bad times give us a chance to read what we’ve written on our money, “In God We Trust.”  At the end of the day, that’s what this is all about – trust.  Can you trust your institutions? No.  Can you trust your government?  No.  Can you trust your investments?  No.  Can you trust your 401k, that it will be there when you need it?  No.  Can you trust your health?  No.  Can you trust the ebb and flow of financial markets?  No.  But can you trust God, the creator and sustainer of all things?  And to that we say a resounding, “Yes.”

 

Money…off limits

i know i’ve talked about this before, but i think i’m going to revisit it today…

in the midst of really healthy, bro to bro, deep, committed, godly friendships, there are still some subjects that are almost completely off limits in our conversations.  even when we know that a couple is struggling in their marriage, we have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship.  it is not socially, or even spiritually, acceptable to ask, “hey, how’s your sex life?” or “are you being sexually satisfied?”.  are you kidding me?!  we’d rather watch a couple go down in flames before we bring that subject up!!  but real friends aren’t afraid to wade out into deeper waters.

we also stay away from ever offering our help or suggestions to parents, even if we see mistakes being made.  we con ourselves into believing that it’s none of our business, because we don’t want anybody evaluating our parenting, either.  so the fear of risking our friendship paralyzes us and we sit by and say nothing.

that brings me to the money issue.  other than sex and parenting, there isn’t another topic that causes believers to wig out more than talking about money.  it makes grown men and women shrink in fear and otherwise spiritually mature followers of christ react with defensiveness, self-consciousness, or even some form of retaliation against the church or church leadership.

so why is this?

Money and vision

i’m going to spend some time talking about money in the days ahead.  i hope you’ll read and then give your two cents.  it will be about the cheapest thing you can do these days.  

it’s time to lift our heads.  it’s time to be inspired.  it’s time to look up and beyond our economic mess…whether personal or corporate.  we are in tough times.  they will probably get tougher.  i’m going to pass on some new insight.  i’m going to link you to new ideas.  i’m going to challenge you think different, act different, plan different, believe different.  it’s time.

here’s a quote to start things off:

“people give money to a compelling cause with a clear vision.  when economic times are hard leaders are tempted to reduce the budget and the vision. NO!  increase the vision and money will follow.  never forget – god is always at work and vision is free!” – perry noble

do you think the vision for ministry we have at north point is compelling enough to cause people to dig deeper and give more?

A balanced church – five

this morning, some random thoughts came into focus as i was reading an interview of os guinness, a wizened prophet of the church over the past forty years.  i followed that with a read of brian maclaren, a post-modern sage of our current culture. they both had different perspectives.  i think they are both right.  go figure.

to get the whole gist of my thought process, you’ll probably need to read what they wrote.  but for those of you who need the reader’s digest version, here goes:  thirty years ago, we realized that if we were ever going to reach modern young people with the gospel, we had to speak their language.  in the church, we tried our best to do music that would resonate, to preach and teach in a way that would engage kids, to use cutting edge technology, to “wow” them with conferences, to excite them with over-the-top experiences, to make sure that we were just as state-of-the-art as anything else in their world.

honestly, after thirty years of trying to be just as good as the world in our programs, our publications, our music, our experiences, and our presentations, we still fall short.  waay short.  you know why?  it’s not because we’re not as smart, or gifted, or talented, or tech saavy, or prepared, or educated.  no, it’s none of those.

it’s money.

in our society, people are driven to excellence in the corporate world in order to make a profit.  you don’t think that spielberg makes the movies he does simply out of a push for artistic integrity?  you don’t think that one-of-a-kind architectural masterpieces are built so that people will walk by and say “ahhhh”?  surely you don’t think mtv is driven by a desire to entertain?  wake up and smell the cash register!

we are a consumer driven society.  and we smelled that in the church years ago and began to do our best to cook up something that smelled just as good as what “they” were cooking.  after all, we were competing for the same people, the same hearts, the same money.  we didn’t want to lose, so we tried hard to compete.

we lost that battle.  we always will.  and it’s worse now than ever.  you know why?  money.  now, more than ever, we need to get out of this game.  there is less money to go around.  gas prices alone are going to dictate what we do in youth ministry for a long time…maybe forever.  as the church, we need to radically rethink how we spend our money, what we invest in, the kind of people we are sensitive to, what kind of buildings we build, and what we expect our church family to pay up for.

don’t get me wrong.  god’s people have always dug deep, sacrificed, given past the hurting, and made ridiculous financial commitments to the kingdom.  we will always challenge each other to do that…and more.  you’re not getting off that easy at north point!  

i just think that that maybe instead of being obsessed with excellence in the things that money can buy (in the church), maybe we could generate the same kind of over the top excellence in our relationships, our fellowship, our personal study and worship, our commitment to the poor, our service…the real ways we show our love for god and our love for people!

Summer slump?

had a good sunday today.  i’ve got a bunch of thoughts about today, but i’ll wait until tomorrow to enlighten you.  here’s what i’m thinking about right now, though.  summer is always difficult financially for our church family.  lots of travel…attendance is is sometimes a little spotty…schedules seem out of whack…easier to let things slide…sleep in later…get lazy.

with the momentum we have right now, i’m thinking this might be the year things are going to change.  what do you think?  are you ready to do you’re part?  are you ready to make your commitment to north point deeper and stronger than ever before?  i think you are…