Something that made me go...huh!
But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of giving [grace] also. (2 Corinthians 8:7)
It was several years ago, I came across this verse during my own personal devotional time and it caused me to hit the pause button. In this moment, I was forced to take an inventory of my walk with God. I have grown up in the church and experienced God’s grace in many areas. I went to college to become an engineer to find myself on a total life altering path that would lead me to full-time ministry. Over the years, I have seen God lead me to do youth ministry, young adult ministry, and now as a lead pastor/church planter. All through the journey, I have seen my faith grow and I regularly find myself trusting God more and more. Over the years, my heart for ministry, for people and for God has grown by leaps and bounds. Many portions of the verse above have fit into my experiences of God.
However, the last few words of the verse challenge me – “excel in this act of giving.” As a young Christian, I have learned that the Bible teaches all believers to give proportionally of their income (10%). Something that I have kept a conviction about for years. I have kept that practice regular in good times and even in hard times…but what does it mean to excel in the act of giving?
My challenge is to you to spend some time thinking and learning what it means to “excel” in the act of giving. Each day challenge yourself to do something generous. Notice how it touches the lives of others and what freedom it brings to your own life.
As a church, our desire is to be people that…
1. Love God
2. Live with Purpose
3. Give Generously
Giving can be a transformational discipline. I believe this journey could be the transformation you are looking for in your walk with God. It will refresh your perspective and rejuvenate your life. I can’t wait to see what God does in you and through you!
Portable to Permanent
This is the one of the most critical decision that you will make in the life of your church plant. When do we buy a building. When do we stop doing portable church and begin having a "real" church? Below are some thoughts this discussion has generated for me...also are some lessons we learned from our own journey- moving from portable to permanent.
What a building won’t do for you.
1. It won’t make you a real church.
Truth be told...buildings are really just a shell. There is no life in the building itself. Think about the early church. The early church was alive and for the earliest lifespan of the church the church gathered in homes. Having a permanent home can help in practical ways but it is never the thing that makes you a "real" church. As a church planter you have to guard your heart from thinking we finally arrived when you get a building.
If you have a problem before you move into a permanent situation you will still have problems in your new building. If things are bad with children's ministry they will still be bad with a permanent building. Same goes across all the ministries of the church. Be careful in thinking that have a building will solve all your problems. It won't.
One thing a permanent building can do for you is it creates great momentum. The momentum that is created from moving into a permanent building can be likened to a large wave and surfing. Big waves can be great and produce a lot of fun for those who are ready to ride the wave...but to those that aren't ready, it can turn deadly. Before you make a move into a permanent situation you have to ask yourself, "Are we ready to ride the wave?"
6 Signs you are ready to ride the wave:
- You have a constant growth rate
- People’s lives are being transformed
- You have a growing voice in the community
- You have a healthy culture
- You have financial margin
- You have healthy systems and structures
3 Problems buildings create:
- Buildings attract church people
- Who is putting the biggest pressure on you getting a building? Christians or those who came to Christ in your church? Church people have a way of smelling church buildings. This can be a blessing but it can also become a challenge to the vision and mission of your church.
- Buildings have an unquenchable thirst
- Building will drink your budget over and over again and never apologize for it. For instance...the first year in our building we had to spend $50,000 to replace old AC units. It would have been great to use that money in something else but you have to have AC in Arizona.
- Secondly, you have to think about getting rid of the portable set-up to make the building look permanent. The signage you used at a school or a theater isn't going to be adequate in a permanent situation. People's expectations are different now.
- Buildings challenge your vision and mission
- For instance...now that you have a mortgage and financial drain because of the building...it becomes easy to modify the vision or the mission because of it. Buildings can also produce a false sense of security and as a result it is easy to let off the gas pedal. Never forget that the same creativity you once used in a portable situation you will still need to rely on in a permanent situation.
Pursue Trust
A verse that has meant a lot to me as a pastor is Proverbs 3:5-6. It is one of those verses that I try and yet am learning to live by. Just as a refresher, here is what it says...
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)
What is Solomon really calling us to do in this verse? Is Solomon calling us to become irrational in the way that we make decisions and even navigate life? So many times I look to past experience, past failures, to help me create a grid of understanding so that I don't become a repeat offender. To help makes sense of this I did a little further study on what Proverbs says about understanding and wisdom...here is what I found:
- “[Incline] your heart to understanding” (Proverbs 2:2).
- “Raise your voice for understanding” (Proverbs 2:3).
- “Understanding will guard you” (Proverbs 2:6).
- “Blessed is the one who…gets understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).
- “Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding” (Proverbs 14:33).
- “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 15:14).
- To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver (Proverbs 16:16).
- “Buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23).
Here is where some of the confusion streams from - So if we’re supposed to get understanding, why are we not supposed to lean on it?
What Solomon warns us of doing is being people that lean on our own understanding...meaning being people that lean primarily on conclusions defined by our own perceptions. Yet, this is something that humans have battled against from the time Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree.
While everything was perfect and Adam and Eve lived in perfect union with each other and God- God did forbid Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan in his fanciful deception wanted Adam and Eve to think that God just wanted to keep them ignorant. However, God’s true desire wasn’t to keep us ignorant but really to preserve what was good.
How...to eat of the tree after God’s command was saying a lot of different things to God and how we were going to relate to him. Eating of the tree was saying...
- "God, we know better."
- “I am smarter than you God."
- "God, i don't have to live under your authority. I have greater authority than you."
- "I am wiser than you God."
- "I think I can care for myself better than you care for me."
- "God, you are not a very good father...so I am going to reject you."
When you think about from this perspective, it creates a major problem. Honestly, we don't have the ability to fully comprehend and handle the knowledge of good and evil. Humans don't have the ability to comprehend all the possible options and contingency plans to navigate life successfully. Nor, do we have the ability to make reality conform to the proper course.
In short...only God can fully do any of this...that is what he was trying to protect us from in the Garden.
So what this really means is the person that is irrational is the person that fully trusts in their own understanding. Think about how much heartache, fear, anxiety is rooted in the fact of us leaning on our own understanding.
I am convinced that God has bigger ideas and plans that are so far from our comprehension in what he wants to do in us and through us. Therefore, we have to forfeit our "right" to define our own understanding and lean on the ONE that holds all things together. At that begins when we trust him over our personal experience.