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Question #27: Are you Growing in Your Giving?

Did you give more this year than last year?

Carol Ann and I will make our annual Christmas list on Monday. I have convinced her that a budget, Excel sheet, and strategic plan really do put the Merry in Merry Christmas. As we put the list together, we will compare it with last year's list. I guess this keeps us from missing anyone, and helps us stay equitable - whatever that means this time of year. Anyway...

This is also the time of year for us to look back and see how we have done in our giving over the last 12 months. For us, the giving question is no longer centered around the percentage of our income given away. Instead, we want to see evidence that we have given away more of our income and stuff this year than the previous year.

As a principle, there is certainly nothing wrong with giving a tithe (10 percent), of your income to the Church where you attend regularly. In fact, based on current statistics that say most Jesus followers give 2%-4%, that would be a big improvement. However, the "required" Old Testament tithe really equaled around 25% of a person's income. It seems to me that 10% is the minimum; not the "I am the greatest giver in the world because I tithe" maximum.

As you think this through, remember:

• It all belongs to God.
• We are entrusted to manage well what we have been given.
• What is stored in Heaven will last forever.

Ask:

• Am I growing in my giving?
• Do I give cheerfully?
• Do I see 10% as the maximum or the minimum?
• Do I give sacrificially?
• What does my checkbook say about my priorities?

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Question #26: What is your View on Jesus and Culture

Over at Jesus Creed there is an insightful conversation taking place about Jesus and culture. The context for this discussion is the John Stackhouse book, Making the Best of It.

To begin the discussion McKnight breaks down the classic typology of H. Richard Niebuhr found in Christ and Culture. So when it comes to your view of Jesus and culture, which view best describes you?

1. Jesus against Culture: Reject the world and separate from it.
2. Jesus of Culture: Viewing Jesus in terms of cultural values. Interpret culture through Jesus and Jesus through culture.
3. Jesus above Culture: Culture is neither good or bad and God works through a harmony of both.
4. Jesus and Culture in Paradox: We live in both the spiritual world and temporal world and have responsibilities in both.
5. Jesus the Transformer of Culture: Culture is flawed and corrupt, but redeemable. 

A more detailed description of each view can be found here.

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Question #25

What is on the right side of your AND?

AND is the foe of focus,  diluter of dedication,  enemy of effort,  and the magnifier of ME.

There was a time that I was a huge NBA fan. Not so much anymore. I still watch, maybe cheer (at times), but AND is in the way of the NBA being great.

On several occasions over the past few years I have heard star players interviewed about their goals or hopes for the season or their team or career. They use AND. It troubles me. They say something like, "I want to win the championship AND lead the league in scoring. I want to win the championship AND make the All-Star game." Now in many ways there is nothing wrong with thinking it would be cool to lead the league in scoring or making the All-Star game. However, sometimes the focus on the personal goal will keep the team goal from happening.

AND gets in the way. The focus on the right side of AND makes it hard to accomplish what is stated on the left side of AND. Too often it becomes a ME focus. AND has a habit of doing that... but not always. At the risk of sounding too old-school or idealistic, it is hard to imagine Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, or Michael Jordan saying anything but, "win a championship".

Now it is easy to pick on NBA players, but we all must be careful of what we put on the right side of AND.

Paul said, "To live is Christ AND...

• drive a nice car?
• be popular?
• lead a major ministry?
• be healthy?
• be on the cutting edge?
• keep from sinning?
• be liked?
• retire?

Nope. Paul said, "To live is Christ AND to die is gain".

What is on the right side of your AND?

Question #24

I am currently finishing up some of the messages for our upcoming series called "We are Jonah" that will begin in February. With Jonah fresh on my mind I ask:

In what ways are you Jonah?

• You see your call from God as the source of your trouble.
• You flee from God's presence and his Word.
• Your arguments with God are fueled by self-righteousness.
• There are some people you hope do not make it to heaven.
• You run in the opposite direction that God is pointing.
• You smell fishy.

If you have a bit of Jonah in you, I want to remind you of what Paul said.

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Question #23

Promotion for the Externally Focused Church Conference asks a great question: If your church vanished, would your community really notice?

If I can personalize that question a bit, If you vanished, would your neighborhood notice?

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew  5:13-16 ESV)

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Question #22

Do you look at people with your eyes or your heart?

In Luke 7 Jesus is invited by a Pharisee to his house for dinner. During dinner, a woman who is described as a "woman of the city, who was a sinner" came in. Coming face to face with Jesus brings tears and a face to foot encounter. The Pharisee fully expected Jesus to point out her sin and send her on her way shamed and alone.

Jesus responds to this way of thinking by illuminating the truth of forgiveness through a story. Then he asks Simon, "Do you see this woman?" Obviously Jesus is not asking Simon if he can actually see her physically. But could Simon see with his heart. Did he only see what his eyes told him was a sinful woman;  someone who was different than him and someone that was below him in every way. Did he see her as someone who was not worth his time or Jesus attention? Or...

Did he see her as Jesus did? A young lady who was broken, sinful, shamed and ... full of possibility through the power of a relationship with Jesus.

Too often we can find ourselves looking at people with our eyes only. What usually follows is criticism,  apathy, or  impossibility.  However, when we look at a person with a heart that is  surrendered to God we see things quite differently.

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Question #21

The early years of high school seem to be a very impressionable time for most students. It was true of me and my friends. We were influenced greatly by a very cool college age guy by the name of Greg who taught our Sunday School class, served as a camp counselor, helped us become passionate about Jesus, and also taught us how to play poker and smoke cigars. Like I said, he was a very cool guy!

It was Greg who most influenced me to live my life for Jesus and serve him vocationally.

Interestingly, this incredible person of influence suffered some eye damage from a machine shop accident while in high school. No real serious damage was done, but he had a tendency to blink his eyes about 4-5 times more often than the average person.

Guess what? Me and my friend who spent an amazing amount of time with Greg developed a similar habit even though we had never been near a machine shop. It was just the result of spending so much time with him and soaking in his influence.  In fact, other people knew that we were doing the excessive blinking thing because of who we were hanging out with.

I was reminded of this story on Wednesday during staff chapel.  A wonderful couple challenged us with the following question. When people encounter you, do they know that you have spent time with Jesus?

Back in high school people knew who I was hanging out with because I took on many of the characteristics of Greg. I admired him and followed him.

All of which leads to question #21.  When people encounter you, do they know that you have spent time with Jesus?

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Question #20

One of the many things that I have been reminded of while teaching through the book of Judges, is how God uses flawed people in incredible ways. Just about every judge that God used to deliver the Israelites was flawed.

Thinking this through I was challenged by the following thought. It is not real hard for me to offer my strengths or giftedness over to God. However, I am not so quick to offer my weaknesses. I am sure that this is because of pride, and maybe even some doubt that God can use even my weaknesses. It is hard to imagine how God can use my doubt, fear, anger, and lack of patience.

However, Paul said this.

So my question is this: What weakness do you need to give over to God?

Question #19

It seems that I often hear Christians rant against our culture and against the people of our culture. Now I appreciate critical thinking and a love for truth, and even good humored cynicism. However, as followers of Jesus, how we view the people in this world is critical to how we live our lives. So...

Do you see people as the enemy or the mission?

Questions 1-19.

Question #18

Reading this leads me to question #18.

Where do you need to show up?

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