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Fool Proof

This is the first in a regular series of posts where I'll share how I'm seeking to apply what was taught in the message on Sunday.  The title comes from the parable of the Wise & Foolish builders that Jesus talked about, saying the wise are ones who "hears these words of mine and puts them into practice".

Being that I preached on Sunday this is an odd way to kick off this regular series of posts.  But, one of the things I encouraged people to do was share stories of God's faithfulness in their past.  One of those stories for me is about money.

When I was about 20 years old I realized I was pursuing the American dream and not really living for God.  So, I tried to live more for God in every area of my life.  I watched a friend of mine tithe (give money to support the God's mission through the local church) and I realized I had never tithed.  It just wasn't modeled for me.  I tried to start, but I had little margin financially and could never make it work.  

So, I decided to hold God to his promise (that He would provide) and I sold my car to get a cheaper one, which created margin financially, and I began tithing.  God was faithful to that promise then and has been ever since in regards to provision.  In fact, I would say more often than not I've been blessed when giving, especially when it hasn't been easy.  I always point back to that first time when I'm faced with the decision of giving or hoarding it for myself.  Yet, I still seem to make the unwise choice too often.

Receiving Criticism

Receiving criticism well is a difficult thing to do.  But, it's critical to becoming a better person and a better leader.  The Bible says:

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you.  Proverbs 9:8

The word for mocker is also written as full of pride.  James 4 says that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble".  

Receiving criticism has definitely not been a strength for me.  I remember in a job I had when the only negative thing I got in my review was "you doesn't receive criticism well".  When my boss said that to me, I was mad, and realized I couldn't reply because I would make the statement true!  But, it already was true.  Pride, fear of embarrassment, competition, self-doubt, and a ton of other things all lead to us having difficulty receiving criticism.

Being on staff at CCC provides a great platform for learning to receive criticism well.  We evaluate everything as a staff which means nothing is sacred.  We want to continue to grow and do everything as best as we can.  I hope I will move along the path of becoming less of a mocker and more wise instead.  

How well do you receive criticism?

Mvelopes

Many people know that Jesus talked more about money & possessions than he did about anything else.  And then there's the famous:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew  6:21

It's one thing to know that your heart will follow your money, but it's another thing to manage your money well enough to ensure your heart is in the right place.  Jennifer and I want to do a better job with our budget management.  We have our priorities right, but we want to be able to save more and give more outside of planned giving especially when things come up that were not planned on.  Our plan up to this point has really been to give first, transfer portions of money to accounts we don't touch, and then live on the rest.  But, now we're trying to do a great job budgeting the rest to get the most out of it.

So, we now use mvelopes.com.  It's pretty cool.  It takes the cash-envelope method and puts it online so you can access it anywhere.  It's linked to all of your accounts and knows when transactions come in.  You budget how much you want per envelope (mortgage, electric, entertainment, etc) and then assign income to those envelopes based on your budget.  Then, you assign debits to the envelope it corresponds to.  The traditional cash-envelope method wasn't going to work for us because of how much we use our cards, but this works great. 

The Sin of Apathy

In reading through the book of James I came across verse 4:17:

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." - James 4:17

How often do I sin by not doing good when I know there is an opportunity?  I think about the times whe I pass a homeless person in need.  When I don't go after an opportunity because it appears to be too daunting and I tell myself that's my desire, and not God's.  When I neglect people in order to focus on tasks.  When I decide not to talk to that person who is far from God because it would just be too awkward. 

You know the quote:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke

God's Perspective

At CCC we're in the midst of a series called God Is Bigger Than.  We're looking at things that we deal with that God is bigger than, things like fear, confusion & sin.  On Sunday Adam talked about how God's perspective is bigger than our perspective.  It's so true that we can't see things the way God sees things but it's also true that we can always see things a little more like God does. 

When I think about God's perspective versus ours, I think about the verse Adam talked about and the analogy that's there:

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."  1 Corinthians 13:11

When children don't understand something because they don't have the right perspective (like - why the oven is hot) they need somebody to explain it to them, usually over and over again.  To see God's perspective we probably need some clarity from Him, over and over again as well.  I think that is one reason you can read a verse in the Bible that you've read before, but it can affect you in a new way - your perspective has changed.  I hope I can see things from God's perspective more and more because it's clearly the best way to live.

Does your preaching kill?

In my journey through Acts I read this:

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.  Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.  There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.  Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.  When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.  Acts 20:7-9

They were on the 3rd floor of the building and Eutychus fell asleep and then fell out of the window while Paul was talking.  Fortunately Paul was able to raise him from the dead and we can tell from the scriptures that Eutychus wasn't bored.  It was clearly less like preaching, and more like discussion, and the group was grateful to have that time with Paul and "were greatly comforted" as we read in verse 12.  So, it probably wasn't that Paul was boring, but maybe Eutychus was up too late playing Playstation 3.

Acts 19

There were 2 parts of Acts 18 that really stood out as I read them, and I'll share one with you:

The message of Jesus was spreading through Ephesus (as it was elsewhere) and part of that message was that "man-made gods are no gods at all".  In other words, idols were worthless.  A silversmith called together other workman in related trades and got them angry because they were losing business because of this belief.  So, a riot broke out and...

"The assembly was in confusion:  Some were shouting one thing, some another.  Most of the people did not even know why they were there." Acts 19:32

That's hilarious, but not suprising, to read that many people were there and didn't even know why.  They were just there for the show.  It was like a first century Jerry Springer episode.  People will always gravitate toward things they don't fully understand, but eventually support them.  Churches have to deal with that on both sides, being sensitive to beliefs (or disbelief) that someone may have from following a crowd while making sure the church itself doesn't follow a crowd and end up standing strong for something the Bible doesn't specifically take a stand for (or against). 

What do you strongly believe in, or against, but have never examined why you believe that?

Acts 16:5

In my journey through the book of Acts I came across this verse:

"So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers" - Acts 16:5

I would say that this is the specific purpose for which I want to leverage my life.  Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a church that is dying, dead, or simply ineffective in it's mission.  It's obvious the world needs more churches that could be described by that verse.  It was about 4 years ago when I pictured what a church for the unchurched could look like here in Baltimore, MD.  That picture in my mind, along with the realization that I wanted to live my life for that purpose is what has led me to where I am today, working for a church like the one I pictured.  It was a huge answer to prayer and I hope and pray we never stray off course.

In a message called Asking Big, Andy Stanley challenged everyone to pray for something big, something God-sized.  He said God is honored by our persistent asking.  Since I listened to that message I've prayed that God will make Baltimore known for strong, healthy churches.   Not because I want attention for Baltimore, or even for churches for that matter.  But because strong, healthy churches make Jesus known, and help people find their way to Him.