I read a great quote this morning from Dave Black (7:57 AM) that I think we all need to ponder. It is a sober question and gets to heart of what I am so fixated on but often write far too polemically about. I thank God for wiser and more mature brothers who help to refocus the discussion.
Last night Ronnie asked me a very important question. "What is it that keeps us from having a kingdom mindset?" We talked about the distractions of TV, football season, pleasure, comfort. I added into the mix: the church. As long as we continue to tithe to ourselves, as long as we overlook the fact that the gathering must always lead to the going, as long as we prioritize our programs and our successful ministries over making a tangible difference in the world for Christ we will never have a kingdom mindset. The greatest problem that most churches face today is not that they aren't doing anything. They do plenty. The problem is that they're not doing the right thing (Phil. 1:27), preferring soft cushions over Bibles in India. And the greatest danger most pastors face is not that they aren't doing anything. They're far too busy! It's that they don't do the essential things. Their purpose is to equip God's people for works of service. The clear command of our Lord is to go to the world.
That really captures it. It is not that we hate the church or reject the church or any of the other foolish digs people throw out to avoid having an honest, Biblical conversation about the church. It is really that I and others like me love the church, we just wonder if the church is focused where it should be. Everyone is so busy running around and doing “church stuff” that we neglect to ask if what we are doing is what we should be doing, what we are called to do and if not, is our busyness preventing us from taking a step back and asking the hard questions. We invest so much time, money and emotion into “doing church” that it seems we are afraid to wonder if we are paddling a canoe with golf clubs.
On the topic of Dr. Black, Dave and his wife Becky Lynn are heading to see the doctors this afternoon, facing a conversation I can’t even imagine having about my wife and her health. Having had my wife face surgery and treatment for the relatively mild thyroid cancer was very difficult, cancer of this sort is hard to imagine. Prayer is in order that God will give them strength and wisdom regardless of what the doctors have to say and that in this, even in this, God will be glorified.
3 comments:
Based on where the money goes in institutional forms, it is a higher priority for believers to hear 1000 sermons from a hired professional than for send saints to give the gospel to those who have never heard it once and have no one to tell them in a days journey.
If believers in America never heard another professional Bible lecture, not from a pew or a radio or a TV, and replaced it with Col.3:16 and Heb. 10:24 dynamic, their spiritual life would explode in fruitfulness. Both from replacing one-way communication with taking in and giving out, but also 100% giving going beyond themselves.
Where does it say the "preach the Word" equals "lecture the Word"?
I'm struggling. I would love your sage advice. You don't know me, but I've been reading you for a while. You know stuff.
I'm struggling with tithing. Mind you, I'm just coming off 3 years of being a deacon in the CRC, so I've been up to my ears in church finance for a long time. Much of that 3 years was spent putting out fires related to relentless budget shortfalls. "Programs" continue to expand...salaries, benefits, etc. continue to eat up more and more of our church resources. That's the background.
My problem. My giving is on autopilot...literally. I have an automatic debit every 2 weeks that goes to the church. For me and my family...it's a lot of money...about 7% of my net income. Things are very tight for us financially. We have 6 (soon to be 7) kids, and we qualify for the state of Michigan WIC program. My question is this...should we be giving money to the church, and at the same time taking money for the state to cover basic needs...when the money given to the church would easily cover these needs?
Any thoughts?
Chad,
I know where you are coming from, being a Michigander with a big family and having a tough time making ends meet.
Short answer. I don't think you should be giving money to the local church if the basic needs of your family are dependent on government help. Especially since so much of the money given to local churches effectively is used to support the operations of that institution (salaries, mortgages, rent, utilities, programs). I would rather you serve others who are in need with your time and effort, if not money, instead of paying to keep a religious operation running.
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