money

Flashback Friday: Give God a Valentine

Frank

***Originally posted in 2009 as notes from a contribution talk I gave the Sunday after Valentine’s Day. The dollar figures may have changed, but God does not change.***

I saw on the news that last year [2008] the average person spent $123 on Valentines Day and this year given the economy it was expected to drop to $102. That sounds like a lot, but if consider dinner on top of the flowers, candies, and cards you can see how that would add up quick. I bring this up because it points out how we spend a lot of money on silly things while we struggle to pay the bills and make ends meet. (not that Valentines Day is silly, but the efforts we go though to impress our loved ones with things is)

Brothers, how much did you spend yesterday? We justify it because it’s only once a year, but I hope we show that love our spouses more than just once a year, Amen? Just like I hope we demonstrate our love for God more than just on Sundays. How do we show our love to God? Well, just like our wives, he likes to be given things. No, not stuffed animals that sing Elvis songs when you press its paw. But he wants us to sacrifice to him. Things of value, things that demonstrate that he is more important than what we give him. Just like Valentine’s Day, our spouses are worth much more than that box of candies, but what message would it have sent if we didn’t get anything at all and just sat with our arms crossed, huffing at the suggestion of spending money on Valentines Day? Are you sitting now with your arms crossed huffing at the suggestion of giving part of your hard earned income to God?

In Matthew 19, beginning in verse 16, we read of a rich man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to get to heaven. The answer shocked him, verse 21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And the man walked away sad. Jesus isn’t telling us to sell everything we have and give it away to the poor, but don’t let that stop you. What he is telling us is to love him more than our possessions or our wealth. Give him a valentine today.

.140 Millimeters

Frank

As the days are getting shorter and temperatures are dropping, I expect my kids to come home from school with the sniffles. All it takes is one child in a room full of thirty to sneeze on a hand, touch a doorknob, drool on a toy, or stick fingers where they have no business going to spread germs that ultimately find their way home and require me to take a sick day. (The other night my children kept me up as my daughter suffered through a stuffy head as my son coughed with such fury it could be measured on the Richter scale. How do I feel today? Don’t ask)

But I’m lucky. I have health insurance. I can afford over the counter cold medicine. And my job allows the flexibility to take a sick day now and then. Not everyone is so fortunate.

A month ago at church we had a guest from one of our local school districts describing a need that seemed trivial on the surface, but has significant impact. Her schools represent an underprivileged demographic in our community, so you would expect the need to be school supplies, classroom volunteers, etc. Instead she expressed a single need: tissue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 22 million sick days will be taken this year due to the common cold. That’s one day for every other student in America. For an impoverished community, missing school means missing at least one if not two meals, missing being inside with heat during the winter and air conditioning in the fall and spring, having running water if that only means a toilet and sink, and most importantly receiving an education to help raise them out of their socioeconomics.

So my congregation set out on “Operation Bless You” where we took donations of boxes of tissue. Donations of winter coats, backpacks, etc can cost tens to hundreds of dollars. A box of Kleenex at Wal-Mart costs a little more than a buck. Our goal was 1000 boxes. I think we blew that out the first week. I haven’t heard a final number, but even after a couple of deliveries I think we have more tissue than we know what to do with!

.140 millimeters is all it takes to stop a sneeze. This comes to 42 millimeters total in a box (for single-ply laid flat). It isn’t much, but it goes to show that every little bit adds up. .140 millimeters can prevent the common cold. .140 millimeters can keep a child in school one more day where there basic needs can be met.

No effort so small goes unnoticed. Any little act can have big impact. No need is too trivial to meet.

‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

Not Just Lip Service

Frank

So I’ve been ranting and raving the last couple of weeks about how we define “church” and what a strong church looks like and should be doing. I’m not going to add anything today other than highlight a couple stories that got my attention this week.

First comes a story of a church giving back, literally. Last Sunday Liquid Church in New Jersey gave out $30,000 from their own coffers during their regular weekly contribution. Given current events and the economic climate, I struggle to ask for money at my own church. Yes, we need to pay the bills too (I’m the outgoing Board President so I watch this more closely than most others) but would it really be the end of the world if we couldn’t pay for our luxurious (by some standards) building and had to meet, like the church in the article, in hotel conference rooms in order to instead give out from our reserves to meet the impoverished needs in our congregation and community? I’ve written about this before and how it reminds me of the ministry of Kingdom Assignment. I wrote in 2009 that I’d love for my own congregation to do something similar. Two years later I see little chance of that.

The second story is about the ongoing debate in the missional movement. I’ve argued in my own circle of influence that if Jesus isn’t the center of community outreach then it is just community service. The argument goes that being “missional” is the latest trend, and many churches are jumping on the bandwagon in the name of social justice and leaving the Gospel behind. Here are some great blog posts the dig into this debate.

So that’s them. What about you? What are you, or your church doing to share the Gospel uniquely? I am personally wrestling with this myself, so inspire me with your stories!