The Simplest of Sermons

The simplest stories can reveal the greatest truths.

Finances in The Kingdom of God

I have a pastor friend who struggles with starting a business because he doesn’t want to abuse his spiritual position in his parishioner’s lives by making money with them. Ironically, week after week he takes up an offering for his salary. He is not alone in this kind of mindset and I understand because I've been there, done that. Somehow, I had not appreciated the fact that the Apostle Paul had a tentmaking business that provided for himself and those he was mentoring and established a model that he wanted passed on to all leaders.

“I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:33-35

This passage has dramatically changed much of my thinking about finances in two specific areas: charitable giving and making money. To say the least it’s been a huge paradigm shift for me to see kingdom values about finances in a very different way than I was originally taught.

One of my biggest shocks was that charitable giving was primarily to be used to support those who have no other means of support, ie. the weak: widows, orphans, persecuted, disaster victims, etc. And yet today, the lion’s share of charitable giving goes to support the administration of churches/ministries with very little going to those that really need help.

Much of the church’s understanding of finances is taught by professional teachers/pastors who have become dependent on the offerings of their followers. Where Paul was able to say "I have worked hard with my own hands to supply the needs of others", leaders today have to say "My followers have had to work hard to supply my needs". The professional clergy model that exists today for making money cannot be duplicated by their followers and in truth, has made them dependent upon their parishioners. Paul clearly said we are not to become dependent on others.

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

One friend suggested that if I feel so strongly about this now, that I should give back everything I made during my 8 years in paid ministry. Perhaps he’s right. The problem of course is that it would make it a huge obstacle for any pastor to transition into the values that I am suggesting.

Why wouldn't pastors want to model to those they are discipling something that can be practiced by all? Is it really necessary to create a separation between clergy/layity of how to provide for our families?

The more I study kingdom finances, the more I realize that we are to help each other prosper. The way things are right now is that people are isolated and have little desire to work together to increase each other’s financial position in order to do more within the kingdom of God. Working together for kingdom purposes should be normative for Christians and yet when it comes to making money most Christians are virtually on their own.

I recognize that this simple view of providing for ourselves and others would be a radical departure from what is currently being practiced. Does that mean that it is an absurd idea or is it simply because we have never done it this way before?

Oh and BTW, it really is better to give than to receive.

"A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn’t the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn’t flat. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic."—Dresden James

Why is Sunday Special?

Many Christians believe that listening to a sermon, praying and singing a few songs is a core value to be done on Sunday. In fact they believe it so much that they spend literally billions of dollars every year to support this value.

When they are asked, "Where in the Bible does it say to do this?" They quickly respond with, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25

But this passage doesn't say we should venerate Sunday and make it more special than any other day of the week.

The passage does talk about our relationships with each other being important but that has to do with developing strong friendships, not making a particular day of the week special.

I remember a conversation with a retired minister on this topic and asked him to tell me about his friends. He told me he had three guys who were his good friends. I asked him when they met. "At church on Sunday", was his reply. But when else were they friends. The answer was never.

It's really too bad that many can quote Hebrews 10:25 to support going to church on Sunday (which it doesn't require) but struggle with quoting the preceding sentence which really answers WHY we should get together. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
Hebrews 10:24

Which day of the week can this be done on? Is there anything wrong with meeting on Sunday? Any day of the week is good for getting together. Do Christians have to change their lifestyle regarding Sunday? No, as long as they don't expect or give new believers the impression that they need to go to a church service on Sunday in order to do what God has asked of them.

It seems rather ironic that those who venerate one day in the week sometimes miss the fact that the body of Christ isn't about 2 hours on Sunday but rather lives being lived out with such love for each other that we truly reveal Jesus to our world.

Would pastors be comfortable with parishioners forgoing Sunday and deciding to get together more often but with just a few others in order to pray, encourage one another and seek out ways to help others?

I remember a couple from the first church we were in who were in such desperate financial straights that they "stole" toilet paper from the bathroom at church. This couple were faithful attenders and tithers. And yet we (the church) were happily ignorant of how difficult things were for them. But boy, did we love going to church on Sunday.

The goal isn't showing up for a service but to do what Jesus has commanded us to do and this is His desire.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34,35

Paying the Price

The simplest definition of repentance is change. And its simplest application means growing up. The Apostle Paul said it this way, "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

Most religious groups place a high value on the term repentance but often relegate it to moral types of sins. But what about a wrong understanding of God and His ways? We need to obviously grow up, change/repent, in order to come to a right understanding.

Now here’s the rub with this maturing process. What if you end up seeing differently than the group that you belong to and that so wanted you to change? I’m not even saying that you’re right and they are wrong. I’m talking about being true to your own conscience at that particular point in time.

You discover what you think is a significant truth but it doesn't fit the group you are in. Who do you share this “revelation” with? The catch 22 in this scenario is that you could very well be ostracized for going against the status quo if you are honest about what you think. BTW: This has happened countless times over the years with people leaving to form new groups only to end up ostracizing a new person who disagrees with their "new" perspective. Nobody questions that maybe belonging to a group isn't what Jesus had in mind for His church.

You read scriptures like "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34,35

You already know that in our society that our "love for one another" is not exactly causing anyone to take notice, at least not in a positive way.

And you know from watching what happens to others that if you speak up, you will not be accepted. If you leave, you will be seen as rebellious or bitter and if you stay you will violate your own conscience.

Each week you hear a sermon that requires some form of change and you come to realize that exploring anything outside of the status quo is a very costly matter and repentance is really just code for fitting in with the group.

The Pharisees put such a high value on their group’s interpretation of being right (their identity) that when they saw Lazarus raised from the dead, they conspired to kill Jesus. They were notorious for expecting everyone around them to change, yet when confronted with their own need to repent, they chose murder instead. (Shunning is the acceptable method in our day.)

"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
John 11:47,48

Ahhh, the cost of "belonging" and the cost of "change". Make no mistake about this, you will pay for one or the other.

Come As You Are -- Leave Changed

Church signs offer an interesting snapshot of the beliefs of a particular group. This sign left me wondering what they were selling.

Come As You Are -- Leave Changed

How would a church member feel about the sign?
How would an outsider feel?

I see 2 potential interpretations and I'm sure you can come up with many more.

1. The sign gives the impression that the church will accept you as long as you change to become like them.

2. It might mean that everyone in the church is in a constant, creative mode of allowing change to be normative in their lives.

My feeling is that this sign is there to make the parishioners feel that they are offering hope to those on the outside. Missing the possibility that it is a bit arrogant in that those already in are doing better than those who aren't.

Generally, I don't think people want change all that much. So offering change as a sales pitch seems somewhat naive. It would be interesting to find out if anyone actually showed up as a result of this marketing campaign.

How would you write the second part of this ad campaign?

Come as you are -- Leave ....

Can You Hear?

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:43

Following the group and following Jesus are definitely not the same thing. In our Father’s economy there has always been a desire for us to make a personal decision to seek him with our whole heart. Jesus made the invitation that anyone and everyone could follow him. It was not some exclusive club that only allowed those with the right money, family, or heritage to join. But the other side of that coin says it has to be a very personal choice, separate from family and heritage.

Jesus scolded the crowds for following him because he fed their bellies but did not necessarily want anything to do with him personally.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. John 6:26

Carrying on with the story after the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 it should be noted that “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John 6:66

2,000 years later nothing much has changed. Most people are not really following Jesus but are relying on belonging to a group, either friends, family or church and calling that following Jesus. 85% of Christians were saved before the age of 18. And of those that do come to Christ after that age only 6 out of 100 had no prior knowledge of Jesus. These percentages are staggering in that so much is made about evangelism and personal choice and yet the reality is that most people come to Jesus because of childhood influences.

This doesn’t mean that their experience with Him is not real, it simply means that the systems in place to reach the lost are woefully inadequate. Some would even say that’s why we need to spend even more on children’s programs. Missing the point that it wasn’t children’s programs that influenced a decision for Christ but family ties.

What is rather hypocritical is that Christians are notorious for praying for the “lost” from other major religions asking for the veil to be taken from their eyes, forgetting the reality that the main reason they follow Christ is the same reason that others don’t, childhood influences.

One simply has to take a demographic of any church group to discover that the vast majority of people within the group come from the same socio-economic background. They are comfortable with each other, with the corollary being that “outsiders” aren’t comfortable with them nor are they willing to change to allow outsiders to join them.

Jesus, on the other hand, was notorious for accepting people from every strata of society, which often made people more than a little uncomfortable. We tend to minimize/ignore His words about family influences and selfish motivations when it comes to following him.

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:37,38

All groups look for conformity. There really is no need for the Holy Spirit for members in the group. Unless, of course, the Holy Spirit lines up perfectly with the values of the group. When Jesus said it was for the disciples good that He goes away so that the comforter would come, He was really talking about people having the empowerment to follow Him without being dependent on a group or a leader. You don’t need the Holy Spirit in order to go with the flow and belong to a particular group.

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7

What is always fascinating about groups that say they rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading is that they actually believe that every individual involved in the group is there because they have been “called” to that group. And yet, everyone knows the unwritten rule that they cannot deviate from the prescribed teachings or practices of the group without feeling shunned or minimized in some way. And belonging to the group is very important to most people.

Leaders often make the false assumption that it is their role to protect the group rather than guide people into being free to hear the Spirit’s voice in their life. When this is done, leaders unwittingly or even worse, purposefully, often find themselves making disciples of themselves but usually not followers of Christ. If Jesus needed to leave in order to free his disciples to hear the Holy Spirit, why do leaders today not do what Jesus did?

Failure to understand the influence of groups, family and selfish motivations will inevitably lead to a dulling of our ears to hear the Holy Spirit’s gentle call.

For those that have ears to hear let them hear.

Living by Faith

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

I tend to wonder why professional ministers, evangelists or pastors, talk about quitting their jobs and equating it to living by faith. To some onlookers, that kind of radical decision does have the appearance of a kind of faith but is not biblically supported. It also gives the very false impression that those who have jobs don't really live by faith.

Somehow, something has changed from Paul's day (around the time of Constantine 320 AD): leaders now openly declare that God has "called" them to be dependent on the charity of others. To make matters even worse, they are the ones that teach that to be a good Christian, everyone with a job should financially support them.


"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."
-- Upton Sinclair

Jesus -- From a Distance

Jesus truly loved, surprised and perplexed the people of His day. I often wonder if Christians are happier looking at Jesus from a distance but would be very uncomfortable with an up close encounter. What if He said something that didn’t fit our thinking?

Commitment: Dangerous Ground

Mistakes Were Made (But not by me!) Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts

Looks like a great read that I'm going to have to get to. The book discusses cognitive dissonance theory. We cannot hold two opposing views at the same time. It also shows that the higher the commitment to something, the more willing a person is to ignore the facts. The first chapter, which is available on Amazon, gives some good examples to explain this.

In light of my previous post, this book sheds some light on why people will hold onto a lie once it has been proven wrong. After reading through more of the comments on the chalk story it was interesting that a number of Christians didn't care if the story had been proven false. It made them feel good and that is what they were holding onto. And even though they want everyone to know and love Jesus, the fact that they wouldn't admit to the lie, turned people off to that possibility.

The book talks about the more we buy into something, the greater the sacrifice, the less we are able to turn away from something that might not be true or the best for us. After my first year of Bible College I was at a crossroads as to whether I would quit my job at General Motors. I had been on a 1 year leave of absence. We had sold our house and bought another one in Peterborough. I could have easily gone back to my job. But we were committed to the plan. There simply was no way that I couldn't follow through. Was it God leading or simply ego at that point?

We have a very unfortunate ability to rationalize our decisions in spite of the facts. Looking at both sides of the equation is not a strong suit for most of us. And for Christians who do things because they felt God leading them, it is even worse because if something they did by the leading of the Holy Spirit proved to be wrong, maybe everything they believe about His leading is wrong.

When I reflect on the extreme contradictory beliefs that are held under the umbrella of Christianity, this theory helps me understand why people can form their little fortresses of groups that allow them to be happy even though those looking in can see the contradictions so easily.

Loving our group with our whole heart should not be equated with loving Jesus with our whole heart.

It would seem that the most dangerous place to be, when it comes to admitting we are wrong, is to those that are the most committed.

Gullible or Noble?

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11

Someone thought I lost my faith the other day because I dared to question the truth of a story he was telling. It was a story I had heard many years ago, but had been changed into a Christian urban myth. I couldn’t quite remember the roots of the story but vaguely remembered that it wasn't chalk that was dropped but a beaker. I simply suggested that before he goes repeating it, it should be verified.

The story is told on YouTube, with an ironic title, This Should Keep Us All Thinking. And with over 8 million hits and 45,000+ comments it has obviously created a bit of interest. Sadly proving that something doesn't have to be true in order to inspire.

After suggesting it should be verified I did check out the truth of the story for myself. Here is the research from Truth or Fiction, that should have gone with the story.

What fascinates me in all of this is that there seems to be a disconnect between desiring truth and building faith. I thought they were two sides of the same coin.

Some Christians don’t seem to get the fact that being credible is actually important to some people and I would say, the generation in their 20’s actually expect it.

And for those enamored with miracle stories I think they need to tone them down a lot and have the credibility to verify them 6 months later. Miracle stories will sometimes help those directly touched by them, but they don’t actually do much to build up faith. Albeit, they do impact emotions for a moment. As soon as some crisis comes along and no miracle happens, the people whose faith is based on a miracle are like waves tossed on the sea: as quickly as they jumped in, they also jump out.

Jesus didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement to those that could declare great prophecies or healings and thought that was what serving God was all about.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Matthew 7:21-23

But He did highly value a very practical faith that was filled with love and helping one another.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:31-40

The Potential Trap

This is an excerpt from a great read, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, by Larry Osborne.

Why Being All We Can Be
Might be a Dumb Idea.

"We tend to see unfulfilled potential as a tragic shame; squandered opportunity as a sinful choice. We assume that God couldn't possibly be pleased with anyone who settles for being less than the best they can be -- in any area of life.

But it's a lie.

Potential is not a sacred responsibility.

Potential is a harsh mistress--seductive, never satisfied, prone to exaggeration, nearly impossible to figure out. Those who pursue her inevitably end up in the poisoned land of self-centered priorities and me-first decisions.

But it's a quest that's often justified with pious platitudes about following God's calling and using all the gifts we've been given.

However, God's highest calling won't be found there. It's on another path, far removed from the "me-first" orientation of the maximized potential crowd. It's found on a seldom traveled side road filled with opportunities for sacrifice, service, and self-denial...

The formula for maximized potential is strangely similar to the recipe for a nervous breakdown or a broken home...

To a culture enamored with the allure of self-actualization and fully realized potential, love is fine--as long as it doesn't get in the way.

But let it threaten to become a major distraction, an impassable roadblock, or a heavy burden, and it'll be quickly left behind, jettisoned in favor of the far more alluring goal of reaching our fullest potential.

Which is why I am so leery of this thing I call the Potential Trap. And why I believe trying to become all we can be is often the worst thing we could ever do."

Credit Squeeze

The number one stress in most people's lives is money, actually the lack of it and the debt that many people have been lured into. Banks and credit card companies are in serious trouble and because of their poor decisions, they are now putting the pressure on the average person who fell into the trap of debt. What is really incredible is that this pressure will simply cause more people to declare bankruptcy or walk away from their mortgages, which in the end will wreck the banks anyway.

Here is an article that describes one of the ways that banks are putting on the pressure.

CREDIT CARD FIRMS TRY OUT NEW SQUEEZE TACTICS

But then again, money, debt, inflation, foreclosure, deflation, bankruptcy are all pretty boring. If you would like something more interesting, here you go.

Celebrity -- Risky Business

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Luke 6:26

In this short interview (click on question 7) with Wayne Jacobsen, he talks about the distraction of success. He is the publisher and editor of “The Shack”, a book that is shattering many people’s perceptions of who our Heavenly Father is and how He desires to love us. The challenge that Wayne is encountering is that he finds that people want to treat him like a celebrity because the book has generated over 7 million in sales with literally no end in sight.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
Acts 14:14-15

Going Green

My wife and daughter made an interesting observation yesterday. I finally managed to switch over to green grocery bags. It was a bit of an adjustment since even once I purchased them I more often than not would forget them when I went grocery shopping. However, now that I have made the adjustment we are finding that we don't have any plastic bags for garbage.

Stores are happy. They just reduced their costs for providing plastic bags and can now charge a nickel for each bag with no one complaining since no one wants to appear environmentally challenged.

This reminds me. I need to put small garbage bags on my grocery list.

Success -- A Definition by Jesus

Have you ever heard this preached? Jesus defined success by how well one person invested money and made a substantial return.

"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
Luke 16:16,17

Does Church Work?

Billions of dollars are spent each year on a myriad of programs within institutional churches. The following book reveals some unexpected results. Unexpected, that is, by the leaders of these churches. Even the authors call the results, "shocking." Young adults aren't surprised at all and their response is more like, "Duh!"

Already Gone

Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it

By Ken Ham and Britt Beemer

If you look around in your church today, two-thirds of the young people have already left in their hearts; soon they will be gone for good.

That is the alarming conclusion of the first scientific study of its kind, the Beemer Report, which reveals startling facts discovered through 20,000 phone calls and detailed surveys of a thousand 20-29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis, but have since left it behind.

In Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, popular author Ken Ham and consumer behavior analyst, C. Britt Beemer, combine to reveal trends that must be dealt with now... before we lose another generation.

The study found that we are losing our kids in elementary, middle school, and high school rather than college, and the Sunday school syndrome is contributing to the epidemic, rather than helping alleviate it.

The results are not just surprising; they're shocking:

• Those who faithfully attend Sunday School are more likely to leave the church than those who do not.
  
  
• Those who regularly attend Sunday School are more likely to believe that the Bible is less true.
  
  
• Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend that abortion and gay marriage should be legal.
  
  
• Those who regularly attend Sunday School are actually more likely to defend premarital sex.