Strategic Giving vs. Spontaneous Giving

The recent crisis in Haiti has got me thinking a lot about giving. Specifically, how Christians should give and for what reasons. There are really two different approaches that people have toward giving and I think both should be implemented in the life of the believer:

1. Spontaneous giving: In Acts 11:27-30, a need arose (a famine) and the church quickly gathered funds to help.
   
2. Strategic giving: 2 Corinthians 9:5 records Paul instructing the believers to regularly set aside money in advance to take care of the needs of the church in Jerusalem.

I think Americans are good at spontaneous giving. A need arises, a few movie stars are gathered and whamo!...millions of dollars are raised. However, the needs in a place like Haiti were there before the disaster (80% of the country lives on $2 per day) and the needs will continue long after the disaster has subsided. That is why strategic giving is so important.

While it is monumentally IMPORTANT that Christians are spontaneous givers to needs that arise unexpectedly, I believe that church ministry an the needs of the poor are meant to be primarily funded by strategic giving. Strategic giving is giving according to one's means (a percentage) and is given regularly.

At Jubilee, we employ this principle to both funding church planting as well as giving to the poor. Jubilee sets aside money strategically for church planting as well giving to the needs of the poor. Therefore, when a need does arise, we have it available. There are also, of course, other times when we also give spontaneously to a specific church plant or an unplanned need.

I want to encourage you that if your giving is only spontaneous, to consider praying about being a strategic giver.

Looking Back at a Decade: Part 3

Investing in Other Leaders and Churches

One of my favorite things about being a part of Jubilee (and something I find very humbling) is the influence we have beyond St. Louis.

• Over the past decade, we have invested more than $300,000 in other churches.
• We have trained 33 young men and women outside our church as a part of the FYT program
• We have trained 85 men and women through the Trilogy Project...13 of which, went on to lead churches, 20 are a part of leadership teams and 8 were a part of church-planting teams.

You did this! You hosted them in your homes. You mentored them. You served them through setting up or feeding them meals. You released your leaders to devote time to teaching and inputing.

I am very proud to lead a group of people who think beyond themselves.

What Are You Doing With Your Extra?

This past Sunday, I started the year off with a sermon on money titled, The Purpose of Our Extra that challenged us to think about the extra we have and what we are doing with it. If you missed it you can download it off our website at www.jubileestl.org/city/

If you are a member of Jubilee, I do want to encourage you to give this serious thought and prayer to what you are doing with your extra. Are seeking the kingdom first in your finances? Are you making giving a Priority, a Percentage and is it Progressive?

Make it a priority: I Cor 16:1-2, “1Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income...” This appears to be Paul's command not just for one church, but for all the churches (at the very minimum two)...to make giving a priority ("first day of every week"). This idea was demonstrated in the OT as the people of Israel gave their "first fruits" to proclaim who was truly God. Practically speaking in 2009, this means your decision to give is made prior to making any other financial decision. It means it's the number one line item on your budget (you do have a budet, right?). Rachel and I make our giving decisions at the beginning of the year as to what we'll give, keeping our eyes open to more opportunities to give throughout the year.

Make it a percentage: You'll notice in that passage above that Paul says to set aside a sum of money "in keeping with his (or her) income..." Paul is communicating to us the idea of making our giving a percentage. Making it a priority and making it a percentage...not just giving out of a knee jerk reaction, but making a decision to give regularly in proportion to our income. What percentage should you choose? I think 10% is a good place to start. I'm not saying that 10% is a rule, but it's a good place to start. Here's why. God asked the Israelites to return to Him 10% (a tithe) of the money He gave to them (they also gave an additional 10% to the festivals and 3.33% to the poor). When Jesus came on the scene, He didn't abolish the tithe, but called for something more. In Matthew 23, he gets on the Pharisees's case not for tithing, but for ONLY tithing (he actually commends them for tithing). Jesus' gripe was that they were fulfilling their religious duty, but they were not generous to the poor. It makes no sense that now that we are in the new covenant with greater revelation that somehow we should give less. Luke 12:48 says to whom much is given, much is required. So 10% I think is a good place to start. But whatever the percentage, the NT guide is that it's generous and sacrificial (read 2 Cor 8:1-7).

Make it progressive: The more we experience God's grace, the more we'll want to give. Luke 7:47 says he who is forgive much loves much and he who is forgiven little loves little. Jesus said this after a "woman of the city" (probably a prostitute) just poured out a year's worth of income in the form of perfume all over Jesus' feet. The point here is that the more we realize how merciful God has been to us in light of His righteousness and our sin, we will naturally give more. Progressive giving flows out of the assumption that you are growing day by day in your relationship with God and in your understanding of His grace in your life.

If you struggle in the area of finances, I want to HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you go to the Goodsense Action Track. It will give you some hands on practical help in developing a God-honoring plan for your finances.

Bible Reading Plans

I have mixed feelings about Bible reading plans. On one hand, they are very helpful in keeping me on a plan to systematically and thoroughly read the Bible. However, on the other hand, they can also be an accuser when I fall behind schedule and I have a lot of "unchecked boxes" staring me in the face. When that happens, I completely miss the point, which is to connect with the living God.

Ultimately, I think Bible Plans are helpful and should be used as a guide to stay on track to do what you what to do. Paul says in I Corinthians 9:26-27a, "So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control,..." In this life, we shouldn't be casual about our pursuit of God. We are pursuing an "imperishable wreath"!

If the the truth be told, we apply discipline to that area of our life we are most passionate about. Could be work, could be video games, could be golf, could be fantasy sports, could be a lot of stuff. The funny thing is that when we apply discipline to those areas we are passionate about, it doesn't feel like work nor is it a strain. So maybe when I look at my Bible reading plan and feel condemned, stressed and strained, it's not the plan's fault. Maybe my heart has lost some zeal and passion for God? What I need to do is step back, and pray for a renewed faith and zeal and then, like Paul, continue to apply discipline in my pursuit of God.

With that being said, I have enclosed a couple Bible Reading Plan options for you:

Printable: Choice One Choice Two

Online: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

A Look Back at a Decade: PART TWO

Last Blog: People Impact

What God Has Produced in Us

Our mission is to Connect People to Jesus Resulting in God-Honoring Life Change. This statement implies that we will be proactive about reaching the lost, which was what my last blog was about. However, this mission of ours also implies that God will produce a work in us. When I look back at the recent decade, three things come to mind that I believe are strong community characteristics:

1. Generosity: The people of Jubilee Church have invested $3.55 million into the Kingdom in the past ten years. I find that to be an outstanding number for a few reasons. A) We are not a large group. We were only 66 when the decade began and 137 five years later. It wasn't until 2007 that we started to break through the 200 number and it wasn't until this year that we starting breaking through 300. B) We're a young group. The average age of adults is 27. This tells me that people are giving not out of their surplus, but out of sacrifice. God loves a cheerful giver an blesses those who seek first the kingdom. I'm proud to lead such a generous group.
2. Flexibility: Do you know that Jubilee Church has met in 11 different locations in the past 10 years? I couldn't believe it either. It takes a lot of flexibility for a group of people to make that many major changes. Not to mention all the set up and tear down of our rental locations. Church growth experts say that you will lose 10% of your congregation in making a location move. If that would have been true for us, we would have zero people. However, we have not moved from place to place due to our wisdom, but because of God's direction. We have been a people that have paid close attention to God's prophetic direction. Words like "I'm moving you out of the shade and into the light" that we received in 2003 got us thinking beyond 700 Tuxedo Boulevard. God also said that we would be like a lunar module bouncing around on the moon (and we bounced around for a few years), but then we would settle into a place and where there was once not life, life would emerge. I always thought that had spiritual implications only, but who would have thought it meant taking a mortuary and turning into a celebration center for the glory of Jesus and the benefit of the city?
3. Love for one another: We have been through a lot together in these past years. We have mourned together and we have rejoiced together. I am grateful for both because I believe it has produced a genuine love one for another. I don't just have friends at Jubilee...I have brothers and sisters as well as fathers and mothers. I love that we are not just about doing church but being the Church. I love that we do life together. That we know each other, care for one another, serve one another, and give to one another as there is need. I'm grateful too that it's not an inward love, but a love that is inclusive of new brothers and sisters. No group is immune to the temptation to form cliques, so it is a battle we'll need to continue to fight...but I'm proud of what I see.

God is so good to work in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Let's continue to seek after Jesus and have Him form us and mold us more and more into His image.

Next Blog: Leaders We've Trained

A Look Back at a Decade: PART ONE

As I have contemplated this past year and decade, I’ve quickly become grateful for all that God has done in and through Jubilee. It’s a lot, so I’ve broken it down into four parts: 1) People Impact, 2) What that Impact Has Produced in Us, 3) Leadership Training, and 4) Our Future.

People Impact

Saved and Added

As we concluded 1999, Jubilee averaged 66 people in our gatherings. We now gather 330 worshippers in St. Louis City and Wentzville combined (about 400 including Union). My gratitude goes well beyond the numbers because each one of us has a story. It is a story of God’s grace and redemption. It is a story of how we were once strung out, addicted, on the verge of divorce, broken, lonely, without purpose or plan, with no hope and no future—but God’s grace saved us. We were once a God-less people, but now we are the people of God! It is with His grace in full view that we gather together for celebratory worship and to be equipped so that we can worship Him by serving, giving and telling others of His wonderful works. (I really, really would like to hear your specific story. I would be blessed and encouraged if you took the time to email your story to office@jubileestl.org so I can read it.)

Saved and Sent

Now Jubilee’s people-impact goes well beyond our current gathering of 400. Over this past decade, dozens of people have felt the call of God to go elsewhere and we have had the pleasure of sending them. I think about people like the Largents and the Eftychious who in 2005 went to help plant Jubilee Church (Atlanta, GA) led by Carl Herrington. Jonathan and Leigh-Anne Eftychiou are a leading couple. Jonathan was on staff with us and oversaw worship. Both of them are classically trained musicians and were a huge blessing. Dave and Tasha Largent are a spunky couple who are very evangelistic. It was rare that they were not bringing someone with them on Sunday to hear the gospel. There have been several others, including Sam and Marlene Poe, who were with Jubilee in the beginning. Sam and Marlene moved to Tacoma, WA in 2006 to help plant New Community Church led by Bo Noonan (Bo will be speaking at Mobilise USA 2010 and to Jubilee on January 17). Sam Poe is highly prophetic and plays a huge role in our Newfrontiers family of churches to preach the gospel in nations who have yet to hear of Jesus Christ. He spearheaded a charge to develop a system of communicating the Bible through storytelling in order to reach oral learners who represent 70% of the earth’s population. Sending people is bittersweet. I love these people and wish they were still here, but I am encouraged how God is using them and feel honored that we were able to play a role in their lives.

Scattering Seed

Over the past decade, we have preached the gospel to hundreds of people who may not have stuck with us, but I am confident we impacted their life. Sometimes you reap where you do not sow, and sometimes you sow where you do not reap. When this life is over, we will not be judged by the results that we see but by the results that God sees. Our primary call as a church is to be witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For some the gospel is the power of God but for most it is the stench of death. Although we want to see people converted, it is outside our abilities to convert them. Our part is to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to do all the heavy lifting. However, we have seen literally hundreds of people make commitments to Christ and have baptized more than a hundred of them. There is nothing more encouraging for me as a pastor than to lead someone to Jesus or to hear that someone else has. It is why we do what we do.

Next Post: What God Produced in Us

Jesus is Knocking

I find it amazing how much God desires to be with His people and demonstrate His love for them. Over and over in Scripture you see this desire. Crowds of people with all kinds of needs flocked toward Jesus and he graciously met with them over and over again. This idea is most clearly seen in Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Jesus comes right out and says that He so wants to meet with us it's like He's standing right outside our door knocking, alerting us to the fact He's here! All it takes from us to meet with Him, to dine with Him, is to open the door. That's it!

I am writing about this now because I sense that Jesus is knocking on our door a little louder these days. When I look around at our church and here the stories of people encountering God, I see evidence of a louder knock. Salvations are on the rise and healings are on the rise. People are encountering His presence in an increased manner. I'm hearing about "chance" meetings with old friends that God is working powerfully through those encounters.

Here's the point. God is a God who loves His people and wants to administer healing in our lives. He is standing at our door...your door and He's knocking. Are you going to let Him in?