You Will Have Persecution

The Voice of the Martyrs (http://www.persecution.com/) recently reported that Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers in China evicted one of the more prominent house church leaders, Pastor Hua Huiqi, and his family from their home in Beijing, China.

A number of sources have been reporting and commenting that the Chinese government has been cracking down on the Christian house-church movement members in China, likely in preparation for this summer's Olympics. Pastor Hua will remain in prison until well after the ending ceremonies.

The Chinese Church is estimated by some to be considerably more than 100 million. Officially, the Chinese government, which tracks "official" church registrations, acknowledges about 21 million but the house church movement is much larger. This persecuted church is also very evangelical and from those that are familiar with the leaders, is following a model very closely aligned with what is recorded in the book of Acts ("And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" Acts 2: 47)

I can't help but believe that this persecuted church in many ways has thrived because of the persecution. Watchman Nee is often credited as one of those that was responsible for planting the contemporary seed of Christianity in China before the Communist revolution in 1949. That seed has resulted in a harvest that likely has China with the largest number of true believers in any country (yes, that includes even the United States).

Jesus told us that we would be persecuted "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.... If they persecuted Me they will persecute you... for they do not know the One who sent Me." John 15:19-21

Church history has shown that the Body of Christ has always grown stronger under persecution while churches have fallen into mediocrity and even apostasy when they are embraced by the general community and the state.

While I don't pray for persecution in the US, I do pray for a strong, healthy and uncompromising church. I also pray for pastors that preach the Word of God and find every opportunity to reach out to a culture that is adrift, unaware and lost.

Americans Still Generous

In April, I published an article (I know, it's just a blog) on American Generosity and tried to debunk some myths about giving and the state of giving in America.

Just today, Giving USA Foundation published their 2008 yearbook with all of the stats anyone that likes numbers and statistics would love. According to their research, estimated giving in the USA rose to $306.39 billion in 2007, an increase of 3.9 percent. This was the first time that giving was over $300 billion and the US continues to be nation with the most generous individuals, as it is individuals (not corporations or foundations) that give the most, accounting for over 74% of all giving.

Churches receive about 1/3 of the total and gifts to churches in 2007 rose at a 4.7% rate, slightly higher than the total rate of increase. Other studies have shown that fewer and fewer church goers tithe (provide a tenth of their income to church), as little as 3% of those who attend church regularly. However, if you look at the fastest growing churches and those churches that are likely the most biblical in their doctrine, the percentage of people giving generously continues to be significantly higher than others.

These churches don't just teach doctrine, they live it. More and more churches are making disciples of Jesus Christ. They are embracing the ministry of feeding the poor, taking care of the broken hearted, reaching out to their communities and making a difference.

These pastors know that if you want to help people become committed followers of Jesus Christ, they need to be shown how to act like Jesus. That starts, by the way, not within the church, but within your community.

We continue to live in a very blessed country and most of us are more prosperous than any other generation anywhere. Let us remember that it is God that has provided for us. As the Apostle Paul said,

"Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all
things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good
work. As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his
righteousness endures forever." (2 Cor.9:8&9)

Washington Feels Your Pain, Your Ministry May Not

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that the IRS announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Effective today, July 1st, the mileage rate will increase to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008.

Note this is a 16% increase since the beginning of the year and not at all typical for the IRS as they usually updates the mileage rates only once a year in the fall for the next calendar year. One exception was recent, in 2005, when the government raised the rate in the middle of the year, because of the gasoline-price hikes related in part to Hurricane Katrina.

While many can take advantage of the higher rate (thank you IRS for feeling our pain), many of my pastor friends may not. In working with churches and ministries, I've noticed that many will establish a specific reimbursement rate, likely the rate that the IRS prescribes, but do not update it frequently. I've seen rates posted on reimbursement forms that are a few years old or even significantly less than the maximum that the IRS allows (i.e. 25 cents a mile).

One of the ways to avoid this issue is to have a policy (remember the 3-P’s - Policies, Procedures and Practices that need to be aligned and appropriate for the ministry) that the church or ministry will “reimburse employees for mileage at the IRS rate as established from time to time.”

Simple and pain free.

Nonprofits Under Scrutiny

The Kiplinger Tax Letter reports that certain nonprofit groups have been facing heightened scrutiny from Federal, State and local levels of government. The nonprofit groups that are having the problems are particularly those exempt organizations that derive a majority of their funding from fee-for-service operations, predominantly those that are competing with other for-profit businesses and charging similar fees

The claim by the government is that the charities don't live up to the intended purposes for which they received their 501 (c)(3) status.

A number of charities are reported to have been denied property tax exemptions from States and localities including the State of Minnesota, where the State Supreme Court ruled in March that one of the county tax assessors acted properly in denying a nonprofit day care center exemption on property taxes. The court noted that the nonprofit was charging the same rate to all families and not providing a “charitable service” to local families

This situation has been developing here in Washington where there have been discussions related to the tax exempt status of hospitals, universities and adult retirement centers that all compete with for-profit organizations. It’s a stretch of the imagine to think that some of our large universities like Harvard and Stanford and the endowment funds of places like Notre Dame may be in tax-exempt-jeopardy in the near future if this trend continues. Legislation has been drafted but never has left committee, which requires tax-exempt hospitals to have written policies detailing their charitable provisions for poor and indigent patients. Just last year, universities were requested to use more of their endowment fund earnings to reduce tuition costs.

This will be an interesting development. Stay tuned after the November elections to see what transpires.

A Matter of Precision

Recently I had an experience that is likely a little embarrassing to admit.

I took a flight (which is a very normal experience for me) and ended up not at my intended destination but in a different city in a different state.

According to United Airlines, that shouldn’t have happened, however it did. While most of us have been at the wrong gate from time to time, even if we try to board, there are some processes put in place to keep us from being on the wrong plane, sitting in the wrong seat, headed for the wrong place.

This time however, all of those processes didn’t work and obviously, neither was my mind. I must have left it at home that trip.

Fortunately, it was one of those unusual trips that had lots of extra time before critical appointments, and I ended up driving the additional three hours to my intended destination. If it was ever going to happen, this was the trip. Other than a little inconvenience, there was no foul, no one else other than me that was inconvenienced.

I wonder how many other things in my life are somewhat off-track or missed because of a lack of precision?

Think of the type of precision that is needed by our NASA space program scientists. They calculate the exact ascent trajectory needed to not only have Atlantis or Discovery make it into space but also then be able to rendezvous with the International Space Station or dock with the European Space Lab. Or imagine the precision needed to carry out a successful space-walk!

Critical science: launch and escape velocities, orbital rates of decay, air frictions and gravitational pulls.

We also need a good bit of precision in our walk with the Lord. Jesus said, "Enter though the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."(Matt 7:13-14)

Seems like many prefer the wide gate and the broad road approach to eternal life. The lack of precision however may cause some inconvenient destination problems. How unfortunate it would be to find out you had not paid enough attention to all of the warnings and signs and clear directions that were given to you. Fortunately, that narrow gate is none other than Jesus and “whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

Bigger Barns

Have you ever taken a look at how many things we accumulate? This generation has amassed more possessions than any previous generation. As a result, our homes are full today of things.

Not only are our homes full but we are living in even bigger homes in order to store up more things.

According to the U.S. Census (2007), the average size for a new home is presently about 2,581 square feet, up from 1,660 square feet in 1973. That is an increase of about 50% in less than one generation. Since 1950, the increase in size is more than 100%. What was all this extra space for anyway? Well it wasn’t for children or extended family as the average size of our families has decreased steadily from 3.67 members back in the 1940’s to just 2.62 in 2002. Taken together with the size of the house, that means that back about one generation, homes were built with about 290 square feet per person vs. about 1,000 square feet per person today.

But per person, we have many more things.

Likely seven or eight rooms of furniture including chairs, sofas, tables, lamps, flat screen TVs, stereo systems, game tables, exercise equipment (that is never used), computers, printers, faxes and WiFi modems, king size beds, dressers, decorative accessories, espresso and latte coffee makers, stacked washers and dryers (which are now un-stacked and positioned on pedestals), large stainless steel refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers, Rolex and other expensive watches, lots of clothing, sportswear, shoes for every season and occasion, and possibly a three-car garage full of new cars, and likely a boat, RV or snowmobile.

In the Gospel of Luke, (Luke 12:13-21) God called the rich man who had so much that he decided to build a bigger barn, a “fool”. Imagine God calling someone a fool! I wonder how often that happens. The rich man must have done something very foolish in order to deserve such a harsh response from God. What was it again that happened?

Oh, that’s right. The man had many possessions, had been blessed by God with a wonderful harvest but only thought of himself and not God or others; so he decided to build a bigger barn to store all that he had.

What a fool.

A Matter of the Heart

What's happened to Christianity?ˇ

Well, unfortunately, while we have made a lot of progress over the past 2,000 years, some habits are hard to break.

Sure, we got rid of the witch hunts, the Spanish Inquisition, the wholesale conversion of the American Indian, and Irish Catholics are no longer fire-bombing Protestant churches. At the same time, the divide between "us" and "them" continues to Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like "hypocritical", "insensitive", and "judgmental", young Americans share an impression of Christians that's nothing short of . . .'unChristian'.

One of the recent Barna Group studies found that 38 percent of American adults label themselves evangelical, but only 8 percent of them actually meet the criteria that Barna has established which is as follows: Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

Just 8 percent! Seems like something has happened.

What has happened in America can be debated. In one corner are those that believe that our doctrine, or the lack thereof, has pulled us down. The reasoning is that since people aren't properly schooled in the Bible nor doctrine nor creed, error has crept in. Whether Lutheran, or Reformed; Premillennial, Postmillennial or Amillennial, Charismatic or Bible-thumping, there are those that believe that the root of our problem is a lack of theological training.

They are entitled to their opinion but I think it's a matter of the heart.

When Jesus was asked which was the greatest of the commandments, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:36-38). The primary motivation of this religion of ours (and I still like to think of it as not a religion but a relationship) is love. Jesus went on to say, "and the second is that you are to love your neighbor as yourself."

The church is dying in America where we have more seminaries, schools, and bibles than any people at any time; also more radio and TV stations with the gospel taught and preached 24 X 7. The church is alive and growing in China, throughout Asia, South America and Africa where the people have nothing compared to us.

But they do have love.