The Rule, not the Exception

Many of you have heard the story of the Rich Young Ruler. The story is found in three of the four Gospels. (Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25; Matt 19:16-24). I believe if it is told once it’s important, if it is told three times, it’s critical that we pay attention to the story.

Here is how it goes. We’ll use the story out of Mark 10:

The Rich Young Ruler

As He (Jesus) was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call Me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good but One-God.

You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother."

He said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth."

Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, "You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, "Then who can be saved?"

Looking at them, Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God."

Some will say that Jesus says this because the man was very unique and that he was looking to the law, trying to earn his salvation. Some will say that the idea of the man being told to give up everything he had to follow Jesus was the exception, not the rule.

I doubt that is the main reason for this passage. I believe, these verses are not about the exception but the rule. Let’s look again at the passage and find FIVE RULES that Jesus emphasizes

1. LIVE A MORAL LIFE – Jesus said, “You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother." It is the moral code that provides the guidelines for ourselves, our families and our society. This has been the foundation of the Jewish and Christian communities; these are those guidelines that have been given to us by our Creator.
   
   These moral guidelines are also the bedrock of this nation. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
   
   
2. JESUS LOVES US! We are His creation. He loves us unconditionally. At this time every good religious Jew was trying to earn salvation by works. Jesus points out this very clearly with Nicodemus. You need to be born again, a new work via the Holy Spirit.
   
   
3. FORESAKE ALL ELSE: giving to the poor, giving up everything to follow Jesus, having treasure in heaven is the rule….Jesus mentions these often:
   
   "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).
   
   "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)
   
   "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46).
   
   "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9:24).
   
   "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it" (Luke 17:33)
   
   
4. Jesus say’s FOLLOW ME: This is not an empty challenge but the opportunity for a great reward. Jesus had said it earlier to some fisherman: “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
   
   
5. Finally…ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. Jesus was challenged by His disciples.Jesus had made the comparison of a camel going through the eye of a needle to a rich man entering the Kingdom of God, and the disciples wanted to know then who could be saved? Jesus assures them however that with God, all things are possible. Jesus would soon be entering Jerusalem to pay a price that He didn’t owe, to pay a debt that we couldn’t pay. All things are possible with God.

The Great Recovery

I was recently invited to a seminar on the 21st with Dave Ramsey called, “The Great Recovery”. He and a number of church leaders are calling people to embrace Biblical Principles regarding debt, spending, and consumption.

I’m not sure exactly what the seminar will propose but I can assume it won’t be political. We have tried political solutions to problems for years but politics is not the answer, God is the answer.

We certainly need God in our finances. If you are like most Americans, home equity was the source of most of your net worth. As home prices have shrunk the equity Americans have in their homes to nearly the lowest percentage since World War II.

According to the Federal Reserve, average home equity plunged from more than 61 percent at the start of 2001 to 38 percent in the January-March quarter of 2011. For years, Americans have put their hope in a financial plan that said to borrow money, leverage a small down payment and reap a huge windfall on rising home prices.

Over 4.5 million foreclosures have dashed that dream. Millions are looking for a better way.

The better way is and will continue to be the Biblical principles that many of us have advocated, even if we haven’t been really good at following our own advice.

In the news each morning is the continued debate regarding the US Debt limit and the antics by our elected officials. What is interesting to me is that by looking at spending and debt, our elected officials and the news media are ignoring the most important side – Revenue.

We are still living in a very blessed country. Revenue to the US Government continues to increase. The graph above illustrates that total Government revenue has increased in the US geometrically in the past forty years growing from less than $900 billion to over $6 Billion. This increase in revenues couldn’t keep up with the insatiable appetite to spend which resulted in our $14 trillion debt.

God has a better plan.

If you are interested in hearing more about the Great Recovery seminar coming up in a few weeks, here is the link http://www.thegreatrecovery.com/

Tithe Redux

What is Tithe Redux?

Well, ‘Redux’ [ri-duhks] is an adjective. It’s taken from the Latin word from the Latin ‘reducere’ that means to bring back, reconsider, or restored. It’s used in literature and film titles. ‘Acocalypse Now Redux’ was directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 2001 and was a reconsideration of his original 1979 movie.

So ‘Tithe Redux’ would be to reconsider the tithe, or bring it back. The practice of ‘tithing’, of giving the first 10% of a person’s or household income is a Biblical principle. The word ‘tithe’ is an Old English term that is used in the Bible to represent a one-tenth part. While it has been talked about for many years and in many churches, both the concept and the word are not used in the true Biblical principle.

People often use the word ‘tithe’ when they refer to giving money to the church, regardless of the amount or percentage of the gift. For example, someone may say, “I’m tithing but not giving anywhere near 10%”. While we may understand what the person is saying, this is not the concept of the tithe.

A person attending a Christian church should be under no obligation to give any particular amount or percentage to any church or charity. Many however understand that as a spiritual principle, the practice of giving regularly, cheerfully, sacrificially and proportionally honors God and aligns their hearts with a very important spiritual principle. (1 Corinthians 8; 2 Corinthians 8-9)Giving a ‘tithe’, or the first tenth of income is one form of proportional giving.

Putting God first place in our lives is extremely important to practice if we are to grow as a Christian. Its also important to be able to trust in God for our financial well-being, particularly if we happen to reside in a wonderfully economical advantageous country and have incomes that exceed over 90% of the people in the world. Jesus understood that handling money was important a well; it’s why He spoke more about the stewardship of resources (i.e. money) more than any other topic.

One legitimate reason to not talk about the Tithe is if you believe it was done away with in the Old Testament. I don’t believe it has been done away, seems like Jesus affirmed it at least once in the New Testament (Matthew 23:23) that should be enough for us.

I certainly understand that many people think that talking about the Tithe is uncomfortable for some. Yes, it likely is but we don’t avoid uncomfortable topics. I also understand that many preachers have misused the concept of the tithe, trying to guilt people into giving to their local church. However, we don’t stop doing the right thing because others abuse their privilege.

I believe the principle of the Tithe is similar to the principle of the Sabbath. We no longer adhere to a Saturday Sabbath, don’t feel required to walk rather than drive one day out of seven and certainly don’t condemn people that have to work on any particular day. However we continue to encourage people to understand the spiritual principle of Sabbath. Honor God by finding a time for rest. There are lots of smiling faces when we talk about people needing rest in church.

The tithe is similar. Honor God with your first and your best. Contribute generously to your local church. Give regularly, sacrificially, proportionally and cheerfully. Be a good steward of everything that God has entrusted to your care.

10% is a good place to start.

Selling the Sizzle

After a number of years on the finance side of a Fortune 100 company, I was offered the opportunity to get involved in sales.

Sales…now that seems a lot more fun than crunching numbers.

In sales, you learn how to be approachable, how to identify the benefits and the value of the product or service you represent. In sales, you learn that at any given time, there are a number of other products and services that are competing for the attention of your potential clients. The objective in sales is making sure that you make the best of every opportunity to clearly identify the unique value proposition that your product or service offers. The really good sales approach is what the legendary “greatest salesman in the world”, Elmer Wheeler, called, “Selling the Sizzle”.

Churches could learn a lot from Elmer Wheeler. He defined ‘sizzle’ as the biggest selling point, the main reason why people would want to buy.

What is it that churches all too often try to sell? What occupies the best vantage point in the church lobby, the biggest announcement that is made on the stage? If you’ve been in more than a few churches you know that all too often, churches do a horrible job of selling the sizzle.

The Church is the personification of the Body of Christ. The Church has the unique opportunity to offer the hope of forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration. No other organization can offer what the Church has to offer. The Church is not as some have proposed, some get-rich-quick or heavenly multi level marketing opportunity. The true sizzle that an Elmer Wheeler would want the Church to identify and utilize in reaching the greatest number of people is life change.

New life in Jesus Christ is the compelling opportunity for young and old, rich and poor, single, separated, divorced and married. It is the most unique value proposition that any organization could possibly offer to anyone.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” —2 Corinthians 5:17

The objective for those of us that in the Church is to make the best of every opportunity to clearly identify the life changing proposition that only we, as the personification of the body of Christ, have to offer.

Sell the Sizzle!

Church Confidential

It’s not unusual for someone to come to me and say, “Pastor, can I share something with you in confidence?”

My response usually surprises them: “Depends on what you tell me.”

Often, church leaders are unsure of how to handle sensitive information that is received within the church body. It’s important to make a distinction between that which should remain completely private and that which requires action and some further disclosure.

The Bible actually has a lot to say about what we would understand as someone coming to another person in confidence and disclosing a personal or moral issue. As Christians we are instructed that we are to confess to one another (Matthew 6:14; James 5:16). Questions immediately surface however, when it comes to confidentiality that may be expected. While we are often asked to “keep this confidential” there are many times we cannot promise that when we hear certain information, it won’t require a follow-up or other appropriate type of action.

For example:

1) Information disclosed about abuse, molestation, theft and vandalism typically obligates the receiver to further disclose the information to appropriate leaders who often have an obligation to disclose the same information to others including often the civil authority.

2) Moral failures, addictions and even mental disorders often require that the person receiving the information take some action. While the person may be requesting confidentiality, the sharing of the information indicates that help is needed and a resolution is desired.

The Bible also speaks about gossip and it is often gossip that is brought to us in confidence. Gossips and busybodies are to be avoided (1 Timothy 5:13). Gossip breaks up friendships (Proverbs 16:28). The word often translated as gossip is the Greek word for a whisperer, a secret slanderer, or a detractor.

However, while gossip is to be ignored, factual information that threatens the integrity of the Body of Christ is a different matter and should not be ignored. These matters involving the spiritual health of the church, the protection of the sheep from wolves and the restoration of the individual take precedence over a request for confidentiality and secrecy.

The leadership of the church has a responsibility to restore a person that is caughtin a sin (Gal 6:1). However, just like a request for confidentiality, restoration is secondary to protecting the rest of the church. Protection is often accomplished through appropriate church discipline.

Pastors, and by extension other church leaders, have the responsibility for discipline within the church. Anything that compromises the integrity of the church or ultimately harms other church members or causes dissension needs to be dealt with by the church leaders from the biblical aspect of church discipline.

In Matthew 18:15-18, Jesus gives us a four-step approach to dealing with these confidential and sensitive matters in the church. The first step is to confront the individual alone. Steps two through four escalate the discipline, particularly for the non-repentant.

“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him-work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. (Matt 18:15-18)

As believers and members of the Body of Christ, we are all under authority. Local church authority is a great place to start when dealing with an issue as described above. The first response should always be to encourage the offender to submit to the appropriate authority. If the person is hesitant, the church leader should let the person know that any consideration of confidentiality was presumptuous and cannot be honored because of the nature of the issue

Reprint from Church Executive, April 2011

And on the Seventh Day.......

My wife and I recently returned from a brief 5-day trip to Mackinac Island, situated on the Straits of Mackinac and between the upper and lower peninsula of Michigan.

While it's difficult to admit, it was one of the first vacations I have taken in a while. It seems like there is always something going on, something urgent at the office to attend to and it's all too easy to ignore the need to rest and relax.

I don't know whether you call it a "moment" or an "Epiphany" or something else but God definitely seemed to be taking me to task about this idea of rest and relaxation.

Just a week before, one of my board members also chided me for my lack of attention to this concept of an extended rest that we so often ignore in this busy fast-paced world.

It just so happens that the trip also was an opportunity to catch up with some good friends that we hadn't seen in a number of years. We used to spend lots of time with them. Good neighbors, friends from church, adopted families and parents of children our children's age. When we were together again, even if briefly, it seemed like the time spent apart was not as great as the bonds that were drawing us together.

My wife (the smart one in our relationship) reminded me that it was the time that was invested in each other that likely was the reason we became such good friends. Time that is still available to invest in people both family and friends if we want to continue to have special friends.

Mackinac Island may not be the place for everyone: Just a small island with a tiny town, there are no cars, only bikes and horses. Cell phone service is lousy and 90% of the land is state-owned and consists of mainly trees and trails and beautiful views of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. And other than the Grand Hotel of "Somewhere in Time" movie fame, most of the hotels are only fair.

At the same time, it was a great place to rest, relax and reacquaint ourselves with that inner need to take some time off. I need to do it more often. Maybe even every week, maybe every seventh day.

I think I read that somewhere.

Three lessons on what matters

There are a few lessons that I've learned along the way about things that matter. Since my training is in finance and economics, it's no surprise that my lessons are quantitative rather than qualitative.

I thought I'd pass them along however:

1) Things that matter are measured.

If it's important, we find a way to measure it. While some things are relatively easy to measure (i.e. number of people, revenue, how long something takes), other things are more difficult. If something is difficult to measure that doesn't mean we don't measure it. For example, an employee's performance is a difficult measurement, but most HR professionals encourage an annual evaluation that is based on some standard assessment.

2) What you measure tells people what matters.

The lesson here is that people are watching. If you are a race car driver and never bother to measure how long it takes you to do the quarter mile people will think you are not very serious about racing. In an organization, if getting things done matter, measure what gets done and how long it takes. People will take notice.

3) There are a very limited number of measurements that can truly matter.

This is what I call the 'scoreboard' approach. In a football game, there are all kinds of things that are measured including time of possession, number of yards penalized, passer ratings, offensive yards, etc. The only thing that really matters however is the score. One team walks away a winner, the other goes home the loser. The thing that truly matters is the score.