Month: November 2022

Saltiness

I’m a fan of private generosity. Scripture does call us to it, after all (Matthew 6:2). But I’m also a fan of spurring other Christians on toward love and good deeds. Scripture calls us to that too (Hebrews 10:24).

Third, I’m a fan of leaders leading by example. As a pastor, I shouldn’t call others in our Renovation Community family to do things I wouldn’t do. If I’m calling others to live generously, I should be leading the way. So I’ll share about a recent family decision towards Generosity.

On November 21 I wrote about big family expenses we had in October. I’d begun praying for an extra $550 in unrequested gifts and income. By October 31, God DID supply $450 of that prayer request. But I didn’t pray for an extra $450 for October’s expenses. I prayed for $550. And even 21 days into November, I expected God to honor my request— He was $100 short.

But the afternoon of November 21, He sent $150 in the mail explicitly stated as an October gift. That suddenly made God $50 OVER what I requested. So I talked to Kelly about giving that $50 to a fellow pastor friend in the UK, given that Inflation has hit even harder there than the U.S. [I know several pastors in the UK, so don’t try to guess who it is. 😉]

By the way, here’s one more thing I’m a fan of…
reminding YOU that your normal, everyday acts of faithfulness to God may inspire others more than you’ll ever know.

As a pastor, I’m a disorganized mess. [Seriously. Someone called me on it last night and offered to coach me on organizational leadership. Praise God!🙌🏻] I’m not a great speaker and don’t know how to grow a church. But I DO know how to trust a God who’s never once failed me. And I can strive my very best to faithfully follow Him.

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you feel like you’re not as talented as those around you. Honestly, that feeling may be accurate. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Grow. Learn. Improve. But don’t try being someone God never expected you to be.

God wants to turn your normal, everyday acts of faithfulness into “salt and light” to change the world.

And occasionally, may you receive messages like this one explaining your “saltiness” is working, spurring another towards love and good deeds. ❤️

21 Days Late

Our family had two big October expenses. We had an out-of-state wedding requiring two nights at a hotel. And after two years of extreme caution for my sake during Covid, our youngest wanted to invite classmates for a 6th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.

Kelly exceptionally stewards every dollar God provides our family. [For that trip, her total planned budget for EVERY expense was only over by $8!] She plans well and realized that trip and party would exceed our monthly budget by $550. We keep an emergency fund and knew we could pull from that if we needed. But of course, that’s *really* for true emergencies.

Both events felt extremely important to us. We didn’t want to cancel either. So what would we do??

We would pray, continue to scrimp and save where we could, and pray some more. I began asking the Lord for an extra $550 in extra gifts and income to cover all those expenses.

And you know what?! God MOSTLY answered our prayers by the end of October. On October 31st we’d received $450 in extra gifts and income.

But this frustrated and confused me. And I told God how I felt.

I don’t worship and pray to a God who partially answers prayers when I believe those prayers are in His will. What type of God miraculously supplies $450 but stops short of the last $100 I requested?

No. My Heavenly Father knows how to finish what He started. And He started this agreement over 9 years ago when Kelly and I clearly felt called to a church that clearly could not provide the full financial support we would need. So we would steward our church and family finances as best as possible and, whenever we fell short, we’d trust Him for the difference. My commitment to lead our church even closer to the poor and hurting has only further entrenched our need for His provision.

So, in faith, I repeatedly reminded God of my October prayer and reminded Him He is a faithful God who doesn’t *partially* answer.

Even after October came and went, I trusted the last check would still come in the mail.

As recently as 12:09pm today I reminded God in my email prayer journal: that He would supply the last check in one dated for October. [I asked for this money IN October. So any unexpected gifts dated for November wouldn’t really be answering my prayer would it??]

On November 21, God granted me the faith still to believe He would provide one more check dated for October. Crazy!

I picked up the mail today at 1:41pm. Included was a check and note from a church that sends our family a monthly love offering. But they’re October offering never came. We don’t ask questions in cases like that, since it’s money we’re never owed, anyway. Today’s November $150 gift included a second $150 for October!

The post office had delivered it incorrectly to a leasing business that probably receives hundreds of checks each month. That company accidentally deposited the October check intended for my family. Once the company and church discovered the error, it was corrected.

So here before you, dear friends, is a reminder that He hears our prayers and has the power to sustain as when we follow him. Not only that, He often gives over and above what we ask. I requested $100 and He gave $150. Even when an answer to prayer seems 21 days late, never stop trusting that…

He is faithful.

The overlooked

5 first-time guests joined Renovation Community’s 4:00pm service and Thanksgiving dinner tonight. I’d never met any of them before today.

80% (4 out of 5) of our first-time guests were recently or currently Home Insecure. Of those 4, none of them had any previous connection with our church. They’d never before read what I write, knew anyone in our church, or even heard our name…

– A couple lived in their car a year ago. They’re now in a government apartment. One uses a cane; the other is on Disability. At least one of them is old enough to be my parent.

– 1 was in a homeless shelter two years ago and now in a nearby Assisted Living. They’re old enough to be my parent (or a very young grandparent) and use a walker.

– 1 is on Disability and currently living with a family member while waiting on their Housing voucher. They’re old enough to be my parent, shuffled as they walked, and needed two people to help them stand up from their chair.

– None of those 4 were young or work.

– All 4 showed signs of health challenges.

***

Before I became a pastor over 9 years ago, all the “Church Growth” experts taught me who I’d need to reach to grow a church: young, white-collar, two-income parents of young children.

The experts said that demographic was perfect: they maximized parking spaces with more people in each vehicle; they had good-paying jobs and Paid Vacation (perfect for maximizing financial giving and volunteer hours); they had few age-related health problems that could lead to job loss (and therefore ‘giving loss’ and/or ‘volunteer loss’) or require frequent pastoral visits to a hospital; and they were stable (living in homes with mortgages that encouraged them to plant roots and build equity).

As a naïve young pastor a few months into my new job, our church spent a lot of money on a big outreach campaign. But, in the eyes of many “Church Growth” experts, that campaign was a flop because it didn’t attract the ‘Young, White-collar, Two-income Parents of Young Children’ demographic. We’d definitely reached some people but they weren’t who the “experts” said we should be reaching.

I shared my discouragement with a wise old pastor who asked, “Are you going to be discouraged about the sheep God didn’t send you or faithfully shepherd the sheep God DID send you?”

God used that man’s words to open my eyes (slowly) to an entire world of people many modern churches overlook.

They are like sheep without a shepherd… ignored by other churches all clamoring to reach a tiny sliver of the population.

For reasons I may never fully understand, God entrusts some of those Overlooked to our tiny congregation.

They are His Beloved children. And He longs for churches and pastors who will care for them with Christlike love.

Lord,

It’s an honor to care for your overlooked children. Thank you for entrusting them to our care. May we always treat them with the dignity and respect befitting children of the King.

***

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.“ (Matthew 9:36)

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.” (James 2:1-6a)

Eyes Wide Open

In the last 10 days, 4 different homeless friends have come to Renovation Community’s Parsonage or Main Building front doors asking for help (usually a shower and occasionally a fresh change of clothes).

Weirdly, in all my years of serving my chronically homeless neighbors, I’ve never paused to consider the math.

On average, how often does someone stop by seeking help??

This doorbell camera footage from the last 10 days gives you an idea.

One every 2.5-3 days seems pretty average.

A glimpse into my life 🤷🏼‍♂️

They may not ring your home’s doorbell like they do ours.

And you shouldn’t always give them exactly what they request (because it’s not always what they most need).

And many of them need specialized help you and I cannot provide.

And you can’t help someone radically improve their life if they constantly self-sabotage that helpful change.

And I’m no expert on Chronic Homelessness, Poverty, Mental Illness, or Addiction.

Etc, etc, etc

But you and I CANNOT close our eyes to them.

Open your eyes.

See God’s beloved, broken children.

See how His heart breaks for them.

He calls us to love them as He loves them, and ALWAYS to see them.

“Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.” Proverbs 28:27

Chatter

1 Timothy is a New Testament letter of advice from the Apostle Paul to a young pastor by that name. The last bit of advice in the book begins “Turn away from godless chatter.”

Upon reading this we may ask “And what IS godless chatter?”

It’s wise to seek precise definitions. But the instinct to begin with that question reminds me of a man who asked Jesus…

“what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?” [The man] answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25b-29)

Instead of answering the man’s question, Jesus shares about a ‘Good Samaritan’ (and two other men who don’t help a person in need as the Samaritan does). Jesus finishes his parable by posing a question to the Questioner…

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36)

In other words, Jesus turned his questioner from considering “who is my neighbor?” to “what does it look like to act neighborly?”

The fact that we would ask “what godless chatter is” or “who my neighbor is” may serve as a helpful Diagnostic– that we want to justify our current actions rather than repent and strive for a purer, more loving course of action.

Life’s many complexities occasionally make it difficult to define what is and is not “godless chatter.” But I believe we may find answers in another letter from Paul.

Since all human language begins with thoughts in the speaker and results in thoughts in the listener, consider Paul’s words on thinking…

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Time is precious, friends. The words we hear and share shape us and the world.

So may you constantly participate in God-filled chatter.