The Bucks Stop Here - Pt. I

I can't think of a more uncomfortable subject to approach in the Church than that of giving. Throughout scripture, God's commands to his people concerning giving are unequivocally clear, yet by many abuses, misunderstandings, and false assumptions we've turned a glorious form of worship into an affair that is tedious at best and scandalous at worst. So Part I will deal with the biblical perspective on giving.

Tithe is the English word translated from the original Hebrew and Greek words that both mean “a tenth”. The Tithe is a God-commanded 10% “return” of our increase (income) which is used to support the ministry of the Church and those in His service. Tithing and the purpose of those funds given was formalized in the Law given to Moses. (Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:20-21, Numbers 18:25-29). God designed the Tithe to be affordable for everyone by placing it in proportion to each person’s income. Jesus Christ paid both the tithe and civil taxes to the Roman government (Matthew 17:24-27). He also commanded it by saying, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Luke 20:25)

An Offering is a voluntary gift given beyond one’s Tithe to the work of the ministry. Offerings may be requested and distributed according to specific purposes or needs of the Church.God has given us right to be able to make our own decisions concerning the resources He has provided. We can bless God or curse God (and ourselves) with our obedience concerning money. Obedience blesses God, while disobedience is a reproach unto God. (Isaiah 1:19-20) Whether concerning Tithes or Offering, giving is a matter of Obedience to God and Love for God. The two attributes are intimately related by Christ Himself: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) This clearly indicates that are claims to love God and are spoken desires to support the Church are questionable at best if we are not obedient in our giving.

Finally, let's deal with the abuses. It's important to realize that the money grubbing gimmicks we are so familiar with are not a new concept. Since the time of the ancient Hebrews, there has been no shortage of charlatans and tricksters who seem to possess no fear of God and are all too willing to take advantage of the faithful and gullible to satisfy their own greed. Whether it's hundred dollar prayer lines, "covenant" partnerships that promise special access and "point of contact" items (cloths, oil, pendants/jewelry) for a monthly or annual gift, or just the old fashioned pulpit begging, it all reeks with the stench of corruption. We would do well to avoid all such dubious practices, and instead remain faithful to the teaching of giving our tithes and offerings faithfully unto the Lord.

elder todd

The Death of Reverence: We're All Suspects

Whatever happened to Reverence in our worship? Honor, respect, awe, and sincerity in the House of the Lord? They've all been laid waste.

Somebody killed Reverence. I think WE Did. I present my case:

The Evidence:
A quick scan of a sanctuary at any time of a typical worship service and you will likely discover a disturbing display of congregants noticeably whispering (or talking), pointing, winking, smirking, rolling eyes, giggling, and of course, vigorously texting. And I'm not talking about 14 yr olds, either. This type of behavior was once reserved for concerts and musicals with their more lax atmosphere, but now, it could be during the sermon, altar call, and even communion. It could be argued that in the life of today's church, the only time you can expect every person (who knows better) to display tact in church is during the opening mournful moments of a funeral.

Possible Motives:
Boredom, not with church but with ourselves. Too many church people have NO LIFE. So they try to squeeze every life experience out of attending church which is impossible. Church is our place of worship and fellowship, which should be enjoyable, but not become merely entertainment or sport. Yet, we have attempted to implement both of the latter things (some of us successfully) during worship, because we lack real connections, hobbies, and interests outside of the sanctuary.

Information Overload. Many, especially younger generations, just seem to KNOW too much to take church seriously. The previous generation of saints are to blame for this. Our parents and grandparents have many times been WAY too loose-lipped about the faults of the church, it's leadership, and some other saint they "just can't stand". When reverence for a person (ex. Pastor) is affected, so is reverence for what they do (preach). The older saints were able to maintain at least the appearance of respect despite being aware of the seedier aspects of the ministry. The young ones? Not so much.

A Weapon Has Been Found at The Scene of the Crime:
One only needs to visit YouTube and type in "Craziest Shout Ever!" or "Worst Choir Ever!" and you'll discover that in almost every church someone has a camera-phone or pocket camcorder and they're all too ready and willing to use it. Like you, my phone goes with me and gets used everywhere and that includes church. And I admit I've even sent a text or two during church when it was absolutely necessary in a discreet manner. But to check Facebook after service to discover someone has provided color commentary throughout the entire service or merely decided to banter back and forth with someone else (sometimes, in the same room) is a bit much, especially when the post is "Sis. So & So is singing and she sounds a hot mess!", "I wish Pastor would hurry up", or a picture of a style-deficient saint posted moments after the offending outfit was spotted. What happened to talking about this stuff @ Perkins/Red Lobster/Olive Garden after church? Why do we find nothing wrong with openly embarrassing another saint? And let's not even talk about 2 people sitting right next to each other, texting one another. That must be the pinnacle of stupidity. (Sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't get mean about this, but I couldn't help it on that one)

As much as we'd like to place blame on the available technology, the truth is our greatest weapon is our own hearts. We seem unable to set our hearts entirely on God for more than a few minutes. I believe Jesus had a problem with this, and even warned what would happen if we can't maintain our focus (Matt 26:40-41) We have decided within ourselves that it's acceptable to walk and talk while the Pastor is praying. We believe it's ok to openly laugh and ridicule even the most sincere person because they shout funny or sing badly. I'm pretty silly myself and there are always times of levity & laughter when something genuinely funny has occurred and even the pastor has to chuckle. But everything can't possibly be an opportunity for comedy or sport. We act as if it's normal to dance up and down the aisle (supposedly in the Spirit) and seconds later pull out our phone and record our friend doing the same as if it were sport while laughing and cheering them on. We praise Praise, celebrating the style rather than the substance of it.

Yes, all of the above statements are generalizations, but are supported by numerous and consistent examples of offense. This is not meant to bash, but to call ALL of us to self-awareness.

The Verdict?
Guilty. But not without hope. Reminds me of a sermon I once preached "Convicted, but not Condemned".

We should do better and we can. Comments are welcome.

elder todd

Precious Memories.......of Sin?

In this posting, I hope to get some feedback from those of you from the baby boomer era and beyond. As a musician and even sometimes (clean) DJ, I find myself engaged in conversations with Christians mostly of older generations who wax on the merits of "real music" from the days of their youth that was "clean, wholesome, and said something". I frequently hear statements such as: "when we were out doin' our thing, we weren't as bad as the youth of today, the lyrics weren't raunchy and explicit like they are today, and we didn't do all that gyrating and popping when we danced." Yet they readily admit they were living in sin and doing sinful things.

Now there's no doubt that like everything else in society, music has taken a drastic turn toward unrestricted self expression and performances that many people would consider to be unreasonably lewd, sexual, violent, and misogynistic in nature. That truth being established, I feel the need to clear some things up concerning the differences in our generations.

Yes, most songs of years gone by were more discreet lyrically, but most of those artists weren't exactly singing to their husbands or wives, but often times, quite the opposite. ("Me & Mrs. Jones", anyone?) And even though the dance moves of yesteryear pale in comparison to what you'd find on BET today, we can't ignore the highly suggestive intent in the performances of James Brown, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, and others. The truth is, despite the very real positive influences of music, since the 1960's popular music in general has promoted sexual promiscuity, illicit drug & alcohol use, recklessness, and rebellion against authority to varying degrees. But the main point of this thought isn't to create a tit for tat comparison of contemporary versus classic, but to pose this question:

At what point (if ever) is it appropriate to reflect on an admittedly sinful past outside of salvation with a sense of nostalgia? I'm targeting music in particular here because of the strong feelings it induces in people no matter what their spiritual disposition. I love all types of music and I'm certainly not afraid to enjoy the musical merits of any generation. But I have to chuckle a little bit when Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On" and Jame's Brown's "Sex Machine" causes even some usually staid saints to sway and sing along. Is "Superfreak" all of the sudden less suggestive in nature, just because the last 25 years have yielded far more explicit content? Is it fair to expect older generations to condemn those songs from their past just as strongly as the music their grandchildren listen to?

Your thoughts.........

elder todd

Hiding In Plain Sight Pt. II

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post, but much has transpired and the continuance of this subject required much prayer. So let's get to it!

So what is confession? According to the Bible, it comes in 2 forms: a) A sincere, simple statement of faith in Christ Jesus (I Corinthians 12:3), b) An open admittance of one's sins to others in the faith with the desire to be received and corrected in love (James 5:16). Of course the second type should be entered into with wisdom and in an atmosphere of trust. We just can't tell everybody anything, yet on that same token, we cannot continue among our brothers and sisters as if we have no struggles. It is a disingenuous act of denial at best and an outright lie at worst. Neither pleases God.

Why do we need it? Because the very nature of our humanity that is rooted in concern for only ourselves and that desires to be seen in the best light possible needs to be checked by the realization of our sinful nature and the need for a Savior from.....well, ourselves! We find this need fulfilled FIRST in Christ, confessing and repenting to Him. But also, we are to build bonds of mutual concern and desire for righteousness in one another by not hiding the process through which we come to maturity in God.

Let us build God's True Community by engaging one another in sincere love, honesty, with a spirit of humbleness and grace for each other as we share in our successes, failures, God pleasing moments, and trials of sin.

elder todd

Hiding in Plain Sight Pt. I

What happened to confession? Confession is the prerequisite of repentance, yet it has been corrupted, misplaced, pigeon-holed, and ultimately abandoned. The fact is, despite our honest and sincere faith in the Risen Savior, we ALL endure daily struggles with our own sin. But we all too readily ignore the Bible's relational prescription for our failings in vain attempts to maintain a false sense of piety. But avoiding confession does not at all remove the obvious need for confession, since whether we admit it or not, our sins are put on display daily for others to either see or discern.

We as Christians have taken the concept of confession as described in James 5:16 and twisted it in a variety of ways.

• Only being willing to confess to ordained leaders or "qualified" counselors
• Expecting only the newly converted, or "messed up" to confess and testify in lurid detail the extent of their sinful lives
• Avoid confession altogether in fear that admitting failings may harm the Body of Christ and plant temptations in others to sin that were not previously there.
• Viewing all of our shortcomings as the fault of someone else in a perverted interpretation of persecution. (See my posting entitled "Why We Need Persecution", particularly, the section "What Is Persecution?")
• Using confession as a remedy for being caught instead of openly and honestly acknowledging our sin, whether it was seen by others or not.
  

So besides our own vanity, what's the primary cause of our abandonment of confession? I believe it is the lack of TRUST. Confession in its proper use is dependent upon an assurance of sincere concern and security in the one receiving the confession. I've been personally focusing on the biblical concepts of fellowship and community and I have seen myself trending more towards encouraging less ritual in our churches and more relationship. When did we get to the place where every meeting must have a set format and official feel to it? I believe this enduring standard has hampered the organic growth and connectedness of the church. How can you get to know someone well enough to trust them with your life's issues by merely coming to a building and sitting, singing, or praying next to them? Take a moment and think about how in depth your relationships with your fellow church members really are, even the one's you call your closest friends. Have you developed the type of trusting relationship that would allow you to both share and receive in confession and sincerely pray and minister to to one another?

elder todd

1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Summer Recreation Program

The Agape Summer Recreation Program is featured in the Community Section of the Tribune Chronicle. Check out the article at http://tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/524496.html?nav=5005

The Agape Education & Development Center's 3rd year of Summer Recreation for area youth is in full swing. The center is open daily from 10am - 3pm with on site activities such as: basketball, football, volleyball, ping-pong, air hockey, table tennis, crafts, movies, board games, and much more! Lunches be served daily to all participants. For more information, visit www.agaperec.com.

Look out for an announcement for the 2009 Agape Car Show to take place on August 22nd!!

elder todd

You Didn't Say Nuthin' Bout No Kids, Man!

Why don't more Christians adopt? For all the Biblical arguments, lobbying, debate points, and protests of Pro-Life Christians, something is missing. Those you would think to be the primary subjects of the abortion issue are oftentimes strangely omitted from the discussion. The Kids. Certainly the legal and ethical question of abortion is a messy one with many variables to consider. But there is no question that greater familial and societal breakdowns feed the acceptance of this practice. Casual sex, casual marriage (if it actually occurs), and even more casual divorce all in one way or another lead individuals to consider conception as an expendable and deletable occurrence. Adding to this the tragedy of sexual abuse and rape that leaves no easy answers, we are left with a spiritual and moral dilemma of the highest regard. But what is the Christian to do besides argue a point?

We believe life begins at conception, that God "knows" us even before we are formed in the womb, and that life is a gift from God the Creator that no man should destroy. But once this life is realized in birth, now what? The fact is a decrease in abortions will undoubtedly lead to an increase of unwanted children across our nation. Are we willing to go to the same lengths we do to prevent and persuade others from abortion to care for the kids that will be born if they do see things our way? How much time, money, and effort will we devote to the upbringing of these children? Will Christians take up this mantle of responsibility in the way of adoption or foster parenting? Will churches offer the necessary support to encourage and uphold those families who chose to carry this burden?

The Bible tells us faith without works is dead, and that includes making bold proclamations of Biblical principles to our society with no intentions of fulfilling our own obligations in the matter.

Matthew 18:10 (NIV) "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."

elder todd