Money, the Church & Sacrifice

A few weeks back I attended a church "mortgage burning" event. It was a big deal...people who were charter members were there, former pastors, conference officials, etc. The current pastor had a few words to say about how they had gotten to that point; how there had been some serious sacrificial giving along the way in order to retire the debt on the building. Some very good points were made...but...

As with most churches (not all, but most) this is a building that is used approximately 10 hours a week. Wednesday nights for a few hours and on the weekend for classes and worship service. Maybe more if there is a special event going on. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, millions of dollars, for a meeting place that is not utilized to it's fullest potential...this is a waste and very poor stewardship of monetary blessings.

I think about times when I was growing up that my family experienced some hard times financially...the church was strangely absent in our time of need. But when there was a new building program, everyone (including those who had very little) was encouraged to give "sacrificially" under the guise that it was for "God's glory" that we get a new kitchen or new classrooms.

I think about times that people have gone hungry under the shadow of a church steeple or grown cold because they couldn't pay their electric bill, while the church down the street had the heat on while there was no one on the premises."Sacrificial giving" to add on to a church, or increase the space it occupies.(?)

If the church boards were honest with themselves, they would ask the question, "If this church burned to the ground today, would the surrounding community miss it?" Obviously there would be a physical void, but what about a spiritual void or community void? "Sacrificial giving" to what end? Building up a church facility just so we can say, when asked, "Where do you go to church?"..."Oh,I go to that BIG church up on the hill." This is not giving God glory...just a black eye.

Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world is...Christians; who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.""Denying Him by our lifestyle" is far more than engaging in lying, stealing, using pornography or other of the more "obvious" sinful behaviors; to misuse or mishandle the monetary blessings He has provided is just as egregious in His eyes. Sacrificial giving is only sacrificial if it is what God asks for, not what we think He's asking for.

Think about it.

Jumping the Gun

So I have a friend on a social network site that reads my blog on that site all the time. I had posted at the end "what I am reading right now" as the Donald Miller book, "Blue Like Jazz".

Her response was, "Blue Like Jazz...pffttt."

She then posted a link for me to check out...it ended up being a "Salem Witch Hunt" site for anyone who even appears to be "emergent"...whatever that means.
I know what "emergent" means, as I am also aware of the divergent views amongst those who consider themselves as "emergent"...which goes to show that you can't nail down a specific definition or criterion.

On a previous post of mine, I outline the different "perspectives" that I have. Some would tell me, "Make up your mind...what are you?" I'm Batman...

But seriously, I refuse to wear a label, a nametag. I wore one my whole life being a part of a denomination. Labels are man-made...my mark of who I am is like the story about Jesus -

Someone came to Jesus and asked if they should pay taxes to Rome. He asked to see a coin and then asked, "Whose image is on this coin?" They replied, "Caesar's." He then said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

We are told that man was created in God's image. That means that God's imprimatur is upon man, His "image is on" us. Therefore, we should give to God what is God's...us.

So, with the "Witch Hunt" site I mentioned, I heard nothing but anger, vitriole and harshness...sounds like the person who wrote the article needs to return to the School of Christ. Yes we are called to judge righteous judgement, but not SELF-Righteous judgement.

Think about it.

CHRISTMAS PRESENCE

Just some thoughts, questions and reflections...

I've wondered a lot about what the Incarnation was like on THAT side of who He was...in other words, what was it like in His head?

When did He realize who He was? Was it known to Him as a child or did Mary have to show Him who He was?

Did He have a memory of pre-Incarnation?

Which was more humbling...to be born in a barn or to simply become human?

How long did it take to use up the gold that was given to Him as a child by the wise men? He was poor through out His ministry, so was it used while they were in Egypt when He was a child?

What happened with the other gifts? Did Mary keep the myrrh and use it for His burial?

Why do we celebrate His birth by giving gifts to each other (not that there's anything wrong with that) but we negelct so often to do what He did...give of ourselves to those who are in need?

The real Christmas story really does involve a tree...one that would later be made into a cross - the whole reason for the Christmas story.

Commericalism can only take root if we let it.

There really is nothing wrong with Xmas...the "X" is historically symbolic of the cross. I prefer to see His title, "Christ" in the word, but let's not get too bent out of shape.

The cries of the Child in the manger were the first of many for Him.

We really don't know how many wise men there were.

More than likely, Mary (Miryam) was only about 15 years old...my oldest is 16...wow.

The children that were slaughtered by Herod the Great were the first martyrs for Jesus. Martyr means "witness" and their little lives bore witness to His greatness and the fear that the ungodly have about Him.

Bethlehem (Beit'lechaim) means "house of bread"...Jesus said He is the Bread of Life. He was also laid in a feeding trough that usually contained barley,which was the grain used to make the common bread...hmmmmm. Humility, humility, humility.

The wise men (Magi), more than likely knew about the Messiah's birth from the book of Daniel...considering Daniel was a "wise man" under the rule of the Persian king Darius.

The Bible never mentions the names of the wise men...their names could have been Tom, Dick & Harry for all we know.

I will be forever grateful (literally) for the Incarnation, for it led to (and made possible) the cross, which makes possible my salvation and eternal life. I really like to...

Think about it.

Who Were The Magi?

Just who were the Magi, the Wise Men who went in search of the King of the Jews?

We really don't know who they were, as far as names. The traditional names are not recorded in Scripture, so as far as we know, history has forgotten their names. The term "magician" is derived from Magi, but it is erroneous in meaning, in other words, they were not magicians. There is historically a connection to sorcery, but not in the way we think of it. These men were actually a clan or tribe of priests in the area known as Media and Persia. They can be traced as far back as Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham's home. This would be present day Turkey and Iraq.

Fast forward to the time of the Babylonian exile with the prophet Daniel. We find Daniel being promoted to the chief of the Wise men...these were the Magi. To see that the Magi of the Nativity story knew about this new King of the Jews, otherwise known as the Messiah, they must have had, as part of their education, the writings of Belteshazzar. This was Daniel's Babylonian name.

They were scientists, astronomers, astrologers and political consultants. They were known as the "King-makers". History tells us that they could make or break a man's ascension to the throne. What they said was law. This is referred to in the book of Daniel when the Magi who were against Daniel sought to make him look bad to King Darius. When the king was deceived into creating a law that forbade anyone to pray to any God or gods other than himself, this was called the "Law of the Medes & Persians".

The East was at odds with Rome at the time of the Census. It was an area that had not bowed the knee to Caesar. Rome feared these Magi and their followers. They fought all the time in the area known as Palestine. This is probably why Herod was so uneasy at their arrival in Jerusalem and they more than likely had a regiment of soldiers with them.
Being astronomers/astrologers, it is no wonder they followed a Star to find Him. All through history stars had been harbingers of new & great kings at their births. It is said that the Star that led them was found in the "eye" of the constellation known as the Lion or Leo. Isn't it interesting that the Lion is a symbol of Christ?

They came looking for The King that would be the salvation of all men. He would bring an end to all war and strife. He would deliver men from themselves.

As the saying goes, Wise Men still seek Him.

Think about it.