Over the next several weeks, we are going to present easy ways for pastors and teachers to explore the Bible on the topics of money and generosity.  Although this is not a systematic study, it should give you many executable teaching outlines as well as some video and audio sermons from pastors who are champions for these subjects.  If you have sermons that you would like to share, feel free to mention those – along with any appropriate links in the comments section.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 

I don’t know about you, but there are times where I am glad that the disciples where not the sharpest guys in Israel.  It’s not that I need an ego-boost from these men, but at times I really need them to question the teachings of Jesus so that I can comprehend what He is saying.

Matthew 13 presents one of those occasions.  Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who went out and scattered seed on his property.  Some of the seed fell on good soil and grew producing fruit.  Other seed fell in less-than-desirable soil and did not produce anything for the farmer. 

I am going to make an assumption here.  I believe we all know how this works.  If a farmer casts seed onto the ground, some will flourish and some will fail.  That’s the nature of farming.

So, if we all know how this works, why is Jesus teaching us this first grade truth? 

Thankfully, the disciples did not catch the spiritual implications of the story, either.  They probably looked around sheepishly and thought, “The people on this hillside came to hear deep, authoritative teaching and all they’re getting is a lesson in how to scatter seed.”  So, they asked Jesus to explain the deeper meaning to them.

In His explanation, Jesus told them that this is a parable about how people respond to the kingdom of God.  “For some,” Jesus said, “they do not understand the message and the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.”  These people deny the presence of God in this world and their hardened hearts never receive the message of the kingdom.

The second group is characterized by quick life and quick death.  They probably look at the world around them, seeing the magnificence of the Redwood forests and the variety of the creatures in the sea.  All of creation says to them, “there is something bigger than you that created these things.”  But, when the radical nature of following Jesus surfaces, they quickly fall away.

The third group is really interesting.  These seeds fall among the thorns.  They develop a root and even grow into a stalk.  There is life present in these plants.  These would be people that believe the message of God and even begin to grow in Him to some extent.  Unfortunately, the thorns choke out the growth so that they never produce fruit.  They never experience the one thing that they were really created for.

This is the part of the parable that amazes me.  Jesus offers one reason that these people never experience the fruit of God’s kingdom.  He could have listed any sin imaginable.  However, the one problem He mentions is that “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”  In other words, He says their pursuit of wealth prevented them from experiencing true life with God.  The way they handled material possessions choked out their spiritual fruitfulness.

Finally, Jesus mentions that some of the seed fell on good soil, producing a significant crop.

Could we be missing the kingdom of God because of the way we handle our possessions?  Could the deceitfulness of wealth be choking us, spiritually?  Maybe we need to cast off some thorns and start preparing our lives for the coming of God’s seed!

Over the next several weeks, we are going to present easy ways for pastors and teachers to explore the Bible on the topics of money and generosity.  Although this is not a systematic study, it should give you many executable teaching outlines as well as some video and audio sermons from pastors who are champions for these subjects.  If you have sermons that you would like to share, feel free to mention those – along with any appropriate links in the comments section.

⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine.

It’s hard to pin down a time where I ever really helped God. Like this passage states, God doesn’t need our help. If He is hungry, He does not need to come to us for the solution. He owns the solution; He created the solution.

As a four or five-year-old child, I used to enjoy mowing the lawn with my Dad. He would crank up the loud, heavy, push mower and head into the backyard. I would grab my plastic, sound-generating, toy mower and get in line behind him.

My Dad didn’t need me to help him with the yard. He knew a lot more about yard work than I did. In fact, the only thing that I really knew was that it was easier to walk behind Dad than it was to jump in front of Him. As I walked behind him, I didn’t have to trudge through the tall, unkempt grass. I also didn’t have to fear the loud, heavy mower chasing after me.

For a young boy who admired his father, this was a great experience. I did not have to worry about the final results in the yard. I did not own the yard and no one expected me, as a four-year-old, to act like a professional landscaper. As the son of the homeowner, I was simply the beneficiary of this backyard space.

In those moments where we start to feel pride in our possessions, God often uses passages like Psalm 50 to remind us that we’re just getting to play in His yard. We don’t own any of the possessions around us – not even the toy mowers that we are responsible for maintaining. We are managers of money, possessions, talents and time that God has given us. But, we don’t own any of those things.

My Dad never needed me to help him with the yard. However, he let me join him in his work for a couple of reasons. As I followed my father’s footsteps through the yard, his work provided a point of intimacy for us. Even though the loud mower made talking difficult, we were regularly communicating. I would look to him for nods of approval and smiles of affirmation. He would look to me and make sure that I was always behind him – away from the dangers of the mower.

Beyond that, my Dad’s work in the yard allowed me to imitate him. Much of what I learned about yard maintenance was learned by seeing and remembering the patterns which my Dad used in his work.

In an amazing way, God has adopted us as His children and has invited us to join Him in His work. He doesn’t need us to accomplish the work. He doesn’t need “our” money or “our” resources. He never has to beg us for “our” things. Instead, He entrusts us with a few things that we can call our own and He asks us to use those things for two purposes:

1. Intimacy with Him

2. Opportunities to learn from the patterns of His work

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For more ideas on applying this passage, see “5 Financial Myths” from John Baker

For more speaking ideas on this topic, see this outline from Dave Ramsey’s Momentum curriculum.

For a related video, see "God's Pie."

Francis Chan speaks transparently about the struggles that came with the fame of a best selling book and regular speaking engagements.  In the end, he calls churches and church leaders to consider the benefits of simplicity.

This video is 31 minutes long, so this is not a typical blog post.  If you decide to watch this video, you won't leave this page in :45 seconds.  But, if you decide to hang around, I think you'll agree that - behind your time with God - this may be the most important 30 minute investment that you make today.

Simplicity is worth pursuing.  Generosity is worth the effort.  Especially in the church.

So, find a place to sit down and ask God to speak to you as you listen to Francis Chan speak.

Approximately 6,500 people who attend one of the three Crossroads Community Church locations in the Tri-State (Florence, Mason and Oakley) ate beans and rice during meals from March 24 through March 30. Event organizers distributed more than 13,000 "rice and bean starter kits" and provided simple menu recipes on a website to help participants embrace the challenge.

The experiment was conducted to “give people an empathy for how many impoverished families eat every day around the world and to give them an opportunity to invest outside of themselves,” according to a press release from the church.

Officials from Crossroads say 100 percent of the $377,036.06 event participants saved on food during the week was donated to one of three charities:

• $65,000 goes to Cincinnati Pools. This keeps 8 pools open on weekends, and also covers swim lessons and pool memberships for 375 kids.
• $150,000 goes to Strive's Preschool Promise. This is the seed money to get the program off the ground, and also provides between 20 and 25 scholarships for kids.
• $162,036.06 goes to Compassion International. This covers the gap for children whose sponsors are behind in their contributions.

A few people in the social media world have rightly noted that the bombing in Boston was the ultimate act of cowardice.  To sneak in among the innocent, drop a bomb and slip away to hide is a spineless act.  Those who side with terrorism should be embarrassed this morning.

Interestingly, this act of cowardice has prompted some to mention the courage that will be displayed as we seek the perpetrator of these crimes.  In a radio interview, one marathon-running-mom reminded the audience that although some athletes could out sprint a marathoner, almost none could outlast them.  She made the point that although this murderer may outsprint justice momentarily, we as a nation are ready for the marathon investigation; we will ultimately run them down.  We will work harder, run longer and pursue them with diligence until they are held accountable for their crimes.  That marathoning mom was the voice of the multitudes when she noted that we will show courage in these times as we stand up to and eventually defeat the person who plotted this act of evil.

As much as my heart agrees with those sentiments, I am reminded that my heart is not always a proper reflection of God’s heart.  And when I think through the ways of God, I am reminded that revenge is not a good measure of courage.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  I want justice.  I want vengeance for the eight-year-old boy who greeted his father just beyond the finish line and moments later was dead from the unexpected explosion.  I have an eight-year-old daughter and I can only imagine the grief of that child’s family today.  I want retribution for those who were verbally shouting their love and support for their friends at the end of the race…only to sustain life-altering injuries for their kind actions.

I want justice.

However, healing doesn’t come through vengeance.  In fact, true justice doesn’t come through our vengeance either.  It comes through God’s retribution.

With all of that said, we cannot define courage in these times as our determination to get the bad guys.  That’s not courage.  For the half of the population who chooses to fight rather than to take flight, getting the bad guys is simple instinct.

The thing that will really show courage right now is the willingness to follow God.  It takes incredible courage to believe in justice while praying for those who persecute us.  It takes remarkable courage to love our enemies rather than to foster hate.  It takes unearthly strength to pray, “Father, forgive them” with a pure heart.

In short, courage means imitating the generosity of God.

When Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, He gave us a reason for taking these illogical steps.  In Matthew 5, He says that we should imitate God’s generous love, “so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (v. 45).  In other words, He says that the world will recognize us as children of the Living God when we act like the Father.  They will recognize us – and Him – when they see our acts of love.  They will recognize us – and Him – when they see His generous nature on display.

Our gifts of money, time and prayer for the victims is incredibly important.  That type of generosity displays the heart of God.  But, according to Jesus, the thing that demands courage right now is our willingness to generously pray for – and love – our enemies.

Eventually, we will track down the perpetrator(s) of this crime.  We will see the face of someone bound in the grips of evil.  We will hear the story of their lives and how they came to this act of terror.  We will watch the crime investigation shows and get the inside scoop.  Those things are almost inevitable.

Here’s the real question.  Will the world see an outpouring of instinctual reactions from the Church or will they see amazing acts of courage from those who are imitating God’s generosity?     

I realized today that Pinterest is the world’s largest site of “that-looks-great-but-I’ll-never-actually-do-it” ideas.  Seriously, who takes the time to turn bar soap into liquid soap?  And how many people who are pinning these exercise techniques are really using them?

I went back and looked at some of my own Pinterest boards this morning and have to confess that I will never have a lighted stone pathway in my backyard.  Additionally, I will never combine 1 part rubbing alcohol and 3 parts water to make my own *reusable* ice pack.  I would much rather spend $2.99 at Walgreens for the non-Ziploc version.

As I was thinking about all of the good ideas that rarely get used, I started to wonder if generosity falls into that camp.  Is generosity – in its internet form – just another good idea to pin on a board?  It makes for pretty pictures and heart-warming stories…but, how many people talk about generosity without ever engaging in the practice of generosity?  How many people share “End Poverty Now” photos on their Facebook page without any real intention of contributing to the cause?  How many people will share Habitat for Humanity links without ever volunteering to pick up a hammer?  How many sermons are preached on generosity without any church follow-up?

Are we taking the sacrifice and servanthood elements out of generosity and replacing them with our improved social status?

Maybe we should rethink this.

Specifically – for those of us who are church leaders, promoting the ways of Jesus – we need to rethink this.  It has huge, long-term implications. 

Jesus did not have any problem talking about money or generosity.  In fact, He talked about this subject more than almost anything else He discussed.  However, Jesus did not stop at social rhetoric and He did not limit His generosity to those that deserved it.  Jesus practiced generosity…even toward His enemies.

On the way to the cross, Jesus turned the other cheek, gave the tunic off His back, went the “2^nd mile” and prayed for the forgiveness of His attackers.

At one point, Jesus even offered a reason for His insistence on generous living.  In Luke 6:35, He says that when we are generous toward others, “[our] reward will be great, and [we] will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”  In other words, He says that when we act generously, we are imitating the ways of God.  Through generosity, we start to look like the Father. 

It has been said that, “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”  That’s a great social status saying.  You may be tempted to post it to your church’s Twitter page.  But, it’s an irrelevant statement until we put feet and hands to those words.

So, here’s your call to action.  Do something generous today.

• Say yes to someone who asks for money or a favor.
• Go the extra mile to help your spouse.
• Plan a generosity emphasis at your church.
• Send a note of appreciation.
• Offer a business service for free.
• Take a meal to someone who is struggling.
• Mow your neighbor’s yard – the same neighbor who was rude to you recently.
• End poverty now.
• Extend genuine forgiveness to someone who has hurt you.
• Send an anonymous gift to a friend.
• Adopt a child.
• Start a 21 Day Giving Challenge

You never know who needs to see the reflection of God – from you – today.

Church health and community health are interconnected.  A church will never thrive if it isolates itself from the community and each community needs the loving service of active churches.  (Even the best governmental system cannot replace the work of the local church.)

There’s only one problem: Churches and communities are often wary of each other. 

Churches that reach out to the community are sure to encounter freeloaders.  They will inevitably feel frustration with individuals who simply want a handout.  On the other hand, communities are wary of churches because community members may feel that the churches are judgmental or cliquish.

So, how do we bridge the gap? 

Through all of the generosity assessments that we have conducted in churches, we have discovered a couple of common threads.  First, church members want to engage with their local community.  They get the connection between community health and church health.  Second, we have found that churches struggle to connect volunteers with local ministry opportunities.  They don’t have systems in place to connect willing volunteers with local needs.  So, here are 5 ideas to help bridge the gap:

That advice is true for both individuals and churches.  Additionally, when more churches are involved in the effort, more needs are identified and more volunteers are available to meet those needs.  For one example of this type cooperation, check out Transformation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi.  One weekend each spring, this organization brings churches and government agencies together to restore an area of the community.  They also maintain a database of community needs that volunteers can access.

And here’s a radical idea.  If you community does not already have something like this in place, connect with your city’s elected officials to see if your church can develop a system like this for the broader community.  Not only will this give your church a good name with the community leaders, it will also force strongly encourage your church to engage with community service opportunities.

The most successful local ministries tend to be scheduled, structured and focused.  When churches serve “as the need arises,” they rarely succeed.  And when each need is vastly different from the last, volunteers feel unequipped.

Therefore, it may be wise to collaborate with a few local non-profit groups who can help your church develop a schedule for service, which focuses on one particular area of ministry to the community.

Let’s be clear about something.  I am not encouraging you to pile one more responsibility on volunteers that are already overloaded with church responsibilities.  That’s the easy out for you.  But, more work for already strapped volunteers is not a good answer for your church.  So, identify people (or under-utilized deacons) who have a passion for this type of ministry and protect their time by making this area of ministry their primary (if not only) area of ministry for the church.

So, rather than proposing a new system of community engagement to your church, why don’t you spend a few weeks – or months – serving the community first?  Walk the walk up front and you’ll have a much better understanding of the needs.  Additionally, you’ll have credibility in your request.  If you’re a church staff member, why not talk to your staff about spending every Tuesday morning or each Thursday afternoon engaging in community service together?  Once people know you are living this out, they will be much more willing to listen to your ideas for engagement with the local community.

What have we left off?  Share your practices in the comments section below or let us know about churches that are doing this well.

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Want to go deeper on this issue?  Download the free ePaper “Becoming the Best Church for Your Community.”  

I’ve been following with interest the Supreme Court hearings addressing homosexual marriage.  I’ve also been following faith leaders’ reactions to these hearings...looking for insights to help me sort through my own feelings about the issues at hand.  In searching the web for Christian leaders’ insights, I ran across an older interview with Tim Keller at Columbia University.  The interviewer was pro-gay and was questioning Keller about the church’s stance on homosexuality.  In that dialogue Keller made a statement that really caught my attention:

“Jesus talks about greed ten times more than he talks about adultery.    You know when you are committing adultery but almost no one knows that they are greedy.  We are always comparing ourselves to other people...it’s a frog in the kettle kind of thing.  However, the fact of the matter is that the Bible is much harder on greed and materialism.  It’s a horrible sin, a terrible sin.”

Is this true?  A quick glance through the teaching of Jesus seems to confirm that statistic.  Jesus tells parables about a shrewd manager, a hoarding farmer, and the implications of giving to the poor (Matthew 25:31-46).  Conversely, he rarely tells stories about sexual sin and is even lauded for stepping in to exonerate a woman caught in the act of adultery.

That’s not to say that Jesus is dismissive of sexual sin.  He just doesn’t focus on it nearly as often as he does on the dangers of greed.

Taking a broader view, I did a quick word search on greed and found 35 passages dealing specifically with it.  As I reviewed them, I was struck by the seriousness of greed.  Some Scriptures I already knew and you probably know them too.  Here’s a familiar one.

"WATCH OUT!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."  Luke 12:15  (Note - Keller uses this verse to expound his “frog in the kettle” stance on greed.)  Jesus tells us to watch out and be on guard because we don’t really think we are greedy. 

But listen to these less familiar greed passages:

"What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you.  You desire but do not have so you kill.  You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.  You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may SPEND what you get on YOUR PLEASURES.  You ADULTEROUS people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?  Therefore anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."  (James 4:1-4)

Or what about this whopper from 2 Peter describing false teachers:

"Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.   With eyes full of adultery they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood!  They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness."

Or the brutal implications of greed found in Psalm 10:3

"For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord."  

Cursing and renouncing the Lord.  Enmity against God.  These are stern warnings on a sin that almost no one knows they are committing. 

God open our eyes. 

One other thing that struck me in my quick study on greed was that it does not fall far from this conversation about the Supreme Court and homosexual marriage.  Throughout the Bible, when  sexual immorality is mentioned, it is often mentioned in the same breath as greed.  These two forms of sin seem to go hand-in-hand throughout Scripture: 

"Put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:  sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."  (Colossians 3:5)

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."  (Ephesians 5:3-5)

And we know that one of the sins that brought the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was sexual immorality.  But, did you know that Ezekiel 16:49 connects this destruction to the sin of greed as well: 

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:  She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did detestable things before me."  

So, as the Supreme Court wrestles with the debate over gay marriage, I see the need to wrestle with another culturally destructive sin.  I need to wrestle with my own greed - a sin that is as equally destructive as sexual immorality.  And perhaps in our Western culture, it is even more dangerous since we rarely identify it in our own lives. 

I think this is a societal cancer that the broader faith community needs to tackle as well.  Think about this reality for a moment.  As we stand up for truth regarding sexual issues, as we make our voices heard to protect marriage, are we arrogant, overfed and unconcerned because of our greed?   

Are we tickled tithers - giving God 10% of our income, happy about it and still greedy Christian materialists? 

Will we stand before Christ one day and boast of the “rightness” of our views on sexual issues only to hear we had a HUGE blind spot - that we spent too much on our own pleasures while neglecting the poor and needy right beside us? 

Back to Keller for a moment for a closing word of hope. 

I once heard him tell a group of Christian givers how to battle greed once we become aware of it.  He said it’s not through the will (I will purpose to give more).  It’s not through emotion (look at all the poor people who need me to give).  It’s not through logic (what’s the most effective way to give). 

Here’s the way to break the hold of greed and idolatry in your life:  the Gospel of grace.  As we come to the place where we begin to see how much Christ loved us and gave for us (2 Corinthians 8:9) that will melt our hearts, cause us to love him and allow us to open our hands to heal the world with our giving. 

God help us fight the right battles; help us to address them proportionately.  God help us to fight the battle of greed with the Gospel of grace.  And God help us to walk humbly in this world while we do those things. 

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You can view Tim Keller’s 6 minute interview on Christianity Today’s daughter site – Out of Ur.  Additionally, you may want to read 5 Ways to Fight Greed in Your Church on the GenerousChurch blog. 

What would Good Friday look like if Jesus had decided to take care of Himself – for just this one day? 

If you are over the age of about 20, you have probably seen the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Let me rephrase that.  If you’re over 20, you’ve probably seen the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” a ridiculous number of times.  We know the story.  We’ve wept with George Bailey and smiled as Clarence got his wings.

Spoiler alert!  Just in case you have not memorized the movie yet, let me remind you of the plot.  George Bailey has consistently given up his dreams in order to help others.  But, after a series of hardships (including the loss of $8000 from his bank), he’s ready to commit suicide…on Christmas Eve.  His friends pray for him and ultimately, the guardian angel Clarence comes to show George what the world would have been like without his life of generosity.

For a short time, fictional-George gets to see fictional-life without his fictional-generosity.  But, what if we could see this in the midst of reality?  What if we could see the world minus Jesus’s Good Friday generosity?

As I have thought about that question, a few obvious things spiritual have come to mind:

• Salvation would still be a dream – something espoused by the prophets
• Creation would be groaning…with no hope
• Sin would not be hindered…it would reign unchecked (scary, considering how devastating it is after its power has been broken)
• The Holy Spirit would only visit by appointment, not residing or abiding, but only visiting
• The kingdom of God would not be near
• We would still need prophets to tell us the truth and teachers to show us the way
• There would be no churches and the Jews would still be sacrificing animals for the sins of their people
• An eye for an eye would still trump forgiveness and grace

I would guess that you could add to that list.  If Jesus had been selfish – for just a few hours one Friday – the spiritual implications would have been huge.

In addition to the spiritual implications, the historical ramifications would have been large as well:

• The calendar would not consist of BC and AD references
• Pontius Pilate and so many others would have been the historical equivalent of me (unknown)
• Nero’s reputation would be much kinder and gentler
• The world would have missed out on much of the genius of Dante, Michelangelo, Mozart
• Many more people would have died brutal, isolated deaths during the plagues
• Formal education would have faced worldwide setbacks
• It’s doubtful that the United States would have been founded on democratic principles growing out of a desire for religious freedom
• Mother Teresa would have simply been Agnes – a girl with a sensitive heart
• Billions of charitable dollars would be missing from the economy to care for everyday necessities such as food, shelter and clothing

All of those things were hinging on the decisions of Jesus on Good Friday.  Each historical and spiritual issue was riding on the generosity of Jesus.  And if He wanted to wreck the whole thing, all he had to do was say, “I’ve worked really hard to take care of others.  So, today is my day.  Today, I choose to take care of me – and to enjoy the fruits of this world.  But, just for today.”

Good Friday matters. 

And apparently generosity does as well.

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To read more about Good Friday, see Eugene Cho’s article, “How Could it Possibly Be a Good Friday?”  and for a slightly different perspective on Good Friday worship, see Skye Jethani’s article “Making Good Friday Better.”

Lesslie Newbigin - the 20th century British missiologist - once said, "The church is supposed to be a foretaste of the full on reign of God."  In other words, when the church is living out its mission, it is the kingdom of God made visible; it is "God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven."

Brian Hopkins of Journey Church in Bozeman, Montana uses that Newbigin quote to dive into a sermon called "The Genius of Generosity #1: Generosity Works!"  Hopkins builds off of Chip Ingram's book, The Genius of Generosity to show how the church can bring heaven to life here on earth.

Check out this great message and if you want to know more about getting The Genius of Generosity books for your church, download the free preview tools for the study, read reviews and see pricing at the Genius section of our website.

Your money just called and asked for directions.  It is trying to get to your heart.

Okay, cheesy jokes aside, this is a serious issue.  Your money is not neutral.

There is an argument in Christian circles that says money is amoral, or neutral.  Some people use the illustration of a brick to demonstrate this.  They say, “You can use a brick to smash a window, or you can use a brick to build a house.  It’s up to you how the object is used, but by itself, the object is neutral.  It is amoral.”

Sounds good right?

But, there are a few aspects to this argument that should be considered further.  Maybe the most important facet of this discussion is that Jesus personified money as a god.  He indicated that we can choose to serve the Living God or we can choose to serve Mammon – the god of money.  Have you ever heard anyone say “Baal is amoral” or “Buddha is spiritually neutral?”  Sounds kind of silly in that context, doesn’t it? Jesus indicated that money is akin to Buddha…and Buddha is not spiritually neutral.

In the book Kingdom Matrix, Jeff Christopherson points out that there is no such thing as spiritually neutral.  Christopherson says;

I knew of the Kingdom of God and I knew that on occasion I had participated in it…I [also] knew of the Kingdom of Darkness – and yes, even as a pastor – I knew that at times I had participated in its advancement as well. 

My two extremes were well established in my instinctive understanding – the selfless realm of the Kingdom of God and the self-absorbed territory of the Dominion of Darkness.  But in between these two Kingdom extremes existed a third, mythical kingdom – a much more ordinary realm.  This was a grey territory that contained the bulk of my time and energy.  Not good, not evil…just life.  “The Kingdom of the Spiritually Insignificant” may have been the designation I would have given.

The problem with the Third Kingdom is that it doesn’t actually exist.   

Christopherson notes that at any point in time we are either advancing the Kingdom of God or we are advancing the kingdom of darkness.  There is no middle kingdom.  There is no such thing as spiritually neutral.

When Jesus tells the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16), He describes people of the two (actual) kingdoms.  The man under the Dominion of Darkness is well aquainted with the ways of Mammon and the person in the Kingdom of God seems to be blindly unaware of Mammon’s ways.  So, Jesus is teaching His followers how to undermine the god of money.  He tells them to use Mammon against itself so that you can win friends for eternity.  In other words, generously give it away to make friends whom you can disciple.

So, how does this play out in the real world?  Are people who have money evil?  Does God want us to give everything away?  Should we be saving to leave a financial inheritance for our children?

To be honest, I’m still wrestling through this.  Maybe you can help me with your comments.  But, here’s my thought.  Jesus does not want us to be unwise with the possessions He entrusts to us.  So, our job is to figure out what He would classify as “unwise.” 

I think for most of us in the U.S., Jesus would address us in a fashion very similar to that of the Rich Young Ruler.  I think He would tell us that if we truly want to experience the kingdom of God, we should stay away from the (thorns of) deceitfulness of wealth (Matthew 13:22).  And I think He would advise us to handle money as if it is a local god…a spiritual threat.

There are, after all, plenty of people around us who are worshiping at its altar – many of them unaware.

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To read more on the idea that money is not neutral, see Craig Ford’s article, “Christians, Is Money Really Neutral and Amoral?” or “God and Money” as Charles Whitehead reflects on Richard Foster’s book Money, Sex and Power.

One of the major reasons churches connect with GenerousChurch is to find resources for a Generosity Campaign.  Sometimes these efforts are directed toward a small group of individuals and sometimes they are church-wide campaigns.  But, each time the goal is to unleash a wave of generous disciples within the church.  And the end result is often that the overall tide of giving in the church goes up (not simply a short term wave of increased giving) and the heart of the church turns out toward the community (increased external giving and volunteer services).

Rather than simply telling you what we think about Generosity Campaigns, we want to use this blog to resource you with examples of how a Generosity Campaign works and ways that you can explore Generosity Campaigns on your own.

Idlewild Baptist Church, Florida

Christ Community Church, Illinois

Grace Presbyterian Church, Texas

First Immanuel Lutheran, Wisconsin

Journey Church, Montana

Faith Assembly, South Carolina

Community Presbyterian, California

Christ Church, Tennessee

Generosity Devotional by Gordon MacDonald

The Genius of Generosity by Chip Ingram

Plastic Donuts by Jeff Anderson

Treasure Principal by Randy Alcorn

Your Community

Live 58 (Fast. Forward. The End of Poverty.)

World Vision

Habitat for Humanity

The Salvation Army

Your Church’s Denominational Missions Agency

Whittier Area Community Church, California (Malawi)

Community Bible Church, Texas (Neighboring Church)

Frazier United Methodist Church, Alabama (Ethiopia)

Fusion, UK (Jesus Banquet)

7 Attributes of a Generous Church

Recognizing and Imitating the Generosity of God

How to Preach on Money, Stewardship and Generosity

The UNcampaign

What would you add to this list?

What would you say if someone asked you that question and wanted a serious answer?  “Can a generous church change the world?”

It is tempting to answer that question by speaking out of experience.  Maybe you have seen the results of generosity in your church.  Maybe you have seen a life changed as the result of someone else’s kindness.  For example, maybe you have witnessed a family that adopted children in order to spare them from a life of neglect or hardship.  If you haven’t seen the miraculous nature of generosity through adoption, you should watch this six-minute video called “I Like Adoption.”  (Warning: this video may rock your world.)

For those children who have been “redeemed” through adoption, it’s true that generosity changed their world.

The question remains, can a generous church change the world?  Can one group of people alter the course of the world through generosity?

Do you want to know the truth?  Here it is: No.  A generous church cannot change the world.  Even the most radical acts of generosity – like one church giving away all of their offerings for an entire year – have limited reach.  That church impacted numerous lives, but most of the world has never even heard their story.  They altered the worlds of a few individuals, but they did not change the world for everyone.

The truth is that only God can change the world.

With that clarification…here’s the remarkable news.  Many times God responds to huge, world-altering prayers with tiny answers.  When the entire world was faltering under the weight of sinful behavior, God answered their prayers with an infant.  He answered their prayers through a child…born to unassuming teenage parents in the middle of nowhere.  And although God’s answer started out as a 7 pound, unable-to-talk-or-care-for-Himself-infant, Jesus changed the world.

Jesus later noted that this is how God works.  He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Matthew 13:33).  At another time, He said that the work of God is like a tiny seed that is planted in the ground.  Eventually that miniscule seed flourishes to become a giant tree.

When God changes the world, He starts small and cultivates His plan until it affects all of humanity.

Therefore, maybe one generous church can change the world.  On their own, this is impossible, but if they are grafted into the vine of God – if they are working under the power of God’s Kingdom – maybe one generous church can change the world.

This whole idea reminds me of another church that displayed radical generosity.  According to the book of Acts, soon after Pentecost, the church in Jerusalem was known for selling their possessions and giving at anyone as they had need.  That church – and their generosity – is still making a sizable dent in the history of the world.

So, what about you?  Do you think a generous church can really change the world?

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To read more about the churches that are changing the world through generosity, check out “Francis Chan on the Fuel for a Generous Church.”

“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus” (Luke 16:14)

It’s no secret.  The Pharisees don’t have the best reputation.  Jesus gave them a fairly substantial black eye.  Actually, to be more accurate, Jesus exposed their dirty laundry. 

Nobody in the Christian world aspires to be a Pharisee.  In an “us vs. them” world, the Pharisees are “them.”

But as much as we speak against the Pharisees and their legalistic tendencies, we have a problem.  Some passages of Scripture indicate that we are closely related to them.  Sometimes we identify with them even more than we identify with Jesus.

Luke 16 is a case in point.  Jesus has just finished telling a parable about the dangers of money.  Then, in verse 13, He says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”  In other words, He tells everyone listening that Money is an idol.  It is a god.

Verse 14 says that the Pharisees loved money.  In fact, that verse says that they thought Jesus was out of His mind for refusing to join their money-loving-group.  They sneered at Him for these remarks…isn’t that a telling statement?

When Luke says that the Pharisees loved money, he moves me dangerously close to the Pharisee camp.  This issue is a little too close to home for my comfort!  I tend to say things like “I appreciate money” or “it must be nice to have money (relatively speaking).”  But, in truth, every one of us who is pursuing the American Dream feels a pull toward Money.  We “need” money to accommodate our lifestyles.  We desire money to fulfill our dreams.

Let’s be honest.  When we stop dancing around this issue…the truth is that most of us love money.

We are the Pharisees.  We love the benefits of wealth.  So, if we want to be like the Pharisees, we simply need to sit back and enjoy the comforts of our Money.  But, if we want to be like Jesus, maybe we should rethink our money strategy.

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

Everywhere that Jesus went, He gave.  He did not worry about accumulating wealth on earth.  He had seen the riches of eternity and knew that Mammon was a poor substitute for true riches.  He did not worry about what He would eat or what He would wear, because the Father knew of those needs.  Jesus trusted the Father as His Provider. 

Since He didn’t have those worries, He gave.  He gave from His material possessions, He gave from His time, He gave from His wisdom and He gave as He served the hurting.  He was always giving. 

More than that, He empowered others to give. 

• When He sent the seventy-two disciples out… He gave them the authority and power they needed to heal the sick and share the good news of the Kingdom of God. 
• When He called Peter to step on top of the water… He was empowering him to give faith to the rest of the world. 
• When He entrusted believers with His message… He afforded us the opportunity to give the hope of God to our friends, family members and neighbors.

He not only used His material possessions to win friends for eternity, but He also regularly connected His followers with opportunities to give.

So, how can we imitate Jesus?  Live a life of generosity and regularly connect others with opportunities to give.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be like Jesus…I’m tired acting like a Pharisee. 

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Church leaders, have you ever realized that you may be subtly encouraging your people to worship a different god – Mammon?  What is one you can take to prevent Mammon worship in your church?

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One resource for connecting people to international generosity opportunities can be found at http://www.live58.org/projects.

To learn about living generously in your neighborhood – and helping others to do the same, see Joshua Becker’s article, “10 Simple Ways to Become a More Generous Person.”

Note: Today’s blog post is from Jeff Christopherson.  Jeff is a church planter (and church planting recruiter) who starts new communities of faith designed to reach and disciple non-religious people.  This post is an excerpt from his book Kingdom Matrix.

I was invited to preach at a missions conference at a very large church with many, many resources.  I accepted this invitation, in all transparency, with the hopes that it would generate a partnership for one of our new church planters. 

I was picked up at the airport by the senior pastor in a leather wrapped white Escalade.  He was a middle-aged gentleman in his later 50’s who was indeed very gracious and warm.  He ushered me into their brand new church building.  It was jaw-droppingly beautiful.  Everything was so tastefully decorated and fresh.  Leather foyer seating, subtle flat-screen monitors positioned unobtrusively, wide airy gathering spaces, a slopping balcony that wrapped around and hugged a very large, yet intimate worship center.  It was impressive and very obvious that much time and care was taken in the planning of these facilities.  

The missions conference was a one evening affair.  There were four missionaries sharing.  I was grateful to be given the preaching spot.  The congregation began to straggle in – slower than I expected.  When the music started, the beautiful auditorium looked about one-third full.  One faithful leader shared after another, each trying with varying degrees of success to convey the realities of their context to an audience that couldn’t really imagine the reality of their situations.

Soon, my spot on the agenda was at hand.  I really do not remember what my message was about, but as is my habit, I shared a number of what some people call “God stories.”  Stories of steps of faith originating from hearing God’s revelation, seeing no means of physical provision, and seeing God become the sole source of provision.

And then it was over.  We were warmly thanked, driven back to the airport and within a few hours, we were all back in our homes.  “Rats!” I thought to myself.  “I never even had an opportunity to talk about the possibilities of working together.  Too bad.”

A few weeks later, I received a phone call from that senior pastor inviting me to come and preach again.  I was excited.  It was obvious to me what God was doing.  They must have prayerfully thought about all that they had heard and had sensed God’s leadership to begin to explore a partnership with Toronto – North America’s most unchurched English-speaking city.  Yes!

Soon, I found myself behind the pulpit of a packed auditorium.  This wasn’t a missions meeting.  This was real church with all the bells and whistles.  If you could not preach here, give it up.  Everything led to the preaching moment with brilliance.  Once again, I do not remember the subject of my message, but it must have been highly illustrated with more “God stories.” 

After some kind formalities with church leaders, I find myself in the well-appointed inner-office of the senior pastor.  This is where I’d hoped we would get down to the brass tacks of a church planting partnership.  Perfect.

The pastor looked at me and said, “Jeff, you know all of those God stories that you shared these past two times?” “Yes,” I said.  He looked down and said, “I have been a pastor for all of my adult life and I do not have one story like you told.  Why do you suppose that is?”

This is not where U was expecting the conversation would go.  Nor was this where I wanted the conversation to go.  Any answer that I could give, any truth that I could tell, would not likely further this partnership process.  My mind was searching for a soft, gracious answer that could redeem this situation and keep things moving forward.  I couldn’t find one.

“Pastor,” I hesitantly replied.

“You do not need God stories.  You’ve got all of this,” I said, gesturing to the wealth of amenities that surrounded us.  “You have highly skilled and intelligent leaders.  You can leverage all of this in a good business plan and continue to grow this church by ten percent per year.  The only time that you need God stories is when you need God.”

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Do you have a God story you are willing to share?  Share it with us at http://www.generouschurch.com/learning-community#Inspire/

How do you define success when it comes to the generosity practices of your church?  If you are like many churches, you may answer, “We don’t.  We just teach it and hope that the congregation lives out what they’ve been taught.”

How well does that work?

When it comes to the generosity practices of our churches, we need barometers for success.  We need to know when we are doing well in this area and we need to know when we are falling behind.

When you were a child, did your church have a wooden plaque hanging on the wall to report attendance numbers and offering receipts?  Many churches are moving away from that old reporting method – partially because the plaques were an eye sore and also because attendance and offerings are no longer the gold standards for church health.

I would not advise you to create a generosity plaque, but you do need some way to define generosity success for your church.

In his book, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, Andy Stanley says that one of the first things effective ministries do is “Clarify the Win.”  In other words, they come up with a simple, specific phrase to describe success.

If you want your church to focus on generosity for the purpose of imitating God (or to help them grow as disciples), you could clarify success in these terms:

• We want people to know that God is radically generous and we want to equip them for lifestyle generosity rather than transactional generosity.

If you want to define generosity success through the corporate lens of your church, you may define the win in these terms:

• We want the giving of our church to go up (increase giving in the church) as we teach generosity and to go out (increased external ministries to the community) as we model God’s ways.

If you want to define generosity success through a holistic lens, you may say:

• We want our people to resonate with God’s radical generosity and reflect that through their service to the world.

While these statements are simply jump-starters, they should help you to see that as you define generosity success in your context, you want to define it with a simple, specific phrase.  You want a phrase that not only sounds good to the leadership of your church, but also one that resonates with the people in your pews (both members and visitors).  You want a definition of success that motivates people and feels attainable. 

Then, you have to communicate it.  Regularly.

There is a great story of how this works in the gospels.  Throughout His time with the disciples, Jesus was always teaching them about the importance of generosity.  He regularly gave.  He offered freedom to those enslaved by demonic spirits and gave healing to the physically ill.  He gave opportunities to the social outcasts – eating with the tax collectors and defending the prostitutes. 

Throughout His ministry, Jesus regularly emphasized the importance of generosity.

Then, in Luke 21, He took the disciples to the temple and asked them to observe the people who were worshipping God with their offerings.  In that context, He pointed out a poor widow who drop a couple of coins in the treasury and then He made the comment, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Through this action, Jesus helped the disciples define generosity success.  He communicated success with a visual reminder and two simple follow up sentences.

So, as you set out to define generosity success at your church, remember that bigger is not necessarily better.  God-honoring is better.

Be intentional.  Clarify the win.  Define success through specific, God-honoring measurements.  Then, use sermons, videos, stories and regular reminders to show your people how to win in this area of their lives.  

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To learn more about “Clarifying the Win,” see Andy Stanley’s article with that title.