The worship of God is an activity so awe-inspiring that it ought to make us tremble. Think of it: earthbound people, filthy with sin yet wrapped by faith in the white robes of righteousness, actually breaking through into the presence of the King of heaven! Heaven actually breaking through into earth!

Such is an activity that ought to engage our whole persons—heart, emotion, mind, voice, and will. And such is an activity that ought not to be engaged without seriousness of purpose, involving intent, planning, and much preparation.

We at Christ Church do not merely want to worship the King of Heaven and Earth in a way that is comfortable to us. Nor do we want to worship the King of Heaven and Earth in a way that is casual and thoughtless. Rather, we want to worship in a way that honors His glory and preeminence, that celebrates his work on earth, and that shows the deep love we have for Him because of His love and grace to us.

In short, we want to worship in a way that is shaped by the Bible, in a way reflective of its theology. In what follows, we “think out loud” about that theology and its impact on worship. And we offer some conclusions that will shape the way we hope to worship the Lord.

BIBLICALLY, WORSHIP IS GLORIOUS

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

We’re tempted merely to say: “Enough said!” Such a picture of worship gets at the heart of it all: a redeemed and washed people “standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” That we do this glorious worship on earth, with limited earthbound vision, must not change the simple truth that we worship Him for who he is and what he has done. He is the audience!

BIBLICALLY, WORSHIP IS OFFERED BY A DIVERSE YET UNIFIED PEOPLE

When the Apostle John gazes into heaven he is struck by the universality of the fame of God. Beyond the vast, sprawling expanse of the heavenly host, the first thing that strikes John is the diversity of the worshippers. The ethnic mix and the cultural array before the throne must have been almost unfathomable to him, who in his younger years saw all of life in black and white (Jew and Gentile). But the scope and splendor of their diversity is wrapped in one single bold and brilliant fabric, the mix of cultures has found one constant, the diverse people one shared identity: they all wear white robes. St. Paul put it this way: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-28) This is immediate to us: we diverse people share a common identity: we have sinned but have been redeemed; we have rebelled and are forgiven; we stand before the throne of the Holy God blameless in the righteousness of Christ.

BIBLICALLY, WORSHIP IS MISSIONAL

This diverse and yet unified people also have one glorious mission: to worship the God of glory! We like what John Piper said:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

At Christ Church we view worship as our ultimate and highest calling. And we see corporate worship each Sunday as the time and place where we should most fully experience the reconciliation of the races, the redemption of Jesus, the communion of the saints, and, most importantly the presence of the glory of God. C.S. Lewis called corporate worship is a “thin place” where God’s ultimate reality breaks into our world. Hear John Piper again:

“Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God…But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish…Missions begins and ends in worship.”

These stirring words have practical implications. First of all, worship must be God-centered: we hear from Him, and respond back to Him in prayer, song, gifts, and vows. Second, worship involves the heart, and thus reflects our deepest emotions; not merely an academic enterprise, it embraces our whole being. We should not fear the freedom to represent a wide spectrum of responses to God’s grace and love. Third, we acknowledge that although worship is an activity of the redeemed, we pray that our worship will impact non-Christians who will be present at our worship services. We acknowledge that if they are not in Christ, they themselves do not actively worship in Spirit and in truth. But, in love, we must take care that what we say and do is intelligible to all, aware that our faith uses an internal “language” (verbal, liturgical, and musical/cultural) that can become an obstacle to understanding. If our worship is made to be lovingly understandable, “he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his own heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you’.” (I Cor 14:24-25)

BIBLICALLY, WORSHIP IS CENTRAL TO LIFE

At Christ Church we have a passion for worship. Our corporate worship each Sunday is the heartbeat of our life together. Our liturgy, music, preaching, and voices must blend in ways that reflect the heavenly and biblical, the beautiful and the holy, and should be honest and indigenous to this city and its culture. We have no more compelling or useful or powerful or gentle vision to offer Jacksonville or the world than the same beautiful Glory we love.

But worship does not end with the corporate gathering of the church. We long to see our families worship God together in their homes. We pray to see young lives in the inner city get a glimpse of God’s glory through us. We want to see our small groups sing and pray to the glory of God. We want to sing music—and write music and paint and sculpt—in ways that reflect the beauty of God and his world. In fact, we want all of our worship to rise out of hearts set on fire with a passion for God’s glory and with a delight to be in His beautiful presence. We like the way Eugene Peterson says it:

“In worship God gathers his people to himself as the center: ‘The LORD Reigns!’ ” Worship is meeting God at the center so that our lives are centered in God and not lived eccentrically. We worship so that we live in response to and from this center, the Living God. Failure to worship consigns us to a life of spasms and jerks, at the mercy of every advertisement, every seduction, every siren. Without worship we live manipulated and manipulating lives. We move either in frightened panic or deluded lethargy as we are, in turn, alarmed by specters and soothed by placebos. If there is no center, there is no circumference. People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustaining purpose.”

BIBLICALLY, WORSHIP IS POWERFUL

One of our most basic convictions is that if you believe the announcement of grace, you’ll sing. You’ll also pray and listen to God’s Word and eat at Christ’s sacramental table. In other words, a community of grace is compelled to worship in response to God’s being and works. Some think that political action will change the world; others are sure that social action will transform the city. We believe that worship changes (transforms) people, and changed people transform homes and neighborhoods and offices, and eventually cities and beyond.

We dream of seeing individuals, families and our city being transformed by passionate worship: entering into a personal-intimate relationship with their Father through prayer, meditating on His Word, “getting into His promises”, cherishing the greatness of Jesus Christ, and practicing face-to-face gospel community. Transformed individuals then create families that are learning to repent of the way they have served and worshiped idols and who are now learning to worship and serve the true God through family worship, corporate worship, and the “liturgies” of service and mercy and hospitality. Transformed families change churches by bringing a passion for the glory of God to corporate worship and witness and thus infect the entire congregation with their passion for God. Transformed churches (who have as their chief end the “glory of God” and “enjoying Him forever”) impact the city by injecting into it an “alternative city”—what St. Augustine called the City of God—that shows a different heart motive and seeks a different glory. Christ calls it “the kingdom of God”, his new regime; it is a “taste” of a whole new way of being human.

Core Values for the Worship Leadership Team

Based on these theological principles, the following core values will shape the way our worship leadership team will labor and serve (including pastors, instrumentalists, vocalists, and IT and A-V support staff).

Gospel-Driven
The gospel (the big good news that God is reconciling all things to himself by grace through the death and resurrection of Christ) must always be at the center of all of our work and relationships. We must worship out of the joy of the gospel, work together in the forgiving grace, patience, trust, and truth-telling of the gospel, and build each other up in the truth of the gospel. We don’t bring worship merely out of a sense of duty. We certainly don’t bring worship out of a sense of artistic pride. If we lose the gospel in our relationships—with God, with ourselves, with each other as servant-leaders, and with the congregation—we lose everything.

Ancient/Future
The Lord’s church is old; it has worshipped Him since the very beginning of the world (Gen 4:26). But the Lord’s church is always emerging, raising up new worshippers to love and serve him in the generations to come. It is critical that the worship of God’s people recognize this ancient-future character of God’s redemptive work. God has a history with us, one that is ancient and thus one that tracks his faithfulness through centuries of worshippers. But God speaks a redemptive Word to this world, right now, saying something meaningful and lasting to this and future generations. At Christ Church, we desire to worship God in ways that reflect this dynamic. This will be evidenced in music selection that uses the best from every age. We will love and cherish the God-centered psalms and hymns and the old creeds, but we will also embrace the best of music written in this and recent generations and in a variety of cultures, music that fuses praise with prayers, songs with confessions of sin, chants with creeds. An ancient-future commitment will thus be evident in the structure, liturgy, and atmosphere of our services, as we work to craft an experience of worship that unites all components around the themes of the gospel, not merely work through a pre-planned liturgy.

Creative
It is our desire to worship creatively, so that the worship of this congregation is offered as a gift to God who created us in his image. We desire do so authentically, so that the worship rises up from our people; we want to create the sounds and play (if not write or arrange) music ourselves, using our own instrumental and vocal gifts. This will require that we identify, help train, and unleash such musical gifts for this and future generations of worshippers.

Team-Led
The gospel creates a team of brothers and sisters who work together for the glory of God. We want to build teams of musicians who work together, practice together, and grow together as individuals and as musicians. We want this to be a collaborative effort, with the diversity of gifts and passions coming together to create beautiful and powerful worship. We want this to be an effort of selflessness and humility, where all praise is directed to the God who has given us life and a new song to sing.

Congregational
The gospel builds community; we are a spiritual family called to live out an alternative kingdom. This means that our music and liturgy ought to engage the entire congregation in worship. Sadly, sometimes music divides a congregation into “camps”; we want our music to lead our congregation to unity as we embrace the very presence of the King among us. While we may employ a choir, praise team, solo voices and instruments, and while we may sing music from all generations, we will always focus on leading the whole congregation to worship. A word on leadership is important here. In many churches, the congregation merely “observes” the real action that takes place up front where “worship leaders”—pastors, choirs, musicians—lead the service, “directing” the congregation in its responses. In the approach to worship we wish to cultivate, the congregation is not directed but led humbly into His presence. “Worship leaders” give way to “lead worshippers” whose face, voice, prayers and even tears expose their own hearts and draw the congregation into the worship of God. The servants will diminish before the eyes of the people so that the Living Word himself will be exalted in our presence.

Theologically Articulate
The gospel is the truth of God. Worship must reflect this; it must be theologically articulate. Whether songs are simple or complex, old or new, they must be Biblically true. Many familiar songs and hymns (old and new), sadly, are not. Many are purely sentimental in their text and artistically sloppy; others are purely individualistic, and thus do not reflect the communal nature of covenant life in Christ. Still others embrace inaccurate understandings of God and his ways. Whether we use ancient lyrics or songs written by our own people, we want our worship to reflect the truth of God revealed in the scriptures.

Four Key Elements of a Vision for Worship at Christ Church

Out of Revelation’s glorious vision for worship as a “thin place” where heaven and earth converge, and out of the values just identified that will shape how the worship team will develop our worship ministry, we are now able to affirm the following 4 key elements that will give shape to the worship of Christ Church.

Missional
Christ Church is on a mission, first and foremost, to be a worshipping community—bringing to the Triune God the praise and adoration which is rightfully and joyfully his. We want the worship services of this church to be so rich, welcoming and beautiful that believers will be encouraged to say, “Now this is what I need, and this is what my non-Christian friends need to hear and experience!” Christians who share their faith with friends must be confident when they bring them to church that believer and unbeliever alike will hear the gospel in a challenging, yet welcoming atmosphere. We want our love to be genuine, our language (including our musical language) to be understandable, and our message to be clear. Missional worship is the most critical event in the ministry of the church.

Indigenous
We want to bring God worship that is rooted in the eternal, and yet is culturally indigenous to this time and place. This means several things. While Biblical integrity in the texts we sing is our guiding principle, we will value a unique blend of music that includes sounds and rhythms from acoustic to classical, from the ancient, transcendent and mysterious to the contemporary Christian, from far away cultures to those of 21st century America, because all these sounds and rhythms pulse through the cultures of Jacksonville and Christ Church. The rich psalms and hymns of the historic Christian church will be cherished as the anchors of our praise, but they will be supplemented by other music, and may be creatively arranged to communicate in the musical language of today and for the church of tomorrow.

Reformed
As Christians we are part of a catholic (i.e. universal) church. We aim to represent the ancient-future communion of the saints through the use of ancient and modern liturgies, and songs and creeds that represent a faith that is world-wide and stretches through all generations. Yet we cherish our unique heritage as Reformed believers, a heritage that grounds us in a deep understanding of the redemptive storyline of Scripture, a gospel marked by grace, an understanding of redemption as cosmic and transformational, and of life as a Kingdom/covenant enterprise. Our worship will reflect this confessional framework.

Excellent
Worship demands excellence. This is true for mission-critical reasons, and because our God deserves the best of our gifts. Applied to worship, a commitment to communal excellence reflects genuine love, honest respect, and a spirit of grace shown to one another and those we seek to bring into our fellowship. A commitment to theological excellence puts God as the focus of our worship, and stands on His Word (rather than felt-needs of people) as that which guides and shapes it. A commitment to musical excellence frees us from slavish obeisance to the style du jour (whether purely traditional or driven by the latest CDs). And a commitment to artistic excellence suggests that our music should be authentic and creative, an offering to the Lord from a whole people that makes use of the many gifted musicians in our church to create our own unique sound, the best we can offer. We believe that such excellence is attractive. We pray that Christ Church will lead the way in creative, God-centered, grace-soaked worship in our city, and that the quality and passion of our worship will draw many to know our God.

In the Old Testament, worship was carefully prescribed. The sacrifices were specifically defined, carefully timed, and punctuated with sufficient history as to frighten any who would take them lightly. The death of Aaron’s priestly sons because they offered “unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command” (Lev 10:1) makes the point clearly. The annual festivals of Israel, which Christ Church has studied before and which we will review this year during the annual redemption calendar, make another point. That point is that all of Israel’s worship pointed forward to, and found its meaning in, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus didn’t just validate Jewish feasts by attending them or keeping them. Jesus gave the feasts their meaning. In the Hebrew language, the feasts were “miqra qodesh”—“rehearsals” of the coming Messiah. The point of all of them was that Messiah Jesus was unique, the focal point of redemptive history. He was the light that cast the shadows and forms back through history to the ancient people. Once he came, the festivals lose their meaning. We study them to learn of him.

Through the centuries, there has been an interesting tweak on these things. A major strain in Christian worship has been occasional ceremonies that “re-enact” moments in Christ’s life. Who could be against such things? After all, they celebrate Christ, right?

Such “re-enactment” practices have been so common that all have become accustomed to:

• Palm Sunday re-enactments of the entry into the city of Jerusalem (either in the ancient city itself, or replicated elsewhere, or echoed more modestly by children waving palm branches in our morning services – usually with no clue of the meaning of what they do)

• Maundy Thursday re-enactments of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet

• Good Friday re-enactments of the crucifixion (“stations of the cross” physically enacted in some places, artistically celebrated in others; in Latin America and the Philippines, actual crucifixions of volunteer devotees; parading a life-sized crucifix “giving something up” for Lent, a form of self-denial in honor of his

• Easter sunrise services, attempting to re-enact what cannot actually be done by (at least) being up at dawn

• The Lord’s Supper understood as a “re-sacrificing” of Christ, the meal thus explained as a re-enactment of his death

While the history of these practices is long and liturgically rich, such re-enactments can easily confuse God’s people and become theological distortions. The simple reason is that the redemptive activities of Jesus the Messiah are unique, once-and-for-all. They cannot be copied with any redemptive value. Trying to do so wanders, inevitably, into superstition – the belief that mimicking what he did will somehow benefit us today. Ultimately, faith is not necessary for mimicry.

Palm Sunday, for example, is often misunderstood to be a ‘triumphal’ and victorious celebration. Yet it is often forgotten that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was misunderstood by the crowd. The king who came did so for the explicit purpose of submitting to examinations by those charged with testing the Passover lamb. The king who entered his own city would be crucified days later to the demands of a mob that had just heralded him. And the kingdom of which he preached would not deliver Israel from the Romans by force, but would deliver from sin and death only by the death of the king.

I encourage you to reflect, these holy days, on what is unique about Christ. Meditate on the irreducibly unique events in his life and ministry. Worship him precisely because you cannot copy him, cannot possibly know how he felt or really know what he went through. Worship him because stands alone, unique as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

John

Whatever expectations were, the experience was a delight to all. And now…we breathe.

Everyone who was involved was tired even before the opening night performance. I was writing in May, Mo, Temple and I met in June, there was Palmer Home in July, and we held auditions in August. September saw the beginning of two weekly rehearsals, plus Saturday dance rehearsals. Fold in two major holidays, stir vigorously with basketball schedules and sickness, and you have a stress cocktail. Chill for a week, yields four performances.

Everyone loves positive attention, and needs it. It was gratifying to receive, and see it bestowed lavishly upon others.

A man came in to photograph the show and do a story for his local paper, and he said it was a “beautiful” thing. I paused, and somehow saw it through his eyes at that moment. I wasn’t watching for proper cues, or making sure the sound was loud enough, but looking at all the people from 5 to 55 in the show; every class, background, status, gifting, all working together in harmony, and glorifying God. It was a lovely picture of the body of Christ.

There were stories about grandmas who came because they were having a birthday party at the library, saw the poster, and decided to come with the entourage to our play. There was a young homeschooled boy who studied the book, and to finish his studies, he came to the show. There were strangers there, guests, old friends, family.

You might think I’m leading up to say there was one person who was indispensible, without whom the show would have fallen apart, and not been the same at all. You are correct.

Every single person fits that description. If a mouse was gone, it threw out the balance. If a weasel was late, we missed her. If a certain director was out of town, we felt a tangible loss of nurturing care and cohesion. If the guy who pressed the button for fog to roll in wasn’t there, you missed it. Everybody counted, and everybody mattered because everybody worked, and everybody committed.

I’m blessed and tired. I can’t wait to do it again.

Semper Bufo

I did not spent a great amount of time in the series talking about giving. That was intentional. Research for the series revealed that so much of what is written and spoken these days about stewardship has to do with how much people should give, whether to give a percentage, what the percentage should be, and whether to give that percentage from the gross or the net income. Frankly, I was irritated by the focus because it misses totally the heart of worship that must lie behind all stewardship.

Yet, giving is an important part of the Christian life. When people are not "giving people", they are nothing more than self-centered consumers of resources. Such lives reveal ugly hearts.

So, I encourage all of you to read the attached article by Dr. Christian Smith, a believing sociologist who has studied the giving patterns of contemporary Christians. What he has found is disturbing. What he writes is worth a careful read!

John

Click here to download article PDF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Most Christian writing about socio-political issues these days is either very right wing (a visitor from another land to most American Churches would assume that we actually believe Jesus came to establish right wing Republicanism instead of the Kingdom of God!) or more left wing (a growing emphasis on social justice, as the Sojourners movement). Few authors strike a Biblical balance between truth and mercy on issues of public policy. That's lamentable, for it is one of the major pulse points of the Biblical prophets.

Recently I was introduced to The Manhattan Declaration. Authored only this past September, men like Keller, Colson, J I Packer, and Ligon Duncan were part of the team that drafted the declaration. Unlike many such, however, the Manhattan Declaration is more than just opinion. It is also a pledge to live and act in holiness, truth and mercy in this broken world. I encourage you all to read it, sign on to it, and live it out as an expression of your faith and life!

John

There were gunshots, bow and arrow shots, slingshots, cheap shots (ever played corn-hole?) and snap shots.

Of all the moments that were grand (not every moment was, some were beautifully mundane), perhaps all pale with the sight of boys engaging in impromptu leg wrestling; two opponents lay down on the ground, lock arms, and then on one, two THREE!, they lock opposing legs and try to flip one another over. Got a vision yet? Close enough. This is what boys do. They play, they wrestle, and dads watch in delight, and relief that they are not stretching forgotten muscles in a grassy, uncoordinated display of manhood. Trey Pitts was a particular delight because whether he was losing or winning, he laughed. Not chuckled or giggled, mind you. Laughed. Times were had.

The heart of this campout was to bring sons and dads together, and it is evolving into a time of bringing men and boys together. There was a lot of idle chatting, a lot of fishing, a lot of dirty faces, and a lot of joy. Thanks to Ken Magee for heading things up this year, Amy and David for campout cuisine unlike any other, and The Skinners for the guns, the land, the cabin, the….you know. As always.

Whenever a purchase is made, no matter how attractive the expenditure may seem, one has then lost the opportunity to ever do anything else with that money. Losing the opportunity to use those funds for something that might have even greater potential for achieving priority goals is called the “opportunity cost.” Every price tag actually has two elements: the amount which is required to purchase the item, and the hidden cost of the lost opportunities to use those funds elsewhere, which might be a greater value.

The Bible compares the Christian to a servant to whom God has entrusted the management of varying sums of His largesse (Matt. 25:14-30). He will “settle accounts” one day, and He will require each of us to show the outcomes of our choices. It is obvious from scripture that our management for God includes finances (Matt. 6:19,20; Luke 12:15-21; 16:19-26; Jas. 5:1-5, et al), but also other assets which God lends us for our earthly journey and to invest for eternity (Matt. 19:16-30; I Cor. 3:10-17; 4:7; 6:19,20; et al). The Christian is told to live carefully, making the most of every opportunity, and that failing to do so is “unwise” and “foolish” (Eph. 5:15-17).

A modern heresy is the “prosperity gospel” or “health and wealth” heresy. This is particularly advocated by certain mass media ministers, but has actually influenced most of the Church in America. It is based upon the value system of our post-Christian society and its humanistic materialism, furthered by the pervasive and persuasive modern communicators of consumerism. However, it is a colossal tragedy to see sincere Christians adopting a lifestyle advocated by those who even go so far as to distort scripture to suggest that God is pleased by our pleasurable self-indulgence.

This heresy is commonly justified with claims that as long as those blessed with wealth are thankful to God for His largesse, then they are at liberty to enjoy everything that can be purchased to support a pleasant lifestyle, or to hoard it for the satisfaction of the sense of security that it brings. A more reasonable assessment is given by John Piper (Desiring God, Multnomah Press, p. 163), “God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves (no matter how thankfully) what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of unevangelized, uneducated, unmedicated and unfed millions.”

Each Christian will stand before Christ Himself and “settle accounts” one day. Some protest that choices of this nature are strictly a personal matter. However, the cost of missed opportunities negatively impacts the millions mentioned above, and thus the entire Body of Christ. Hank Hanegraaf says (Christianity in Crisis, Harvest House, p. 230), “Folks, it’s your choice. You can swallow the … nonsense about your right to wallow in self-indulgence, or you can set your heart on the deep satisfaction that can only come through using your resources generously to further the gospel and improve the lot of those around you. You can live responsibly as a steward of God’s resources and expect to hear Him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ or you can squander His gifts and let these words fall in full force upon your foolish soul: ‘I tell you the truth, you have your reward in full.’”

The “opportunity cost” of the failure of an American Christian to be faithful in stewardship today is unprecedented. The “average” American income is near twenty-fold higher than the average income where more than half of the world’s population lives (even after adjustment for purchasing power differences). Modest personal sacrifice by most American Christians, or even just a little more spending discipline, could have a huge impact in bringing the message of God’s love to millions of poverty-bound people in practical and life-changing ways. We cannot afford such opportunity costs in exchange for luxuries or pleasures that are simply unnecessary or excessive. It is time for uncompromising abandonment of the cultural materialism that compellingly grips the unwary and undisciplined. We must ask tough questions of ourselves, and of all those who make decisions about the expenditure of our donated funds. We are accountable to make “the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).

The suffering millions (particularly fellow Christians) are actually our responsibility, especially if we live with excessive luxury and conspicuous over-consumption. God just might not be as impressed with how much money we give as how we demonstrate our stewardship over what we spend on ourselves (Matt. 6:19-21; 13:22; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 12:33,34; 16:13; 18:24,25; I Tim. 6:6-11; et al). Where are the Christians who will consider the third necessary question with each discretionary expenditure: 1) “Do I want it?” 2) “Can I afford it?” and, 3) “What other opportunity to invest that money for more eternal consequences do I then lose, forever?”

I received this note from a teacher in an “upper low income” school, encouraging us as a church in our commitment to invest ourselves in the city in which God has placed us. Her letter is powerful in showing us just how wealthy we are, and reminding us how responsible we are with those blessings. I hope it impacts you as it did me.

"Hey John!

I really support the way you are trying to get people on board with helping the inner city community. God has not given us all the blessings we have for our own use. I strongly feel that we should use our wealth for God's glory. However, I don't think our church gets it! I wanted to give you some statistics of what is going on at my school. We are a title one school, certainly NOT the poorest. I would say we are upper-lower class. Most of my parents work and some students have two parents that work. One child has a mother who works days and a dad who works nights. Most of my students have the support of both parents, working and involved. Most of my class went to VPK last year. ALL of my class is on free or reduced lunch. 89% of the kids at our school qualify for free and reduced lunch. Most of them are receiving free lunch. Not one student in my class has a bed - not one! I am not talking about the poorest in Jacksonville, just the poor. The students in my class sleep on the floor, the couch, with their mom and dad, on a mattress without sheets, share a bed with a sibling of the opposite sex. Not one has their own bed with sheets and a mattress. Most of the students come with shoes that are several sizes too big or too small. Their clothes are either too big or too small. I have five students who wear clothes that fit, but they wear clothes for the wrong time of the year, which is common among the poor.

Below are the requirements for income for free and reduced lunch. Remember this is the highest amount they can earn to still receive free/reduced lunch. Most of the students in my class come from families who do not make higher than $20,000 annually. I know that they pay $467/month for rent and $100 at least for utilities. I think we need to do a mock budget to show our church how meager $20,000/year is for a family of 4 (one mom and 3 kids) to live on! The families are in survival mode all the time.

I know a lot of suburbanites think that the schools are the same and we are all getting the same education, the poor just aren't taking advantage of their opportunities. Well, let me tell you that if a teacher gets an evaluation of less than satisfactory he/she is given an administrative transfer. This means that the principal basically fires them, but they are not allowed to be fired so they are placed at another school. Because of the union, they are not eligible to be fired or surplussed at the new school until after two years of lots of paperwork. You can imagine at what schools they get placed. On top of that, good teachers get sick of the stress and transfer out. I have too many examples to list of how different the schools are from the south side of town, but if people think they are the same, they haven't had their eyes open."

FLORIDA INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

FOR REDUCED PRICE MEALS
REDUCED PRICE MEAL SCALE: Effective from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010

HOUSEHOLD SIZE, ANNUAL, MONTHLY, TWICE PER MONTH, EVERY TWO WEEKS, WEEKLY
1 20,036 1,670 835 771 386
2 26,955 2,247 1,124 1,037 519
3 33,874 2,823 1,412 1,303 652
4 40,793 3,400 1,700 1,569 785
5 47,712 3,976 1,988 1,836 918
6 54,631 4,553 2,277 2,102 1,051
7 61,550 5,130 2,565 2,368 1,184
8 68,469 5,706 2,853 2,634 1,317
For each additional family member, add 6,919 577 289 267 134
Remember: The total income before health benefits, social security, taxes, union dues, or other deductions, must be reported.

INCOME THAT MUST BE REPORTED
EARNINGS FROM WORK PENSION/RETIREMENT/SOCIAL SECURITY
Net Income from self-owned Pensions
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Creation, Fall, Redemption—and Your Money

The Bible sees the history of the world in four stages—1) Creation by God, 2) Fall into sin, 3) Redemption through Christ, and 4) Final Restoration--the new heaven and new earth. But creation-fall-redemption-restoration are not just discrete stages in time, they are also different aspects of present reality. Put another way, when we look at any object in this world, we know three things about it:

• First, it is part of God’s good creation, yet,

• Second, it is fallen and affected by sin—distorted somehow, broken, falling short of its original purpose. But,

• Third, it is being, and can be, redeemed. The purpose of God is to wipe all creation clean of all the effects of sin until it is all restored to wholeness, beauty, and glory.

This is the basis of the Christian worldview.

If you miss any these three perspectives, you have a distorted view of reality. For example, consider anger. Anger is inherently good. In God, who gets angry, we see anger’s original, creational purpose—as assertiveness to protect that which is good. Anger is an aspect of love. The opposite of love is not anger, but indifference. Yet sin has distorted anger and in human beings it is usually a source of great evil and is always dangerous. But the gospel of grace can redeem our anger so it becomes a source of energy for good. If, when considering anger, we leave out any of these aspects of a biblical world-view, our attitude toward anger will be out of touch with reality. We will either have too negative a view of anger (repressing and denying it) or too positive a view of anger (encouraging it as tool against ‘oppression,’ or blackmailing and exploiting others with it.)

Similarly, to understand money and possessions properly, we have to do the same kind of worldview analysis.

MONEY AND GOD (CREATION)
God is the creator, so he owns everything and therefore we are only stewards of whatever we have. I Chron.29:1-18 tells us how David assembled the people, and through his example of giving from his own wealth, led the leaders and people to give enough to build a temple. In his prayer, he says: v.11- Everything in heaven and earth is yours....Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things....v.14. Everything comes from you, and we have only given you what comes from your hand....

From this we learn, 1) Despite how much you worked for your wealth--everything you have is a gift from God. Even if you have worked hard for what you have, it was only with health, talent, abilities and “luck” (favorable circumstances) God gave you that you were able to achieve what you did. If it was not for God, you could have been born on a mountain in Mongolia in the 11th century—and then where would you be financially? 2) Secondly, God does not give up ownership of his creation when it leaves his hand and comes into yours. The more money you have, the more power you have to arrange and influence what happens in your piece of the world. However, though God gives you power over certain pieces of the world, he does not give you ownership of that piece! Bill Gates has power over more of the world than you do, and you have more power than many others, but none of us own any of it. 3) That leads to a stark conclusion: a lack of generosity is not just stinginess, but robbery. Matthew 25, the parable of the talents, very specifically says that we are to invest the money God gives us into God’s causes and seek to multiply its effectiveness in the lives of others. In this way, we are like investment managers--we are not to use our ‘client’s’ money in a way that violates his values and purposes. A failure to use the owner’s money as he wishes, for his investments, is not being miserly, it is being a thief. If there were a divine Securities and Exchange Commission in the sky, you’d be in trouble (and maybe there is, and maybe we are)! Malachi.3:8 makes this clear when God says, Will you rob God? Yet you rob me...in tithes and offerings”.

Christians therefore must live as stewards, using the power we have over creation through our money for God’s causes. We do that controlled by the thought that “my money is God’s.” We are obliged to give. We are God’s ‘investment managers.’ And in light of that image from Matthew 25, the Biblical guideline of the tithe looks pretty good. God prescribed the tithe--a tenth of one’s annual income to be given back to him and his causes (ministry, the poor, the needs of your community.) Since God is the owner of all things, and we are stewards, it is an incredible deal, by any standards. Imagine being a stockbroker that can keep 90% or so of the dividends of the client! Imagine renting a farm and only giving the owner 10% of the proceeds?

Practical issues: Are Christians obligated to tithe? The tithe—giving away 10% of annual income—was an obligation in the Old Testament. In Luke 11:18 Jesus tells religious leaders it is right that they tithe but wrong that they refuse to go beyond the tithe even when love and justice demand it. (Luke 11:42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth…but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.) What does this mean? It makes no sense at all to imagine that God would have higher standards for his Old Testament people than he would for his New Testament people, who have far greater privileges. Almost certainly, Christians should consider the tithe the minimum standard for their giving, and should always be looking to go beyond the tithe if they can. It’s such a privilege to invest the Master’s money in his causes! We should always be seeking to invest as much as possible. In summary, the ‘tithe’ is not a rigid rule, but a guideline and something of a ‘floor.’ If you have too many financial obligations to tithe now, then be sure you meet those obligations. Arrange your lives so you can give more in the future. Don’t feel too guilty. Be creative, be joyful, and itch to go over the tithe.

MONEY AND SIN (FALL)
Because of sin in our hearts and in the world, money now has an enslaving power. In Mark 10:17-31 we read the famous story of the rich young ruler, who asked in v.17 Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?...v.19 Jesus replied ‘you know the commandments, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal...v.20 Teacher, all these have I kept since I was a boy. v.21 Jesus said “one thing you lack...go sell everything you have and give the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come follow me” At this he went away sad, for he had great wealth...v.23-”how hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!...v.29- “I tell you...no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mother children and fields, and with them persecution) and in the age to come, eternal life.”

From this we learn that money can exercise great power over us. The Bible talks almost constantly about money and the spiritual dangers attending it. Just look at Luke for a minute. A large number of Luke's parables relate to money matters--the two debtors, the rich fool, the tower builder, the lost coin, the unjust steward, the rich man and Lazarus, and the parable of the pounds. The Pharisees are called 'lovers of money' (16:14). John the Baptist warns people against discontent with their income (3:13). Jesus warns people to 'watch out' and be on high alert against 'greed' (12:15), against worry about money (12:22), against frantic over-work (12:30), and against deriving a sense of one's worth and identity from your economic class achievement (12:15b). If money, comfort, and reputation are too important to you, says Jesus, you will not enter the kingdom of God (6:24-26).

The Bible talks about money 20 or 30 times more than it talks about sex. Why? Because money’s spiritual power blinds us to itself. When people are committing adultery, they know they are doing it. But hardly anyone who loves money too much knows they do. People are always confessing sexual sins, but almost no one thinks ‘I’m materialistic’ or ‘I’m greedy.’ If A) the Bible continually warns us about the danger of materialism, yet B) almost no one thinks they are guilty of it, then C) it means a great number of people are blinded to (and by!) the power of money in their lives. The only responsible thing to do is go on the working hypothesis that we are infected by materialism and must be on the watch for it. If materialism is this insidious and stupefying, it is a lot like alcoholism. Maybe the best sign of materialism is this--you aren't willing to even admit the possibility that you are enslaved to greed.

The only way we can be free from the power of money, and to be sure we are free (and not self-deluded,) is to give money away so much that we lower our living standards. We must know that we live in smaller or less opulent surroundings, that we take simpler vacations, that we spend less money on clothes, etc, than we otherwise would. While the theme of “Money and Creation” leads to the practical principle of giving the tithe, the theme of “Money and Fall” leads to the practical principle of giving sacrificially, until it simplifies your lifestyle. There is some interesting creative tension between these two biblical standards for giving. On the one hand, there are people making very little money who live close to the edge. In order to simply put food on the table and a roof over their family’s head they cannot tithe, yet in such circumstances, giving away 3-5% of income is very sacrificial. It usually means going without things most of us would consider very basic. I have seen working poor families give very sacrificially though they do not tithe. On the other hand, a person making a lot of money would have to give away far more than a tithe before it would begin to cut into the way they live, where they eat, how much they travel, and where they live.

Practical issues: Does this mean that no Christians should ever live in wealthier neighborhoods? No—if you make $500,000 per year, it is right and important that you live in neighborhoods and move in circles with others who make your income. Why? We need Christians in every social class, every neighborhood, every circle! But Christians should always aim for the bottom end of their particular income bracket with regard to how much they spend their money on themselves. Is it possible, though, for a Christian to give away too much? Yes. Christians should keep enough a) that they can live a safe and healthy life, b) that they don’t become a burden to others, and c) so that they can continue to do good. There are many people who have made or inherited a substantial fund of money. If they gave it all away immediately they might do less good in the long run than if they gave it away slowly, allowing it to continually grow new dividends and earnings.

In summary: if we can go beyond the tithe a) without hurting our health, b) without becoming a burden to others, c) without reneging on our financial obligations, and d) without undermining our ability to live and minister among those with whom we work--then we should give sacrificially beyond the tithe.

MONEY AND GRACE (REDEMPTION)
Because God is at work in the world to redeem it, your money can become a “currency of grace” and can be a channel for enormous changes in other people’s lives. In II Corinthians 9:1-15 we read: v.7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. v10-Now he...will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous...v.14-and...their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!”

Here we learn first, that we can turn our money into a channel of God’s grace. Notice that the words “righteousness,” “riches,” “grace,” “giving,” and “gift” are so interchangeable, that you cannot tell when Paul is saying God has given us money or grace, or if he is saying that we have passed on money or grace to others. The point is our money is ours by grace, and when we give it away generously and joyfully, it comes to other people like God’s grace.

There is no more powerful evidence of the power of the gospel than radical generosity. The more Christians give their money to God and others, the more people will believe in and experience the living reality of Jesus Christ. That is true if you literally give money to a ministry that wins people to Christ, or if you are simply generous to your neighbors and to the poor. Christian giving changes peoples lives.

We learn secondly that grace makes Christians want to give. We do not give just out of obligation to God (see “Money and Creation”), nor just to liberate ourselves from the power of money (see “Money and Fall”). In II Corinthians 8:8-9 we hear Paul saying: I am NOT commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Paul demands the love that cannot be demanded. He requires the giving that cannot be simply the response to a demand. Christians are those who accept salvation by grace, not works. Therefore, we know we were saved by Jesus’ radical generosity on the cross. Our giving ultimately, then, must be spontaneous--and if it is not, then we have to go back and ask if we know we are saved by grace at all. If you’ve been given everything freely, then you will give everything freely. Christians who are in touch with spiritual reality do not need a command.

Practical issues: In II Corinthians 8-9 Paul does not put pressure directly on the will (e.g., ”I’m an apostle and I command you to give!!”) nor directly on the emotions (e.g., ”You have so much and these poor people have so little! How can you neglect them?”) Rather he goes to their heart with the gospel. He says—if you don’t want to give, you don’t really understand the gospel of grace. You don’t understand who you are, you don’t understand what he’s done. You may be trying to be your own Savior (rather than looking to Jesus) by saving enough money to maintain security in an insecure world. Or you may be relying on people’s approval for your significance (rather than looking to Jesus) by living at a certain economic/material level. In any case, you are failing to remember the generosity of Jesus for you on the cross. Paul says that the only solution is to preach the gospel to your own heart until you want to give away your money. No other way will work. All other methods will produce superficial results. So in order to become a gracious, generous person—don’t sit down with a calculator, look to the cross.

Conclusion: As a church we must go through this process--of examining how we spend our money, of examining our motives for not giving more, of repenting for and revising the amount of money we spend on ourselves. But if we don’t push ourselves through the fear, pain, or even resentment that such examination will at first bring, we cannot experience the greater joy in God, freedom within ourselves, and healing in the city that gospel-based, radical generosity can bring.