@ the crossroads

As I type this post on a Dell laptop in an air-conditioned office I am concurrently overwhelmed at the thought that the majority of the world’s population does not have access to the conveniences that I so often take for granted.  Jesus spoke clearly about the reality of my stewardship responsibilities in a land of plenty when he said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48b).  These words continuously challenge me as I seek to lead Crossroads in a God-honoring way in regard to financial stewardship and the allocation of resources for kingdom ministry. 

In the United States, the most affluent country on the planet, the average person contributes about 3% of annual income to charity per year.  I believe this sad reality must be addressed, not to pressure people into giving out of a sense of guilt, but rather to enlighten them about the joy that accompanies generous giving to the needs of the poor and oppressed both locally and globally.  Money is meant to be given away; it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Many times Christians focus on a tithe (10%) when trying to determine how much money to give away.  Obviously, in a culture not known for extravagant charitable giving, a 10% benchmark is a good starting goal to pursue for a couple reasons.  First, giving a tithe helps an individual or family establish a budget.  When 10% of one’s income is given off the top there is suddenly a need to figure out how to live on the remaining 90%.  As the current financial recession has taught us, many financial problems families and corporations have endured are the result of spending or borrowing too much money.  Delayed gratification is not a mark of the American cultural landscape, but it is a built-in byproduct of tithing.  Second, the discipline of tithing is a way to live by faith and experience the faithful provision of God in daily life.  By honoring God with His money, we place our lives in His hands and subsequently reject the power that money can have over our lives.  Faithful giving communicates to God that we will serve Him, not money.  The kingdom of God is a higher priority than staying up-to-date with the latest and greatest toys.

Even though the tithing principle can be extremely beneficial in establishing a healthy giving pattern, it is interesting that the New Testament does not use the word tithe.  Jesus, in his vast teaching on money and possessions, focuses on the issue of the heart when it comes to giving: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  To have Christ as our all-consuming treasure means that our hearts will reflect the generous character of God; our God is the ultimate giver–of life, His Son, grace, forgiveness, and the list goes on.  Consequently, radical Christ followers will not be focused on a tithe in a self-righteous, legalistic fashion.  Rather, the focus will be on grace giving.  God has been incredibly gracious to us and our response is to be generous in return.

In 2 Corinthians 8 the Apostle Paul is encouraging the believers to give toward an offering to help the poor in the Jerusalem church.  The churches in Macedonia, composed of relatively poor people compared to the economic level of many Corinthians, are held up as an example of generosity  Paul uses the word grace many times in this chapter to communicate the importance of grace giving.  Here are a few aspects of grace giving:

1) Grace Giving is Generous

“…their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (v.2)

2) Grace Giving is a Form of Service

“…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints” (vv. 3-4)

3) Grace Giving is a Litmus Test for Love

“…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 he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (vv. 8-9)

Heiko Oberman, a prominent theologian, writes about a trip to China that illustrates grace giving well:

A few years ago I was with a group in Nanjing, China, for a dialogue with leaders of the China Christian Council.  On Sunday we visited various churches in the city.  An older Chinese woman now living in Los Angeles chose to visit a church across the river from Nanjing, a poor church composed of farmers.  The 900 who were present for the service wanted to hear a word from their sister from the states, so Mrs. Chang brought greetings from her church in Los Angeles.  She told how the Lord had added many to their church and how they were currently building a large new auditorium.  Then after a word of blessing for this church, she took her seat.  At the close of the worship time, Mrs. Chang was called back to the front.  The pastor said her words had thrilled their hearts.  They wanted her to have the morning offering to help with the new building in Los Angeles–about $140.  When their overflowing joy welled up in generosity, they gave beyond their ability.  

In the days ahead, Crossroads has many opportunities to step out in mission.  Our vision is big and will require grace giving on the part of everyone.  Here are a few mission opportunities coming down the road:

1) Haiti Medical Mission Trip (November 17-24): If you would like to help purchase various drugs that will be distributed in the medical clinic in Haiti, you may do so in the coming weeks.  The need for medical care in Haiti is difficult for us to comprehend.  There is 1 doctor for every 4,000 people in Haiti!  The average Haitian has no medical care.  If you would like to give toward this trip, please make checks payable to Crossroads and put Haiti mission on the memo line. 

2) Future Crossroads church plant in the Lakeland area.  Paul and Vivian Malson and their children will be moving to Lakeland in the coming month to begin the groundwork for a new church.  Crossroads will be partnering with the Malsons in this exciting faith endeavor.  Please be in prayer for the Malson family as they make the transition to Florida from their home in Texas.  As details of this new project become more clear there will be many opportunities for the Crossroads body to exercise grace giving. 

God has exciting plans for Crossroads in the coming days!  Let’s continue to follow Christ wholeheartedly and seek ways to be grace givers!

We all have cravings–seeming bottomless passions for chocolate, coffee, college football, the Cubs–to name just a few possibilities.  Yet no matter how much we may crave some of the objects and pleasures of this life, there is no substitute for a perpetual, ever-increasing craving for Christ.  God desires for us to delight in Him, draw strength from His presence, and keep our vision firmly focused on His wonderful purposes for our lives. 

I enjoy reading autobiographies of people who crave Christ.  Their lives inspire me to keep running the race of faith, spurn the fleeting worldly treasures of this brief life, and embrace the heavenly treasures that await those who faithfully follow Jesus for the number of days they are granted on this earth.  One such autobiography that  has inspired me over the years is the diary of David Brainerd, a missionary to the North American Indians in the 1700’s.  Look at what Brainerd wrote in one of his diary entries:

I saw so much of the excellency of Christ’s kingdom, and the infinite desireableness of its advancement in the world, that it swallowed up all my other thoughts; and made me willing, yea, even rejoice, to be made a pilgrim or hermit in the wilderness, to my dying moment, if I might thereby promote the blessed interest of the great Redeemer….The language of my thoughts and disposition now was, “Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort in earth, or earthly comfort; send me even to death itself, if it be but in thy service, and to promote thy kingdom.

As you read this diary entry, can’t you just sense Brainerd’s intense craving for his Savior?  Nothing will be allowed to stand in the way of Brainerd’s commitment to follow Christ in a life of discipleship.  It is interesting to note that Brainerd died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-nine.  His life was relatively short, but his craving was anything but small. 

The life of David Brainerd reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s insatiable craving for Christ.  In fact, it was a daily craving for the presence of Christ that gave both Brainerd and Paul the strength to forge ahead in the middle of suffering and persecution.  Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth:

We live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (2 Cor. 5:7-9)

The word that Paul uses in this passage to convey the concept of “goal” also has the connotation of aspire or crave.  In other words, Paul is encouraging the church to crave a life that is pleasing to Christ.  What would you say is your greatest craving in life?  A better paying job?  A bigger house?  A new car?  Or, is your greatest craving and all-consuming passion the person of Jesus and a life that is pleasing to Him?

Imagine the power of a church that consistently resists the temptations to follow after peripheral, powerless cravings and regularly exercises the discipline of an intense desire to please Christ in all matters.  Let’s daily evaluate our goals and dreams.  If Christ is not in the center of our lives, we will find ourselves guilty of craving lesser things.  May we crave Christ together!  

Everyone who attends the Crossroads worship celebration this Sunday will have the opportunity to fill out the Crossroads Ministry Survey.  This survey is a practical tool that the church uses approximately twice each year in order to inform people of the various ministry opportunities that are available at Crossroads and to see how individuals would like to connect with the numerous ministry teams by using their spiritual gifts.  I want to encourage you to be a part of the worship gathering this Sunday so you can determine how God wants you to serve in the Crossroads body. 

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth:

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant…There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (1 Cor. 12:1,4-6)

All followers of Jesus have been gifted by the Holy Spirit.  These gifts are to be used to encourage and edify the church and to bring glory to God.  Non-use or mis-use of spiritual gifts has a weakening effect on the church.  However, gifts used in the right way for the right purpose help to develop a strong, vibrant local church.  Crossroads is growing–and a growing church needs maximum participation.  Please be praying about your involvement in the Crossroads family so you can bring encouragement to the lives of others.  Every part of the body is significant. 

One Olympic sport that I know very little about, and yet I find extremely fascinating to watch is curling.  The best way I can describe the bizarre sport of curling is that it resembles shuffleboard on ice.  Teams work together–through instructional words and strategic sweeping motions– to guide a polished granite stone toward a desired destination.  Team members will do “whatever it takes” to guide the stone in the proper direction.

The techniques of curling serve as a helpful illustration as to how we are to view our relationships with others in the body of Christ.  We are called to guide each other toward Christ and abstain from any behavior that would prove to be a stumbling block for others.  Paul, in Romans 14, is writing to a diverse church in which many people were struggling with the connection between freedom in Christ and ethical behavior as it pertained to various “disputable matters.”  Paul provides a truth framework to help believers assess their behaviors in different circumstances and thus determine if those particular behaviors are beneficial.  Here are some of the truths we learn from the Roman church and their pursuit of mutual edification:

*There are many disputable matters that Christians must personally address.  Some examples are: what types of media to watch, whether to consume alcohol, whether to use private, public, or homeschool settings for children, where to land on disputed theological issues such as just war position vs. pacifism, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, premillennial vs. amillennial position on the second coming of Christ, etc.  On these types of disputable matters, Paul encourages:

–a non-judgmental attitude toward those who hold different opinions on disputable matters

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.  One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.  The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.  Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” (Rom. 14:1-4)

–personal decisions on disputable matters to be made as a matter of conviction before God and edification before others

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind…So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”  (Romans 14:5,12)

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification…It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”  (Romans 14:19,21)

Paul masterfully communicates the productive tension inherant in the reality of grace and the freedom we experience in Christ as a result of the free gift of salvation.  Coming into relationship with Christ opens the door for believers to experience an amazing level of personal freedom.  This is quite the opposite of many people’s perceptions of the Christian life.  Often, the Christian life is viewed as trading the bondage of sin for the new bondage of legalistic righteousness.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  However, the personal freedom of the Christian that is the result of grace must be filtered through the law of love.  Christian behavior has a corporate dimension.  My actions have a ripple effect upon those around me.  Consequently, even though “everything is permissible”, not everything is beneficial.  There are times when personal freedom on disputable matters needs to be restrained for the purpose of edification and encouragement of others. 

The Christian assesses appropriate behavior through an others-centered perspective.  Is the behavior in question honoring to Christ and is it helpful for the spiritual growth of others?  If so, let freedom reign!  However, if the use of freedom will damage the spiritual life of another, that particular freedom should be restrained.

Let’s go back to the curling illustration.  The team members take their role as “stone guiders” very seriously as they work to present the stone in a winning position.  One ongoing challenge for followers of Christ is to see the exercise (or restraint) of spiritual freedom in the context of love–the edification of others.  The goal is to help present others mature in Christ.  May God give you discernment, wisdom, and conviction on disputable matters so you may guide those around you to the Savior.