Jesus Christ, Bill Gates and a Teeny-Tiny Camel

"It's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle." How many times have we heard this statement of Jesus? Does it imply that God plays favorites for the poor and disenfranchised? Or is there some truth to the Joel Osteen message of Divine providence for every believer? Where do the politically and socially powerful fit into the kingdom of God? We'll talk this week about how Jesus REALLY feels about the priveledged of society, and how we should feel about them and treat them.

23, 24, 25! 25 Regular Attenders, Ah, Ah, Ah!

Last night in our planning meeting, I said I had been having some revolutionary ideas about counting. But I timed my comment poorly, and only a few people heard me. Those few looked at me funny, but didn't get an explanation as to how counting could be so revolutionary.

I eventually got to explain myself to a few people after the meeting was over, but I'd still like to share my thoughts with the rest of the blogosphere.

When I say "counting" I am talking about counting people, and here is what I propose: DON'T.

Don't count people. I know this is a hard concept, so I'm going to provide a few sample dialogues.

"Wow, so you planted a church! How many members do you have?"
"We have just the right amount so far. They're incredible people... the fellowship is wonderful."

"I heard you guys had a concert last night. How many people came?"
"Well, there were some team members there, and some from the community. So we had lots of opportunities to get to know people."

"How many salvation decisions have occurred in The Core during the last year?"
"Well, we've witnessed some great testimonies, but since God gets the credit for each conversion, and our team members share their faith in all types of situations, we can't really say if any of them were because of The Core."

"We are the IRS. We need to know how many people are involved each week in The Core."
"150 (total guess)"

As you can see from that last one, sometimes numbers are necessary, in which case we can guesstimate. But I think that, once we start counting, it's just way too easy to measure our success by our numbers. Of course some people will think that this tactic is just a cop-out for the lack of impressive numbers. But we don't need to worry about them. (It reminds me of a line from the Jim Carrey movie "Liar, Liar." The kid says, "My teacher says that real beauty is on the inside." Then the (overly truthful) Jim Carrey says, "That's something only ugly people say.")

I know what some of you are thinking. "But how will you know if your methods are effective unless you count people?" I believe that if you've really got your head in the game... if you are really involved with the people you're ministering to, you will naturally know whether you are succeeding or failing. The question is, "Do you see God being glorified and hearts being transformed?" There are some very small churches where the answer is yes, and some very large churches where the answer is no. So why even bring in numbers to muddy the waters?

In case you were wondering, I still believe that money should be counted ;-)

"The Core" Wallpaper

For the first time, we now have intriguing original photographs of Downtown Springfield that you can display on your desktop! Just choose which of the five photographs you like best, then select file that corresponds with your screen resolution. When the picture comes up, right-click on it and select "set as background." If you have a Mac, you're on your own. ;-) Have fun!

Brick Art

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Dairy Queen

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Traffic

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Fountain

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Mural

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Website - Your Story

We want to get to know you better… you know, what makes you tick, or what makes you ticked off. We’ve noticed that it’s easy for Christians to act like they’ve got it all figured out, but we know that’s not true. We want to learn what you have to teach us, and maybe teach you something new as well. Or else we can just sit down with a good cup of coffee, and hang out for awhile. So what’s your story? Just add a comment to this blog... you don't have to register or anything. Comment anonymously if you like.

Front Porch Update - Nov. 5

I've got an update here from Mik...

"6 guys showed up Saturday morning at 8:30... It was great. You should have seen us tear up the entire floor, concrete, beams , wire and all. It's all gone now. Daniel did a great job leading us and doing the lion's share of sledge hammer swinging.

Greg Vierkant was there and cleaned up some of the wiring stuff. He and Daniel are working it out to get temporary power to all four corners of the building."

In other news, I am trying to wrap up communications with the sewer department so we can get our permit from the city. There are no obstacles left, I just need to have a conversation with them, to make sure they have all the documents they need from us.

Keep praying for us... if your name is on the volunteer list, you'll be getting a call soon.

Uni[formi]ty

For a nation called the UNITED States of America, I believe we tend to have a very thin grasp on Unity. We are a nation of rugged individualism, a humanistic state that believes that man (nay, each man.... er... each human) is the measure of all things.

Although "Unity" has a nice ring to it, we fear that the prerequisite for Unity is Uniformity. And we've been taught since birth to be "true to ourselves" and "stand up for our rights." If Unity means Uniformity, it implies re-programming, brainwashing, and unquestioned obedience to a supreme dictator.

But look at how the word Unity is used in the Bible:

"Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." -2 Chronicles 30:12

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" -Psalm 133:1

"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. " -John 17:23b

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. " -Ephesians 4:3

Unity among diverse beliefs

Let's take that last one as an example. Paul is urging the Ephesians to maintain unity within the fellowship. This implies that there is a propensity toward division, likely because of differing beliefs, or interpretations of scripture. If, on every issue, there is a clear right and a clear wrong, why would Paul not just declare a winner, and require them all to get in line? The fact is that God wrote the Bible, not the 16 Fundamental Truths, or the Baptist Faith and Message, and we have to admit that there are points of the Bible on which thoughtful, humble, intelligent Christians disagree. Seeing as how God does nothing accidentally, I believe many of the ambiguities (not to be confused with "contradictions") in the Bible are intentional, to test our love and unity as we approach issues of secondary importance.

Unity among diverse roles

Paul goes on in Ephesians 4 to say that, although we share a common Lord, faith and baptism, we have each received grace as individuals. Not only that, but we have been called to serve God in a wide variety of ways. "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers..." He makes a similar point in I Corinthians when he talks about some being called to be hands, some to be feet, some to be eyes, etc. It is our job to discover this role for our own lives, and celebrate the fact that God didn't call us all to be hands, or nostrils, or prophets, or teachers.

The Catch

Even if we, as Americans, had a proper understanding of unity (that brainwashing is not required,) many of us would still reject it. Why? Because there is only one way to acheive unity. The verse that precedes Paul's call to unity in Ephesians describes it well, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." This is the catch... the cost of unity. Jesus joins Paul in attempting to teach us this attitude - Why not rather be wronged than to jeopardize the unity of the body? Why not rather be defeated? Why not rather be disrespected or humiliated?

Increase in us, Lord, and may we decrease.