TO THE CHURCH
- Pastoral Newsletter - March 1, 2024
“It takes money to make money.” I’ve heard this over and over in my life, and I’ve seen the truth of it in action many times. Obviously, there are a few levels where this western proverb can break down, but it brings up an interesting thought. Money is a tool. The more we have, the more we can do with it. Therefore, it make sense that if we can use our money (especially our money that we aren’t currently doing anything with) to make MORE money, it would be wise to do so and to do so well. This is called: INVESTING.
No, I’m not going to talk about financial investments. I’m not qualified to do so, nor do I have the DESIRE to do so. And no, I’m not going to talk about tithing or giving money to the church (though the church can’t operate well without funding! wink, wink!). This year’s theme for our church is “Not About Me.” The thought I want to meditate on with you for a moment is investing “ME.” While money is ONE way we invest ourselves, it is not the ONLY way. Money is simply a small example of the broader category of POSSESSIONS. Specifically, I want to ask: "Are we investing our possessions? If so, what goals are we trying to reach with those investments?" Getting the goal right will help us invest in the right areas, at the right times, and in the right ways.
In chapter 5 of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church,” Thom Rainer points to another sign of death and decay within dying churches: “the budget moved inwardly.” He noted: “where the money of the church goes, so goes its heart.” Does this sound familiar?
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” | Matt. 6:21
Think about the relationship between one’s treasure and one’s heart. Does the heart follow the treasure, or does the treasure follow the heart? I believe this short statement cuts both ways. For example: the more I am financially invested in something, the more I am EMOTIONALLY invested. Why? Because, I’ve got a lot of money on the line! And yet, at the same time, as my emotional attachment increases, so does the amount of money I invest. The point is that one follows the other. They are an inseparable pair. THIS is why Rainer suggests: “you must follow the money" (p. 31). The money, many times, helps diagnose the heart.
Well, when Rainer followed the money in these churches, he uncovered a common pattern. The “hearts” of the churches were moving inwardly. Listen to how he puts it:
"Just keep in mind this truism: In dying churches the last expenditures to be reduced are those that keep the members most comfortable" (p. 33).
After referencing Mark 10:21-22, he continues:
"We hold on to things because we want our way of life. Our comfort. Our possessions. That’s what happens to churches that die. They spend for their way of doing church. Their comfort. Their possessions… You don’t have to be broke to be dying. It’s not a matter of how much you have. It’s what you do with your money, or what you attitude is about the money… Like the rich young ruler, they grieve at the thought of doing something with the money for someone beyond themselves. They fear they will not have enough money if they do… [the money is] symptomatic of a heart problem. The church care[s] more for its own needs than the community and the world. And no church can sustain such an inward focus indefinitely. It will eventually die of heart failure" (p. 35-36).
I want to expand Rainer’s focus from money to the term Jesus uses in Mark 10:22. Possessions. It’s not just following the money that will reveal the heart. Looking at our possessions and what we do with them will ALSO reveal the heart in much the same way. And the heart issue that Rainer points to in this chapter is having an “inward” heart. Our possessions and how we use them can reveal an inward heart just like our money can. Follow the possessions.
Here, I want to reference a famous parable of Jesus:
"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” | Matt. 25:14-30
Everything that God has given us is intended to be used well and wisely. In order to become wise investors, we must have a heart-reorientation, for our money and our possessions will follow our hearts. Jesus does this at the moment of salvation, but this heart-change must be nurtured. We must seek to align our hearts with the heart of God as it is revealed in the pages of Scripture. We must ask: “God, what are YOUR priorities?” This doesn’t mean that we should receive NO comfort, NO enjoyment, or NO benefit from our possessions. Rather, the point is that those are not PRIMARY goals in the kingdom of God. Rather, they are more like auxiliary benefits. The primary goal is the please our Master with what He has given us by making wise investments.
Now, the million-dollar question: what does wise investment of our possessions look like? Specifically, it looks like any NUMBER of things… far too many things to itemize, here. So, let me give some broad categories that the Scriptures seem to suggest before we apply this to ourselves and our church.
Jesus tells us that there are two commandments on which hang the entire OT law: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. What this means is that, by looking at the OT commands in the Bible, they are all pointed in one (or even both) of these directions: honoring God or acting for the good of others. Let’s briefly look at each separately:
First, honoring God. Wise investing of possessions asks: “How can I use this to honor God?” To narrow our inquiry a bit… “How can I use my possessions to help me obey God more faithfully? How can I use my possessions to help me obey God more often? How can I use my possessions to make God more visible in my life? At this point, you can see where these two categories might start to blend together: How can I use my possessions to make God more visible TO OTHERS? How can I use my possessions to HELP OTHERS follow Jesus more intimately? The important thing to keep in mind is that we need to make sure we are honoring God in ways that He wants to be honored! The pages of Scripture will make this clear.
For example, we purchase gifts to honor people on their birthday. These gifts are intended to be things that the person might enjoy or like. What honors that person is giving something that aligns with that persons needs or desires. Well, God HAS no needs! He never gets hungry or tired. He doesn’t need help upholding the universe by the word of His power. He doesn’t get bored. He “needs” nothing! But, He does DESIRE. And there are things that He does NOT desire as well. Consider the following verses:
"In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.” | Psalm 40:6
"For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise… then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.” | Psalm 51:16-17, 19
So, there is a way to do something that God desires, but to do it IN THE WRONG WAY. Too often, we assume that our heart is all that matters in our giving to God, but this is not true, primarily because the heart is deceitful and sick (Jer. 17:9)! Jephthah’s sacrifice is a PERFECT example. Just because you THINK or FEEL like you’re honoring the Lord doesn’t mean you ARE.
Second, acting for the good of others. There are two categories of “others” we need to keep in mind, here. The first is others who are not believers. Again, I won’t detail examples, here, for they’re far too many to itemize, but we can at least sum them up in physical needs and spiritual needs. Are we taking care of other people? Are we helping other people come to know the Lord?
The second type of “others” is others who ARE believers. Here, again, we can think in terms of physical needs and spiritual needs, but instead of INTRODUCING them to the Lord, the question becomes how can help them know the Lord BETTER. The reason I separate these two categories of “others” out is because the Scriptures seem to do so, without negating the importance of serving either group:
"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” | Galatians 6:10
Application as a Church
How are we using or planning to use our possessions?
Our possessions AS A CHURCH are almost exclusively tied up in our property. Our church has buildings and stuff within the buildings designed to help us utilize the spaces for gatherings. We are to use these to honor God and to do good to others, both non-believers and believers. These goals don’t merely apply to our EXISTING buildings and possessions. They also apply to our FUTURE buildings and possessions. We must ask: “What will help us honor God in the ways that He has instructed us to do so? What will help us reach our community? What will help us train up one another in the faith?” These questions may require us to change, altar, get rid of, or even add to our possessions. Are we willing for that to be the case?
Personal Application
How am I using or planning to use my possessions?
Our possessions AS INDIVIDUALS are much more varied than our possessions AS A CHURCH. We have houses, vehicles, tools, gadgets, trailers, equipment, money, time, property, boats, 4-wheelers, golf carts, golf clubs, fishing gear, toys, games, sewing supplies, pools, camps, talents, gifts, hobbies… Our possessions range from the physical to the abstract and from the large to the small. Here, it is easiest to view all of these things as being “for me.” The challenge is to shift our mindset to “for God… for specific individuals who I know aren’t believers… for specific individuals who are believers that I want to pour into…”
These ways of thinking about our possessions (certainly including our money, but not limited to it), will protect us from inward hearts, but this can only come as a result of the gospel in our lives. These are gospel mindsets that demonstrate that our possessions are “Not About Me,” but we cannot have these mindsets if our possessions are all we have! We must first have a GREATER possession! An ETERNAL possession! A possession that is worth losing every other possession for! Jesus is that possession! He has given His very self for us! This is the gospel! May we continue to grow to love that Jesus has an outward heart that sought us, may we live with outward hearts concerning everything we’ve been given, and may we give what God has first freely given to us (our stuff, our selves, and the good news of the gospel) to others, that they might know God as we do. In these ways, we will: Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, and Give the Gospel.
In Christ and for His Glory
Pastor Garrett
PS - Here are links to a couple of songs that came to my mind as I was writing this. Might be helpful to fill your mind with these wonderful songs as you seek to apply these things to your life.
My Worth is Not in What I Own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05jKxv8ApuI
All I Have is Christ