Proverbs on Finances – Intro

The inaugural Bible study for our new house church network in Las Vegas is on finances. In it we are reading Howard Dayton’s book, Free and Clear. The book is about how to get out of debt and how to reel in your spending in general…from a Christian perspective. One of the things I did in preparing for the study was to read through the book of Proverbs and find everything it has to say about handling our finances wisely. This is also an assignment that I’ve passed on to those who are attending the study. It was an extremely valuable exercise for me and hopefully it will be helpful for them as well. I’d recommend that you try it too!

This is the first in a series of posts that I’ll discuss what I’ve learned. Much of it is review and common sense, but maybe for some people it will be eye opening or helpful in some way. In any case, keep an eye out for other posts. I’ll try to keep them coming at a clip of once every 2-4 days. This series could be as many as 14 posts long, but I haven’t decided how to break them down yet. I have 14 topics to cover, so that seems most logical. I might combine a couple of the smaller ones. We’ll see.

Here’s a list of the topics to, hopefully, perk your interest:

1. Blessings are typical for those who trust God.
2. Bribes are a shady business.
3. Faithful stewardship preferred over rapidly gained wealth.
4. Generosity is a characteristic of the godly.
5. Righteousness is preferred over riches.
6. False friends are ever-present in times of wealth.
7. Co-signing or taking on debt should be avoided at all costs.
8. Wisdom is preferred over wealth.
9. Finding security in wealth has a false bottom.
10. Satisfaction – wealth is a matter of perspective.
11. What Proverbs has to say about the poor.
12. The righteous response to the poor.
13. The false appeal (and stupidity) of unjust profit.
14. Contrasts between the diligent steward and the lazy sluggard.

I won’t necessarily cover these in this order. I tend to operate as the wind blows and time allows. I’d love your interaction throughout the series!

Blast from the Past

I need a break from all the seriousness. My friend Angee sent this link to me. It is about how playgrounds used to be vs. how they are built now. It was a nice stroll down memory lane, but also quite entertaining for someone (like me) who grew up in the 80’s and early 90’s. I can relate to much of what is said about the various pieces of playground equipment! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Book Review – Starting A House Church – by Larry Kreider & Floyd McClung

Starting a House Church was a very helpful book. It did not have all the answers I was looking for in the way of “how to,” but it was still worth the read. The authors paint in broad brush strokes. They do give some practical advice on how to start a house church, how to keep kids involved, as well as other frequently asked questions concerning house churches. If you are looking for a “step-by-step” guide to starting a simple church, you’ll probably need to look elsewhere. If you are looking for a primer on the subject, then this is a good book for you.

One of the things I liked about this book is that it was not bitter towards the traditional models of church. Sometimes house church people can be renegades who have an agenda against anything traditional. You won’t find that attitude with Kreider and McClung. In fact, their last chapter suggests ways in which simple churches, mega churches and community churches can work together to accomplish Christ’s purposes. While they both admittedly prefer the micro church model, they admit no one model of church reaches everyone, and the Scriptures extend great freedom to various expressions of church life. Working in unity will allow us to be more effective as a whole.

There was also a very helpful chapter on “Pitfalls to Avoid” (chapter 14). They give much good advice on where not to tread and what to expect if you do. I found myself all too readily identifying with some of the pitfalls, so it was a good warning from a trusted source. I’ll let you read it yourself, but here’s a quick list of the pitfalls to avoid…maybe it will perk your interest:

The Pitfall of:

1. Consumer Christianity
2. Inauthentic Community
3. Pride
4. Fear
5. An Independent Spirit
6. Heresy
7. Discouragement

If you are beginning your search on starting a house church, this is a good place to start. If you’re like me and are already convinced that starting a simple church is a good idea, then we must continue our search for the definitive “how to” guide. I’m open to suggestions at this point!

Book Review – Simple Church – by Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger

The experience of this book was a rollercoaster ride. I initially bought the book simply because of the title: Simple Church. We just moved to Las Vegas, NV to start a simple church network and in many ways we have NO idea what we are doing! We believe the philosophy behind what we want to do is pretty solid, but when it comes to the how, we are pretty clueless. We are attempting to do something that we’ve never been a part of. So, the title of the book drew me in. I thought it would give us a solid leg up on how to start a simple church network. It did not. However, it was still a very helpful book for me.

As I began reading the book, I was immediately confronted with the fact that this book is written for established churches that “do church” from a traditional perspective with buildings, multiple paid staff, large budgets, many programs, and lots of people and programs already in place. We are not in that situation as we still only have the four people who originally moved here to start this church planting movement. Once more, we don’t intend to become a church organization with a building, paid staff, etc. We desire to grow through a simple house church network organically. So, immediately within the first two chapters, I was disappointed that I bought the book and it was not what I expected.

I determined to keep reading it anyway and found it to be quite useful nonetheless. Here are few positives and negatives from my perspective…the bad news first:

1. If your definition of simple church = house church or organic church, then be warned that this book is not a “how to” manual for getting your network going.
2. While this book does identify a major problem in our churches today…that they are complex and ineffective as a result, it does not in my mind take the reader far enough into the problem. I believe the way churches are typically run are complex even when Rainer and Geiger’s advice is followed. It is a good first step to simplify the entire process of making disciples, but the complexity runs much deeper than just the program level of the church. It extends to church budgets, buildings and professional staff. I don’t believe the first Christians ever envisioned the church as an economic giant as we have here in America in the 21^st century. The greatest percentage of our time and resources are spent just keeping the organization running from a legal and business perspective. Believe me, I know…and we JUST started. Identifying the complexity problem and committing to fix it runs deeper than Rainer and Geiger acknowledge in this book.
3. It seems that numerical growth is the main concern. I know Rainer and Geiger would say it is not and that making disciples is. However, church life is not always simple. Sometimes its members require discipline or even exclusion. Numerical growth is not all important in these instances. The health of the body is at risk when cancerous individuals are allowed to continue in it. It may be that they just refuse to comment on the subject because it is outside the scope of this book’s purpose, but it is certainly something to keep in mind while reading.

Now for the good:

1. Even if you are trying to start a simple/house/organic church network you still need to have a plan. This book will help you keep that plan simple. We thought our plan was pretty simple, but turns out it needed to be simplified even more. The four words that Rainer and Geiger repeat over and over again are Clarity, Movement, Alignment & Focus. We needed work in each of those areas and this book is helping us move towards simplicity in all of them. This is a great time to do so, because, as the book mentions, the longer you’ve been in existence, the more difficult it is to simplify. What better time than at the beginning!
2. We are urged to simplify down to our ultimate objective…developing followers of Jesus Christ. All our plans and processes need to fall in line and work towards that objective. Everything else must go.
3. We were challenged to improve our clarity. We had a simple stated mission, but a simple mission statement does nothing for you if you don’t make it clear to everyone involved. Already the only ones who could probably tell you the mission statement were my church planting partner, Andrew, and myself. Our wives probably can’t tell you what it is unless they look it up on the website. Everyone needs to be clear where they are going, so we need to constantly talk about and clarify where we are going.
4. Movement is also key. We have lots of ideas as to how to minister to our community in Las Vegas, and how to make disciples, but we don’t have an organized process for how to lead someone from a casual observer to a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Simple steps to the process are needed. The process needs to be visual and a clear invitation must be made to the next step in the process for those who want to go. We must be proactive about moving people through the process and not just assume it will happen.
5. The book challenged our focus. Again, we have many good ideas, but ultimately our focus needs to be on following Christ and leading others to do the same. Adding more programs, events, plans, etc. will not necessarily help. Most of the time more is actually less. More stuff activity can detract from the process. Be willing to say “no” to stuff that doesn’t develop followers of Christ. Be willing to eliminate stuff you are already doing if it isn’t part of the simple process of making disciples.

Overall, I recommend the book. It is worth a read. This is the first book I’ve read that would be of significant help to established churches. They are not offering another model, but a solution to a major problem (complexity) in our churches today. It can also be helpful for the house church network leader in terms of developing a strategy, but you must bear in mind that this book is not specifically directed towards that model in spite of the title.

Denominations – Necessary Evil or Necessarily Evil? – Conclusion

The problem of denominations (read divisions) is extensive. As I’ve demonstrated from John 17, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 1 and Revelation 21 the concept of unity is a major theme in the New Testament. In brief, here is a recap on some simple principles we’ve learned to this point:

1. Christ prayed for the unity of the church. It was a major concern of his. (John 17)
2. The basis of the unity that Christ prayed for is the unity of our Triune God. (John 17)
3. Our unity is essential for building up the body of Christ as a whole. (Ephesians 4)
4. Christ gives spiritual gifts to each member of the body so that it will be 100% unified down to the last supporting ligament. (Ephesians 4)
5. Our salvation is based upon the life, death, burial, resurrection and expected return of Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1)
6. Our rich heritage, as great as it might be cannot save us. Our rallying point is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1)
7. In the end, God’s people will all be one. (Revelation 21-22)
8. Our very life depends on the living water that will flow from Christ’s throne. (Revelation 21-22)

One person or even a group of people cannot fix the problem of division in the church. However, we serve a God who can. Might I suggest we do at least these very important things while we wait for God to make all things new?

1. Echo Christ’s prayer for the unity of all believers (John 17). Pray the barriers we have created will be broken down in our lifetime. Pray that we can worship our Trinitarian God in unity just as Christ prayed to the Father. Pray that we will set our eyes collectively on eternity rather than the present moment. The problem of division is enormous and the solution will only be found through tapping into the power of the only being in the universe who can redeem what we have destroyed. Jesus said we can move mountains with faith as small as a mustard seed (Mt 17:20). Disunity of the church is a mountain of epic proportions and it cannot be moved without prayer.
2. As far as it depends on us as individuals, seek to embrace our brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of their race, culture, location on earth or the denomination they have chosen. If we are worshipping the Triune God together, then in the end we will be one. Our worship will be singularly focused in eternity. Why not beg God to allow a taste of that unity now?
3. Can we agree to point to common creeds instead of dividing lines? If believing rightly is the major issue, then the history of the church has provided us a rich tradition of creeds that we can all claim. Why do we all have to go our own way?
4. Admit that there IS a problem and we need to work towards a solution through God’s grace.
5. Focus our attention on multiplication rather than division. The Great Commission is about multiplication. Certainly we can’t all meet in one building, but we need to strive to bring the sweet message of the Gospel to everyone. Through the power of the Spirit, we need to multiply to the ends of the earth. Division always slows down multiplication.

I believe we should do more than the above, but even this would be a great start!