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First Mission trip from All Saints Church

I am so proud of this team! Going to San Salvadore on. Medical mission, please pray for them everyday.

The joy of being a Pastor

Saw this and had to post it. It is a joy and honor to do what I do!

We are there for one reason and one reason only: to preach and to pray (the two primary modes of our address). We are there to focus the overflowing, cascading energies of joy, sorrow, delight, or appreciation, if only for a moment but for as long as we are able, on God. We are there to say 'God' personally, to say his name clearly, distinctly, unapologetically, in proclamations and in prayers. We are there to say it without hemming and hawing, without throat clearing and without shuffling, without propagandizing, proselytizing, or manipulating. We have no other task. We are not needed to add to what is there. We are required only to say the name: Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 

All men and women hunger for God. The hunger is masked and misinterpreted in many ways, but it is always there. Everyone is on the verge of crying out “My Lord and my God!” but the cry is drowned out by doubts or defiance, muffled by the dull ache of their routines, masked by their cozy accommodations with mediocrity. Then something happens — a word, an event, a dream — and there is a push toward awareness of an incredible Grace, a dazzling Desire, a defiant Hope, a courageous Faithfulness. But awareness, as such, is not enough. Untended, it trickles into religious sentimentalism or romantic blubbering. Or, worse, it hardens into patriotic hubris or pharisaic snobbery. 

The pastor is there to nudge the awareness past subjectivities and ideologies into the open and say 'God.'"

-Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant

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Investing

The economy stress has affected people across the board, unemployment is high, businesses are cutting back, people are truly living on a budget, this is a new kind of feeling for alot of us in the younger generations. Being part of a church, I hear other church people talk about the crunch they are feeling as well. Lots of churches are cutting back on program expenses, laying off employees, turning off lights and using less power during weekend gatherings. Actually, if that is trimming the fat and being able to utilize dollars more effectively to expand the reach of the Kingdom then maybe it's a good thing.

However, I hear many talk about cutting back on giving to agencies and people that are trying to make a difference in the lives of the oppressed, marginalized, poor, and those who are telling the story of Jesus here and around the world.  I get passionate about this. I want to be clear, this is about a conviction not a soapbox.  That being said, I get excited when I am around people that see an opportunity to put God's principles to work.

For instance, at our advisory board meeting the other night. We were lamenting over our lack of income and how we come up short of our budget and what are we going to do. We teach on it, we encourage people about it, we have good people that are overseeing the budget and finances, but we are still short. One of the men made this faith stretching comment, "everytime I have been short in my own budget, I just give Jesus more and somehow all my needs get taken care of." What a challenge and what conviction! The gauntlet was thrown down, do we trust what Jesus says about giving or not?

We decided to increase lthe amount we are currently giving to agencies and people that are serving others another 2% of what we were already giving, and allocate $2k to two churches in the Seattle area that need a blessing. Currently, we now give 7% of our general fund with a goal of 10% by the end of the year. We are giving this 2% increase to Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle. They are doing an amazing job of serving and loving the homeless, we also have volunteers from All Saints that give time to this incredible agency. It seems crazy because we don't have it, but its amazing how God gives so we can give more!

We believe that Jesus is reliable and he will see to it that the needs of his church will be met as we move out and trust him. We want to do the same in our desire to plant other churches, give money, give people, give resources. This is the Kingdom of God, this is how God demonstrated love, by giving.

I want to encourage you to take a step of faith, "give, and it will be given to you.Good measure,  pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be given back to you." Luke 6:38

We are excited to see what this investment will do in and for our city. In this time when so many are really struggling, give extravagantly, give without regret. This how lavish God is, He gave his best...His son, Jesus.

Thoughts on Easter

Easter is the most amazing day as a person who follows Christ. The resurrection is a powerful reminder of how much God loves people. As a Christ follower, it was a day of light, life and renewal. Jesus is alive and I am so glad he is.

As a church, it is the biggest day on the calendar. Along with Christmas, Easter is a day when many people who don't go to church make the effort to go. It's a time when a church wants to pull out all the stops and reach out to seekers to introduce them to Jesus and a church that cares about them. I believe most churches make a sincere effort to love people and take the opportunity to really be there for a person or family.

All over Seattle there were reports of churches exploding with attendance figures, people being baptized and hopefully many many lives changed because of an encounter with Jesus. I was excited to see so many new faces at All Saints. There were many first timers and some familiar faces that I have not seen in awhile. I was so proud of our team of volunteers who made the day excellent. Our music team, nursery team, children's team, concierge team, greeter team, media team, hospitality team, life group team and staff did an outstanding job accommodating all who came through doors. I am grateful for people with passion.

Although we did not blow the doors off with attendance, I know there were many who were confronted with the love and power of Jesus, many who were moved from doubter to seeker and many who are taking the message of Jesus to their work, school and home today. For that, I am grateful to God who is faithful and loving.

All Saints is reaching all who believe, doubt and seek in Seattle and I am proud to be a part of such a loving, vibrant church.

Tough $$ Times and Giving

I get a lot of questions about giving to All Saints Church. It would seem that we are really casual about giving due to the fact that we don't "pass the hat" but mention that we have "boxes in the back" of our auditorium. We do this because a large part of our culture is coming to a church looking for the church to be about money and giving. At All Saints, our believe, doubt, seek culture allows us to be creative and at the same time allow people to think through the different ordinances and practices of the church. We believe God is faithful, and he is and we also see giving as a part of worship. All Saints has many generous people and we have seen God do many miraculous things throughout the seven year history of our church.

I came across a very well written description of giving (and tithe) from Troy Jones, he is the pastor of New Life Church in Renton. I, with his permission, have taken some of his thoughts and applied them to the culture of All Saints. I want to thank Troy for letting me "borrow" his thoughts.  This is in a question/answer format, so here it is.

What is the difference between tithing and giving?

   t   They are both found in Scripture.  Giving is what we were born to do.  Tithing is a very specific way we give.  Tithing defines God’s beginning point in giving for those who follow Jesus. In our culture, many feel that paying their taxes is how they give.  Tithing is the way to demonstrate what followers do with their money.

 

2.   What is a tithe?

      The literal meaning of the word tithe is “a tenth” or 10%.  The tithe is the first and best portion off the top. This is given to God through your home church in faith as a practical means to finance the mission of the church (Malachi 3:8-10, Matthew 23:22

3.    How do you tithe?

       Find a systematic way to tithe.  Such as following each paycheck, once a month, or having it automatically taken out of your check, etc. (1 Corinthians 16:2)

 

4.    What kind of attitude should I have when I tithe?

       The Bible says, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Sometimes, giving isn't always "cheery" because it would appear that we don't have enough. Sometimes, tithing is done out of pure obedience.

 

5.    Isn’t tithing just an Old Testament concept?

       Giving is a Biblical concept.  Tithing is found in the Old Testament.  Generous and sacrificial giving is found in the New Testament (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-35). Tithing is not explicitly commanded in the New Testament but the bar is raised considerably by Christ and the apostles of the early church.  Christ followers must give whenever there is a need to be met.  Those who get lost in a percentage amount have lost the whole point of giving.

 

6.    What should I do if I can’t afford to tithe? Can I start with a smaller amount?

       Start somewhere.  The Biblical standard is to tithe. Honestly, you can’t afford NOT to tithe.  If you wait until you can afford it—you will never start. The point is faith and trust that God will take care of your needs.

       

7.    I want to tithe but my spouse doesn’t want to, what should I do?

       An excellent question.  Be on the same page with your spouse.  Most people don’t reject the idea of giving.  Instead of pushing the “tithe” concept agree on charitable giving.  You will be surprised how open your spouse may be about giving if you frame it in the context that we should give back to this world.

 

8.    Is tithing just an adult thing? When should my children begin to tithe?

      You can’t start too young to teach your kids to tithe (and save). It is going to be necessary to teach our children this principle in light of what our nation is curently going through financially. Most financial advice instructs people to learn how to save.

 

9.    Do I need to tithe on a financial gift? Tax return? Bonuses?

      Again, the blessing and joy that comes with giving cannot be denied. I like what Troy Jones said, "If in doubt, tithe." Specifically,  Yes, on the financial gift and bonuses.  It may not be necessary to tithe on a tax return because hopefully you already tithed on your gross.  (Although, a tax return is a great opportunity to be a generous giver)

 

10. Can I tithe through volunteering my time and saving the church staffing expense?

      This question comes up a lot with many at All Saints. Let me be very frank here, the answer is no. The point of tithing is to learn to trust God with everything that is important to you. Money can be used as a false security, it does not provide; God provides. Money is to be used, not depended upon.

 

13. Is it ok for me to get a tax deduction from giving?

      Yes, this is called wisdom.

 

14. If I tithe will God bless me financially?

      Simply, Yes. (Proverbs 11:24-25, Proverbs 3:9-10)

 

15. Should I tithe off of my gross income or net (after taxes and deductions)?

       The "first fruits" principle would indicate gross.

 

16.  Can I give my tithe on a credit card? Is it ok to get airline miles off of my giving?

       This is a good question. I would agree with many who say, don't go into debt to tithe. However, some people use their credit card to pay bills, then pay it off at the end of every billing cycle. if this is a way you do your accounting, then go for it.

 

1     If I am in debt, should I get out of debt before I begin to tithe?

        No, begin to tithe first.  The gospel is antithetical to our logic. I will argue the better way to get out of debt is to learn how to give and teach yourself the discipline to trust Jesus to provide for all of your needs.

The cost analysis of leading

For me, the most amazing aspect to being a pastor is the opportunity to share in the lives of people. Not just the people that attend All Saints, but people that live in my neighborhood and city. I am given a most sacred honor to be invited into people's lives and offer encouragement, counsel, prayer and probably the most "unfun" aspect, irritation.

The return I get from people who are grateful for a listening ear or some words of encouragement is remarkable. I like to consider those moments bouquets from God. I know who ultimately encourages and heals, I just get to be the one to pass it on, so to speak.

The return that comes from irritating someone is a lot more costly and tends to withdraw from the "bouquet" account. However, the irritations that are offered aren't out of spite or insensitivity. They are out of love and an honest desire for healing. I am reminded of this from a passage in the book of Proverbs:

    "the wounds from a friend are better than the kisses from an enemy."

Yes, sometimes wounds are inflicted on the people I love, but ultimately and if the one receiving the wound realizes it, they are being molded and shaped into the person they are to become. I believe Jesus uses irritations, be it from Jesus himself or from friends to "hammer" out pride, blind spots or stubbornness. This is all part of how God brings about fullness, wholeness and a dependence upon him that gives us freedom to be.

I recall a story about Shepherds who would break the legs of sheep that would wander and stray from the flock. It seems so brutal but realizing the dangers that are beyond the flock, it becomes such a beautiful example of why "wounds from a friend" are actually loving. The Shepherd would mend the sheep, keep him by his side, and tend to him until he was healed. The sheep learned that the Shepherd will protect him but he must heed the Shepherd's staff unless he becomes critically hurt, even worse killed. It was for the sheep's own good.

I believe the pain that comes when we lovingly "wound" a friend, is worth the cost when we see ultimately that the wound allowed someone to flourish and be the person God is intending them to become.

Europe Advance

I am really looking forward to the opportunity to be with some church planters in Amsterdam. I am part of the team that is going to be encouraging and challenging men and woman in their endeavor to plant churches across the Netherlands. Check the link here. I am honored to be part of the vision Sebastiaan van Wessem has to reach his country for Jesus Christ. Wow.

Tim Keller on Characteristics of a Missional Church

Missional vs. Attractional

The comments below were given by Alan Hirsch. Alan is a thinker and lover of Jesus, his passion is seeing churches embrace the missional mindset of the gospel. In this article, Alan is responding to a good guy, a pastor, Dan Kimball. Dan pastor's a church in Santa Cruz, Ca. Dan's initial comments are here.

As someone who comes out clearly for the missional reframing of church, I do share some concerns about reproduction (fruitfulness). Anyone concerned with Jesus' commission should be.

The comments so far are excellent and so I will just add a few more.

* I certainly don't believe that attractional is not working. What I have said is that it has appeal to a shrinking segment of the population, and that persistence with a church growth style, attractionalism, is in the long run a counsel of despair. Are you suggesting that we simply stay with what we have got? Surely not bro?

* If we persist with our standard measurements for mission, we will miss the point. The issue is what idea of church is more faithful to the Scriptures. Genuine fruitfulness, surely, cannot simply be measured by numbers but by 'making disciples.' How does one measure that? By all accounts, current churches are made up largely of admirers of Jesus but few genuine disciples/followers—this is not a biblical idea of fruitfulness!

* Besides, the early church would not measure up to the current metrics!! If Rodney Stark is right, there were only 25,000 believers by year 100AD. Not exactly mind boggling church growth. Some attractional churches are larger.

* If we stick with the prevailing measures, we will miss the level of incarnational engagement with quantitative measures alone. How do we measure that? Incarnation takes time and loving presence (witness) among a people. Working with post-Christian folks ain't easy because we have lost our credibility and have to work darn hard to regain it. I think there is much work to do here.

The only other thing I will say is that we as believers, live by a vision of what can be...we cannot allow ourselves to be constrained by pragmatics alone. Vision precludes that and is driven by holy discontent to see a greater manifestation of the Kingdom.

With love and respect.
AH

Well said Alan, and thank you.