I have been closely following Marc Estes' blog and specificly his series on "Reaching". I believe his latest post is worth sharing so here it is:
The world is filled with people who have immense needs. It is my firm conviction that one of the greatest ways to preach the good news to a dead and dying world is through meeting their needs and touching them at their point of brokenness. In the gospels, Jesus models this approach by reaching out to people’s needs on forty-six different occasions before ever opening His mouth with a gospel message. He may have been on to something?
It says in 1 John 3:16-19, “We know what real love is because Christ gave us his life for us…Dear children, let us stop saying we love each; let us really show it by our actions.” John is trying to communicate a fundamental point that is missing in the lives of many Christians and many churches today; demonstration precludes proclamation!
It was Christ’s dying on the cross that validated His ministry and ultimately the gospel’s power and affect on humanity. The same applies to sharing the gospel. What validates our proclamation to a needy world is our willingness to meet them at their point of need, just as the guy in the ditch who was touched by the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
In addition to our actions, we must make the motive behind our actions, compassion. It is important that we reach out and show action to our words, but they too are in vain with out genuine love, care and concern for the person you are attempting to reach.
Let us make love our great aim, and SHOW a world the love of Christ as we proclaim the good news. The end result will be many people coming to Christ as a result of your sacrifice and love.
Thank you Marc for your thoughts. I couldn't agree more.
OK – to summarize:
Jesus gave first. Jesus gave all. Only after giving abundantly, did Jesus preach.
Does that mean Marc advocates giving people back their tithe? Does he plan to give his book(s) away in e-form?
What I hear between the lines is “do as I say, not as I do” – in so far as the example Marc is citing is of Jesus the giver, while Marc and most every other minister / ministry I have ever seen are just a bunch of takers.
Or am I overly cynical?
Please let me share a bit of something I wrote a long time ago, concerning the subject of giving:
Jesus As Priest Shows Us What To Do With An Offering
For a long time, I’ve had this gut feeling that there is so much more to the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes than I’ve ever considered – specifically – I’ve felt there is a link between what Jesus did with the loaves and fishes, and what a true son of God – a true Priest – would do with every offering: specifically, give thanks for it, bless it, and then give it back to the very people who gave it, to take what they needed to meet their needs / fill their bellies.
Let me digress a little – the modern mammon-loving theology of today goes something like this “I’m your priest, preacher, minister; this building is your storehouse; I’m the one feeding you; the worker deserves his wages; so you owe me your tithes and offerings; or you owe “this church” your tithes and offerings”.
OK, IF Jesus subscribed to that school of thought at all, here’s what the feeding of the 5,000 would have looked like:
Jesus would have received the 5 loaves and 2 fishes and said to his disciples “thanks – now I’ve got my lunch – why don’t you see if you can rustle up some grub for yourselves and these people here – good luck”.
If ever any priest on earth deserved to receive the offering of the people He ministered to, is was Jesus, who is our high priest in the order of (like) Melchizedek. He could have said “the worker deserves his wages” or “those who announce the gospel are to make their living from the gospel”, etc. Or “I’m the store house …” And He would been fully justified in keeping the offering for Himself.
But Jesus didn’t keep the offering. Not one crumb. He gave it back to the people who gave it to Him – the Father multiplied it, and everyone was fed. Knowing the nature of Jesus, who gave all, I’m certain He didn’t eat until after everyone else was fed. After all, He said “I didn’t come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many…” Jesus is a GIVER!
One of the things I have pondered a lot lately, is the statement Jesus made that His Father was always working, and the He was simply doing what He saw His Father doing. Jesus was a living example of God in Heaven – and He told us to “follow me”. Now we often get hung up on scriptural interpretations, and we try to follow Jesus words verse by verse, and it seems like we are always tripping over ourselves when we do. Shouldn’t we instead follow Jesus example? Jesus did what He saw the Father doing, shouldn’t we do what we see Jesus doing?
What did we see Jesus do with the feeding of the 5,000? He did exactly what the Father does again and again – Jesus gave it all – 100% – back to the people – giving generously – extravagantly – lavishly – beyond anyone’s expectations.
And so, if we are to “Follow Him” – and that’s the example Jesus set – what can we deduce from the hirelings who take up offerings and keep it for themselves?
I anxiously wait for the day when a priest, pastor or minister receives an offering, lifts it up to the Father, gives thanks, and then gives it back to the people to take what they need. Not just once in a blue moon – but every single time they take up an offering.
As long as they keep it for themselves – they are falling short of doing what Jesus did – and they are NOT providing the Father with an opportunity to bless and multiply the offering(s).
Overly cynical, and perhaps looking for a fight.
Perhaps you’re right, Locutus. It’s best to avoid that conflict between talking the walk and walking the walk.
It would be so much safer to follow Marc’s example, and exhort others to give like Jesus did so I have the appearance of being a man of the word – and then after all the ‘oohs and aahs’ of my readers, quietly go about business as usual, collecting the tithe from them and hocking my books.
So – I guess being a hypocrite is OK, but calling a hypocrite a hypocrite is not?
There is no love lost between myself and CBC, but that doesn’t mean that everything any leader from CBC says is somehow wrong. Call him a hypocrite, you may even be right, but what he said was right.
But Locutus, my friend,
– the scripture Marc cited says DO WHAT IS RIGHT, (1 John 3:16-19), not say what is right. In context it says saying what is right, is easy – it’s the world’s way. Doing what is right, is Jesus way. And where Jesus modeled giving ALL, and even when presented with an offering, He gave it back to the people who gave it, how is it these guys are taking and keeping the offering, selling books and not giving them away, etc.?
How can we take Marc seriously, when he says what is right, but does what is wrong?
I bet you probably don’t believe your fortune cookies either.
You just prophesied to me! I’m not kidding!
Dave was right – you did have a word for the Blog – or a ‘blogger’.
Several years ago, when I was going through a divorce, God led an old friend back into my life, who was a rock for me – ‘Jesus with skin on’ if you will … we often met for lunch in a great little Chinese/Mongolian restaurant close to work. We had great conversation and fellowship – over hot and sour soup, mongolian beef, kung pao chicken, and tea … God touched both of us deeply. One day we joked about God speaking to us through fortune cookies – and at the end of the meal we opened them and they were identical – saying something to the effect “your lunch companion is a true friend” … we were shocked, and in hysterics …
So last month, Karen and I drew the same fortune at a Chinese restaurant (that never happens) which spoke to our imminent future. And lately, I’ve been discounting the experience – even though the Spirit confirmed it to us at the time. You are ‘reading my mail’, Locutus.
So, thanks, man.
It’s not my intent to argue with you, I hope you know that. What bugs me is, I think all of us cheer a right message – and like you observe, Marc’s message is good. But it seems like the message satisfies us – and we never hold the messenger accountable for acting out the message, nor do we hold ourselves accountable for acting out the message.
When do we ‘do the word’? That’s what gets to me. Perhaps instead of chearing the ‘message’, we ought to withold our applause until we see the action?
Fortune cookies rock, especially when you get two in the same cookie… sort of like a “double blessing”?
I once broke up with my now-husband over a message I read in my fortune cookie after we had lunch at August Moon. Granted we’re married now, but it was the best thing I could have done at the time! If I hadn’t done that I don’t think we’d be happily married like we are today.
But seriously, God speaks in mysterious ways. If he can speak through the various channels that are shown throughout the Bible, then He most certainly could use a fortune cookie. That’s super cool!
Wait, were you guys being sarcastic? If so, then I’m an idiot…
LOL
No CG, I wasn’t being sarcastic.
The truth is, the last 6-7 years have been a time of severe pruning and trials for me. I’ve dreamed that period was over – and the fortune cookies confirmed it for us – they spoke of past promises finally being fulfilled. One in particular that aches me to the core – the return of my daughter. So yes, silly as it may sound, I’m serious about Locutus confirming our ‘fortune cookie’ word.
As for the one you received CG, is it safe to say that restaurant is not one of your hubby’s favorites?
John 444,
Acutally, it remains one of our favorites! We’ve had many good meals and memorable discussions there. I don’t think he holds August Moon responsible for the breakup back then, it really was the best thing that could have happened for us at that time. When we broke up it was clear that it wouldn’t be permanent, we just needed to work through some things.
Actually, now that I think about it, we never eat in the restaurant anymore, it’s usually take out… hmmmm maybe he IS holding a grudge!
So, ChurchGirl…what did the fortune cookie say?
On the birth of my third child, they couldn’t tell the sex of the baby. I wanted a girl because I had two boys. I decided to open a fortune cookie while asking the question, “Will I have a girl?” My fortune cookine said, “The universe knows just what you need and will deliver it right on time.” I delivered a baby boy right on time. He’s just what I needed. Forget the girl…:)
You need to get a doctor with better eyesight, honey.
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It said… You will live long and prosper. You see, I went to CBC at the time – he was still a college student and didn’t have much money, so it was very clear to me I wouldn’t be prospering with him.
No, I’m TOTALLY kidding, I am so… NOT like that. I don’t remember verbatum, but it was something along the lines of letting something go and that it would come back if it was meant to be. It was a little sappy, but at the time in our situation it totally made sense and ended up being a really good decision. It wasn’t like I based the decision solely on the cookie; it had been festering in my mind for quite some time, but we really did love each other so it was difficult to imagine myself telling him I needed a break. The cookie just gave me the final push.
All this talk about fortune cookies has given me a business idea. I’m going to manufacture and market prophetic fortune cookies to pastors (I know they make Bible verse cookies but why limit myself just to what the Bible says?). At the end of each counseling session the pastor will be able to reach into his drawer and go to either his “Confirmation Cookie†or “Condemnation Cookie†bin and offer a fortune cookie as a parting gift. Just imagine the surprise when they open their cookie to find something like, “Listen to your pastor,†or “God uses gross.â€
I’ll probably need to come up with some teen-oriented cookies too. How about, “Masturbation is bad,†or “Jesus didn’t date, why should you?â€
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Save us all the hassle of having to add “…in bed.” at the end of every fortune and just print every one of them that way.
As part of John444′s point, it seems like the majority of church budgets go towards staff salaries & facilities rather than helping those in need. And that ratio doesn’t seem to change with larger churches. Bigger church means a bigger budget, but instead of getting help to more people, it just means a bigger staff, a bigger building, plasma screens, a book store, etc.
Locutus, you can call my cynical as well, but even though I agree with Marc, he comes from another big church with a big budget, lots of staff, a big building, a sprawling campus, several schools, plasma screens, a book store, a cafe, programs, yadda yadda yadda, and oh, there’s a room in the basement of one of the dorms for a clothing storage area for helping the needy and a pantry somewhere that might have some food in it. (Maybe it’s actually better than that, but that was my experience when I was there.) Besides making a public campain against gay marriage, when has CBC worked hard at impacting their neighborhood? (Eternity doesn’t count in my book.)
Ha! Locutus and FICM – yer killin’ me! … “in bed” – I’d forgotten about that!
Might be kind of fun to come up with a list of popular prophetic / pastoral 1-liners.
Rule of thumb: it has to fit on this site (one of my faves): http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/
Here are some ideas for Christian fortune cookies:
-God loves me more than you but He loves you more than some.
-Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.
-Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a facelift.
-When praying, don’t give God instructions – just report for duty.
-God doesn’t want shares of your life – He wants a controlling interest.
-WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.
-Wisdom has two parts – 1) having a lot to say 2) not saying it.
-Forbidden fruits create many jams.
-Be ye fishers of men – you catch them & He’ll clean them.
-If God is your co-pilot – swap seats.
-You will be blessed by Jesus and spoiled by your spouse.
-Get a taste of religion. Lick a pastor’s kid.
-God loves you! And others are really trying.
-God must love stupid people, He made so many. Follow His example.
-Heading in the wrong direction? God allows U-turns.
-You have the bod of a god…Buddha! Time to exercise.
-Don’t smoke. If God intended man to smoke, He would have set him on fire.
-When Jesus comes, you’d better look busy.
-My God is alive – sorry about yours.
-The Big Bang theory: And God said ‘Pulleth my Finger’.
-The more you complain, the longer God makes you live.
-You are proof that God has a sense of humor.
-Tithe and you shall be blessed.
I’ve been following this blog since its inception. Having grown up in church, I read a lot here I can totally agree with, but some I think is simple mob mentality. Knowing how to differentiate the two is something I think purveyors of authentic faith ought to be good at doing. And we all need help.
Locutus, I think it’s very decent of you to point out that, though you might not be fully agreeable to CBC at large, it shouldn’t necessarily mean that “everything any leader from CBC says is somehow wrong.” Many (though not all) lack the objective chutzpah to understand this concept. I wish, for the sake of more interesting dialogue, more of us could figure out that “guilt by association” is cheap rationale for critical commentary.
Many, I think, are just too involved in throwing stones to know when one is less deserved.
Bloggy McBlogster…Is that like the Ronald McDonald of “fast food churches”?
Eat junk and be on your way…too much of it will kill ya.