Give More, Collect Less!

I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but Sarah and I have made this quasi resolution; Give more, collect less.

I have been thinking about stewardship a lot lately. This started in December when I was studying a parable Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30 for a sermon. It's commonly called, "Parable of the Talents" (if you have time, read it).

I have read this parable many times, heard several sermons on it, and even taught on it myself. But I read it in a new light as I reflected on the definition of stewardship (which is about managing others stuff; money, property, affairs, households, etc.). As I think about the application of this parable, I wonder if I am doing a good job managing all that God has given me?

This is what Jesus is talking about in the afore mentioned parable in Matthew 25. Do we use all that God has given us to invest in His Kingdom, His purposes, His will? Do we manage what God has given us well? I am not sure of my answer.

My wife and I give a percentage of our income to a local church, we have sponsor kids in third world countries though World Vision and Compassion International, we donate unused clothing and household items to places like Crossfire Ministries, Springs Rescue Mission, and Goodwill, and we give our time serving others and places in the community. We do all that with joy, but is that enough?

I don't say any of that to be prideful, because we also have a house full of stuff (closets full of clothing, furniture, 2 cars, a television, this computer I'm writing this blog with (and the list goes on). In fact, we have stuff sitting in the basement of our current rental house that hasn't been out of the box in years. We have moved it several times. I don't feel like we hoard stuff, but I also wonder what Jesus would say to me about all our stuff.

There is a place in the Bible where Jesus talks with a rich young man (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30). This guy asks Jesus what He must do to spend eternity in heaven with Him. Jesus, replies that he must sell everything he has and give it to the poor. We never know if this young man does this. The text says he walks away sad, dejected, and Jesus goes on to talk about how hard it is for rich people to make it into heaven. The general assumption is that this wealthy young man couldn't let go of his stuff, not even to save his soul from hell. How tragic.

But let's put ourselves in this guys shoes. If you live in America compared to the rest of the world you are rich. There is no arguing that America is wealthiest country in the world. The general rule of thumb when it comes to wealth worldwide is this, if you have choices you are considered rich. For more perspective, one-third (more than two billon) of all people worldwide live on $2 or less a day. Most Americans have more than that in change in our car, or in our couch. Anyway...

What if Jesus came to you or me and asked us to sell all that we had and give it to the poor? I wonder, would I or could I do that? What about you, would you sell your house, your car(s), your computer, your cell phone, your clothes, the things you collect, everything? Could you give it all away?

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

These words of Jesus sometimes feel like a dagger in my heart. I see all the stuff my family has, and sometimes I wonder if our money and our things are our treasure. I don't think that they are. It's our goal to be more generous this year. We are aiming to give away more, and acquire as little as possible. We want to put more of our time, our stuff, our money, our resources, etc. into becoming like Jesus. We want our treasure to be Jesus. We want to spend eternity with Him. I hope that Jesus is your treasure as well!

If you took the time to read this, I hope and pray you are doing your best to give all that you have, and all that you are to following in the footsteps of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless you, and may you bless others, for the sake of Jesus' Kingdom!

Sabbath!

Today is an interesting day for me. If you know me or read my previous blog post, you know that I recently resigned from a youth ministry position I had for five years, without a job to go to. I have been gainfully employed for around 15 years. The last ten years of that I have been in full-time ministry. So, today for the first time in nearly 10 years, I slept in on a Sunday, that I wasn't on PTO/ Vacation. We chose to attend a church last night with some good family friends.

It does feel weird that I was not at church this morning, and that I didn't "have" to be there, because I work there. Here are a few things that I did not miss about being in church today:

1. Getting up really early on a Sunday morning. I wish there was a Levitical Law that Jesus quoted in the Sermon on The Mount forbidding being at a church building before 9:00 AM. Tony is NOT a morning person.

2. Having to be nice and smiley no matter how crappy I may feel. Pastors are people too, they get sick, sore, tired, upset, have bad things happen to them, etc. How about we cut our pastors some slack, and not always expect them to smile just, because we said hi.

3. Being distracted during worship services. I am usually thinking about what students, adults volunteers, other staff members, etc. that I need to talk to that Saturday or Sunday, or what I need to get done for upcoming events. I realize this is my fault, but ministry is consuming. Although, I also get distracted by people who talk to me, throw things at me, or text me during services.

4. Getting blamed for rowdy Middle & High School Students who run the hallways or are obnoxious during church services. Grow some courage, and go talk to those kids and/ or their parents, not your youth pastor. If you don't know who their parents are ask that question or follow them, but not in a stalker/ creeper way!

5. Getting asked questions that could easily be answered if people (usually the same ones from week to week & month to month) would check & read any one of the following items first; the bulletin, the newsletter, the various bulletin boards around the church, the e-newsletter, the website, or the facebook group page. Come on people, put in your due diligence.

I'm not trying to be cynical. I love the church, being in church, and being in ministry. There is nothing more rewarding than helping others connect with their Savior. I am merely pointing out for me, how glorious it is to be able to Worship & Sabbath! So today, and maybe several Sunday's to come I'm looking forward to a true day of Sabbath with Sarah and the kids!

If you took the time to read my thoughts in this blog, I pray that you find rest and peace in the arms of our Heavenly Father. May you find time to Sabbath and be renewed by God's Holy Spirit! I also pray God's richest blessings for you and your family!

Trusting God Into Unemployment...

On December 1st 2010, my wife & I made a decision that would forever change our future. I resigned my position at Sunnyside Christian Church where I have been the Student Pastor for the past 5 years.

I was not fired, I was not asked to resign, and I did not do anything immoral. I am leaving with my integrity intact and on good terms with the leadership of the church.

The part that forever changed our future, is that we made this decision without a job for me to go to, or an idea of what I will do next.

So why would I do this?

Well, it was a decision that I have been thinking about and wrestling with for awhile. I found myself in a place where my heart & passion were not one-hundred percent in my ministry. Because of that, I did not feel it was fair to the church, my adult leaders that I work with, and especially to the students, that I continue as their Student Pastor if my whole heart was not in it.

Another big part of this was church business and politics. I just got tired of the non-sense of the corporate world sliding into this church and the changes in the way it is run/ overseen.

As you can imagine, this was a very hard decision to make, but one that my wife Sarah & I believe God was leading us to. So, I am trusting God to provide as I enter the world of the unemployed on Monday, January 3, 2011.

Sometimes for our faith to grow we have to put ourselves in an uncomfortable place. This decision will force us to trust God to provide and rely on Him to get us through it. Ultimately, we believe this decision will cause much spiritual growth in our lives. God is stirring something in my heart and in His time he will reveal what's next for me.

Sarah & I want to first and foremost be obedient to God, to do His will, and bring Him glory! I hope that you want that too. I pray that God would bless you greatly, and that you would be obedient to Him.

Birthdays

Did you ever notice that the older people get the less they celebrate their birthday? Maybe it's just me or my family, but it seems like as the number of candles increases on the cake the less we celebrate.

When we were kids our birthday was a big deal. We invited all of our friends and threw parties. The last big celebration I remember having was when I turned 21. It seems like after 21, birthdays are just downhill until you get so old people can't believe that you're still alive. I can't remember the last time I went to a party for an adult that wasn't because they were like 90.

Anyways, no one in my immediate family really celebrates their birthday all that much. Sure we may get together, have a meal, cake, sing, and give gifts to the birthday person, but it's certainly nothing like the sweet 16 stuff you see on TV.

It also seems like the older you get the less your extended family cares about your birthday, if they even know when it is. I haven't gotten a card or call from most of my Aunts & Uncles, Cousins, and such since I was really young.

I guess I'm thinking about this because my wife and I have a birthday one day apart, and they just happened, the second and third of October. I'm now 32, and my wife turned 30. We didn't get a cake for each other or even exchange gifts. People kept asking us, "What are you doing for your birthdays, it's Sarah's 30th right?" We kept saying, "Nothing." The funny thing is no one pressed the issue with us, they just seemed to understand.

The other funny thing is that my facebook page was inundated with birthday wishes from friends and family. Ah the digital world. I do appreciate that people care enough about me to write on my wall, and I think I would be lying if I said I didn't. But that doesn't change that fact that I really have no desire to have a big birthday party or celebration.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only the one who doesn't care when their birthday rolls around. Well, "Happy Birthday," anyways! Thanks for reading my silly thoughts.

Amazing Night

Sunday Night, November 22, 2009, I saw and participated in one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. Our church had the Strength Team, ministering from Wednesday - Sunday.

On Sunday night my senior pastor Eric and I had the privilege of baptizing 38 people.

It was an awesome night, and all the glory was God's!

We are also learning that more people want to be baptized, God is good!

Facebook & Twitter Killed My Blog

I haven't been on this blog in a long time, and when I started it I fully intended to write something at least once a month. But facebook took over as my main social networking tool.

Recently, I also found out about twitter. It's like mini blogging and I have been very into that as well.

I have also written a few "notes" on facebook that could have been here as well and I just didn't think about it.

Anyways, I don't think anyone reads this blog. Not sure what the point of all this ranting is other than to say, if you want to keep up with me, follow me on twitter or be my friend on facebook.

Be Blessed By God!

Feeling Stupid

Sunday night I was standing in my bedroom opening a package with a pocket knife. The package was a holster for a 357 Magnum Revolver. As I was cutting through a zip-tie on the back of the packaging the force of the knife going through it shot my right hand to the left and into my left thumb.

Realizing I had just cut my thumb, I yelled something waking my wife from her nap while shaking my hand. In doing so I splattered blood all over the room. It was on the ceiling, the walls, the blinds, the door, the floor, the bed, you get the point. There was blood everywhere; it looked like something out of a CSI crime scene.

Anyways, I ran to the bathroom to stop the bleeding and bandage my thumb. After about and hour of cleaning up the blood in the bedroom and realizing that my thumb was still bleeding I went to the emergency room. I felt pretty dumb explaining how I cut my thumb, but strangely I don’t think it was the first time they had heard this story.

After being well taken care of & eight stitches later I was on my way. From now on, I think I will use scissors to open demon packaging.

So here is a question; why do companies make things so hard to open?