Ask the Pastor

Another faithful reader asks, “should a person give their whole first check as a firstfruits offering? Is that the only first fruit offering to give or would a portion of it be sufficient?”

Let me state up front that this blog represents my personal opinion.  I know my answer to this question will not agree with some of the “Brother & Sister Wonderful’s” on television.  I’ve heard their teaching and seen some of their polished appeals for you to send them the entire first check of the year or the entire first check of a new job.  However, I do NOT find that concept in Scripture, at least as I understand God’s Word.

As I read the various references in the Old Testament to “firstfruits”, they clearly speak of the beginning of one’s harvest (since theirs was an agrarian culture and they didn’t receive a paycheck for their labor as we do). By reading those various references to firstfruits, I have come to the conclusion that “firstfruits” in Scripture is synonymous with “tithes”, since the principle is identical: when we give the Lord the first portion of our harvest, He promises His blessing on all the rest of it! (See Proverbs 3:9-10 – and keep in mind that our Proverbs series continues this Sunday, and interestingly enough, our topic is “Master Your Money”!)

That’s another reason we don’t tithe on the ‘leftovers’, after we pay other bills, but on the ‘first’ tenth of our income, to invoke God’s blessing on all the rest.  After all, Scripture is quite clear that it’s ALL His! (Psalm 24:1)

So, my understanding of bringing your firstfruits to the Lord is identical to bringing your tithes to the Lord.  I do not see anything in Scripture that would require me to give God the entire first check of the year or the entire first check from a new job.  I am sure that God blesses us whenever we bring an offering over and above our tithes, so if you or someone you know testifies about the blessing they received by giving their first check to the Lord, I have no problem with it – I just don’t see that as a requirement in Scripture.

I suppose CLC could bring in additional income if I would teach that everyone should bring their first check to the church, and perhaps that is why some ministers do so.  But I didn’t enter the ministry to enrich myself or to fatten the bank account of CLC.  My role is to teach God’s Word, and that’s what I try to do through this blog as well.

Hope that helps.  Now, what would you like to Ask the Pastor?

All-Access 2010, final day

I’m home. Finally.

As good as it feels to be back home, ready for my own bed, I’ve gotta say that this was one of the best conferences I have EVER attended.  Today’s sessions were particularly honest and real, without any of the posturing that sometimes happens when preachers (people?) get together.

Chris Hodges was as transparent and vulnerable as I’ve ever heard anyone.

Stovall Weems passionately made me think about “Kingdom Sweat”.  (I think I’ll use his stuff)

Greg Surratt taught us how to “Grow Through Conflict” – which is probably helpful to members as well as pastors.

Craig Groeschel talked about “A Leader’s Constant Companion: Pain”, and actually encouraged me to let God increase my threshold of pain.

As you can probably tell from the titles, it wasn’t a ‘feel-good’ conference about church growth.  It was about real church growth – the kind I want at CLC.

Greg Surratt has the quote of the day: “It’s ok to get on the pity-potty as long as you don’t sit there long enough to get ring-around-the-heinie!”

With that, I bid you adieu – I’m going to sleep in my own bed.

All-Access 2010, second day

Let’s put it this way: the incredible line-up of speakers at All-Access 2010 did not disappoint!

As a pastor, every so often, it’s important for me to get preached-to myself, and I am enjoying every minute of this opportunity:

Rick Bezet made me laugh.  Priscilla Shirer grabbed my heart and squeezed.  Robert Morris taught on money as well as I’ve ever heard it taught.  Miles McPherson helped me laugh some more.  And tonight, Dino Rizzo made me want to always stay small, no matter how big CLC ever gets!

Dino’s quote of the day: “There really are no big churches.  There’s just a BIG God, using small churches to do big things!”

Tomorrow is another full day before Ed and I hop on two more flights back to Chicago, but right now, my bed is calling me.  Coming home changed!

All-Access 2010, first night

It was a loooooooong day (left my house about 6:15am, just got into our hotel room about 11pm), but at least the air travel was uncomplicated and we were able to get to the church just in time for the opening of the conference.

John Maxwell was as good as I’ve ever heard him – sharing his secrets of ‘connecting’ with people as a communicator – WOW!

And Pastor Brian Houston charged us all to “spice up” our prayer life, and “spice up” the prayer of our church!

Hillsong United was, well, Hillsong United.  What can I say?

And as only God could arrange, out of thousands of people in the new Healing Place Arena, I sat just a few feet from a great friend from Covenant Church in Dallas, so Ed and I had some good fellowship (and good food) following service.

I’m ready for some shut-eye – early sessions tomorrow.  Later-

Off to Baton Rouge…and a couple of testimonies

Later this morning I’m headed to Baton Rouge, LA along with my favorite Media Director for the Association of Related Churches (CLC is a member) and their annual “All-Access” Conference.  ARC is perhaps the premier church-planting association in the United States, and the lineup of speakers is about as impressive as any conference I’ve ever seen.  Plus Hillsong United is leading worship, and the meeting is hosted by one of my ‘heroes’, Dino Rizzo at Healing Place Church, so it should be a couple of days of heaven on earth!

But before I go, just wanna share a couple of stories I heard yesterday:

• my guest (see previous posts here and here) met my wife for the first time Sunday – AND has attended each Sunday since that first visit and told me today, “I only wish I had started to attend sooner!” Yay, Jesus!
• CLCer Levar Fisher was invited to speak at a maximum-security prison, and about 800 inmates came to hear his message.  At the close, he told the story of being drafted to play in the NFL, and his excitement about the draft – then told the inmates that they were also being drafted – by the Lord Jesus Christ; he then gave a salvation invitation and over half of the men responded by praying to receive Christ!

Now that’ll get your motor started first thing in the morning!

Don’t forget: just 5 invite days till we look at Proverbs wisdom on “Master Your Money!”

Money, Money, Money!

I’m having more fun with this Proverbs series than should be legal……it’s just SO practical and it’s SO easy for us to see ourselves in it’s pages…..the need for wisdom…..the power of our friendships….the reality about anger management – it’s been SO good already!

That’s why I’m SO excited about this Sunday, when we’ll look at what the wisest man who ever lived had to say about money! And since EVERYONE you know is interested in money, and nothing is more important in Making Your Life Work than your finances, this may be the EASIEST week yet for you to invite a friend or co-worker to join you!

I can’t wait to share with you Solomon’s 5 principles for “Mastering Your Money”, so start inviting now!

Sunday reflections

Today I had the opportunity to join our CLC family in South Bend, Indiana for the first time since last August! (Not sure how that happened & can’t believe it’s been that long, but it was good to be with Pastors Doug & Shanna Neal & congregation there!). Here are my random thoughts on this final Sunday of April:

• South Bend set an attendance record during Doug & Shanna’s tenure there – with 177 people in worship today, including several new guests.  (I was thrilled to meet so many new folks who’ve started attending since I was there last, along with the faithful folks who’ve been part of our family for the past few years)
• In Shorewood, Pastor Dan modestly reports a good day with good response to the Proverbs teaching on anger, but one of the members there contacted me on Facebook to say the worship & Word was “amazing”!
• At our Davao, Philippines campus, Pastor Herley reports great blessing in their Sunday services (they’re also doing the Proverbs series with us!) and 10 new people who gave their hearts to the Lord today!  In fact, their recent outreach efforts have resulted in hundreds of homes being opened for Bible study, and a special meeting next week where they anticipate 200 brand-new prospects – please pray for them to have receptive hearts!
• At our Hispanic campus, Pastor Jaime says more new prospects are coming from their recent postcard blitz, and he’s excited!
• Pastor Eric reports that “The Healer” was in the house at Lisle today and that “He was very busy”!
• From the reports I received from Tinley Park today, my wife hit it out of the park on “Anger Management”, and I especially rejoice over the reports of the ministry of the Holy Spirit that accompanied her teaching – prophetic words, prayers answered, and a couple of incredible testimonies, including (a) a CLC member who was ‘secretly’ addicted to cigarettes and had tried everything to quit to no avail – but received her prophetic word about that addiction being broken 2 years ago, and hasn’t had another cigarette since!; and (b) another CLCer whose husband hasn’t been walking with the Lord, and refused her invitation last Wednesday to hear Don Piper’s story, so afterwards she told him all about Don’s testimony.  Thursday, her husband was himself involved in a horrific accident (see pictures below) and his truck was completely destroyed – but he walked away without a single broken bone – AND he was in service today!

• perhaps the most exciting report of the day came from our Media Director, Eduardo Marroquin, who reports that almost 200 people joined our live stream today (including someone from Japan!) and most importantly, it resulted in 2 people who prayed to receive Christ; 2 others who renewed their commitment to follow the Lord; several who asked about water baptism, and 7 people who want information about our LifeGroups!  (Can you say, WOW!)

That’s what I call a GOOD DAY…..and now I’m saying, ‘good night’!

The Manhattan Declaration

Several weeks ago, I signed the Manhattan Declaration, which was released this past November by a group of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Evangelical Christian leaders.  It is a document reaffirming and promising to defend fundamental truths in three areas:

1. the sanctity of human life;
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife; and
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

It is clear that these basic truths are being threatened today on all sides. Millions of innocent children are being killed by abortion; same-sex “marriage” has become common in several states; and there are very real threats to our ability to freely practice religion and follow our consciences.

As the pastor of Christian Life Center, I have in the past and will continue in the future to refrain from mere political statements or positions – but I see this as being far more than a political issue – it’s a spiritual issue for those of us who want to be salt and light in a nation that is increasingly becoming dark.  Therefore, I urge you to go to the website. Follow the links to read and understand the Manhattan Declaration and add your voice to the many who have already responded. Encourage others to sign as well. The goal is one million signatures. To date, over 440,000 people have signed, including hundreds of religious leaders.

Along with the authors of the Manhattan Declaration, may we “commit ourselves to honoring [these fundamental truths] fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

Ask the Pastor

Last week’s question prompted a follow-up from one of my favorite “ex-CLCers”, now living in Atlanta.  (A friend told me last week that there’s no such thing as an ‘ex-CLCer’; he says ‘once a CLCer, always a CLCer at heart’!  I hope so.)

At any rate, here’s the question: “I wonder if you have any suggestions about staying focused during meditation – that is when my mind seems to wonder the most.  Often times it could be a song in my head, and one of praise & worship, but I can never seem to get my mind completely blank to just focus on being completely in the presence of God.”

Excellent question…..at least because it gives me a chance to clarify something that I think many may be confused about: e.g., the subject of Biblical mediation.

You see, meditation in the Bible is NOT at all the kind of meditation practiced in yoga or in some Eastern religions, where the goal is to “get my mind completely blank” as you’ve stated.  Instead, meditation in the Bible comes from the same root connotation as a cow chewing its cud.  I’ll try not to be too graphic here, but the cow, unlike us, has four stomachs to aid in the process of digestion.  Healthy cows regularly regurgitate what they’ve already eaten (and partially digested in one stomach compartment) and chew on it some more (“chewing their cud” we call it), which enables them to get the full benefit of what they’ve eaten.

That’s the picture of Bible meditation!  The goal is not to get our mind completely blank; the goal is to reflect upon different aspects of the verses we’ve already read, to ensure that we’re getting the full truth and maximum benefit of what God is saying to us – so we ruminate and reflect and consider additional aspects of truth we’ve already received.  I like what Rick Warren says, “if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate“! He also writes, “Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing the same thing, only focusing on God’s Word instead of your problem.”

I especially like the Amplified Bible in Mark 4:24, because that’s the real principle behind meditation.  Of course, Joshua 1:8 is another ‘classic’ about meditation, and introduces another interesting aspect about Biblical meditation: it involved one’s mouth, for the Jewish people would regularly ‘mutter’ the verses, repeating them over and over to themselves, as they reflected on the truths of Scripture.

As to additional suggestions about avoiding distracting thoughts during meditation, other than the tip last week about having pen & paper nearby, I don’t know…….but I suspect your mind will be so active in Biblical meditation that it won’t be much of a problem.  One tactic I’ve sometimes used is to emphasize each word individually in a verse – making it stand out as the most important part – which can bring about much fuller meaning than the ‘traditional’ way we read it.  Obviously, there are different methods to help you meditate on Scripture, but that’ll have to wait for another day.

Hope this helped!  Now, what would YOU like to ask the Pastor?

My talking Bible

My devotions earlier this week had me in Galatians, and as I read in the Amplified Bible, chapter 2, verse 8 really jumped out at me.  (I’m sure I’ve read it many times before, but never saw its truth so beautifully!) Notice:

• He motivated us – i.e., HE is the one who put the desire in our heart for whatever ministry passion we have;
• He also fitted us – i.e., HE not only gave us a desire for a certain area of ministry or service to fulfill our purpose here on earth, but then He ‘fitted‘ us – He gave us the exact abilities, giftings and experiences that would best suit us for that area of ministry!
• Finally, HE works effectively through us – i.e., when we are using our gifts to fulfill our heart’s desire, that’s when we are fruitful as well!  (Some people call it their ‘sweet spot’, and that’s what it is!)

What a good God!

SELAH.

What ministry desire to you have?  (Maybe you’re never even acknowledged it – or maybe the enemy has told you it’s just ‘you’ dreaming – but what is it that you really want to do for the Kingdom?)

What are you ‘fitted’ to do?  (I won’t be surprised if it’s the very thing that makes your heart beat faster!)

Where is God working effectively through you?  (Or maybe, if you’re not seeing ‘fruit’, you should go back to the first two questions – because if HE put the desire in your heart, then HE will enable you in that area, and you WILL be fruitful!)

Does that speak to you like it did to me?  If so, share your thoughts below-

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