Numbers
Dec 21, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This has been an exciting year at Riverview as we expanded the capacity of our Holt Venue, launched a new Church Planting Residency with our MSU Venue, and began preparations for another church plant within the next year. We are also gearing up to send over 200 people to Mazatlan, Mexico on short term mission trips in 2012, including all six of our pastors.
While numbers aren’t everything, they do matter a great deal (there’s even a book of the Bible called “Numbers”). Here are a few numbers from this past year that I am humbled and floored by:
- 12,877: Number of online views of our message videos (not including downloads)
- 104: People went on a mission trip to Mexico
- 1,329: Children were involved in RivKids
- 150: Students were involved in our middle and high school ministries (Chaos and Element)
- 3,863: People attended services at our Holt Venue on Easter weekend (51% higher than 2010)
- 2,762: Average attendance at our Holt Venue (20% higher than 2010)
- 168: Average attendance at our MSU Venue (18% higher than 2010)
- 2: Riverview Church Planting Residents
- 86: People were baptized (that we know about)
- 101: Number of Life Groups (includes 913 people)
What do all these numbers have in common? They each represent specific individuals learning to become sacrificial followers of Jesus through the ministry at Riverview. By faith, we are making even bigger plans for spreading the message of Jesus in 2012. We know we can’t do this under our own strength, but we want to follow the lead of the Apostle Paul who wrote: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:2-5)
Would you prayerfully consider a year-end gift to help us spread the Gospel throughout the Lansing area and beyond in 2012?
Just click this link to give online.
Tags: baptism, church planting, Jesus, Mexico, money, riverview
Great Money Questions
Mar 17, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the first Saturday Night worship service ever at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. During the message, Mark Driscoll shared eight questions every Christian should ask themselves about money. I thought they were excellent and thought I’d repost them here:
1. To whom do you compare yourself financially? Specifically, this was an admonition to have some perspective and realize how rich we are as a culture.
2. Do you worship your money or worship with your money?
3. How do you worship/serve money in a sinful way?
4. What deep idols fuel your worship of money (status, comfort, security, fame, beauty)?
5. How do you define yourself by what you have and consume?
6. How has money enslaved you?
7. If Jesus set your budget, how would it be different?
8. Why is Jesus a better God than money?
Tags: materialism, money
Money Question #4 – Giving while in Debt
Dec 13, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Last week, I began to answer common questions about our series on generosity at Riv. Today we pick up with another very popular one:
Today’s Question: Should I give even if I am in debt or should I work to get out of debt first?
This is a question that I get from time to time. Typically, it is from people who have decided that they need to take aggressive action to get themselves out of debt. The logic goes something like this:
- I owe thousands of dollars to creditors
- The larger the payment I make, the less I pay in interest
- The larger the payment I make, the faster I will be out of debt
- The less I pay in interest and the faster I am out of debt, the more money I will have to give
Let me say at the outset that I think it is awesome that people want to get out of debt. The Bible doesn’t say a ton about debt, but all that it says is pretty much bad. I love what Paul says in Romans:
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
I also generally agree with the logic detailed above. However, I think there is an important distinction to make. Giving is often a spiritual barometer of our values. As a friend of mine said recently, “you make time for what is important.” I think it’s the same with money, “you find money for what is important.” Most people who give less so they can pay off debt still find enough money to eat out, entertain, buy stuff they don’t really need, etc. That’s where the logic breaks down for me.
Because of this, I always encourage people to continue to give even while paying off debts, even if it is a small amount. Doing this shows a commitment to place God first in every aspect of their lives. Additionally, it helps them to create a habit of giving. I know people who were so excited to pay off their debts that they worked at it and worked at it until they were completely debt free. Then, instead of becoming more generous, the pendulum of their life swung the other way and they began to hoard their money and/or spend it frivolously.
Of course, this all needs to fall under the caveat that Paul gives us:
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7
This makes the amount and timing a matter of your heart’s response to God’s revealed will that his followers be sacrificially generous people.
Tags: debt, generosity, money
Money Question #3 – Too Poor to Give
Dec 8, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This week, I’m answering common questions I am receiving about Riv’s series on generosity.
Today’s Question: What do I do if I’m really struggling financially? Should I give anyway?
I know there are a lot of people facing this very question in Michigan these days (not to mention all the broke college students around here). Let me answer in the form of a story from my own life.
When my wife and I were newly married, we were not financial givers at all. And I mean it, we didn’t give at all. We thought we couldn’t. Then we had a kid and went down to one income. Now we really couldn’t give. Eventually, we bought a house and as any homeowner knows, that’s not a cheap thing. Not to mention the fact that during the course of this season, we had another kid.
Now we had a mortgage, a car payment, a bunch of credit card debt, some student loans (which my father in law graciously helped with), two kids to feed and clothe, and we were doing this all on one income. In fact, my income was so low that I had to do freelance work on the side to make ends meet.
I can’t remember what initially challenged us in this area, but we began to feel convicted that as Christ-followers, we should be giving generously. That was a struggle for us since we hadn’t been giving at all! We decided one day that we were going to change cold turkey. From that day forward, by God’s grace, we were always going to give away a minimum of 10% of our income to the church and look for other opportunities to be generous as well.
By God’s grace, that’s what we have been able to do. We have never gone without heat or clothes or groceries (we almost did once and someone provided several bags of food for us). Granted, we have had to do without some stuff, but God has always richly provided for our needs and a great much more.
As our income has grown, we have been able to give more. Now, we have no debt other than our mortgage. This puts us in the great position to be continue to be generous.
Remember this verse?
God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. – 2 Cor 9:8
Even if you don’t give big, I encourage you to give something. The faith part comes when you give it to God before you spend any of your income on anything else. You are then forced to trust God to give you enough of everything in every way at all times.
Money Question #2 – Spousal Disagreement
Dec 7, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This week (and probably next week), I’ll be answering common questions I am receiving about Riv’s series on generosity.
Today’s Question: What do I do if my spouse thinks differently about how much money we should give away?
Since opposites attract, it is no big surprise that a husband and wife often approach the issue of money differently. The way they were brought up, the income of their parents, their spending habits when they were single, and their convictions from Scripture may all be different. I can’t tell you how many couples I know that don’t see eye to eye in this area.
In fact, experts say that most couples fight about two things: money and sex. I actually think the solution to the “how much” issue is the same for both areas.
It’s a pretty simple idea, really. Use both of your standards for “how much” as bookends and land somewhere in between. You should give more (or have sex more) than the stingier of you wants and less than the other person wants.
This is called compromise and it’s the stuff marriage is made of.
Tags: generosity, money, sex
Money Question #1 – Anonymity in Giving
Dec 6, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
The series on generosity we are currently in at Riv is generating a lot of very good questions. I want to make sure everyone has a chance to hear them (as well as my attempt at answers). So, this week I am going to answer the most common questions I am getting.
Today’s Question: “Why are you using examples from your own life (and the lives of others), aren’t we supposed to keep our giving secret?”
This is a very common question and there’s a guy who can answer it way better than I can, so I will let him. His name is Randy Alcorn and here’s a bit of an interview he did with Mark Driscoll on this very topic.
Tags: generosity, money
Money – God or Gift?
Nov 29, 2010 Book Reviews
This weekend at Riv, we passed out over a thousand copies of Jamie Munson’s new book Money – God or Gift
Jamie does a great job in this book addressing money in a very Biblical, yet easily readable fashion. The book is broken down into 3 sections, with 5 small chapters per section. We are encouraging everyone at Riv to read this book during the next month and take time to discuss it in their Life Groups. (You can subscribe to Riv Life Group notes by clicking here.)
Here are a couple key quotes from the book:
“Saving is a sin–if it’s done for the wrong reasons. Same goes for spending, working, earning, investing, and even giving. Any financial transaction reveals our heart by presenting an opportunity to worship Jesus or worship ourselves.”
“Jesus does not ask every Christian to sell every possession in order to give all proceeds to the needy…But he leaves us with no choice other than to hold our possessions loosely, and even to seek opportunities to part with them in order to provide for the needy.”
“There is nothing magical or especially holy about money. It’s just a gift. A tool. We can use it wisely or foolishly…”
If you are a Riv attender and you didn’t get a copy, make sure you grab one during the services between now and Christmas.
If you know of a Riv attender who is serving overseas in the military, email me (N...@RivChurch.com) their address and I will mail them a copy of the book since they can’t get it in person. That way they can read along with their spouses who are stateside.
Tags: generosity, materialism, money, stewardship
Poverty Gospel
Nov 25, 2008 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Yesterday, I posted a clip from John Piper about the “Prosperity Gospel.” This is a theology that is gaining steam in many parts of the world, but quite honestly I don’t run into too many people around these parts who buy into it.
It seems we deal more with the other extreme, which is also dangerous: “Poverty Gospel.” This is the school of thought that says Christ-followers should be poor or should at least redistribute their wealth. It is almost becoming the cool thing to “be poor for Jesus.”
This idea stems from the same problem as the “Prosperity Gospel,” and that is a lack of “Razor’s Edge Living.” Instead of seeing the paradoxical way the Bible calls us to live, we jump to one extreme or another. It’s simpler, it’s less complex, and we can ignore parts of the Bible we don’t like. In fact I just got done reading a very popular book (that has been recommended to me by tons of people). The author basically calls Christians to live with or like the poor and gives us the impression that to do so is more godly than to live in the burbs and drive your new Honda Accord to church.
There are a ton of verses we could look at, but I’ll just slap up one passage. Note the underlined parts:
1Timothy 6:17-19 – Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
See it? God richly supplies us with things to enjoy. This is not “Prosperity Gospel,” but God giving to us as he sees fit. And part of his plan is that we enjoy these things. But it doesn’t stop there! We are also to be generous and ready to share. It’s a both/and thing.
The reason I wanted to write about this is the current economic times. I am concerned that when things get a bit tenuous, Christians tend to run to one of the extremes. In these times, especially in a state that is so tied to the auto industry, we should all be on guard against both of these errors.
Tags: materialism, money
Prosperity Gospel
Nov 24, 2008 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
There are two equally dangerous traps followers of Jesus can fall into when it comes to our material things. The first is the “Prosperity Gospel.” This trap says you will be materially blessed if you are in “right relationship with Jesus.”
In other words, sanctification comes with bling, an Escalade with rims, and a Chinchilla jacket.
I was going to write a bit on this, but my friend Joel sent me an amazing video from John Piper, so I’ll let him take if from here.
Tomorrow, I’ll write a bit about the opposite trap.
Tags: idolatry, materialism, money
