Leadership Thought: Why I Don’t Believe in Tithing.

Dear Friends,

It has been said that we are most like God when we give and most unlike Him when we withhold.

Jesus talked a lot about money matters because He knew that “money matters”. He talked more about money issues than He did about heaven and hell and faith combined.

It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

God owns it all and we are simply His money managers.

Stewardship is what happens to mine because of what happens to me. 

Keeping these above statements in mind, you might ask is there any benchmark we should consider when it comes to our giving?

Should the tithe, or the giving of 10 percent of our income, be the goal of our giving? After all, it was what the Old Testament Jew was expected to give. But I would ask can we who live on this side of the cross be expected to give anything less than the Old Testament Jew  who lived in the shadow of the cross? My answer to that question is no. I believe the tithe is a good place to begin our giving, but I would ask can we lower the ceiling because we stand on higher ground?

It is true that tithing in the New Testament is neither directly commanded nor rescinded. But I would point out that every New Testament example of giving goes beyond the tithe and none falls short of it.

Does God expect his New Covenant children to give less or more that the Jew living under the Old Covenant? Should we as believers lower the standard because we stand on higher ground? Jesus raises the spiritual bar. He never lowers it.  Should we who possess the Holy Spirit and who live in the wealthiest country in the world, give anything less than the tithe?

Let me quote from Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book The Treasure Principle. The tithe  is God’s historical method to get on the path of giving. It’s unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can be a good place to begin. Even under the first Covenant it wasn’t a stopping place for the Jews who also gave additional offerings beyond the tithe.  Tithing is not the ceiling for giving; it’s the floor. It is not the finish line of giving; it is just the starting blocks. Tithing can be the training wheels to launch us into the mind set skills and habit of grace giving." P 61.

"Grace giving" should be sacrificial giving. Paul says of the Macedonian Christians in  2 Cor 8:2-5  "Although they were going through hard times, and were very poor, they were glad to give generously. They gave as much as they could afford, and even more.  They gave simply because they wanted to. They even asked and begged us to let them have the joy of giving their money for God’s people.  And they did more than we had hoped.  They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to us, just as God wanted them to do."  

I believe the Macedonian example should be the model for our giving. Our giving should be generous, sacrificial, and motivated by our love for Jesus and His children. It may be more than the tithe, or it might be less than the tithe, but whatever it is, it should represent a worthy sacrifice in light of the sacrifice Jesus has made for each of us.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Adapted from a previous Leadership Thought on the subject of giving

Leadership Thought: Music That Has Changed My Heart and Soul, or Let's Go 'Dancin' to the Boot Scootin’ Boggie.

Dear Friend

Just yesterday in church, one of our members and I wound up talking about the recent death of country legend Lorretta Lynn. Our conversation led to a time of sharing about the roots of country music, and how this music, full of life’s stories, had  touched our hearts.

He mentioned one of his favorite singers, Jim Reeves, and I immediately responded. “He'll Have to Go,” and then be brought up George Jones, and I mentioned “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” considered by many the greatest country song of all time.

Country music, or I should say classic country music, has been the music staple of my life. It started in the 50’s with Hank Williams,’ “Kawliga” and Roy Acuff’s “The Great Speckled Bird,” songs that probably many of you have never heard.

My conversation with my friend, got me thinking about some of my favorite classic country songs. I tried to come up with my top 25 but as soon as I had finished, I immediately thought of a dozen more that I could have added to my list.

I suspect if you take a listen to some of those songs I listed below, you could, become like me, a classic country music junkie. Even you Sinatra fans or Guy Lombardo kind of people may be won over, so take a listen. I think you will be glad you did.

The below songs are in no order:

• Don’t Take the Girl, Tim McGraw
• You Don’t Even Know My Name, David Allan Coe
• Should Have Been a Cowboy, Toby Keith
• He Stopped Loving Her Today, George Jones
• Unfair Weather Friends, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson
• Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?, Alan Jackson
• You Say It Best When You Say Nothing at All, Keith Whitely or Allison Krause
• Cheyenne, George Strait
• Amarillo by Morning, George Strait
• The Dance, Garth Brooks
• Gone County, Alan Jackson
• All That Glitters is Not Gold, Dan Seals
• Making Believe,  Kitty Wells or Emmylou Harris
• Remember When, Alan Jackson
• Few Old Country Boys Like Me, George Jones and Randy Travis
• I Am Going be Somebody Someday, Travis Tritt
• Kiss an Angel Good Morning, Charlie Pride
• Take Me Home Country Road, John Denver
• Wagon Wheel,  Darious Rucker
• Meet me in Montana, Dan Seals and Marie Osmond or Lefty Frizell and Dottie West
• Pancho and Lefty, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson
• Chiseled in Stone, Vern Gosden
• Your My Best Friend, Don Williams
• Sing Me Back Home, Merle Haggard
• Convoy,  C. W. McCall (a tearjerker)

Some extras for country laughter,

• The Winner, and Marie Leveau, both by Bobby Bare

As I completed this list, I wondered how I could have left off Old Hippie, Bellamy Brothers; Love Can Build a Bridge, The Judds; Bring them Flowers Now, Tanya Tucker; Traveling Soldier, the Chicks; and on the list goes.

It is hard to narrow down such a list, and if you are a classic country enthusiast you will understand.

No, not much spiritual this morning-just some music that has spoken to my heart over the years.

But then again, there are some great classic country gospel songs out there by country legends as well:

• How Great Thou Art, Carrie Underwood,
• Three Wooden Crosses, Randy Travis,
• The Long Black Train, Josh Turner,
• Why Me, Kris Kristofferson,
• Unanswered Prayers, Garth Brooks,
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Carter Family,
•  I Saw the Light, Hank Williams,
• The Old Rugged Cross, Alan Jackson.
• Go Rest High on That Mountain, Vince Gill and Patty Loveless, duet at George Jones funeral

Well, I hope this give you an introduction to some of the best of the country classics. So, buckle up your belt, put on them boots, and let’s go a ‘dancin’ to The Boot Scootin’ Boogie by Brooks and Dunn

I’d love to hear from you some of those songs that have touched your heart and soul.

Have a great day in Jesus,

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: It Only Takes a Minute but It Will Change Two Lives.

Dear Friends,

There is nothing like encouragement to lift your spirits and thrill your soul. Encouragement is like honey, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones-rough paraphrase of a one of Solomon’s proverbs (Proverbs 16:24).

Yesterday I came home from a weekly  breakfast I enjoy with a couple of my friends, and during our time together one of my friends shared with me how he had remembered an encouraging phone call of mine that happened over twenty years ago, a phone call I had long forgotten.

When I later arrived home to check my e-mail, I had the pleasure of reading a beautiful e-mail message filled with encouragement from a friend who was a part of a church I served over thirty years ago. She was responding to an e-mail I had recently sent on the power of a personal hug.

Later that day I received a opened a bright handwritten envelope which I quickly opened only to find a card inside dripping  with words of encouragement and thankfulness.

I hit the encouragement trifecta!

I can’t tell how much those breakfast words, that e-mail “hug” and that bright shining letter meant to me.

Each one of them came from a dear friend whose treasured friendship has impacted my life.

Yes, kind words are sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Once again, I was reminded of the power of encouragement to lift one’s spirits.

I have an old Bible that has now become the repository of notes I have received from friends over the years. Every once in a while, I will open up that bible, pull out a few of those letters, and quietly give thanks for those who have taken the time to write or type them.

In his book The Power of Encouragement, Pastor David Jeremiah writes, “Written encouragement comes directly from the heart, uninterrupted and uninhibited. That’s why it’s so powerful.”  Haven’t we all known that to be true?

Mother Teresa said, “Kind words are short and easy to speak (or write) but their echoes are endless.” Yes, such words of encouragement  are seldom forgotten.

Is there someone who needs to hear some “echoes” of  encouragement today? Why not take a few minutes to jot them a note, send them an e-mail, or better yet pick up the phone and give them some words that come straight from your lips that will go straight to their heart.

You will make two people happy: you will experience the joy of knowing you are making a difference in someone’s life, and your recipient will in turn be thankful you cared enough to remember them.

Get writing or get calling!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Why I Won’t Help Some Addicts Who Comes to Our Church.

Dear Friend,

“Recovery Life” is a ministry of our church for those with addiction issues, and at one of our recent meetings one of the participants asked, “How do you know when it’s time to stop helping an addict?” The question asked was a familiar one

Although I do not consider myself to be an expert on alcoholism, I have been involved over many years in helping addicts deal with their addiction struggles. During those years I have seen first-hand the devastation that alcoholism causes individual and families.

While I support most all programs of recovery including AA, I have found that the most effective approach to recovery involves a Christ centered approach, and so when a person is seeking some form of treatment, this is the direction I will most often point them.

As we sat around the table that evening, I shared my response to the question of “How does one know when to stop helping someone struggling with addiction” by sharing my early failures in trying to assist people looking for recovery. I wanted to help everyone, and I thought I could help everyone. As a result, there was always a steady stream of people coming to our home or our church in need of help. The word quickly spread that this ‘Crenshaw guy’ was good for a few bucks, so for months in my first ministry I was inundated with people coming to me, not looking for genuine help but simply a generous handout.

Sadly, it took time for me to realize I wasn’t helping them, only enabling them, and when I found other more constructive ways to help them,  I quickly discovered that people stopped coming when I ceased trying to fix their problems.

I wasn’t helping. I was simply being used. The phrase “Show me, don’t snow me” became my mantra. No longer was I willing to be used in helping those who only wanted ‘handout help.’

And through this experience I grew in my understanding of how to help those suffering with addiction, and often that help meant saying no to them.

Al-Anon has an expression “Putting pillows under a person,” so the addict never has to feel the pain of their mistakes.” Too often we are guilty of doing just that, relieving the pain and the problems of the addict while thinking we are loving them and helping them.

Sometimes in trying to help someone struggling with addiction, we only enable them by rescuing them and cleaning up their mess. As a result, we often foster their addiction rather than help treat their addiction.

At the meeting I shared the importance of setting boundaries for addicts, of learning how to say no to them without feeling guilty, something that is not always easy to do.

The bible reminds us that “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28: 13). How serious a person is about recovery will often be discovered by assessing how honest the person is about what he is willing to do to realize recovery.

An enabler has been “defined as doing things for a person with an alcohol problem that they normally could and would do for themselves if they were sober.”

What are some of the signs you are enabling and not helping an addict: Accepting chronic lapses, cleaning up after the addict, giving the addict an ultimatum to stop  and then not following through, giving them a place to stay when they are homeless, lending money to the addict, making excuses for the addict to family and friends, making excuses for their inability to work, paying bills, showing unconditional love by taking on things that the addict has dropped, taking an extra responsibilities because the attic cannot function……..” (Armanda Andruzzi, author of Hope Street and founder of Symptom-Free Wellness).

There may come a time in dealing with a person’s addiction when we say, “I can’t and won’t continue to help you,” and yes, you may have to close your own door to get them to walk through their own door to recovery

We must never stop loving the addict, praying for them, encouraging them, and sharing how Jesus can change their lives, but we must establish clear boundaries regarding what we will do and not do for them and stick with them.

Only then will you be helping them not enabling.

Remember some of the best help you can give an addict it to say the word “no” and say it with conviction and without guilt.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. Would love to hear any experiences you have had in dealing with addiction or those struggling with addiction.

Leadership Thought: Have You Ever Lost You Joy?

Dear Friend,

Did you ever lose your joy? I know there have been times in my life when I have, and I suspect there are times when you have as well.

I recently was talking with a pastor friend of mine who was going through a rough patch in his life. He was struggling to find a sense of purpose in his life and in his ministry, but it had eluded him.

He was thinking of leaving his church, and one day he was talking to a friend about his situation. “I am just unable to find any joy in my ministry anymore,” he told him.

The wise friend said, “I know the answer to your problem: You are looking for joy in the wrong place. You will never find it in your ministry, nor will you find it in your finances, your family, or anything else. The kind of joy you are seeing will never be found in anything related to life’s circumstances for joy that is of lasting value can only be found in the Lord”.

My friend told me those words completely transformed his thinking about his ministry, and I am happy to say he decided to continue pastoring his church. My friend, like many of us, was looking for joy ‘in all the wrong places.’

Joy that is permanent and transformational is never found in life but in only in the Lord.

The Bible reminds us that, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Joy comes from Jesus.

Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord, always” and that includes in the midst of every trial and every circumstance.

Larry Crabb writes, “Many of us place top priority not on becoming Christ-like in the midst of our problems, but on finding happiness. I want to be happy, but the paradoxical truth is that I will never be happy if I’m concerned primarily with becoming happy. My overriding goal must be in every circumstance to respond biblically, to put the Lord first, to seek to behave as he would want me to. The wonderful truth is that as we devote all our energies to the task of becoming what Christ wants us to be, he fills us with joy unspeakable and a peace far surpassing what the world offers.”

He continues, “Paul said it was his ambition (goal) not to become happy, but to please God at every moment. What a transforming thought! When I drive my car to work and someone cuts me off, when my kids act up during church, when the dishwasher breaks…my primary responsibility is to please God” (Effective Biblical Counseling, Lawrence Crabb, pp. 20-21).

Simply put, if you want to be happy, you won’t find it by seeking after happiness which is so elusive. You will only find it through seeking God. And when you do, you will not only discover happiness in the process, but some even greater-joy, real joy that is never dependent on circumstances, but is always dependent on the Lord.

I am not sure who said it, but long ago I committed it to memory: “Joy is the flag flying high above the castle of the heart, announcing that the king is in residence there.”

So, let’s hoist high our flag and boldly wave it for all to see the King who resides at home with our hearts.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom 

Leadership Thought: Are You Spiritual Drifting Through Covid? The Answer is Easy.

Dear Friends,

I have a question for you this morning. The question is have you drifted spiritually during Covid? 

A lot of changes have happened during Covid. Those who have always commuted to their workplace have discovered the comfort of working from home and for many this has been a good thing. We have enjoyed the comfort and convenience that comes from working from home. No long traffic jams, no need to get dressed up, more flexibility with our schedules have  all been welcome changes for many.

Covid has made some real changes in how we do church as well. Those in the church have discovered we can worship from home in in the comfort of our living room, while sipping coffee in the comfort of our pajamas while watching worship services at home and at our leisure.

And while church consultants tell us that 50 percent of those under 50 prefer to stay at home worship as opposed to in person worship, I really wonder if these people are better off spiritually than they were before the Pandemic.

I am not opposed to increasing our efforts to reach people online. I believe the church needs to do everything it can to improve this medium of worship. There are people in the world who might never choose to step inside a church who we now might reach through the streaming of our services, so I agree that there are certainly some spiritual positives to online worship.

But as a believer, one of the hardest things for me during these Covid times has been that I have missed seeing and personally engaging with so many of the friends I have made in church. I miss the warm embrace of my brothers or sisters. I miss the interaction with those who challenge me and hold me accountable for my actions and beliefs. I miss the little children playing and running around in the worship center, and I fear that the "convenience" of Christianity will have a significant impact on the future church

The church has always grown the fastest during times of persecution, not during times of ease. That is why in places like China and Iran and other countries in the Moslem world, the church is growing at a far more rapid rate than here at home. In spite of growing persecution and hostility the church continues to grow in these lands. As it was said of the early church, "The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." 

The lack of accountability that people experience while isolated and sitting at home and watching services can be dangerous.

I fear that if given the choice of doing what we want and like  and doing what we need, most people will choose to do what they want and like and not what they need. Convenience and comfort most always will trump discipline and intentionality, and the result can lead to spiritual drifting.

In a controversial article on this very  subject, Peter Chin was quoted as writing, “by nature Christianity is inconvenient. Convenience is ingrained in the American life. But it has no place in the life of faith.  Convenience is nothing less than a heresy that runs contrary to some of the most fundamental aspects of what it means to be a follower of Christ" (Quoted from "No Such Thing as Convenient Christianity" Doug Ponder, Dec 12, 2014).

Now I would not go so far as to call convenience a heresy, but it is hard for me to reconcile convenience with the ministry of the Apostle Paul who writes  "And now, compelled by the spirit, I'm going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prisons and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" (Acts 20:22-24 NIV").

For me the only answer to the question of whether my Christianity is too convenient is whether I am a more mature and stronger Christian since staying home. 

Yours in faith,

Tom

Leadership Thought: The Devastating Consequences of an Unforgiving Heart.

Dear Friends,

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a series of short essays about Edinburgh, Scotland.  In one of his essays, he tells the story of two unmarried sisters who shared a single room.  As is often the case when people share close quarters, they had an argument.  But in their case the argument was over a point of theology – Christian doctrine – Stevenson does not say what it was.  But the disagreement was so sharp that these two sisters never spoke to one another again!  However, they continued to live together in that small room, either because neither could afford to move out, or perhaps for fear of scandal and being talk of the town.  They drew a chalk line that went to the center of both the door and fireplace so that each could go in and out and cook without stepping into the others’ territory.  For years they coexisted in hateful silence.  Their meals, their baths, their family visitors continued, daily exposed to the other’s unfriendly silence.  At night each could hear the breathing of her enemy.  These two sisters continued that way the rest of their miserable lives.” Taken from a sermon by Ken Brown, Pastor of Community Bible Church, Trenton, N.J.

Since the argument was about theology, we can assume the women were believers who would regularly pray the Lord’s prayer each Sunday in their church.

I wonder how many times these two women prayed those words, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12). They never could have taken seriously those words in the Lord’s prayer for if they had, they would have both sought reconciliation. Instead, they chose to allow their bitterness to be a cancer that would eat away their souls

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15)

Author Max Lucado writes, “As long as you hate your enemy, a jail door is closed, and a prisoner is taken. But when you try to understand and release your foe from your hatred, then the prisoner is released, and that prisoner is you.” (When the Angels
Were Silent, Max Lucado, P. 160).

Pastor John Courson reminds us, “that when people hurt us, we must not rub it in, but rub it out with the same kind of forgiveness that Christ showed you. When we pray those words “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors the very act of forming those words on our lips releases forgiveness within our hearts.” (New Testament Commentary, John Courson, p.32).

The late John Stott writes, “Once our eyes have been open to see the enormity of our offense against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offenses of others, it proves we have minimized our own.” Quoted from Ken Brown

 Paul writes, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). When we think of the great cost to Jesus to forgive us, how can we not forgive another?

Pastor Brown writes, “The very next verse after this command from Paul, says “Be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). Imitators is the word from which we get the word mimic. God says, you are to mimic my actions in your actions. If you are really part of my family, then there needs to be a family resemblance. How do we show that resemblance? By being kind, compassionate, and forgiving one another.”

You can choose not to forgive another for what they have done to you, but if you do, let me remind you of the cost to you: the cost of a relationship with another brother or sister, but even more consequential is the cost of your relationship with Jesus. Think wisely before you decide.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom