FEBRUARY 2014
ream with me for a few minutes. What would it look like if your church— your entire congregation— was filled with passionate, loving, outrageous givers? What could you accomplish in your community? What could you accomplish around the world?
the work of the church across the globe and in their own backyards. But they just don’t think they can.
Sadly, you’d almost have to dream about that. The truth is that only about 3 percent of evangelical Christians give a tithe. What about the other 97 percent? Are they selfish and greedy? Do they just not love God enough to open their wallets? I used to think that. But now that I’ve worked with families for decades, all across the globe and certainly across North America, I’ve discovered that is just not the case. They aren’t greedy—they’re broke.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Pounding the Pulpit The Wall Street Journal says that 70 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Guess what? These are the people who are sitting in the pews. For the most part, I imagine the people in your congregation love Jesus, love the church, and desperately want to support
And then, while they’re sitting there feeling guilty and stingy, we step up and deliver a strong, stirring message on tithing. Now, I’m absolutely not saying
SAYS THAT
70 PERCENT
OF AMERICANS ARE LIVING
PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. that we should avoid the subject of giving from the pulpit. Heaven forbid! However, I do think we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Before we pound the pulpit and tell them why they should give, we need to come alongside them and teach them how they can give.
DISCOVER FINANCIAL FREEDOM Thursdays at 6:30pm starting Thursday, February 6. Financial Peace University is a biblically-based class that teaches you how to handle money God’s way. In 9 lessons you will learn to take control of your money, invest for the future and give like never before. Learn more and purchase your kit online. Childcare is available if you register your kids and purchase a punch card at Elements.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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1/25
CONNECTION WEEKEND
2/6
FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY
2/13
THE GREENHOUSE
2/16
BABY DEDICATION
2/22
MINISTRY EXPO
2/23
MEET THE PASTORS
Find a group at Southeast
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Women of every age & stage are welcome at The Greenhouse
Families commit to raising children in a Christ-centered home
Discover all the ministries Southeast offers
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2/27
CATALYST ONE DAY
3/7
HIDDEN: WOMENS RETREAT
3/15
MEN'S BREAKFAST
3/16
SECOR BAGS & BAUBLES
3/16
Back Cover
At the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs
Hang out, engage in scripture and eat
Grab your girlfriends and join us for handbags, jewelry and fun
DISCOVERING SOUTHEAST
Get started on your journey with our church LEARN MORE ONLINE AT SOUTHEASTCC.ORG
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was taught from an early age to give God 10 percent of everything. That meant if I got a dollar, I put 10 cents in the offering plate. If I got 10 dollars, one of them went to the work of the Church. And so on. But that routine by itself doesn’t engender a mindset of giving. Even if you give 10 percent faithfully, it doesn’t mean you’ll come away with the right perspective about the other 90 percent. It was always easy for me to give God 10 cents out of a dollar or 10 dollars out of a hundred. I also remember getting a check
write a check for a thousand dollars? You can almost feel irresponsible about giving away that much money. Whenever we sense that hesitation, it’s because we have started to view our money as our money. In those moments, we’re not completely in touch with the fact that everything belongs to God, comes from Him and is dispensed by Him. In a way, we’re buying into the myth that we own it and we’re giving it to God. But God owns it all. So I’m really just “giving” Him what already belongs to Him. The idea that we ever “give” God anything is really just a myth.
GOD DOESN’T WANT TO TAKE YOUR MONEY; HE JUST DOESN’T WANT YOUR MONEY TO TAKE YOU.
for a thousand dollars and having no hesitation about giving God His hundred. But when it got much bigger than that, a little alarm would start to go off inside. If you get $10,000, are you really going to
We are to honor God not with a percentage, but with all we possess. It’s not 10 percent. It’s 100 percent. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
GIVING FROM THE OVERFLOW (CONT.)
Slaves Can’t Give As you think about the men and women in your church who probably want to give but aren’t, consider the message of Proverbs 22:7: the borrower is slave to the lender.
hundred copies and gave it to everyone on my team. It’s that good. Thou Shall Prosper is a rabbi’s perspective on why Jewish people, no matter where they live in the world, have a disproportionate amount of wealth. Less than 2 percent of the people in the United States are Jewish, but they make up 60 percent of the Forbes 400. And it’s that way everywhere. There’s no such thing as a Jewish slum anywhere in the world. Why is that? I believe it’s because the Jewish traditions teach some fundamental principles about money that today’s church should model. For example, the whole Jewish perspective on giving blew me away. It was just one of those lightning-strike moments that showed me a powerful image of what giving should look like. It’s called the Havdalah, and it has changed how I understand the concept of giving. Lapin explains:
The fact is that Joe and Susie, who are sitting in the front row every Sunday, need your help. They’re wrapped up in chains that we can no longer ignore. Their hands are tied, their feet are shackled, and all their money has someone else’s name on it. Lessons from a Rabbi Over the past several months, I have developed a friendship with Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a successful businessman, author and Jewish rabbi. I first came to know Rabbi Daniel by reading his incredible book, Thou Shall Prosper. This is definitely a must-read book for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of the biblical view of money. In fact, I bought a couple
We need to teach them to fill their own cups first. You may say, “Fill my cup first? Take care of myself first? But isn’t that selfish?” Lapin explains that the Jewish culture regards filling your own cup first (meeting your family’s needs) not as shameful, but as a moral obligation. We see this in Scripture, where we’re told to take care of our own household first, or we’re worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8) The bottom line is that we’ve got to lead Joe and Susie to the place where their marriage is not in a strain because of debt; where they’re not worried about whether their kids are going to have enough money for college; where they wouldn’t be in trouble and have to skip a house payment if they missed one paycheck. Once their cup is full, only then can it begin to overflow. Let it Overflow Beyond the needs of our own family, anything we pour into the cup splashes into the saucer beneath.
The Havdalah service is recited over a cup of wine that runs over into the saucer beneath. This overflowing cup
You see, a slave doesn’t have any choices. A slave can’t give because he doesn’t own anything. He may want to give, he may have a generous heart, but at the end of the day, he has a master that is calling the shots. For the people in our pews, that master is Visa or MasterCard or Sallie Mae.
Fill Your Own Cup First
BEYOND THE NEEDS OF ANYTHING GOES STRAIGHT TO MEET
OUR OWN FAMILY,
WE POUR INTO THE CUP...
SOMEONE ELSE'S NEEDS.
symbolizes the intention to produce during the week ahead not only sufficient to fill one’s own cup, but also an excess that will allow overflow for the benefit of others. In other words, I am obliged to first fill my cup and then continue pouring as it were, so that I will have sufficient to give away to others, thus helping to jump-start their own efforts. (Lapin, 150) When I read that, I immediately thought of the large communion cup—a gift from a friend—that sits in my personal conference room. It made me think of how we usually try to fund ministry work. Often, we’re expecting people with half-filled cups to somehow have an overflow. Asking them to give is like trying to draw water from a dry well!
That saucer represents the needs of others. So, anything that spills over the edges of our cup goes straight to meet someone else’s needs. And then all of the sudden, we can take our eyes off of ourselves. Our selfishness dissipates. We can give and give and give without having to worry about how to feed our families or pay the light bill. More importantly, we learn to make giving a natural part of our lives. Used with permission from DaveRamsey.com
DAVE RAMSEY is the author of Financial Peace, founder of The Lampo Group, and speaks on the radio on The Dave Ramsey Show. To learn more about Financial Peace and Dave, visit DaveRamsey.com.
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THE 10 PERCENT MYTH (CONT.)
to give you the freedom and peace that come with letting go.
This applies not just to money, but also to things like honor, strength and opportunity. Everything that’s “yours” belongs to God, comes from God and is dispensed by God.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MORE YOU HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU POSSESS, THE LESS PEACE YOU HAVE?
SO WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU TO HONOR GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR STUFF?
So let me ask you again: What would it look like for you to honor God with all of your stuff? Do you need to take it up a notch in the area of giving? Or perhaps honoring God would mean stepping up in the area of providing for your family. For some people, honoring God means saving more, spending less or liquidating that cabinet full of collectibles.
ONE DAY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Thursday, February 27 at Southeast. Catalyst One Day is an opportunity to hear the nuts and bolts of leadership, up-close with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. The event features dynamic worship, idea-inducing Q&A, and candid conversation between Andy and Craig. Purchase tickets at catalystoneday.com or Elements. Use code SECC for our special $99 price.
Does that question give you butterflies in your stomach? Are you getting images of being called to the mission field, taking a vow of poverty and living in squalor the rest of your life?
GET TO KNOW THE PASTORS Sunday, February 23 at 9:00am at Southeast. You can learn more about our ministries at Meet The Pastors. You’ll connect more personally with the pastors who serve you, and learn about their passion and vision. Register on our website.
southeastcc.org 303.841.9292 9650 Jordan Road Parker, CO 80134
If the thought of turning everything over to God makes you a little nervous, you’re not alone. But here’s what I want you to remember: God doesn’t want to take your money; He just doesn’t want your money to take you.
I don’t know where this will land for you. But if you ask God, He will show you how to honor Him with everything you have. Not just with a percentage of it, but with all of it.
First of all, He doesn’t need your permission to take your stuff. It’s already His. And second, God is a giver, not a taker. He didn’t send His Son, Jesus, to collect from everyone who owed Him. He sent Jesus to give His life for you.
From RELEVANT (relevantmagazine.com), January 2014. Reprinted with permission. This article is adapted with permission from How to Be Rich (Zondervan, 2013).
And by calling you to acknowledge Him as the owner of your stuff, He wants to give you something yet again. He wants
ANDY STANLEY is a well sought-after leadership communicator, author, pastor, and the founder of North Point Ministries (NPM) in Atlanta, GA. Learn more about Andy's ministries at AndyStanley.com.