When we moved here 3 years ago, I had a plan in place of exactly what I wanted to do in starting a church.  But I quickly realized that my plans were not the plans that God had and I needed to step back and take some time to really get to know the area and what God’s heart is for a new church here.  For the last few years, I’ve come to a far greater realization of what it means to be a Christian and what the Church should be.  I won’t go into all of the details on this post, but basically what I had grown accustomed to for “Church” and it’s people was oftentimes a far cry from what I see in Scripture.  I constantly see verses like James 1:27 & Acts 2:45 that talk about a faith that makes a difference to those the lives of the broken, whose primary focus is not merely a Sunday morning worship service.  Sure, that may be a part of it, but point blank…I see a church that broke down racial, socio-economic, and physical barriers & made a lasting impact in their community at all times.  (I’ll elaborate on this more in the coming weeks on here).

As I alluded to in a post last week, I saw a major problem when churches use an astounding majority of their finances on staffing and a facility that sits vacant throughout the week.  Meanwhile, people in need & everyone in general only see the church in passing or with an invitation to join on Sundays.  I decided that I don’t want that to be my story.    So, I came to the conclusion that the best way for me to live out my calling was to earn my income from another job (& preferable one that I believed in) so that the money we raise for the church can actually go towards impacting our community.

We are moving forward with laying the framework for a new church in the coming months and get this…the money that we end up raising for it will actually pour into our community to make an impact!  Not only that, I have the incredible opportunity to work for a business whose focus is the physical health of people (which is part of the Gospel by the way), is a business I believe in, and I actually be out in my community  getting to know people here in our city and make a difference in their lives.

In the month or two, I’ll be laying out some endeavors that our church, Venue Church, is going to be investing in here in Columbia and I ask that you pray for us, and also pray about financially sacrificing to see that Venue Church makes a lasting impact in our city & beyond.  The things that God has placed in our hearts is far greater than we can accomplish…and that’s the point.  We expect to be a part of something far greater than we could have ever come up with or accomplish on our own.

Photo by RobJewitt / Flickr

This past Sunday, I heard a great message about this simple truth: a good depiction of your heart is how you spend your money.  It’s a gut check for you when you really thinking about it.

Anyways, afterwards I was almost haunted when I took this a step further and thought:  a good picture of the heart of a church is how it spends its money.  I have really been wrestling with this.  When I read the Bible I see statements about taking care of the widows and orphans, fighting injustice, and taking a stand for the oppressed.  Yet very little, if any, of the money taken in by many churches is ever spent on these things.  Excuse me for saying it this way but… what in the hell happened?

I have been on staff at four churches in my life.  And get this…two of them spent 60-70% on staffing and the 30-40% on a facility.  For all of you that suck at math, that meant that 90-100% of the money taken in only covered paid staff and the building.  Sure…they had various times when they would donate some money for a cause or help out with something, but that was the exception and not the norm.  And the buildings sat empty for most of the week.

I see it in church plants all the time.  They work their tail off to raise money and where does the money go?  You guessed it…staff and renting a space.

There’s something wrong with this picture.  There are tons of people hurting, in need of help, or simply in need of someone to listen to them and be a friend, but often their cries and their lives go unnoticed by the Church.

As we move forward in creating a movement here in Columbia, I am committed to making sure that we put our money where our mouth, and where our heart, truly is. Hopefully other churches are, or will be, following suit.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  How does your church spend the money that it takes in?  What do you think about this idea?

How often do Christian’s have an “it’s not you…it’s me” mentality with God?
Stay with me for a second.
We say that things aren’t going well in our spiritual life because “it’s me.”
But do we really believe that?
Do we really think that the problem is us?
Or could it be that…a lot of times…we truly feel like God’s the problem?

Why didn’t He answer my prayer?
Why didn’t He give me what I wanted?
How could He let that happen?
Why don’t I feel like God even cares?

Let’s face it.  We really don’t have faith in Him most of the time.
We feel like God’s not fulfilling MY needs or MY desires.
We don’t really think that we’re the problem.
Because if we did….we would change.

I wish we truly meant it.
It’s not You…It’s me.

His family was all still there and had just moved to the country’s capital: Port-au-Prince
He is from Haiti.

Like most of you reading this, I have kind of been left numb when I see what has happened in Haiti.
The devastation.  The lives lost.  The despair.

I immediately thought of Johnny and my heart sunk even further when I thought…
Is he ok?
Is his family ok?

I decided to email him to check on him.  It had been a while since we had been in contact but I prayed fervently that he was ok and that I would hear back from him.  Less than 24 hours later, I got a response.  He was ok because he was in the Dominican when the earthquake hit.  The day after he rushed to Port-au-Prince to see about his family.

What he saw was devastating.  He said that his home was destroyed and that saw things that he had never before seen in his life.  His family was “not bad but not good.”  A couple of siblings are battling injuries.  Another brother was at work at the time of the earthquake and they do not know if he is even alive.

Then he said something that rocked me.  He said this:

“Life is not good in Haiti but i think because of all those things, God has a plan for Haiti.”

Because of all those things, God has a plan for Haiti.
In the midst of devastation.
In the midst of the lives lost.
In the midst of despair.
God has a plan for Haiti.

Johnny’s faith and perseverance is incredible.  His wisdom in a time of anguish is inspiring. I’m not going to add anything to it because I think nothing could add to it.

God has a plan for Haiti.