Money, God, & … DID THAT JUST HAPPEN???
If you start reading here, promise me you’ll read the whole thing. Promise. Say it.
OK, so our church is pretty much broke. Ever since we bought land, we’ve been dancing through various stages of broke-ness. We’re a new chuch, and a disproportionately large percentage of our attenders are unbelievers or new believers. We’re also largely a blue-collar bunch, and the economy hasn’t been kind to our kind. You do the math.
We have some money in our Building Fund, but every nickel of that will be used to make the former Katalyst House into office space and to pay for our Master Plan for the future campus. After paying our bills, we have a few dollars in the regular bank account, but we owe over $20K to a credit line. Like I said, we’re broke. What kind of IDIOTS launch into a building campaign when finances are THIS tight?
Um, us.
So today a homeless guy wanders into the office asking if, “there are any good Christian men he can talk to.” Michelle is convinced that neither Dirk nor I qualify, but sends me out to see him anyway. 
He’s very nice, humble, and just needs one night covered in an area motel he’s been staying in. I LOVED his pitch: “Could I pray with you that Jesus would open your heart to help me.” Excellent.
You have to understand how many appeals I get for financial help. Remember, my cell phone IS the church phone. I have heard every imaginable angle and plea. At least a few were legit. PLEASE BELIEVE ME when I say this isn’t AT ALL about highlighting my generosity. It wasn’t much. I called the hotel and he has a place to stay for the night. And the guy even talked me out of the only actual dollar bill in my wallet so he could get some coffee.
And then God showed off.
You should know that I try to get out of the office early on Fridays. I shouldn’t have really been here when the homeless guy came by. In fact (you can ask JP), I finished my message prep extra early this week. One hour after a very modest effort to help a stranger, a lady friend (and faithful ROCKer) dropped by the office. And she handed me a check for our church.
It was well over 250x that gift to the stranger. It was the largest single gift I remember us receiving in 2-3 years. It won’t pay off our credit line, or get us totally un-broke, but still.
Coincidence? You must be freaking kidding me. Miracle? I say …. NO. It is merely the way God works. He gives us opportunities to be generous, and then He wows us with His response. He loves us, and as a loving Father … He loves to bless and provide for us. It’s why He wrote this to us …
Bring the full tithe (10% of our income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Malachi 3:10
Can’t afford to give by faith? Can you afford NOT to?
I don’t believe in a prosperity gospel, and I don’t believe that just because you tithe that you’ll never struggle with finances, but God is faithful, even when we’re not. We struggled with tithing during a VERY hard time we were having, but we had written the check already so we just put it in, and God showed off. Someone paid our electric bill that same month. We still think of that time when we consider whether or not we’ll give back what God gave us in the first place.
Kevin,
This is completely off topic, but I’m curious about something. Since you tend to be topical on the blog, what’s your take on the current Facebook meme that happened a few days ago with people posting the color of their bra?
Yep, Nick, bra color meme is OT.
I didn’t think much about it; It was to raise awareness for breast cancer, right. Maybe it influenced somebody to go get tested. An NPR blog said it might be “slacktivism:” Virtual concern without measurable results.