Guatemala Mission Offering

The people at Dodge Park Church continue to amaze me! Our mission offering last Sunday was $2,099.00. That will more than cover our basic needs for the Pastor's Conference in November.

I am hoping that Pastor Hannich's church will add to the total. If they do, we will have a head start on funding the trip in February, 2008. See the Dodge Park Church web site for more details about that trip.

Now that our basic needs for November are met, I am trying to raise an additional $500.00 to buy an Evangecube for each of the pastors that attend. It is a really neat tool that helps explain the gospel to people. A friend of mine has used them in Columbia to lead many people to the Lord. Call or email if you would like to help with that project.

Good Video

My friend Jim put me onto this video. It is from an event called Winterfest held in Knoxville, TN. It is set to the song Everything by the band Lifehouse.

Are you rich?

It is unlikely that you have ever thought of yourself as rich. In the US, most don't think of being rich until acquiring a 7 figure net worth. Most often we only compare ourselves with the ultra rich we see in business, sports, or Hollywood.

It's probable, though, that our perspective is too narrow. According to the Global Rich List I am the 53,205,017th richest person in the world. That puts me in the top 1% of the wealthiest people on the planet.

Compared to America's rich I don't have much. Compared to the poor of the world I am among the wealthiest.

I believe that the Lord entrusts riches to those who will steward it well. There are some incredibly wealthy people in the Church of God who are doing great work for the Kingdom. I applaud them and hope they will continue to make great sums of money so that they can fund ministry at even greater levels. Most Kingdom work, however, is funded by the faithful, consistent giving of ordinary people who make a regular sacrifice of tithes and offerings.

With wealth comes great responsibility. Whose Kingdom are we building with our money? Our own? The Lords? Will we help the poor or settle into comfortable lives of ease and leisure for ourselves?

Earlier this year I read a book on personal finance that encouraged me to save an amount of money equivalent to two hours of salary per day. That amount can prepare a person for retirement and emergencies if continued over a long period of time.

The idea begs other questions. Can you give away an hour's salary a day? More than that? If not that much, then how much? What are you giving to the poor? How are you stewarding your wealth to build a Kingdom that literally has the potential to change the world?

This Sunday our church is taking a missions offering. It's something we try to do about once per quarter. This offering is just a part of the money we give to various people and ministries that are making a Kingdom impact around the world. Giving reminds us that it is not about us. It also helps us to remember that we depend upon the Lord for all things.

This week's offering will be earmarked for two mission trips to Guatemala. In November Pastor Andy Hannich, Church of God Missionary Susan Hardman and I will be teaching 100-120 Guatemalan Church of God pastors. Your gifts will make it possible for them to attend. It will pay their motel bill, food, books, ministry tools, etc. None of it will be used for personal travel expenses for Andy or me. A second team will be going to the city of Xela next February to do construction work on a church building and host a medical clinic where people can be treated for their physical problems.

What can you give? Whatever it is, you'll be glad you did so. God blesses faithful stewardship.

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Post More Often

Statcounter.com offers a free service that can be linked to a web page or blog. It gives you stats about readers to your site. So, last week I signed up this blog and the church web site to see if anyone was really looking.

Surprise!

Since last Wednesday this blog has had 11 page loads and 10 unique visitors and a comment from a friend. The church web site - www.dodgeparkchurch.org - has had 30 page loads, 8 uniques visitors, 7 first time visitors and 1 returning visitor.

So, I guess I need to post blog articles more often and make sure the church web site is fresh.

Thanks for looking us over.

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Under Cover

There was an interesting vehicle traveling along with me today. It is a sight I have seen a few times since moving to Big 3 territory. Occasionally, you will see a vehicle going down the street that is completely covered so that none of its features can be seen.

This morning it was a truck. The picture isn't very clear as I took it with my phone. But, you get the idea. All you can really see of the truck is tires, mirrors and a manufacturer's license plate . The rest is shrouded in black.

The truck was totally under cover. I don't know its brand. It could be GM, Ford, Toyota or Chrysler. Who knows what color it is? It might be next years model or a prototype that will never be produced.

The only thing I know is that is was a pickup truck. Nothing else. The truck was mysteriously under cover.

It got me to thinking. A lot of Christians are under cover, too. Some Christians do their whole day under cover. No verbal witness for Christ. Nothing in their lifestyle marks them as a Christian. No prayer. No testimony. No invitations to others to engage in spiritual conversation or activity.

The only thing others know about the person is that they are a person - maybe a good person. Many Christians are mysteriously under cover.

Jesus is clear about his intentions for us. Acts 1:8 (NLT) says, "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The work of Jesus cannot be done under cover.

Why not go for it. Tell people about your experience with him. Invite others into spiritual conversation and activity.

Power will come when you take your first step.

Buzz & Spy Rules

Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church recently shared some "spy rules" at his Buzz Conference. He used them in conjunction with Numbers 13 to give some really good ideas he calls leadership tactics. The talks are available for free download at his blog.

He said, "The best spies know their mission." I thought again about how God has called me to spend my life and the Bible verses he has used to enforce his call. I know my mission. It is primarily shaped by Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Colossians 1:28 and 2 Timothy 2:2.

Here is one of the verses that define my mission: So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. (Col 1:28 NLT)

Here are the Mark's spy rules:


#1 Know Your Mission
#2 Gather Intelligence
#3 Maintain a Natural Pace
#4 Vary Your Pattern
#5 Blend into the Crowd
#6 Be Aware of Your Environment At All Times
#7 Avoid defensiveness at all costs
#8 Assume You Are under Surveillance
#9 Never go against Your Gut
#10 Don't Look Back

Check out his blog at http://www.evotional.com/

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