Andy's Blog: A Personal Word

September 2009 Archive

September 29, 2009

Sep. 29, 2009

We all grew up with the great American Dream, which typically meant increasing our standard of living. Success is the goal, and we tend to measure our success by the stuff that we possess. But over the past decade, the American Dream has become the American Nightmare for many. There are two reasons for this:

1. Affluenza - the constant need for more and bigger/better stuff. The average American home has grown from around 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004. There is estimated to be some 1.0 billion square feet of self-storage space in America.

2. Credit-itis - the ability to buy now and pay later has fed our desire for instant gratification. Our economy is built largely on credit. This fact undermines self-discipline and feeds “affluenza” – wreaking havoc on our personal and national finances. The average credit card debt has grown from $3,000 in 1990 to over $9,000 today. We tend to spend about 125% more with a credit card than with cash because plastic doesn’t feel as real. The life of an average car loan and home mortgage continues to increase while saving rates decrease.

Beneath affluenza and credit-itis, there is a spiritual issue. We were created to know and desire God, but we have turned our desires to things. We are meant to find security in God, but we find it in amassing wealth. We were meant to love people, but we find ourselves competing with them. We were meant to be generous, but we hoard our resources for ourselves. 

Keeping up with the Joneses, borrowing against our future, enjoying more than we can afford – robs us of peace, makes us slaves and keeps us from doing God’s will.  Jesus said, “For what does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Matthew 16:26)

Our Stewardship emphasis for this fall is called ENOUGH: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Together we will be looking at Biblical principles of finance that allow us to live fully and faithfully. 

September 15, 2009

Sep. 15, 2009

I’ve told the story before, but it bears repeating. I am a pastor today because someone invited me to church. Growing up, my family was largely un-churched. We had no regular place and rarely attended anywhere. When I was in the 7th grade, my next door neighbor invited me to a “youth revival” at his church. I went and in those services Christ spoke to me. I joined that church and began my Christian journey.

I would not be who I am or where I am today if that friend had not invited me.  Martin Marty, a church historian, says that one word defines the difference between churches that grow and those that don’t: invite.  If a church doesn’t grow, it is most likely because the members are not inviting. The majority of people who visit a church for the first time do so because of relational influences. Someone they know and trust – a friend, a relative, a neighbor – invites them. Studies indicate that 70 to 90% of people who join any church come through the influence of a friend, relative or acquaintance. 

A small bank in Cumbria, England had only two employees, the manager and a teller.  Even on a busy day, traffic was light. One day, though, no one came. Finally at 3:30 PM, the manager told the teller to lock the front door. Minutes later the teller came back and said “It is locked, we forgot to open it this morning.”

Invitations are the way that churches open their doors.

How do we do it?  When it comes to sharing our faith, even the most outgoing among us become shy. Maybe we have had a bad experience with someone who cornered and pressured us. But it does not have to be that way. There are five stages people go through on their way to church membership: awareness, comprehension, interest, desire, and action. When we invite people to church, we are at the awareness-planting stage, not the harvesting. Our role is simply to propose, not to impose.

It is natural to invite friends over for dinner, to go to a movie, share favorite recipes and gardening tips. We want them to know when we have found something good and worthwhile. We have a great congregation whose ministry extends to all generations – we have great worship, outreach, and opportunities in which to grow. Put your church on that list of things worth sharing. 

A vital part of our mission as a congregation is to Gather People to Christ. Invite someone you know who is un-churched to Trinity. Offer to meet them and sit with them.

September 8, 2009

Sep. 9, 2009

A word to men about faith, church and stuff.  Some sobering statistics: 

• The typical U.S. congregation draws an adult crowd that is 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
• On any given Sunday, there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.
• This Sunday, almost 25% of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
• Over 70% of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it during their teens and twenties. Many of these boys will never return.
• More than 90% of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on any given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ but fails to see any value in going to church.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve gotten the idea that faith is for the weak and church is not for real men. There are consequences that flow from this. A rather obscure but important study conducted by the Swiss government in 1994, and published in 2000, revealed some astonishing facts with regard to the generational transmission of faith and religious values. In short, the study reveals that, “It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.” The study reported:
• If both the father and mother attend regularly, 30% of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41% will end up attending irregularly. Only a quarter of their children will end up not practicing at all.
• If the father is irregular and mother is regular, only 3% of the children will subsequently become regulars themsleves, while a further 59% will become irregulars. 38% will be lost.
• If the father is non-practicing and the mother is regular, only 2% of children will become regular worshippers, and 37% will attend irregularly. Over 60% of their children will be lost completely to the church!

Let me quickly say that women are vital and full participants in ministry. Many are doing their job, but they can’t do it alone when it comes to nurturing faith and values in our children. The role of men is crucial in raising faithful children, but the role of faith is vital in and of itself. We also know that churchgoers are more likely to be married and express a higher level of satisfaction with life. Church involvement is the most important predictor of marital stability and happiness. Church involvement is also correlated with less depression, more self-esteem and greater family and marital happiness.

In short, faith is good for you and for your family. Last year, we began a men’s ministry here at Trinity called TRINITY MEN. We will hold our fall kickoff dinner on Thursday, September 17, at 6:30 PM. Guys, I strongly encourage you to attend.

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