commitment

Doing Our Part to Eliminate Poverty

April 25, 2010 by Tim Sherfy

As followers of Jesus, we should be well aware of our call to help the poor. The poor were a central focus of the ministry of Jesus when He walked the earth. They are to be a central focus of His continuing mission through all who follow Him. Is each of us individually doing enough to help them? Are we, as a church, doing all that we can to help alleviate the suffering of those gripped by the throes of poverty? The tithe in the Old Testament was the practice of giving the first 10% of your blessings (money, possessions, and time) back to God. Most Christian churches continue to preach the concept of the tithe today and encourage the attendee’s to give 10% of their income back to God (usually with a strong emphasis on giving it to their local church; I’m yet to find the Scripture to back up that particular teaching).

How is the body of Christ doing at implementing the giving of the tithe? Here are some shocking statistics taken from Richard Stearns’ book, “The Hole in Our Gospel” (the book is well footnoted, so I’ve given page numbers if you are interested in the original source of these statistics). The income of churchgoers in America is $5.2 trillion (p. 216). I think you’d agree that is a staggering number. If American Christians would simply give 1% of their income to alleviate poverty in the world, we could lift the poorest one billion men, women and children in the world out of their extreme poverty (p. 216). Since poverty is obviously not being eliminated, how much are we then actually giving? American church-goers are in fact giving 2.58% of their income to the church (p.217); that’s the somewhat good news. The bad news is that only 2% of that 2.58% is actually given to overseas ministries of any kind by the American church. Not all of these ministries that do receive the funds are dedicated to alleviating poverty. That means that less than 2% of the 2.58% of money American Christians give to the church goes toward eliminating poverty around the world. That breaks down to roughly five ten thousandth of our income (p.217). Expressed in terms of a decimal, the shocking and heartbreaking number looks like this: 0.0005; that’s how much of the income of American Christians goes to the work of ending poverty in our world. To put it in everyday terms, for every $20 dollars an American churchgoer earns, we give one penny to the cause of eliminating poverty. Christ commanded us to care for the poor, so where is our commitment? Where is the heart of the church? We can proclaim our concern and burden for the poor all we want; the proof is in our actions, and the numbers contradict our empty words.

If the American church would indeed give 10% of their income to the cause of the poor, we could give $168 billion each year (p.218). That number is greater than the amount of money spent by every nation in the world combined for poverty related services. Imagine, we as the American church, could give more than the rest of the world combined! We could quickly eliminate poverty in our world if we would simply follow the commands of Jesus. If we would care for the poor, if we would allow our hearts to be broken by the things that break God’s heart, if we were to truly be the hands and feet (and wallets) of Jesus, we could end poverty and do so in our generation. I ask again, where is our commitment, and where is the American church? Are we so brash as to assume we will not have to account for our lack of action, our apathy and our selfishness? This is our time, this is our calling; it is time for action.

What will you do to eliminate poverty in our world? What will you give? Look at where you spend your money; what could you give up and instead give to the poor? If we spend more on ourselves than we do on the poor, the naked, the widows and orphans of our world, then we are not living the life we are called to live. This is a black and white issue. The question requires a yes or no answer, with no elaboration. So my question to you, to myself and to the church in America is this: Are you doing all you can to eliminate poverty in our world? If your answer to the question is ‘no’, then ask yourself, “Why?” What can we change, what must we do differently? The world is dying around us and the call is clear. Be the hands and feet of Jesus; be a true and devoted follower of Christ. It is up to us to end poverty. It is within our reach, we can get it done; and we must.

How Are You Spending Your Time?

April 15, 2010 by Tim Sherfy

Where is your life leading? Are you pursuing things that further the kingdom of God or are you pursuing things that bring pleasure to your own life? The Western world is filled with marketing that caters to our desires for pleasure and entertainment. We are regularly bombarded by images, music and slogans that have absolutely no kingdom value. Remember, we are supposed to be bringing the Kingdom of God down to this earth. We are supposed to be preparing our world to house God’s kingdom. Are the things we are pursuing and allowing to influence our lives moving us toward or away from that goal?

So much competes for our attention on a daily basis. What matters is what you allow to actually capture your attention. Jesus was pretty clear about where our attention should be focused; we should be continually focused on the poor, the hurting, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the widow, the single moms and the orphans. How does this list compare with what has your attention today? Every time we take our eyes off of the mission of Jesus, we are turning against that very same mission. How will we explain ourselves when we stand and face Jesus? How will we account for our time? We have such a limited number of years here on earth that we cannot afford to waste a minute of it. Unfortunately, most of us waste the vast majority of our time in pursuit of things that have no relevance to the Kingdom. It is vital we understand that we are responsible for how we spend every moment of our lives.

I am not advocating that we should never do anything for simple fun or entertainment, but we must make certain that these activities do not dominate our lives. Whenever you plan your day, make certain to include kingdom building tasks and activities. Before engaging in anything, do a quick mental check and ask yourself if this action will advance the kingdom of God in any way. Will it negatively affect the advancement of the kingdom? We are called to live a different life from those who do not follow Christ. The road we travel is narrow, and we cannot carry much baggage. We must live and walk simply. Most of all, we must be careful to not fall behind or stumble to the side. Let those around you pursue the pleasures of this world. We have a higher call on our lives, an example we must set.

Perhaps you feel as if you will be missing out on things if you do not take advantage of what the world has to offer. Think about that for a minute; you are afraid that by following Jesus, the one to whom you have sworn allegiance, the one you claim to love above all else, that you might miss something better. Know this: there is nothing so satisfying as walking as Jesus walked, loving like He loved, and serving as He served. You will not miss a thing. To believe otherwise is to believe the lies of the enemy and to buy into the messages being put forth by the media. Who is it that you trust to tell you the truth – Jesus or Madison Avenue?

Try an entertainment fast. Refrain from some form of entertainment media for thirty days; don’t watch television, don’t eat out, don’t play video games, don’t turn on the radio, etc. Whatever it is that might be a sacrifice to you, try giving it up for 30 days. Do it for Jesus, commit the time to Him. You’ll be amazed how much time you have on your hands and how much more you are able to accomplish.

Are you living for the kingdom or yourself? Will you be ashamed to give an account of how you spent your time on earth? Are you working towards making the kingdom of God a reality on this earth? If not, why not? Where are your loyalties? Is He truly your Lord? If He is, you will follow Him regardless of the consequence. Check your motives and priorities, and change what you must. Embrace the deep joy of following Christ and giving Him all that you have.

Continuing the Mission of Christ

April 6, 2010 by Tim Sherfy

The mission of Christ did not end when Christ was crucified. It did not end when He rose from the grave. The mission did not end when He ascended into Heaven. In fact, these events were merely the culmination of the kick off! The mission of Jesus will be completed when His kingdom is on earth as it is in Heaven. And so it continues.

The modern evangelical church has lulled us into the belief that Christianity can be boiled down to attending a service on Sundays, putting the appropriate amount of money into the plate and telling someone about Jesus every now and then. The “super Christians” even live by an unusually high moral code and spend a seemingly inordinate amount of time in prayer. The more I study and learn, the more I ask myself, “What Bible are they reading anyway?” Jesus did not come to establish a glorified social club, a place we could go to make us feel better about ourselves or simply to be entertained. This was not, and is not, the mission of Jesus Christ. Do any of us really believe that Jesus endured what He did in order that we might pursue lives of comfort and affluence?

Look around you; is the world beginning to look like the Kingdom of God here on earth? Does it look more like the Kingdom today than it did 10 years ago? The answer to both questions is an obvious and resounding, “No!” So if the mission of Christ is for His kingdom to be at home on earth, why is it that we are continually moving ever further from that goal? The uncomfortable answer is that we have become satisfied with the comforts and conveniences of a world ruled by Satan. We are residing in the camp of the enemy, and we like it. What other conclusion may one draw?

As long as there are starving children, as long as there are those without a home, as long as selfishness and greed run rampant through our streets, the mission of Christ is not yet complete. We have chosen to be followers of Jesus. This is a volunteer role, one we have accepted by choice and are free to reject at any time. I pray that you hold fast to your decision and will choose to not just follow Him at a distance, but to run alongside of Jesus as you carry out His mission. If we would remain His followers, then His path is our path. His mission is our mission.

Wake from the slumber into which we’ve been lulled. Cast off the chains that keep us beholden to the comforts of society. Pray ferocious prayers that the will of God will indeed be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Take action whenever and however you can to see that the hungry are fed, the needy are clothed and the homeless are sheltered. Give all that you have so that others may in turn experience the freedom, the joy and the ecstasy of the love of Jesus. This is the mission to which we have all been called. This is the purpose and the meaning of life. On this day, at this moment, how will you respond?

Which Parts of the Bible Do You Ignore?

April 4, 2010 by Tim Sherfy

In my reading this week I was challenged by a question that, on its face, seemed ludicrous. Yet I could neither ignore it nor get it out of my head. The question was, “Which parts of the Bible are you choosing to ignore?” It was preposterous in both its implication that I would even think of picking and choosing parts of the Bible to ignore, and also by the insinuation that I indeed was ignoring parts of the Bible. I have been diligently striving to follow in the way of Jesus Christ, to do the things that He would do. That involves not allowing any compromise along the way. So how could I possibly be ignoring parts of the Bible, much less by conscious choice? This story, however, does not have a happy ending. Prayer and introspection revealed that indeed I have been ignoring parts of the Bible. In fact, I have been ignoring multiple parts of Scripture. This realization has been both sobering and challenging. Allow me to share a couple of areas I have been choosing to ignore.

The second greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-31). I do my best to show kindness to my neighbors. I always smile and wave whenever I see them outside. In the winter I even clear their driveways and sidewalks with my snow blower. Therefore, I must be demonstrating love to my neighbor. So apparently I can check this box with an affirmative. Or can I? I am ashamed to admit, I’ve never invited one of my current neighbors over for dinner; I’ve never stopped over just to see if I can help in any way. I’m a great neighbor as long as we happen to be outside at the same time. Otherwise it takes a little work, and apparently that’s been a bit too much for me. For those who are way ahead of me at this point and are still content that they can easily check off the “love my neighbor as myself” box, let me ask you a question. Have you, like a great number of Americans, purchased one of the new, large, flat screen televisions in the past couple of years? If you answered yes to that question, did you purchase one for your neighbor as well? If not, why not? Do you not love your neighbor at least as much as you love yourself? In the interest of full disclosure, I picked the flat screen television example because I don’t have one. I figured that was fair since I took my lumps in the first half of this paragraph. How about groceries? When you purchase food each week, do you purchase a bag for your neighbor as well? I hope you see my point.

Most of us do just enough to make us believe we are doing what Jesus commanded us to do. But when we look a little deeper, if we’re honest with ourselves, we will be forced to admit that we are indeed ignoring parts of the Bible. We ignore that which makes us uncomfortable or requires too great a sacrifice. We give money to those in need, but will we sell all we have and then turn around and give all the proceeds to the poor (Luke 18:18-22)? We’ll volunteer at the soup kitchen, but will we take a stranger in to live with us (Matthew 25:35)? We are ignoring the parts of the Bible that most reflect the mission of Jesus. How dare we call ourselves disciples? We are at best a weak and hypocritical people. The Church is supposed to be the unified body, the very hands and feet, of Jesus. We are to be ushering in His Kingdom by doing the things He commanded us to do while we are still on this earth. We are only half committed; we speak the language but we fail in the execution of the plan.

We must all repent of the parts of the Bible we have ignored out of our selfish sense of comfort. If we would indeed be a follower of Christ, we must look again at what He expects of us. We must look again at the way He lived and the things He did. We must repent of the words He spoke that we have ignored. It is time to rise up as the body of Christ and leave behind the half-hearted effort most of us have given to this point; it is time to work in unison to accomplish the mission of Jesus. As you prayerfully consider the way in which you will live for Him, give fresh consideration to the parts of the Bible you have been choosing to ignore.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

April 1, 2010 by Tim Sherfy

Since we talk so much about Christianity here, I thought it might be worthwhile for some to take a step back and define what being a Christian actually entails. Christianity in the traditional sense simply means one who is a follower of Christ. In modern evangelical terms (if you are new to Christianity, you’ll find we have A LOT of terms), a Christian is defined as someone who has prayed “the sinner’s prayer” and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. My purpose is not to find fault with either definition, but rather to elaborate on them, with an emphasis on what Jesus commanded of His followers.