summerhillanglican.blogspot.com

Fundraising for Christian Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:58:00 +1000

On the train down from the Central Coast I read a very short book called "If God will provide, why do we have to ask for money?" by Rick Dunham. It was a simple read and I have written some notes about it below.

You can find more info at Rick Dunham's website here.

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What hits you first is the way fundraising is placed in the spiritual battle between God and Satan. Dunham’s states that Satan achieves two key goals by limiting fundraising. Firstly, there aren’t the resources for the advancement of the gospel in the world and secondly, and more predominantly, God’s people have been shown to not have wholehearted devotion to God. It is very helpful since it rightly shows the powerful spiritual forces and significance of the work.

However, there seems to be an underlying assumption that all ministry is being done by professionals. The following two lines are actually not necessarily true:

“The first implication is quite obvious: if a ministry is limited in funding, it…by definition…is limited in its impact. Clearly, the ability of a ministry to fulfil God’s call is in direct proportion to its ability to fund its work” p30

This is only the case if ministries are being conducted solely by professionals. Let me ask you a question. What is better, the money for an additional staff member, or 50 people sacrificing a day a week to serve fulltime in some voluntary capacity? A budget my actually decrease but the ministry impact increase!

That being said, I would actually contend that the loss in impact is actually even greater when the funds were going to be directed at particular roles. This is because frequently the money being spent in ministry organisations is not on doing ministry as such, but on multiplying the ministry of others. The 50 people who gave up a day a week did so because of the staff member who encouraged and developed this culture! So the loss in impact is even greater than Dunham suggests if the money is being spent on ministries whose aim is to multiply the ministry of others.

The most helpful point made throughout the book is its emphasis on the heart of the giver. “What God wants is the one thing you own and have complete control over. Your heart.” (p33). What is absent from his presentation is actually naming the issue he is speaking about: idolatry. Without realising it, much of what Dunham is discussing is idolatry and encouraging complete devotion to God in the face of other gods. There is no reference to Colossians 3:5 and the connection Paul makes between greed and idolatry, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” By not naming the real issue the discussion looses impact it might have otherwise had.

A second conviction is the need for leaders to engage in fundraising and realise that raising money is not about them but about advancing God’s work in the world. This is probably best argued in the discussion on 1 Timothy 6 but the use of Exodus 35:4-5 to establish ‘a precedent that is timeless’ fails to recognise how Old Testament narrative functions for Christians today. Dunham’s actual link to the Christian occurs on page 76 where he argues that ‘properly motivated giving came from the willing heart of God’s people.’ It is since this is a matter of the heart, a spiritual matter, that fundraising is an important task for the Christian leader.

I’m happy to deal with some pragmatics and the final chapter should not have been ‘Final Thoughts’ but be a chapter in its own right containing more material from the author’s experience. Even the discussion about the rate of communication with donors was helpful!

It was refreshing was to have the book say nothing about tithing, even though there might be the need to kill some sacred cows in this area. What was most notably was the absence of a multitude of anecdotes and a real engagement with the scriptures. It is well worth the read for all Christians who are concerned to serve God wholeheartedly.

Enlarge your hearts to God and give to his work!

Law keeping?

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:43:00 +1100

Jesus was pretty scathing of people of who honoured God only through outward observance (Matt 6, Mark 7:6-8). I wonder what he would think of this.

Atheists face death

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:21:00 +1100

Jim Crace is an author who presented at the recent Adelaide Writers' Week. His thoughts of death from an atheists' point of view end up slipping into a sentimental pantheism (at around 13:30). The reality is that atheism affirms the meaningless of life. The search for solace in the face of death is just a recognition that atheism does not deliver at the point of humanity's greatest need.

Only Christ overcomes death and gives us hope. The Easter story is hardly wishful thinking but the reality that death does not have the final say but that God will raise the dead.

UPDATE: I have updated this post with a link to the full presentation from ABC and not just the highlights.

Seats in churches (cathedrals mainly)

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 6 Mar 2010 10:03:00 +1100

From Blogger Pictures

When I was last in England I visited a number of cathedrals which used the Howe 40/4 chair. These included Christopher Wren's St Paul's Cathedral in London and Salisbury Cathedral (pictured above). I'm also aware that Southwark Cathedral and Ely Cathedral also use these chairs. While in Oxford I really liked the welcoming entrance placed on St Aldate's church and their flexible interior (pictured below). The design of the Howe 40/4 chair is from the early 1960s and a real classic and very beautiful chair. Check out their website here.

From Blogger Pictures

Ideas for the Parents' Room

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Wed, 3 Mar 2010 20:41:00 +1100

We're thinking of setting up the Parents' Room better. The idea is to move it from under the tower to the vestry. Any good ideas for the room?

Lion enclosure at Taronga

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 11:42:00 +1100

(NIV) Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

I think the symbolism of Jesus as a lion predates Medieval Europeans!

Some thoughts on sticking at church

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 09:31:00 +1100

Mark Dever shares about sticking at your church...

Phillip Jensen asks Mark Dever - When is it ever right to leave a church? from Audio Advice on Vimeo.

Belonging and Possessions

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:45:00 +1100

I was thinking about the possessions we have and how they help us have a sense of belonging.

Our homes let us belong because they often are where we want to be - the very place where we see ourselves belonging. Our clothes express our belonging to a particular community and our general possessions let us do things others do enabling us to belong to the group of people. There are other possessions which might be described as 'leveraged' devices for belonging.

A mobile phone is more than an object in itself, it is our connection with our world. It is the way we belong in the modern world. It is a means of making communication and receiving information. Try and take away a mobile phone from a teenager and you will see what I mean. No phone and there is no means for belonging for many people.

Another possession with this kind of 'leveraging' are things with significant memories. An old chair is more than a chair. It represents memories and connections with the past - two powerful forces which help us belong. We belong because of the continuity with the past.

The last leveraging I see is in shared possessions. Since they are shared they immediately reflect our belonging together. I have a sense of belonging since we share the possession together

Am I thinking right?

The sense of belonging given by our possessions is very powerful.

I take it that however powerful this sense of belonging is we ought to treat it as nothing compared to belonging to Christ and his people through the power of the gospel of grace (Rom 14:18). Furthermore we need to get our possessions, however valuable we think they are, into perspective:

1Cor. 7:29-31 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

It is hard to see that we belong to the future kingdom since the things of this world are so tangible, but we must! Paul writes,

"Phil 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. "

Love the building? Love God?

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:44:00 +1100

The people who built St Andrew's did so because they loved the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The building was an expression of God's majesty and greatness. It was built to point people to him. Often I meet people who love the building and want nothing to do with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I only wish they would see it is only meant to be a 'pointer' to something greater.

Oh well, maybe we just speak more clearly about the majesty, goodness and greatness of our God. The apostle Paul was happy for the greatness of God to be seen in contrast to his own weakness (2 Cor 1-4). Have a read. In the meantime we will look after the building God has given us, with all due consideration of its heritage, and grieve the fact it frequently fails to point people to him.

Unrealistic expectations?

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:15:00 +1100

In the bible talk today I was saying that we don't want to take into marriage unrealistic expectations. It made me think about church life. Do we take into church life unrealistic expectations? What should we expect from each other? Any thoughts?

Pews at church

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:30:00 +1100

We've posted some more information about our pews on the church website here. We are really happy to answer questions and explain exactly what we plan on doing.

Greening Summer Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:43:00 +1100

I totally love the new bit of green grass down at Darrel Jackson Gardens. I think it used to be an old toilet block.

Thanks for the couch!

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:52:00 +1100

Yesterday I bought a nice leather couch on eBay for $10.51. When I went to pick it up it turned out the couple were Christian and just gave it to me. Thanks! Now I just need to get it out of the trailer and into the parents' room at church.

Room

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:32:00 +1100

The gift of singleness

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:14:00 +1100

In 1 Cor 7 Paul uses the language of "calling". His idea of calling is both of the call of the gospel and the call of a particular situation in life. For example verse 20 says " Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him." Here we see the call of the gospel, but in verse 17 the situation in life is the calling, "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him" (7:17).

Even though the situation one finds themselves in is assigned by the Lord and his calling on them, some people are free to change their situation. Slaves are able to gain their freedom (7:21) and the unmarried are allowed to marry (7:9,28). Paul's point is to not let your situation in life trouble you, that it does not matter and not to put vast amounts of energy into changing your situation. In light of the coming kingdom of God it just does not matter much (7:29-31). What matters is following the commands of God (19).

The idea of God's calling is primarily of the call of the gospel and then the Lord's assignment of people to their situation in life, particularly their marital situation. Whether you want to be or not God has called you to a particular pattern of life and in the grand scheme of things it just does not matter which one that is. It also does not matter if you change if you are free to do so.

The other piece of language Paul uses is that of giftedness. In verse 7 he says. "I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.". Is this gift singleness itself or being content in being single without the desire to marry? On Sunday I suggested it was the latter, that is the gift is the gift of being single and not desiring to marry (for any reason).

I take it that when Paul describes himself he is not thinking that he is like those in 9 who are single and burn with passion, but is 'happily' single. "8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."

What it means is that there are people who have been called by God to the single life but are not gifted with the gift of singleness. Paul's instruction would be: get married as soon as you can, don't worry about it too much and use your current state of singleness for undivided devotion to the Lord.

Can you be married and not have the gift of marriage?

We have a problem using the language of gifts. Every good thing from God can be described as a gift (James 1:17). Marriage itself can be called a gift, your spouse is a gift, the power to live the married life in love and forgiveness is a gift. However, in this passage the state of marriage nor the ability to live in a marriage relationship are described as gifts. There is no mention of a supernatural empowering that enables some married people to remain married while others don't have this ability. I take it that all married people have been given the resources in the gospel to lead a married life. Passages like Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 are directed to all married Christian people irrespective of how long they have been Christians or their own personal psychology etc. Whereas the desire to marry for a single person is something to be honoured and recognised and has a valid expression of changing your situation in life, the desire of a married person to divorce is an indication that the couple need significant help.

What if you don't want to marry but aren't happy being single?

I might have expressed this poorly last night but Paul is really dealing with those who are content in being single and those who are single and would like to marry. There could be a another group who don't want to marry but who aren't happy in being single. My first thing to ask is, "what is it about being single that is causing you to be unhappy." I suppose there could be a million reasons that don't produce the desire for marriage: cheaper accommodation per person in hotels, easily sharing a car, having someone handy who can change the light-globes, someone who can share the driving etc, etc. I think life is just full of things that are hard and for which there is no straight forward solution. Paul was content in his singleness in as much as he had no strong desire to marry. I suppose that did not make him like everything about his life (2 Cor 12:7).

Any more thoughts or questions?

Blokes doing pretty things

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:02:00 +1100

Over the last few weeks I have seen blokes doing some really pretty things. The deal with blokes doing pretty things is that there has to be at least twice as much danger as there is prettiness so the pretty element is hidden (but I saw it!).

The first was about 30 blokes riding massive waves off the point at South Avoca. The danger was extreme with the powerful waves breaking across the rocks and the blokes surfing incredibly close to them. Once surfing the blokes are just doing pretty things.

The second was a group of guys twirling flaming sticks at Terrigal. It was dangerous but pretty. If you had put ribbons in their hands they could have been at the Summer Games.

The third was after the Top Gear live show with a bloke doing tricks on a motor bike. I shot some video of him which is below. it was pretty. He named some of the moves, they included one called the flamingo and another the can-can.

What other pretty things do blokes do? Is church dangerous? Is church pretty?

Blog is back

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:01:00 +1100

After being sick for three months last year and trying to keep on top of life since then I feel that I have made a come-back with this first blog post!

Sport Report

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:09:00 +1100

I was wondering how we ever got into the situation of publicly funding elite sport. Is it just that everyone else is doing it so we need to do it to? The Crawford report has just ruffled some Olympic feathers.

I love sport but surely there is enough corporate sponsorship, TV deals etc that it can pay for itself. It would mean our taxes could pay for things that really benefit our community instead of having a few Olympic heros to make us feel good. Maybe we need to get it all in perspective, "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8

Scholarships for training women in Christian ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:37:00 +1000

I got an email from Tara Thornley at Moore College about some scholarships. Check out the information here.

Jesus All About Life

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:16:00 +1000

Davo rang me tonight to say that the Jesus All About Life billboards are up and was wondering if we are getting one. The answer is YES!. We are just waiting for it to be delivered. Once it is up I'll let you all know.

Do children need parents?

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:17:00 +1000

I thought it was interesting that much of our decision making about the work/family balance has to do with larger economic factors that seem outside our control. I don't know all issues about kids at daycare but I know that God gave dads and mums the primary responsibility to educate and raise their children, not the state. One woman is trying to do something about those larger economic issues. Check out what she is doing here.

How confident are you feeling? Have a look at this...

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:48:00 +1000

The Ultimate Slip-N-Slide - Watch more Funny Videos

Idol

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:10:00 +1000

Watching Australian Idol tonight made me realize that most of us are pretty ordinary singers. What really counts in our music and singing at church is our enthusiasm more than excellence. Chris.

New Church website now live!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 5 Aug 2009 13:56:00 +1000

After several months of work, our new website is finally up and running!

You can find out information about our Sunday Services, as well as our other ministries and events. We will also start uploading sermon mp3 files and other helpful bits and pieces in the resources section of the website.

We hope you find this new website helpful. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to leave us a comment.

Baptism of Samuel Hubbard

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher Braga) — Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:47:00 +1000

We're really looking forward to having the baptism of little Samuel in church tomorrow. Welcome to any visitors! Chris.