Meditations

“Nothing costs so little, goes so far, and accomplishes so much as a single act of merciful service.”

Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) as recounted by Dan Busby in Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2015) 62.

What I love about this quote is the adjective “merciful” linked to service. It refers to service that is contrary to that which is perceived as deserved. It’s serving unlikely recipients. I am convinced that we are never more like our Lord Jesus Christ than when we show undeserved kindness.

“Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with–better still, using us as one of the fingers on His hand.”

Charles G. Trumbell in Victory in Christ (Fort Washington: CLC, 2011) 38.

Trumbell rightly reminds us that God neither needs our help as if He has deficiencies, nor want us to work for Him, which would infer that His capacity is limited. He desires to work in and through us, so that we are His hands and feet.

Father, bless the world richly through us today by your Holy Spirit. Do this for your glory we pray in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.

“It is up to Christians to show people that the cross, all the crosses of history, call upon us to advance from possession to sharing and offering, to discover the Giver through the gift.”

Olivier Clément in Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from Patristic Era with Commentary (New City Press, 2013) 228.

What a paradox! When we live in light of the cross we advance in generosity “we discover the Giver through the gift.” God help us shift from “possession to sharing and offering.”

The best part of this quote for me is that it was shared with me by one of my former students, Dave Rowland, who has recognized its veracity in his life.

“Anything less than a full-trust environment creates a distraction from the mind-blowing good news of the gospel–giving some the justification they seek to disbelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we are trusted, we not only please Him, but we enhance His reputation and give others the right impression of Christ.”

Dan Busby in Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2015) inside flap.

Busby has dedicated his life to enhancing trust. Lack of trust not only hinders generosity, it misrepresents the God we serve to the world. In this must-read book, Busby maps the pathway to preserving trust with the same clarity Paul exhibited toward Timothy: Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us. 2 Timothy 1:14

“Grasping the things that matter in life requires releasing my grip on the things that don’t.”

Bob Snyder, MD, excerpt from Lessons Learned on the Journey “Letting Go” blogpost dated 16 April 2015.

Thanks Dr. Snyder for the reminder that letting go does not leave us empty. It’s the only way take hold of the life that’s really life (1 Timothy 6:17-19)!

I am also thankful to be teaching a seminar in Dallas today on “Aligning Faith and Fundraising” with mentor and friend, Wesley K. Willmer. Ultimately our work is teaching people to let go and sow generously!

“When we handle money that has been given by God’s people, we are involved in a deeply spiritual matter. God’s people give in response to God’s kindness. As we handle that money we are entrusted with something: we are stewards of the fruit of grace and stewards of the proof of obedience.”

Chris Wright in How to Handle Money: A Short Guide to Financial Accountability (Didasko Files; Peabody: Hendrickson, 2013) excerpt from chapter 2.

The International Accountability Summit exceeded expectations. We’ve formed a global network of relationships with leaders from 15 countries. Today I will meet with representatives from the African delegation to plan a trip to Kenya in October 2015 with John Van Drunen, EVP at ECFA, to help them officially launch the AfCAA (African Council for Accreditation and Accountability).

My hope from here is also to point these leaders to a series of helpful tools. For example, this Lausanne Movement resource provides readers with a biblical rationale for faithful administration. I specifically appreciate Wright’s emphasis that those who handle gifts are stewards both of “the fruit of grace” and “the proof of obedience” (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:24), which together make this “deeply spiritual” work.

“Christians and churches do not always make the right ethical decisions when left to themselves. Accountability to others keeps us from always doing what we want and serving our own selfish desires…Knowing that our fellow Christians are watching what we do may help us be more responsible in allowing God’s grace to work in our lives.”

David Garland makes these comments on the administration of the Jerusalem Collection in 2 Corinthians 8-9 in 2 Corinthians: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (NAC; Nashville: B & H Publishing, 1999) 396.

Last night’s opening ceremonies went great! Praise the LORD! Today I will help facilitate discussions with delegations from around the world at the International Accountability Summit in Dallas. What encourages me most about this historic event is that no longer are leaders “left to themselves” as Garland puts it. A global network of relationships has formed. It is akin to the Apostle Paul’s international network of stewards throughout the ancient Mediterranean world.

Pray for us today: that servants of Christ from Australia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hong Kong and China, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, South Korea, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, and the USA will grow closer together and learn from each other to “help us be more responsible in allowing God’s grace to work in our lives.” As we uphold accountability and transparency, we remove roadblocks to generosity and create pathways for God’s grace to work in our lives and the lives of those we serve.

“Integrity and accountability in management of funds are as absent today as generous, sacrificial giving. Organizations that hold their member churches and parachurch groups to principles of financial disclosure and accountability have helped in some circles and should be widely supported…

Individual believers need fellow Christians with whom they can share the details of their stewardship so as to hold each other mutually accountable for their lifestyles. Those who are afraid that they will receive too much criticism for these various disclosures more often than not have misguided priorities.”

Craig Blomberg in 1 Corinthians (NIVAC 7; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994) 329.

Tonight I will share this among other quotes in my remarks at the International Accountability Summit. I am thankful that my good friend and fellow NT scholar, Craig Blomberg, sees value in accountability work and makes three important connections. First, accountability is linked to generosity. If we do not handle funds with transparency and integrity, we may not see much generosity either.

Second, his statement that these efforts have worked in “some circles” is spot on. For example, while the ECFA has grown to serve over 1,900 ministries in the USA, there is room to grow in the area of ethnic diversity. Through the formation of a global network of colleagues devoted to the faithful financial administration of God’s work, the ECFA hopes to learn how to better serve the peoples of our nation.

Third, Blomberg notes that individual believers must have friends to hold them “accountable for their lifestyles” and to ensure no “misguided priorities” persist in secret. At this point you may say that I have gone “from preaching to meddling” as they say in the South, but don’t allow fear or failure to keep you stuck. Open your books today with a trusted friend. Perhaps also study 2 Corinthians 8-9 together.

“In Colossians 3:9-10, clothes are a metaphor for behavior: some we must take off and others we put on…some of the “old clothes” we need to throw into the trash: the apparel of anger, list and lying, the garb of malice, greed and immorality. We used to wear those clothes before we became people in whom Christ dwells and delights. They were our natural wardrobe. Without Christ living in us, enlivening us, making us new, we were spiritually dead, alone and scared. We put on anger in order to manage others; we put on lust in order to feel intimacy; we put on deception in order to get what we wanted…

Now we are Christ-inhabited. We live in the strong and unshakable kingdom of God. We know who we are and whose we are…Apprentices of Jesus put on compassion. Christ-followers wear kindness each day. Students of Jesus put on humility and gentleness and patience. These are the clothes we now wear…The image Paul gives us of having stripped off old filthy rags and put on new clothes begins the transition from getting rid of vices to putting on virtues.”

James Bryan Smith in Hidden in Christ: Living as God’s Beloved (Downers Grove: IVP, 2013) 108-109.

Last night I flew to Dallas to host delegations from twelve countries at the ECFA International Accountability Summit and to attend the Christian Leadership Alliance conference. En route I got a huge black grease smudge and a tear in my khaki dress pants. I won’t wear them again. They are history!

This made me think of Paul’s instructions to the Colossians. We must trash the garb of greed and put on gratitude which fuels a lifestyle of generosity (cf. Colossians 3:5-17). If we don’t do this, we are the ones who miss out on life as God intended. Imagine wearing old rags when new clothes are in the closet.

Is it time for you to change clothes?

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

“Peter is explicit that [an economy of “grace” (charitas)] is the fundamental economic character of the messianic community: the members of the community are each to understand themselves as “economic stewards” (oikonomia) of “the manifold grace of God,” entrusted with the task of wisely administering (diakonountes) the gifts that they have received. This is a radical departure from the greed, hoarding, and consuming that characterizes the economy of scarcity among “the Gentiles” and that is so often the root cause of envy, theft, and violence–as we as condescending benevolence–that destroys human communities.

God’s economy is one of abundance. His grace is always “superabounding” to sinful beggars (Rom. 5), His riches are always inexhaustibly being given, His giving is never ending. When we acknowledge that everything we have is a gift given from “the manifold grace of God,” and is always more than enough we are liberated from the greed that once consumed us and are instead employed as faithful stewards in the eschatological economy of God’s coming kingdom. The great model of such an economy is given for the churches contemplation and corresponding practice in the church of Jerusalem (Acts 2:41-47; 4:32-35).”

Douglas Harink in 1 & 2 Peter (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible; Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2009) 114.

Unless we abandon the perspective of the economy of this world, we will never move beyond greed, hoarding, consumption, and condescending benevolence (cf. Robert Lupton’s “toxic charity”). The pathway for Harink (and I agree with him) is for each of us, both as individuals and in community, to live as faithful, generous stewards of God’s grace in God’s economy of abundance. When we do this, we are not only liberated from greed, we exhibit life in God’s kingdom of grace, which is inviting and welcoming to all.