Another Tentmaker

A few months ago I had a series of wonderful but disturbing “aha” moments regarding the church in America, the needs of the world, and my role in God’s mission. The information was not new to me, but God brought several factors into focus in a way that moved me.

I love the Church of Jesus Christ, but most people would agree that the church in America is broken and needs transformation. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and to bring healing and hope to the hurting. Jesus calls the church to follow Him in this mission, but we are distracted with other duties and preoccupations. This is true for entire churches as well as individuals.

Much of my time and the time of other leaders is dedicated to facilitating relatively easy and “non-invasive” changes in the systems of local churches – increase giving to missions, send more short term mission trips, preach more about the mission of God, help the poor in the community, etc. However, I am now convinced that pervasive and foundational changes need to be implemented as soon as possible. The type changes I am suggesting may not be universally affirmed, but something has to be done. Changes in the two areas I am suggesting will release a much greater portion of the church’s resources (time, prayer and finances) to be used in addressing the underserved needs in our communities and around the world. Deal with this sad fact – 41% of the people in the world have no access to the Gospel.

I began to follow Jesus in 1970 as part of a spiritual awakening among teenagers across the nation. I made this course-altering commitment weeks before my senior year at Wingfield High School in Jackson, MS. My chief spiritual mentor coached us to do a few things well – study the Bible, pray and share the Good News. The gang of young folks under his leadership kept those disciplines passionately. One year later, I heard God call me to “full time ministry.” My dream of being a rich banker was replaced. I subconsciously assumed, “Instead of receiving a paycheck from a bank, I guess I’ll be paid by a church.” Since my sophomore year in college the only income I have earned has been from churches and non-profit ministries. Recently I realized that few Christians in history or around the world today connect calling to ministry with “paychecks” – at least not like I have.

Approximately 80% of a local church’s finances (and I expect prayer and volunteers) are allocated for needs related to its buildings and paid staff. I’m not sure what I can do about church buildings, but I can do something about the salary issue. In keeping with the pattern of the Apostle Paul and the vast majority of Christian workers over the ages and around the world today, in March I decided to become a tentmaker, a bi-vocational Christian worker (Acts 18:1-4 NIV). I want to model this ministry lifestyle, not just talk about it.

Within one week of this commitment, I was approached and recruited by the founder and director of Awake Consulting and Coaching (www.awakeconsulting.com). This spring the FOI board affirmed my request to begin a relationship with Awake, and I am now working with my first two clients. I have been amazed by the similarities between the coaching I have done with church leaders and the coaching I am providing to business leaders. Some healthy cross-pollination is taking place. Regarding my time and energy, I am fitting my consulting work into my FollowOne schedule. This is easy since much of my consulting work is done via teleconference.

I want to discourage any perception that “James left the ministry” or that “FollowOne is closing.” FollowOne continues to be strong as we strategically engage in God’s mission. The change in my vocational situation is due to God’s call on my life, and it is consistent with FollowOne’s commitment to help churches more effectively, sacrificially and strategically participate in God’s mission.

FollowOne, like most churches and ministries, is feeling a financial pinch. The sour economy, however, is not the driver for my vocational shift. As my income from consulting clients begins and grows, the amount of money paid to me by FollowOne will be reduced.

Pray for me in this new chapter of my life. This is God’s calling for me. That doesn’t make me better or worse than other Christians, but perhaps my witness will help people consider new ways to respond to God’s call.

Pray also for the men and women being called to ministry in America. Consider the fact that God has impacted entire nations through the faithful service of unpaid or tentmaker ministers in cooperation with a very small number of full-time paid Christian workers. There is, of course, a great need for faithful and effective Christian workers to be paid for their services, and some of them need full time support. But thousands of other workers would be just as effective if a portion of their income was from a tentmaker position. This change would release millions of dollars for ministry to the unreached and underserved people in our communities and around the world.

If you have questions or concerns about my new tentmaker status, please contact me. I want to hear from you. Here I stand – for the glory of God, for the soul of the church and for the good of the world.

So what do you think?

Ideas? Questions? Concerns? Scripture? Let’s talk.

Faithful Lovers

Weddings are full of emotion. As I stood by Jonathan (my son) last Saturday, tears came flooding in at several points. I could feel the eyes of Ashley and Meme (my daughters), but I knew better than to look in their direction. With Herculean effort, I stayed somewhat composed.

There were many intense moments in the service for this “best man.” When beautiful Mary Ashton stepped out from the rear lobby and made her way down the aisle to stand with her groom. The tender exchange of vows. The music. And there was an unexpected exhilaration as Pastor David read the Scripture.

I have attended and performed about two hundred weddings, and many of them included a reading of I Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter.” But this time was different.

Yes, the chapter pertains to the love of husband and wife. And, yes, it is a challenge for all our relationships. But I had missed a broader and perhaps more profound application.

We all know that love is not primarily an emotion. It is an unconditional commitment characterized by tangible actions on behalf of others. But when we connect I Corinthians 13 with the parable of the Great Commandment (Mt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20), the Love Chapter becomes far more than a wedding text.

If I am not finding ways to use the resources God has entrusted to me (energy, time, finances, prayer, influence, etc.) to communicate and demonstrate God’s love to those who are not aware of God’s grace, then all my religious activities are in vain. They may be well intended, but if my prayers, worship, stewardship, and Bible study are not accompanied and flavored by a participation in God’s mission in the world, I am not faithfully loving Jesus.

Pray that we will all be “faithful lovers” for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Listen to this song, People of God by Michael Gungor; I think its lyrics relate well to these thoughts.

Living in Friday without Sunday

Here is what I woke up thinking about this morning.

The news spread quickly, “Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, has been crucified.” Despair. Crashed hopes. Frustration. Self-doubt. It seemed that the dream had died.

We know the rest of the story. Hallelujah!

But the Spirit will not let me sing “Christ is risen” without remembering those who continue to live in despair. Those who don’t yet know God came to earth. For them, this is just another day.

Maximum Impact Investments

It has been my joy for the past twenty years to help Christ followers and church leaders make Kingdom investment decisions. To help your yearend charitable giving have maximum impact on the world with Jesus’ love, consider these suggestions:

1. Give to organizations that non-Christians are not likely to support. Explicitly Christian ministries (including churches) have a smaller pool from which to draw. People from many faiths or no faith may give to a homeless shelter, but they will probably not support an evangelistic work with international students, a church planting project or a pastor training effort.
2. Think globally not just locally. We must take part in God’s work in our own neighborhoods, but it is not biblical to limit ourselves. As bad as things may be here, there is tremendous suffering around the world. Faithful stewardship is global – “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost” (Acts 1:8).
3. Think strategically. There is joy in knowing that a gift might help someone. There is greater fulfillment in seeing your investment help produce “grace ripples” across an entire community, nation or the world. Some gifts and ministries keep on “giving” – like teaching a man to fish in addition to giving him a fish.
4. Think holistically. Of course, we need to show mercy to the poor. But some poverty is well-disguised. No one is “more poor” than the person that does not know the love of Jesus… even if they live in a nice home.
5. Support ministries that are trustworthy. Not everything that smells like a rose is a rose. Be careful. Support ministries in which you have a trusting relationship with the leaders.
6. Focus on the purpose of the gift. Your donation is an attempt to honor Christ as you help meet the needs of His children and His Church. A true gift is selected according to the desires of the “recipient” and not according to how the gift will make the donor feel.
7. Guilt is an inadequate reason to give. Some people feel guilty about how much they “have.” Guilt is not a good motivation for giving. If you’re feeling guilty, talk to Jesus. He alone can remove guilt and help you begin a new life.
8. You can’t give what you don’t have. If this has been a tough financial year, don’t get uptight about not being able to give the type gift you have traditionally given.

Last Minute Gift Idea – Help a key Chinese, Hispanic or Anglo ministry leader participate in the Connection2010 conference in Orlando February 5-7. Scholarship assistance is also needed for some high school and college students. Fifty scholarships are needed. I want to provide a Scholarship

Don’t Fence Me In

I just had another wonderful visit with my sweet and godly mother, Sarah Mae Davis Loftin in Jackson, MS. She loves to talk about her only son, and I love to listen. Mama told me something about my childhood that I had never heard. “No fence could hold you back,” she said.

When I was 4 years old Mama convinced Daddy to build a fence around our small back yard. She desperately needed a place to send me where I could burn off some energy during the day. Mama remembers Daddy working hard all day, with my help. Just as he was finishing the last section, Mama looked up and saw me scaling the new fence on the way to my friend Tommy’s house. “James, you always had places to go.”

I’m still trying to go beyond the “fences.”

My favorite Christmas carol is Go Tell It on the Mountain. Christmas without this song is just not Christmas. If the birth of Jesus is really good news of great joy for all people, we have to take this announcement beyond the fences of our own family, comfort and culture.

Although the history of slavery in America is painful and ugly, God’s grace prevails in even the most sinful and dehumanizing situations. Upon their arrival in America many African slaves learned about the birth of a Savior who would set all men free. Amazingly, some slaves were able to separate this gracious truth from the inhumane treatment they received from the very people that delivered the Good News. In keeping with their African traditions, the slaves sang and danced about the miracle of Jesus. One of the songs that emerged was Go Tell It on the Mountain.

Although we celebrate the birth of Jesus year after year, over 2 billion people have not heard the news of His coming. For the glory of God and the good of those who have yet to hear the angel’s message, let us sing the Good News from whatever “mountaintop” we have. And if you can dance, then dance. Beyond any fences of fear, pc-ness, comfort, prejudice or doubt, let’s sing:

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

What are some ways you are creatively telling the message this year?

What are some fences that are trying to keep you quiet?