A few years back I shared in a seminar presentation in Rochester, NY, with Jim Dethmer. Jim had broken church life down into three major components. The first was the Cause. The cause of a church had to be known for the church to be effective. The scriptures give us a quick answer as to what the cause is supposed to be. The cause is the Kingdom of God – Matt. 6:33. We are to seek to see God’s rule impact the planet. This is what we are all ultimately about.

The second vital component was the community side of church life. Community life he felt was expressed in the caliber of living connections people made relationally. It is not about types of meetings or activities its about connecting in personal ways with those you worship with.

The third component was corporation. This component keeps things from being a fantasy world with no real connection with real life. Money, buildings, staff are all elements of the corporation side of church life.

Whenever any one side of the equation takes on more than its share of importance to the exclusions of the others things grind to a halt. All three aren’t equal in priority or authority. It is clear that the cause drives the other elements but the cause will be in jeopardy without the other elements in place.

I am preparing to present a corporate message to our congregation. I have come up with ten truly biblical understandings of money.

1. it isn’t everything but it effects everything.
2. it is representative in its nature…e.g. of time and energy.
3. it is an entity. It will take as much control as its given either in its presence or absence.
4. it liberates
5. it binds up
6. its an investment that brings returns on all levels.
7. it is a test of spirituality
8. God gives it.
9. it is connected to attitudes of scarcity or abundance,
10. always involves a testing of our character and our faith.

“You have never lived a day until you’ve done something for someone they could never do for themselves.”
                                                                                                                                                                   — John Bunyan