Pastor’s Corner July 2008

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

Three years ago, Galen Mussman convinced me to take the Crown Ministries ten-week small group study and my view of stewardship has never been the same. Actually, Galen recommended I participate in the study long before that; however, I thought I was biblically responsible with my money. I already tithed and even was able to give beyond that for special requests and ministry causes that would arise. Other than our house mortgage and short stints with a car payment, we really have never been strapped with too much debt. Why would I need to join a bible study on money?

Well, let me tell you, I was very wrong. Did you notice what I said above? “I was basically biblically responsible with my money.” The very first lesson in Crown is “God owns it all”. At a very basic level, I thought the money and stuff in my possession was actually mine. As long as I tithed, I could do whatever I wanted with the remaining 90%, right? Through Scripture, the Crown study changed my perspective on material things, money, stuff, giving, saving, etc. The study is so much more than getting out of debt and giving to worthy causes. It is about being faithful stewards, something for which all God’s people will be held accountable. Crown is a discipleship course through and through.

Every era and culture will present Christians with challenges to their loyalty. The bible shows a glorious history of God’s redemption through Christ, yet it also shows the repeated tendency for God’s people to worship false gods and to practice a divided loyalty. Are we so different from our spiritual forefathers? The temptation to idolatry is ever present for us also, especially if we are not mindful of the pitfall. Very simply, idolatry is the universal human tendency to value something or someone in a way that hinders the love and trust we owe to God. It is an act of theft whereby we use some part of creation in a way that steals from honor due to God. Idolatry conflicts with our putting God alone first in our lives, in what we love and trust (see Exodus 20:3-5; Deut. 5:7-9; Romans 1:21-23). In idolatry, we put something or someone in a place of value that detracts from the first place owed to God alone, the gift giver.

On the negative side, materialism, consumerism, wealth accumulation, are all very real temptations for Christians today, particularly in our particular geographic ministry setting. On the positive side, we live in an era of unprecedented, widespread affluence. The opportunity to use the affluence God has granted for significant Kingdom-building ministries is immediately before us! My heart’s sincere desire is for the people of Redeemer to be free from the love of money and stuff and be turned loose to put the resources God has entrusted for the growing of His Kingdom, locally and throughout the world. If every Redeemer family committed to take the Crown small group study, I am certain it would transform our
ministry and produce a global impact for the glory of God.

The elders and I urge each family to find a way to take the ten-week Crown small group study this year. To facilitate involvement, we are working to recruit and train ten or more Redeemer couples to be ready to lead studies this fall. To launch these small groups, I will take four Sunday morning sermons in September to outline the biblical principles that underlie the Crown study.

Galen Mussman and Gary Nagel will be leading the effort to train and organize the fall studies. So, stay tuned for more information to come as you pray about your own involvement in the study.

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich