We’ve arrived at the Christmas season here in the Cap City. It’s a fascinating and frustrating time. Something changes in people in December. Something about this time of year and our participation in it its festivities makes us act differently.

• Some of the most mild-mannered citizens become poster children for road/parking lot rage.
• Some of the meanest and crankiest people in the neighbourhood suddenly develop (gasp) concern for others.

Some of us react to the season by inflating our own importance to the point we justify:

• cutting the line
• double parking
• running red lights
• berating store clerks
• speeding

Others react to the season by deliberately slowing down, looking people in the eye and smiling, holding doors open, purposefully parking further from the mall entrance, actually tipping service industry workers generously, and whistling more.

Can I challenge you to closely examine the way you proceed through these next few weeks? We probably can’t take the Goliath of consumerism down, but we just might make our neighbourhood a little brighter. (but not this bright).

Christmas means more. Do more than tweet it. Let’s live it.

(whistling…)

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6am practices at the York Arena (where a new dimension of COLD is waiting for you), working through suppertime traffic to get to a game (goalies need a little more time to get ready, so I’ve learned), suppers of rink hot dogs (don’t ask) and the pungent smell of the dressing room (really, don’t ask); all this has been part of it, and it’s been a blast. Nahum’s team begins their playoff push this weekend, and then we can hang the gear up somewhere that it won’t attract racoons and bears.

It’s not unusual to hear the call of, “50-50! Get your 50-50 tickets here!” while you’re at the rink. The 50-50 is a way of fundraising for minor hockey, and the premise is simple: but a ticket, and if you win, you get 50% of the ticket sales, with the rest going to the association.

I usually try to make a deal with the kids selling the tickets. I offer to buy one if they’ll make it 65-35 (for me, of course) or even 70-30. No one has ever taken me up on it though.

Imagine if your odds of winning were very good; let’s say you had a 98% chance of winning the 50-50 pot…tempting, right?

• Or suppose you put your business card in a box at the restaurant to win a free meal, and when you do it, you discover that you have a 98% chance of winning your next supper on the house… like your odds?
• Would you make an investment in real estate if you had a 98% guarantee that in a few years you’d turn a profit?
• Would you jump into the squared circle with this guy if you had a 98% chance of beating him and becoming the champ? (Yes, I realize it’s more like 98% you wouldn’t last 30 seconds with him beating on you.)

My point is, we like it when the odds are in our favour. We play percentages, invest wisely, build with a solid plan, and tend to go in the direction of what’s going to work out best.

Would you go with or against the 98%? Exactly.

Check out what I read this morning:

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” But most people’s lifetime ambition is the exact opposite that: store and get more.  More, more, more.  Jesus continues, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (vs. 20-21).

Where your money goes, there your heart follows.

The average Christian in the United States gives about 2 percent of his or her income toward helping people and advancing God’s kingdom on the earth. That means that the remaining 98 percent goes to the world. Which means that 98 percent of our hearts go toward the world. If you catch yourself wondering why you want more of the world and you’re not satisfied with God, it’s because you have a spiritual problem. We think that more is going to make us happy.

Mark Beeson (GCC) is quoting Craig Groeschel (LifeChurch.tv). Full blog post is here.

Where are you investing your money? In this world or in heaven? There’s more at stake than a rink hot dog.

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Matthew was a number cruncher. You might call him a bean-counter, a numbers-nerd, the walking calculator; you get the idea.

Employed as a tax collector, Matthew was familiar with finances and very likely knew the best way to get the most out of his (and your) money. Matthew was familiar with the bottom line.

Yesterday @ Evangel, I spoke about a Money Myth that is common in our culture: money makes everything better. We tend to believe that money brings joy, security and value to our lives, but when you get to the bottom line, that way of thinking doesn’t balance out.

While reading some of Matthew’s story about being called to follow Jesus, this jumped out at me. Take a minute and read it here (Matthew 8:28-34). Did you catch Matthew’s reference to the bottom line? It’s in verses 32-34:

32 “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

33 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

When Jesus came to town, the economy was altered. When Jesus brought freedom to those men, the pig farmers took a hit in their pocketbook.

• While the men gained, the farmers lost.
• While the men were credited with freedom, the farmers incurred a debt.
• The men won something money couldn’t buy, the farmers lost money.

Here’s what I’m saying: it cost something when Jesus came to town.

Sadly, the cost was too great for the people of the region; they begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone. He obliged. Their initial review of the bottom line was too painful for them to risk further financial loss. What they gave up when Jesus came to town was more valuable in their estimation than what Jesus was bringing with Him.

They liked their bottom line without having to factor in Jesus.

Have you lost something by inviting Jesus to your town? Has His arrival impacted your pocketbook? How has Jesus changed your bottom line?

‘As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and went.’ Matthew 9:9 ESV

What happens in some organizations, businesses and churches is that we discover something works well, and then we cast it in stone.

The midnight-madness sale, the rock-a-thon, the phone-tree prayer line.

We tried it out, and it worked great–so we commit resources to do it over and over again. It works for awhile, then eventually starts to lose momentum and fizzle. Old business practice was to simply throw more money at it, add more balloons, put some announcements on the radio, and get ready for the crowds to start rolling in. But it didn’t have the same impact it used to have.

In this transition season at Evangel, we’re closely evaluating the things we’ve been doing. Nothing is off-limits. Everything is negotiable. We’re looking for ways to impact our community that go beyond the tried and true.

Food for thought: sometimes the tried and true is just tired and true.

We’re examining the various ministries/avenues we use to make a difference in our community. We want to bring positive, life-giving change to the people we meet and care for, and we realize that the way we do that has to change. of course we believe that this positive, life-giving change has it’s origin in the Kingdom of God–that the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is the only source of a life the way it’s meant to be lived. And that’s what we want to communicate and point people toward. But old methods aren’t working like they used to, so we’re trying something new.

One example from our student ministry is KD Tuesdays. Students face an avalanche of pressures and need to process a flood of messages every day. They’re told they need to look a certain way, have certain things, and behave in a certain manner in order to fit in with the crowd. They get pressure from teachers, parents, friends, and the ever-present media to live up to society’s ideal of life. But when the kids head down that road, they end up finding it’s hollow, empty, and not at all what they were promised.

So our youth pastor (Landon McAllister) has teamed up with Tony Curtis and some other youth pastors in the city to create KD Tuesdays as an opportunity to give students a safe and fun place to hang out, make friends and experience the accepting love of God…all over a bowl (or two) of Kraft Dinner.

It’s really an awesome spectacle, to see students from Leo Hayes High School flock into the community room of the Willie O’Ree Centre every week to encounter people who really care about them, no matter what they look like or what’s going on in their life. It’s something different. It’s not the same old way of doing ‘ministry’. But it’s changing lives, one bowl of KD at a time.

Spring ahead.

But first, we’ll go through a season of transition. The weather will be fairly unpredictable: some days you’ll need your winter coat, and other days a jacket will be fine. You’ll look out the window and see the increasing strength of the sun’s rays, but the wind will still bite those who step outside unprepared for its’ teeth. Yes, it will be a few days yet, but summer is on the way. I tried to encourage some UNB students from Nigeria with that hope yesterday. I think my idea of ‘warm’ differs from theirs.

Yes, summer will come, but first the transition of spring.

For as long as I can remember, that’s the way it has worked. To go from one season to another means passing through change. Anniversaries fly past; the calendar turns; and birthdays keep showing up, ignoring our orders to cease and desist. Growth means transition. Growth means change. Spring ahead.

In the next couple of posts I’m going to share with you how we’re walking through the season of growth here at Evangel. Please pray for us and with us as we’re working to tell everyone we know the Good News. Spring ahead.

Shout out to Matthew Paul Turner and his book, #churched.

Click play, and laugh. I did.

We’ve had some fun talking about relationships and marriage this month at Evangel. Our Once Upon a Marriage series has produced some interesting conversation. This coming Sunday we’re wrapping up with what might be our most thought-provoking talk yet: Passive Husband, Pushy Wife. Catch it live @ our Maple Street location this Sunday at 10:30am.

Also, I’m pretty stoked about our next series of Sunday talks, Money Myths.  We’re going to examine some of the common ideas about dollars and cents. Stuff like, money brings happiness, money = security, and more money means more value.

A couple of myths can be debunked right now. In case you’re wondering: I’m not going to ask you for money, and if you come, you’re not going to be pressured to give.

Also, Mark & Kim Pope are joining us to share about their vision of reaching people in Thailand. Next Sunday they’ll be with us (along with their cute kids) and you’ll kick yourself if you miss it. Get to know them a little before you meet them by reading this.

Before you know it, Love Fredericton will be here. Start praying now.

Our building on Maple Street!

As far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed reading. Maybe it all started with studying the back of the cereal box at the breakfast table. Mom thought it best to feed me Shredded Wheat, but of course I wanted my Count Chocula. Where it started isn’t really important, I just know that somewhere along the line I started reading the backs of toothpaste tubes, Outdoor Life and Field & Stream magazines, hockey cards, Hardy Boys and just about anything I could get my hands on.

Reading still gets me jacked up. Give me a book and a quiet place, and you’ll lose me for awhile. That’s why I was blown away when Graf-Martin Communications asked me to read and give a review of Sergio De La Mora’s book, The Heart Revolution.

The Heart Revolution (THR) is an easy read that encouraged me to consider the potential of life surrendered to God. In both a physical and spiritual sense, our ‘heart’ is the driving force of life.

If your physical heart isn’t working right, you’re headed for trouble. Ditto with your spiritual ‘heart’.

Too many people experience failure in their relationships, their careers, their personal development because something wrong with their heart–it isn’t working right.

The condition of your heart will always determine the course of your life.

For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:34-35 NLT)

Sergio points out several things that clog the arteries of our spiritual heart, but doesn’t leave you there. It isn’t a ‘beat-you-up’ book. I didn’t walk away from it thinking, ‘I should…‘ but rather, ‘I can…‘

This is an encouraging book!

‘God chose you, set you apart, and predestined you to accomplish amazing things for Him. You weren’t born by accident. You weren’t a mistake. You are one of a kind, fearfully and wonderfully made, and every one of your days has already been prepared in advance…’ (p. 131)

Check out The Heart Revolution, by Sergio De La Mora (Baker Book House Publishers)

note:

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing group.”