Dave Bowman

Whew!!

We just finished 3 days with Sam Douglas, our new staff coach and consultant. I feel like I've been drinking from a fire hose for the last 3 days! Sam's brain is on HIGH all the time and it's a challenge just to keep up with him. But the good news is we were able to hammer out some great strategies for our fall shift to 3 services. (More on that later)

For me, the greatest thing this week was sitting around the table with our awesome staff as we worked, brainstormed and strategized. Let me just tell you - we have some real heavyweights sitting at the staff table at NHC. Sometimes I wonder why God has called me to lead such a great team, who could obviously do the job without me!

So, to our awesome team - thanks for taking the journey with me. I count it a privilege to work side-by-side with you all, and I count it a privilege to call you all my friends!

And to NHC'ers - be thankful to God for the great leadership team he has blessed our church with!

Pray For Greg Laurie

I came home late tonight to find this news on the web. Greg Laurie's son was killed in a car accident this past week. Of course, my heart broke for him and his family. Once again I'm reminded that no one is exempt from the most horrible losses in this world. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Susan and I will be praying for Greg and his family and I hope you'll pray for them as well. Below is a video of him speaking to his church the weekend after the accident. It's a little lengthy, but worth the investment of time.

Tithe Push-back Pt. 2

Yesterday I posted the first common push-back I usually hear about tithing. Here's the second...

• "It seems like all this church talks about is money. I'm really tired of talking about money."

I know the old saying is "perception is reality,"  but in this case that may not be true. A couple of years ago I went as far back as I was able to go in my sermon archives and counted how many times I had actually preached about money. What I found startled me - it was about 3%. When you compare that to how much Jesus talked about money - about 25% of the time - I'm way behind the curve! Maybe I should step it up a bit! (Just kidding!!)

The fact is, we usually take one sermon series a year for this topic, and we cover the entire stewardship issue - attitude towards money, debt, tithing, saving, etc. We offer Finding Financial Freedom several times a year with the same stewardship focus in mind. Why? Because stewardship is discipleship.

Now, here's the cold reality. In 22 years of ministry and teaching I've never once heard a tithing person complain that we are talking about tithing. Those who tithe experience the blessing of God and they want everyone else to experience the same thing they've experienced. That's one of the main reasons I teach it. I've practiced it for over 35 years and I want everyone to experience what I've experienced.

The only ones who complain that we are talking about money too much are those who are upside down with God on this issue. It's like when I preach about adultery. The only ones who get mad are the adulterers!  So, whenever someone tells me that they are tired of talking about money, it's like putting a neon sign on their forehead that says, "I'm robbing God!"

I really do understand how hard it can be to surrender this area to God. Although I've never struggled personally with the tithing issue, I've had other areas of my life that God challenged me to surrender and I have to admit - it was hard. And I've lived through some challenging financial experiences where I had to make the tough choice to keep honoring God in spite of my circumstances. I know it's not easy.

I believe that's why God attaches such a huge promise to this one. He understands it's a tough one too. So he says, "If you'll just try it, I'll prove myself to you." I'm praying that the families of NHC will get serious this week about honoring God with their finances. When they finally surrender, I can't wait to see what God does in our community through their faith!

Tithe Push-back

Sunday I taught in-depth about tithing. Every time I do I hear what usually turns out to be the same questions and push-backs about it, so I thought I would take some time this week to answer the most common questions...

• "I'm in college...I'm a teenager...I'm a single parent...(fill in your unique situation)...I don't have much money. Someday when I make more I'll tithe."

Honestly - no you won't. This is a heart issue, not a money issue. You aren't tithing now because you don't trust God. You don't think he is able to meet your needs and you want to maintain control. Anyone who has lived some of their life with just a little bit of money and later made more money will tell you - it doesn't get easier the more you make. In fact, most find it gets harder.

Money has a way of entangling itself in your values and the more you make the more valuable it tends to become. Your view shifts from, "I don't have enough to give, " to, "That's too much to give!"

That's one reason why it's always been interesting to me that Jesus said, "He who can be trusted with A LITTLE, will be trusted with more." That literally means if you just have a little, you're at a great starting point.

One thing I'm grateful to my parents for is that they taught me the importance of giving from my earliest recollection. I vividly remember taking my dime to church on Sunday for the offering. It was my tithe. I started with a little bit and as I grew older and made more the transition was easier because I started with a little bit.

So if you just have a little bit, start there and just see what God does in your heart and through your life! More tomorrow...

Comments

Not long after I started blogging I decided to do what many other pastor/bloggers have done. I turned on the comment moderation feature of my blog. Basically that means every comment that comes in has to be approved before it gets posted to my blog. The reason I did this is because e-communications tends to be a place where people shoot off their mouths in ways they never would in civil conversation. So, in light of a couple of recent comments, here are some guidelines for getting your comments posted on my blog:

• It’s my blog, not yours – I decide what topics I write about. If you want to take off on some tangent or blog about your pet peeve, go start your own blog.

• Keep it positive – About a year ago I posted something that I shouldn’t have posted. I was ticked off about something and I blogged about it and all I did was create some nasty feelings in other folks. So I decided to keep it positive from there on. Same goes for posts. If you want to be nasty, grumpy or pick fights I don’t have time for that. There are plenty of negative blogs out there. Go hang out with them.

• If you're just trying to promote your book or website don't bother - There's a word for that. It's called advertising. If you want to pay me, I'll consider letting you run an ad.

• If you just want to carry on a running argument about your "pet" issue - I'm not interested. I don't have time to try to convince someone who won't be convinced. And more than likely, you won't change my mind either.

• Never submit an anonymous comment – I don’t read them and I don’t post them. I don’t take anonymous emails or letters either. Anonymous communication is like a drive-by shooting. You get to take your potshots without engaging in any meaningful communication. The Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, said it this way: “Never write what you dare not sign. An anonymous letter-writer is a sort of assassin, who wears a mask and stabs in the dark. Such a man is a fiend with a pen.” I can’t say it any better.

Because all comments have to be approved it sometimes takes me a while to get to them. I have other things to do, believe it or not! So I’ll get them approved and posted ASAP. So, thanks to all you who read my blog and send me comments from time to time. Let’s keep it healthy and let’s keep it Christ-like!

133!

133!

That’s how many have taken the 90-day tithe challenge so far! I am absolutely wowed by that and I can’t wait to hear the stories that will come out of this over the next 90 days! Get ready!

Along those lines, I thought you might like to hear a tithe story from someone who took the challenge. It’s a little lengthy for a blog post, but I think it’s worth it. Enjoy!

In 1996 I separated from my abusive husband.  I was just coming out of the fog he had kept me in for 17 years.  I had not been allowed to attend church during my marriage and did not have a personal relationship with Jesus.  In 1997 I began attending New Horizon Church in the gymnasium of Hillandale Elementary School.  I now know that the comfort I felt the first time I attended New Horizon was the hand of Jesus beckoning me to follow him.

My daughters were 10 and 12 years old.  I did not have a job and my husband cut off all financial support.  I am an accountant by profession and I found a part time job quickly, but, it was not enough to make ends meet.  At the same time I blindly put my faith in God to bring me to the path he had planned for me and my daughters.  I say blindly, because though I had been raised in a Lutheran church, I had never understood the personal and individual nature of God’s love for me. 

Then in 1998 all the court dealings started with my husband to finalize the divorce and all the mess that comes with it.  I was terrified, broke and confused.  I could not make my mortgage payment and I was having trouble feeding my children. 

Then I went to church one Sunday and heard Dave teach about tithing.  As Dave began I squirmed in my seat as I had heard this message in my younger church life, but what I had heard previously was not a message of help and hope.  As I listened I kept thinking, “How could I give 10 percent of my meager income to God when I could not feed my own children?”  Dave explained that this is the only time in the Bible that God challenges us to test Him on something (Malachi 3:10).  Dave said, “Try it for 90 days, if it doesn’t work, stop.”

I was so desperate at the time, I was willing to try anything, even gamble on God.  That was my lost and naïve attitude at the time.  From that Sunday on, for the next 90 days, I tithed.  Each Saturday I would calculate how much I had earned that week and determine how much I had to write the check for.  I felt like I had to use one hand to force the other hand to write the check, all the while thinking that I could buy groceries with that money.  I quite honestly was not happy about it and I did not like it, but I did it.  I did it but I worried that I was not giving with a joyful heart and that might be a deal breaker.  I asked God to help me through this. 

So while I was busy with life 90 days flew by.  When I realized the 90 days had passed I sat down to review with God.  This was what I now refer to as a GOD moment in my life.  I felt as if I was sitting down with someone who had just saved my life.  I could physically feel His presence in the room. The peace, calm and joy that I felt was so overwhelming it brought me to tears.  It’s not that anything about my finances or needs had changed so dramatically, but it had changed.  Things were a little easier.  I had started my own accounting practice and landed a couple of good clients.

Being an accountant I keep all my personal finances in an accounting system.  At the end of my first year of tithing I ran a profit and loss statement on my finances.  As usual, by bottom line showed a loss.  The difference this time was that I had not borrowed any money from anyone and I had actually paid back some previous loans I had gotten from family members.  The biggest difference though was that I had been tithing.  I have looked at this many times since.  I cannot make it add up, as many times as I review it.  From the numbers I did not earn enough money to cover all my expenses, but in reality I did cover everything and even managed to save a small amount.  People are always looking for physical evidence that God exists.  I have it.  It is my profit and loss statement.

Now, ten years later I look back at this journey and I am amazed by the faithfulness of God.   I do not earn a tremendous amount of money, but I have everything I need and much more.  There is only one thing in my life that I cannot afford.  I cannot afford NOT to tithe.  It is now with a joyous heart that I look forward to giving my tithe.  It is and always has been the best financial plan there is.  And to think that God only asks for 10 percent of what is already His and lets us keep 90 percent.  What a deal!

Parenting and The Weekend

Since my family came home Tuesday I've noticed a lot of changes in Arianna. Being separated for almost a month does that, I guess. She seems to be growing up much more quickly than I'm usually aware of. That has made me more aware of my responsibilities and influence in her life as a parent.

On that note, I saw this post from Tim Steven's site earlier this week and it has me thinking about how I can influence Arianna in the short amount of time I have left to do so. Here's some highlights, but I would encourage you to check out the entire post...

• Get involved in a great church with strong youth leaders.

• As they start middle school, don't give them the option to stay home from the youth program.

• Find a school that has strong values and where there is good chance they will be able to find solid friends. That might mean paying for private school or moving to a better school district.

• Get them in situations where they are hanging with young adults who are following God. That's why we had college-age students live in our home for two years.

• Teach them the joy of serving when they are very young.

• Let them participate in events where there is a good chance they might take a step spiritually, like summer camp, missions trips, or weekend retreats.

This would be a great time for me to plug Spiked and Club 56 too! This past Wednesday Adam's crew had over 60 teenagers for Jam & Java and 2 teenagers got saved!! Whoo-hoo!!! I can't think of a better place for our teenagers to connect with God. If you want to read more about it check out Adam's blog post here.

As for the weekend...

I'm looking forward to Sunday - AS ALWAYS!!! I know it doesn't excite some people that we're talking about money, but I always get excited about it because I know we're going to help some folks move out of slavery into freedom! I believe this Sunday that's going to happen for a lot of folks! Can't wait!!

AND DON'T FORGET BLOCK PARTY SATURDAY NIGHT!!  See 'ya then...

Block Party Saturday

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…especially at NHC’s Block Party! Don’t miss it this Saturday starting at 7:00 pm. As usual, there’ll be lots of tailgatin’ (bring extra to share!), music, dance contests, horseshoes, cornhole and the movie will be Evan Almighty.

And if you fancy yourself as the next Bobby Flay or Rachel Ray, bring your best entrée, side dish and/or dessert for the Block Party cook-off! Prizes will be awarded for the #1 choice of the judges in each category.

Bring the kids, bring the dog and most of all – bring an unchurched friend!

Cars and Money Pt. 3

Over the last couple of months we’ve all been hit with higher and higher gas prices. No one seems to know for sure if prices will ever come back down, but chances are they won’t. So now the rush is on for some to get rid of their “gas-guzzler” and replace it with a new “energy efficient” car. I realize there are political considerations that play into this decision, but from a purely financial standpoint, does it make sense to do this?

Most money advisers say it’s probably not the thing to do. Of course, that’s just general advice, but in most cases the numbers don’t work out to your advantage. By the time you pay the costs associated with buying a new car you end up paying more than you’re now paying for additional gas costs. So for most of us (myself included) the smart thing is to adjust your budget in some other areas and keep your current car.

If you’re interested in running the numbers, here’s a website that will do the calculations for you. Just plug in the numbers and it will tell you whether or not it’s a good decision in your case.

Cars and Money Pt. 2

Yesterday I posted the first in a series of posts about how get on the right side of the car equation. Cars are a necessity in our culture and they are also one of the main things that get us upside down financially. But there are strategies that will save you tons of money on cars. So here's part two...

2.    Drive your current car into the ground

Cars last longer today. It’s nothing for today’s cars to go 150-200,000 miles pretty routinely. For most of us that would last us 10 years. You have to pay closer attention to regular maintenance for this to work, but it will work. My Ford Explorer is 10 years old and has over 150,000 miles on it. We also own a ’94 Toyota Corolla that has over 150,000 miles on it. They’re paid for and they run well. We also own an ’05 Nissan Murano (our “nice” car) that we plan to drive for at least 10 years.

3.    Find a good mechanic you can trust

If you’re going to keep your car long-term you’ll need to pay close attention to maintenance. Some opt for the dealer where they bought the car, but I’ve found that most of the time you can get the work done cheaper at a neighborhood repair shop. I’ve also found the customer service is better. The owner of the shop where I take my cars knows me on a first name basis. I like that. And over the years they have proven themselves trustworthy. So when he calls me up and says, “Dave, your car needs ______ and it’s going to cost $300,” I know I can trust him.

So check with friends and family and ask them where they get their cars fixed and serviced. Then become a regular customer. It pays dividends in the long run.

Tomorrow – should I trade in my gas guzzler for an energy efficient car to save money on gas? The answer might surprise you!