Hope Worldwide - Martin Luther King Day 2009

HOPE worldwide and the American Red Cross are part of a National Martin Luther King Day Campaign to distribute fire-prevention materials to at-risk neighborhoods. House fires are the most common disaster affecting families
in South King and Kitsap counties. With your help, HOPE worldwide - Washington plans to reach 5,000 homes in the Puget Sound region.

We are looking for approximately 150 volunteers to canvas neighborhoods from 9:30 AM until 12:00 PM. Following canvassing, we are inviting you to join us at the Southwest Seattle Boys & Girls Club for a community fair to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy. Special guests and events include; former Seattle Seahawk, Mack Strong, Dopplar the Storm mascot, a special vocal performance by Leonard Weaver of the Seattle Seahawks and much more…

Invite your families, friends, and co-workers to remember Dr. Martin Luther King by honoring him in a day of service. Please sign-up with your local Hope Ambassadors or e-mail us at hopemlkday@gmail.com with your name and contact information.

Location:
Southwest Seattle Boys & Girls Club
9800 8th Avenue Southwest
Seattle, Washington 98106

Date and Time:
Monday, January 19th, 2009
9:30 AM until 3:00 PM

Volunteers should arrive by 9:30 to prepare for canvassing and should be finished by noon. Volunteers are welcome to attend the MLK Day Fair afterwards for food and fun!

• Master in Disaster
  HOPE worldwide – Washington is also looking for Masters in Disaster, volunteers who
  are interested in becoming more involved with our Red Cross partnership throughout 2009.

• What is a Master in Disaster? A Team Captain for MLK Day canvassing.
  As well, each leader will be trained by the Red Cross with basic disaster preparedness
  and will act as liaison for your church region in case of disaster.

• What is required of a Master in Disaster? Attend 3 hour training in January provided by
  the American Red Cross and HOPE worldwide – Washington on basics disaster preparedness
  and fire prevention canvassing. The Red Cross will discuss different opportunities at this training
  on how you can help your Church congregation, family and neighborhood get prepared.
  You can decide what inspires you or what may fit in your schedule for 2009.

• When are the training dates? (Please consider one of the following)
  Sunday Jan 4th 12:30pm-3:30pm (including lunch) Seattle Church of Christ (Seattle)
  Thursday Jan 8th 5:30pm-8:30pm (including dinner) Home of Zoe Strong (Newcastle)
  Sunday Jan 11th 12:30-3:30pm (including lunch) Washington State Historical Museum (Tacoma)

• How do I sign up? Please sign up with your local HOPE Ambassador or email your contact information
  to hopemlkday@gmail.com stating you want to become a Master in Disaster.

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My Best Christmas Gift

[The following is a reprint from an article posted by Carol Kelly found on the Seattle Church of Christ website]:

Felicia Staley was baptized on December 13^th 2008! As the angels were rejoicing so were her father, William and her sister, Satira Davis as they were united in Christ (both William and Satira are members of the South Sound Church of Christ). The City Mingles ministry and the Kitsap ministry filled our house with heartfelt words and tears as individuals shared about Felicia. Chelsie Zhang, Felicia’s bible talk leader, shared, “You are my best Christmas gift!” It got me to think how it must be one of God’s best Christmas gifts as well!

The Christmas story can be overlooked but when you see God’s plan lived out it brings everything into focus. When God spoke to Joseph about the birth of the Christ, he declared that Jesus would save people from their sins. (Matthew 1: 20-21) Felicia’s story is the very demonstration of the reason for Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. How fulfilling it must be for God to see his vision become a reality; the reality of Felicia being cleansed from her sins, being granted a new lease on life, being grafted into God’s family, and of her father, in his own words saying, “Three years ago I wasn’t part of Felicia’s life but now I am her brother!” Felicia went through a lot of self-discovery in her search for this reality! She had to learn to be courageous and deal with her past. In her words, “Jesus and all he went through were worth it!”

Many gifts exchange hands at this time. Each of us will receive some special presents from some special people. We will no doubt have our true favorites and then others will be added to our memories of Christmas casualties. I hope we who are Christians will declare Jesus as our best Christmas gift as he cherishes each one of ours souls saved as His!

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How To Be Spiritual during the Holidays!

As we come to the close of another year, I just wanted to share some thoughts that can help us be spiritual during the holidays, evaluate the past year, and set some goals for next year.

1. Evaluate your character/year

1 John 2: 3-6

Although extremely challenging, if we call ourselves Christians (or disciples), we must walk the way that Jesus walked.  One huge problem with this is that we are sinners.  As we end in the year, ask yourself, for 2008, what in my life was like Jesus and what was not like him?  Make a detailed list of these subjects.  Let me share a little of what I came up with.

Like Jesus in 2008:

• Towards the later part of the year, I felt that I became more patient with the people I was reaching out to.  After reading many scriptures about patience, I feel more surrendered to take my time helping them learn the gospel instead of always feeling that they needed to make spiritual decisions in their lives at a faster pace.

• After re-reading the book, The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility (2003), I also feel like I have become more aware of my pride.  I feel like this is something that God has been trying to show me for more than two years.

Not like Jesus in 2008:

• In conflicts of communication with my wife, I need to be more self-controlled and exhibit less anger towards her.

• In the earlier part of this year, I just didn’t go to God enough in prayer.  Jesus prayed to God the father all the time.

Ask yourself what areas of your life do you want to grow in spiritually for 2009?  What can you change to see these goals happen?

*I would also encourage you to just spend time evaluating the major events that took place in 2008.

1. Pray for Wisdom for next year—2009

The year of 2008 will be over and done with before we know it and now it’s time to focus on 2009.  Spend some time the next few days praying for wisdom about what God wants you to do for your life specifically.

Scriptures about Wisdom: Psalm 51:6, 90:12, 111:10, Proverbs 2:6, 10, 3:13, 4:6, 7, 8:11, 9:12, 10:13, 23, 11:2

Pray for God to speak to you through the Holy spirit and lead in the major decisions of your life.

1. Spend some extra time with God

One way to end the year off on the right foot is for us to spend some extra time with God.  Have a longer quiet-time or longer prayer-time with God.  Yes, you and I know that the holiday season can usually be the busiest time of the year for our families, but I also want to remind us that if we are willing to sacrifice some sleep and some comfort, we can actually spend more time with God.  We might need to spend this time with God well before our kids (for those who have them) or family members wake up but if we do, we will be much happier during the day (which I know our family would appreciate) but we will also be closer to God (and nothing can compare to connecting with God).

Let God be your Rock/Refuge during the Holiday Break: Psalm 18, 23, Exodus 15: 2-18, Matt 22: 34-40

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According to God’s Timing

As we begin to reach out to friends and family, we are confronted with many questions: will they be open to studying the scriptures?  Will they be able to confront important issues in their life?  Can I adequately convey God’s love to them?  If so, how long before they decide to make Jesus their Lord and Savior?  The answers: God knows!

During the middle of 2007, myself, Marcus Wallace, and some singles began to study the Bible with a young man named Branden Bensen.  He was introduced to the church by Jeff Henderson, a friend from his high school days.  He began to attend church, get integrated into the singles, and study God’s word.  He was inspired by what he saw and read, but didn’t feel like he was ready to make a decision at the time.

Over the next year, he attended occasionally, and kept in good contact with the church through many relationships in the singles ministry.  In the Spring of 2008, he decided to come back and begin studying the Bible again in earnest.  God  blessed Branden with a Princeton education, a good job, and a supportive family.  Still, he realized all of that meant nothing without a saving relationship with God.  After months of studying and changing, Branden was baptized on October 27 in the icy waters of Puget Sound!

That was one night nobody will forget.  Surrounded by friends and family, Branden pledged his life to God.  It was incredible to hear touching words of gratitude from his father, as well as Branden expressing thanks to God and his friends for showing him patience on his journey to a relationship with God.

As Branden was baptized by his close friends Derek Scholz and Todd Stickler, we were all reminded that God’s plan of evangelism includes our tireless effort in reaching out to people and showing them the scriptures.  We should pray earnestly for them, serve them, and show them unconditional love.  However, we can’t control the timing of people making decisions to turn their life over to God.  I was reminded of this when I asked Branden the question, “why did you decide to become a Christian now and not last year?”  His answer: “I feel like now I was ready to make the decision to make Jesus my Lord.”  I think God knew that!

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A Miracle for the Shockley Family

Bill and Michelle Shockley have been members of the South Sound Church of Christ for nearly eight years.  Like so many young married couples, they began to earnestly pray for God to allow them to bring children into this world and start a family.  Not long into this process, it became clear having children on their own might not be a part of that plan.  After wrestling with many different options, they courageously decided to volunteer to be a “foster-adopt” family.

They lovingly brought a little boy into their family – an energetic young guy named Stone!  Thirteen months after his birth, following a lot of prayer and many legal proceedings, he officially became their son, as they were able to legally adopt him.  Not long after their adoption of Stone, they welcomed a beautiful newborn girl into their home.  Her name was Arrie.  She came from a troubled family that struggled to be unified on just what exactly would be the best long-term solution for her.  Would one of Aries’ relatives step up and adopt her?  As she fought to get her life together, would her birth mother want her back?  As the Shockley family met Aries’ needs in the warmth and security of their own home, they also weren’t sure how her future would play out.

As they prayed and patiently waited, the legal process became witheringly slow and frustrating.  Forced to wait, sometimes long periods with little or no news, the Shockley’s struggled to see how God was working.  It seemed that when news did come, it was discouraging.  After two long years, they felt no closer to resolution than when they started.  Concerned about Arrie and their family on many fronts, they solicited the prayers and encouragement of the disciples in the church.  Friends and family prayed and put the future of Arrie into God’s hands.  It was impossible for us to believe that Arrie would be forced to leave the only family she knew.  Finally, nearly three years after taking her in, the Shockley’s were notified this last week that they were cleared to officially begin the process of adopting Arrie!

The Lord has blessed the Shockley family.  He has worked powerfully to bring an end to a long, tense, bittersweet process.   He has blessed Stone with a little sister for life.  He has enriched so many of us with the joy of watching Arrie grow up into a sweet little girl.  Perhaps most importantly, He has helped all of us grow in our faith, clearly showing us the power of prayer and perseverance.  To Him be the glory!

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SSCOC Financial Philosophy

February 4, 2008

Money is so often divisive.  Most of us can remember parents or grand-parents soberly abjuring us from discussing money, religion, or politics, in or out of our households.  For disciples, two of these three are still sensitive topics, and none more so than cold, hard cash. Money can bless the church or divide the church.  Since disciples tenaciously strive for the “complete unity” that Jesus prayed for, coming to a consensus about money in the church is a serious and essential step in “contending as one man” for the gospel in Seattle. What can God’s word tell us about such sensitive waters?

Among other things, we know from scripture that the love of money is the “root of all kinds of evil.”  And we know the longing to get rich pierces the seeker with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10). And yet we also know, when we stop to think about it, that money is an abstraction that (usually) represents some tangible thing that is valued and usually something that has been made or produced.  This produce, whether from the land, the craftsman, the factory, or the computer, is something that according to scripture God historically brings as He sees fit—His blessing to His people (Deut 8:6-20).  The blessing of prosperity—and the money that represents it—is always from God, but in our world often replaces God.  Prosperity itself is not a curse, but loving and enthroning it is.

How, then, do we graciously accept God’s prosperity while abhorring financial idolatry?  In particular, how should we view “sacrificial living” as a feature of Christian life—what exactly does it mean?—and how should we view the support of ministers and missionaries in our congregations and abroad?  Times and topics that engender confusion always beg for clarity, and though we long, perhaps, even more for simplicity, often clarity and simplicity are not the same thing.

It may be tempting, for instance, to use the Spartan example of Jesus—no possessions that we are aware of—to rid ourselves of any monetary questions:  let’s just rid ourselves of everything but the Birkenstocks on our feet in an effort to “be like him.”  The simplicity and assumed purity of such a philosophy is quite attractive but begs an avalanche of serious questions:  if minimalist living is a holy mandate, why did the first century church even have wealthy members?  Or middle class members for that matter? And why does God prosper any of us at all if He only wants minimalist living? Just to tempt us? How might we live differently if we were only supporting ourselves instead of a spouse and children?  What does it mean to responsibly provide for children (another Bible mandate)? In a modern economy, how do we labor and save, then, in order to someday retire and not be burden to our children or to society as we age (Gal 6:5)?  What if Jesus had planned on living for 60 years not 33? Was Jesus prosperous before as a carpenter—and we assume He was a very good carpenter?  As a full-time minister, did Jesus live on more than John the Baptist—he of the leather belt, desert quarters and locust diet?  Does it matter?

Can we frame a solid theological teaching on how much money we should make, or how much we should sacrifice based on Jesus’ three year ministry?  In Seattle, we don’t think so. Godly peoples have been wrestling with these and other questions of money since the first century and this struggle ought to be respected. It seems unlikely that we will be able to hang our hats on one or two scriptures to solve all of our money conflicts.  Instead, we will need humility and a persevering suspension of judgment to reach a unity about money that brings joy to the church (Romans 14:1).  Each of us must do his or her own wrestling and form opinions of maturity about our finances and our sacrifices.  As we do this, we must strive to humbly hesitate making an emotional or theological commitment to what may simply be our opinion—what works for us.  At the same time, we need a limited base of shared financial convictions in order to thwart Satan’s divisive strategies and allow our community to build with zeal and confidence.

With these caveats guiding, we in the Seattle church want to humbly but confidently affirm these few godly principles for basic guidance in our financial work together:

1.  We believe in Stewardship, not Greed, nor Asceticism. The material world was made by God and all prosperity is from God (Deut 8, 1 Tim 6:17).  This means, first, that we are to worship the Creator and not the creation. We appreciate the providence but love the Provider.  We put our hope in God, not in the wealth that he bestows according to his purposes.  Materialism is idolatry.

Second, this means we must not despise His providence.  If we despise the bacon we bring home by His grace, we might as well despise all careers and all jobs, all enterprise; we might as well despise all natural providence as well—His lakes, mountains, oceans, birds, fish, and animals, the seasons, the sun and moon.  Asceticism—trying to guarantee holiness by rejecting the material world—is Gnostic and another form of idolatry, for we put our hope in God, not in our relative level of economic austerity.

We are left, then, with the commission of Stewardship.  What we have, God brings—it should neither be worshipped nor despised.  Because it is all a gift from Him, though, we should use our money—no matter how much or how little—knowing all of it belongs to Him in the first place, and ask Him for wisdom in using, investing, or spending it.

2.  We believe in amply supporting full-time ministers as we can and where we can. Paul wrote that God actually commands us to financially support those who preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14).  He also wrote (though this is an observation, not a command) that the Philippians provided him with generous support—that he was amply supplied and had also known times of “plenty” as a missionary (Phil 4:12, 18). The point here is not that ministers must be generously supplied, but rather that they ought to be financially supported, and that ample (i.e. abundant, generous) support is neither unusual nor unspiritual.

In Seattle, acknowledging that our ministers live in a 21st century, not a first century economy, our board and salary committee have created a salary model that amply provides for the ministry staff.  We have distributed this model in the past and you can view it again by clicking here.  Again, eschewing the doctrine that insists our goal is to be as Spartan as Jesus was for three years, our board has striven to find a rational place to financially “plant the goalposts,” in the absence of a strict and clear Bible command.  They did this by tying ministers’ compensation to that of other comparable public servants—teachers, firemen, policemen, and the like.  As in the case of these public servants, our salary model generally calls for a series of small yearly raises to acknowledge longevity, expertise, and the financial demands that raising families brings.  Unlike the public servant models, our model has no medical benefits package—like many small companies these days, the church is no longer in the business of administrating health coverage.  Staff members are on their own to individually or collectively find their own health insurance.  Consequently, the board has raised the salaries a bit higher than, for example, those of teachers so that the overall salary-plus-benefits package is similar.

Certainly the goal is not to make our ministry staff wealthy (although it’s possible some may become wealthier due to blessed investments or family inheritance—it’s not our business to judge.  Those so blessed will prayerfully in turn give generously!) but at the same time, we hope to set them free from financial concern and pay them in a way that speaks of both high respect and high expectations.

In a modern economy, all salaries are ultimately decided by market decisions of value—supply and demand.  In the private sector, the results are often dramatic—NFL players are rare and so receive rare compensation (that is, assuming fans still want to see games).  But the public sector, collectively, is also market-determined—how many tax dollars do we really want to allocate for road-repairmen, meter maids, teachers, principles, or chief inspectors?  In the long run, the market lands where it probably should, for both private and public roles. We therefore compare our salaries to those of teachers with some confidence.

3.  We reject envy as both a sin and a distortion. Are ministers/teachers/ firemen middle class?  Upper-middle?  Lower class?  Does it matter? Who judges? Some members may be tempted to envy the level of compensation of ministers.  Others may be tempted to pity that level of compensation.  Some ministers may feel that being compensated like a public servant is an incredible blessing; others may feel it is more of a cheerful sacrifice, depending on a host of factors such as upbringing, education, work ethic, ambition, and experience working in the world’s private or public sectors.  The point is that all of it is subjective—there simply is no clear right or wrong compensation.  In the Seattle church, we have landed near the level of teachers and other public servants, and we commend our staff as one of spirituality and excellence.  We want to financially support them in a way that is encouraging and inspiring; we expect, in return, the very best from them.  We want each of them to feel not like a charity case but rather as a workman who truly (as much as any sinner, that is) “deserves his wages” (1 Tim 5:18).

4.  We each commit as faithful members of the Seattle church to giving a faithful financial sacrifice to the Lord. We do not accept the idea that one can be a faithful member of God’s church yet withhold a financial sacrifice—an obvious contradiction.  If we lack faith in the affairs of the congregation enough to withhold our sacrifice, then clearly we are worshipping in the wrong place. In this congregation, faith in the work and sacrificing for the work go together.

The Bible teaches spiritual men and women to sacrifice as part of their worship.  Such sacrifices are as old as Cain and Abel.  The patriarchs offered sacrifices, first fruits and even tithes to God and to His priests (Gen 8:20, 12:7, 13:18, 14:20, 15:10). Abraham foreshadowed God’s own sacrificial heart in Genesis 22:9 when he prepared to sacrifice Isaac.  The Israelites were commanded to make many agrarian and animal offerings to God (Leviticus) and various tithes to support the spiritual work of the Levites.  We worship a God who sacrifices and who commends us to do likewise.

It requires distorted, inverted proof-texting to assert that we are not required today to sacrifice. It’s obvious that first century disciples supported full time ministers and missionaries (1 Cor 9:14).  It’s obvious they saved and collected special contributions for special needs (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2 Cor 8-9).  But most of all, it’s obvious that God’s people have always lived a lifestyle of tithes, offerings, and sacrifices, even as He prospered them.  Trying to take this out of the Bible culture is like trying to take the miracles out of Jesus’ profile—it just runs too thick to excise.

But are we sacrificial?  The Bible teaches that our whole lives are to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), but who judges that? By what standard do we judge whether or not we are being sacrificial?  Where do we land on this?

By definition, sacrifice hurts.  It is not convenient.  It means giving up something.  While we do not have a proof-text command in the New Testament to tithe (10%) we are commanded to be sacrificial.  We stand for every member deciding before their God what that means.  No doubt what we decide to give sends a message to Him.  We acknowledge that sacrifice is always relative and that the need around us is always endless.  With this in mind, we commit to giving and sacrificing in such as way that we each can feel personally inspired.  We pray that our offerings, in turn, can also inspire our God.

5. We disavow the practice of scrutinizing what ought to be private, personal, spiritual financial matters. Whether in giving (our weekly and missions offerings), compensating (ministry staff salaries) or spending (will you buy a Toyota or a Volvo?), we follow the implications of Matthew 6:2-4—that these matters are between the individual and God.  None of us is fit to judge, let alone knowledgeable enough to judge these choices.  Out of respect, and to protect ourselves from a misguided and controlling culture of judgment, we do not demand to know what members give, how they spend their finances, or what their personal salaries are—ministry staff included.  Curiosity about personal details is, in reality, a kind of “unhealthy interest in controversy” and must be resisted for the sake of one’s own faith and pure-heartedness (1 Timothy 6:4).  In the SCC, we just don’t “go there.”

May God bless us with peace and faith about our finances that both overcomes and inspires the world!

With much love and respect,

The ministers, deacons, and BTLs of the Seattle church of Christ

and South South Sound Church of Christ.

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