Dollars and Sense

Many years ago, Life Bridge used to have an offering video series entitled “Cent Sense.”  The purpose of the series was to help people look at work, finances, and stewardship through God’s eyes.  Our perspective on work and money is usually more influenced by the world than it is by God.  So, the series was created to help us, as individuals, grow in our walk together with God in this area.

What I’ve learned over the years is that it is equally important to teach God’s perspective about money in God’s Church.  Many of the Church conflicts, splits, and closings that I’ve seen over the years are directly connected to misunderstandings about God, Church, and money.  This is because we equate the church to other large organizations in the world.  As a result we look at church finances the same way as we look at finances in politics, business, or non-profit organizations.  The problem is that none of these comparisons actually matches the pictures we find in Scripture.  While the pictures of finances and God’s Kingdom do change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant era, these two pictures do have certain components in common.  In other words, God’s picture of finances for His Kingdom work is consistent throughout Scripture.  At the same time, God’s picture of finances is consistenly different from the world.

Once again, there is far more to investigate here than can be covered in a blog post or two.  So, I’m going to begin a new, old tradition.  We will have an article in Blueprints each week that focuses on finances and the Church.  Since “Cents Sense” is focused on our personal financial picture, “Dollars and Sense” will focus on the finances of the Church.  My hope is that these posts will help us all work together as a team utilize the resources God has entrusted into our care to effectively empower one million to walk together with God.  Go Team!  Praise God!!!