Luxury Gospel

Something seems very wrong with this headline: "Televangelists escape penalty in Senate inquiry". The first question that comes to mind is how they ended up there in the first place? The article mentions the use of church owned airplanes, luxury homes, and credit card bills. Is that the best we can do folks? Surely not.

Two issues spring to mind:

1) As Christians we should manage money well and be above reproach in handling it. From big churches to our own personal bank accounts, we should be honoring God with every dime we spend, save, and give away.

2) For a world full of marginalized and oppressed people, how does it look when some church people show up in luxury jets or live in lush mansions? Is that what the Gospel is for? I think not.

I am very sad that articles like this get published. It can make all Christians look we are in it to get rich or something. But the truth is that Jesus calls us to have a love for him and others that is bigger than any paycheck.

It's all His. Let's use our money to honor Him. The world is watching.

a hopeful holiday.

Here is a news story that covered a Thanksgiving Dinner that my church, Karis Community Church, hosted last night. It was so awesome. We had a great turnout and a lot volunteers from the church.

This event was part of our Shalom ministry where we seek to really work towards the peace and good of our city through projects that meet their physical and spiritual needs. God is working in our city.

God of This City by Chris Tomlin

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

oh my god

here is a video from one of my favorite bands 'jars of clay'. it is truly amazing. it asks some deeply moving questions about faith and struggle in the world.


Behind the Song:
"With Oh My God, we wanted to kind of communicate that everybody at some point intersects with God, whether they choose to believe or not, and people all have their reasons for crying out to God. And some of those are really deep, deep doubts. There are times when I wrestle with that now, but growing up I didn’t know the gospel could stand up to the scrutiny. It’s a question that I think needs to be asked. This song has three parts. It starts out being many people’ stories and the third part is my personal story...Why I cry out to God." - Dan Haseltine (Jars Of Clay)

She said yes!!!

here is a quick glimpse at me asking mel to marry me.

project warmth

do you know the feeling of being cold? that deep sensation in your bones and muscles that makes your body ache? there are many people on the streets or in low income housing that cannot afford to keep warm in the winter. while many of us enjoy a warm house, they are forced to endure the long, dark of winter on the streets. so, what do we do?

there is no easy solution. but one way we can help is to show our concern for their welfare by giving them something simple to keep warm: a blanket. karis is hosting a blanket drive in october to gather a large quantity of blankets to distribute among the needy in columbia.

our hope is that by handing a blanket to someone in need we can show them both our concern for the needs of their hands, but also the needs of their hearts.

jesus cares about all of us. the church needs to care about all of us too. pray for project warmth.

meet melissa...

This is my wonderful girlfriend Melissa. She and I have been dating for almost 5 months and things are going really great. She is a case worker for a non-profit organization in Jefferson City, MO and works with youth that have a mental illness (she is really awesome at it). We met 5 years ago on the University of Missouri campus and this past year finally started dating. We have a lot of fun and love to be as goofy as possible. God has really blessed us and for that we are really thankful.

a little piece of my heart.

here is a short video that highlights my time in kampala, uganda this past summer. this video is a special thanks to all my friends and family who supported my trip to uganda. i so thankful for you! (the song in the background is 'beautiful' by shawn mcdonald.) i hope you enjoy!