playing along

Alan and A started this whole thing about posting pictures of their bookshelves so I thought I'd play along and post some shots from mine as well.

stuff

• Lisa and I celebrated 13 years of wedded bliss on 5/22. I meant to blog about that back then but time got away from me. There's been ups and downs, there's been times that were better & some that were worse, there's been sickness & health, we've never been "rich" but we've been poor and through it all I can't think of another person on the face of the earth I would have rather spent this time with. God really new what he was doing when he put Lisa in my life and I am very grateful for that.
• I know that there tends to be a good amount of healthy (and unhealthy) criticism of politics and blind patriotism by those in the emerging church scene. I myself wrestled with recent decisions regarding the use of military force in Iraq. On this Memorial Day I remain grateful beyond words for the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives, and continue to do so, for my freedom.
• Theology matters. Understaning who God is matters. It might seem boring or confusing but it is not trivial. Asking theological questions, asking deep questions is never a waste of time.
• History matters. We do not exist in a vacuum. The bible does not exist in a vacuum. We are part of a people with a history that stretches back for centuries--and I'm not talking about all the way back to the 1500's. Understanding how the Church has interpreted scripture, what it has taught about spirituality and morality helps shape our own spiritual development.

welcome to the 21st century

the ponchak house is now wireless. hot diggity!

What the?!

I was recently reading an article by a leader in my current denomination. The article was about the importance of tithing & budgeting as a church, not just as individuals. Along with the usual crap about God blessing people in a twisted a quid pro quo theological system--you know, the more you give, the more He'll bless--was this little gem of advice:

"When you break it down, our budgets should look something like this:
10 percent of your budget should be given to benevolence, missions, or outreach.
10 percent should go to your savings account...
20 percent should go toward ministries -- children, youth, worship, men’s, women’s, etc.
35 percent of our budgets should be designated to our salaries.
25 percent of our budgets should be designated for building and operation costs."

So 60% of a church's budget should pay professionals to do what we should all be doing (ministry) and to pay for a nice place to meet. That is why we have decided not to do the typical church thing. Our 2005 budget looked like this:

• 56% - Benevolence: locally & globally (tsunami & hurricane aid)
• 23% - Group functions: meals, art supplies, etc.
• 15% - Operating costs: website, corporation fees, software, etc.
• 6% - Miscellaneous expenses & savings

I like to know that I am a part of a community that spends the most amount of the money being offered each week on helping others in need. I think that is a much better use of our resources, and a much more scriptural practice. Personally, I'm not satisfied with only 54% of our money being spent on others, I'd like to see that figure be much higher. Can you imagine what the world would be like if the church as a whole got it's budgeting in line with the heart of God? What if our benevolence budget was given the priority & percentage that our building and salary budgets? What if sold our multi-million dollar auditoriums and sanctuaries and gave that money to the poor? I seem to remember Jesus recommending something like that.