In today's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll take a look with you at a rough side of reality. Those in the know about our state's economic situation are saying that the projections for the immediate future look bleak. Things apparently aren't likely to get better any time soon. Businesses, families and even churches are all trying to respond to this new reality with wise planning. Dayspring is not exempt from the need to tighten our belts in this difficult economic climate. We're coming to the time of year when we need to prepare our annual budget and the challenges we face are further unifying your pastoral staff and elders. We are all coming together to solve the issues before us. We are sensing God's leading and we're coming up with creative solutions. You are going to see some changes around the church campus in the next few weeks that are all part of an overall "Extreme Makeover." At the conclusion of each service this weekend, I'll be explaining some of the specifics. We don't have to sit back and watch our world change. We can get proactive and decide that we will be the dominant change agents! It's not all about the economy. It's all about Jesus, despite the economy!

John has been preaching on what Jesus said about money. It is amazing how frequently the Bible addresses how we handle the resources entrusted into our care. The Scriptures indicate that our giving reflects our values and should be voluntary, proportional, and regular. In today's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll write a couple sentences on each of those four ideas. First, giving exposes our values and the relative importance revealed can be embarrassing. Americans spend more on chewing gum than on missions. In 2 Cor. 8:24, the Apostle Paul calls financial support the proof of love. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be" (Mt 6:21). Money and values stick together. Second, giving is to be voluntary. 2 Cor 9:7 says that each person "should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Our giving is also to be proportional. This is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. Deut. 16:17 - "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you." 2 Cor. 8:12 - "The gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." Finally, our giving is to be regular. 1 Cor. 16:2 - "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income." The Bible refers to financial gifts as "first fruits." We are not to give what is leftover. If it is just an afterthought, the offering may cease to be an act of worship and simply become payment for a performance or a way to tip God for good service.

My youngest son is still young enough that he wants his dad to tuck him in at night. I don't mind that at all; it's not an inconvenience but a joy. We often talk about the day and always pray about the day to come. On Thursday evening he surprised me. I had hoped to do something active with him after work that day and none of our plans materialized. I didn't feel up to fishing or running or anything else we had talked about doing together. I accomplished nothing from 6:30-9:30 and I wasn't too happy about my inactivity and unproductivity. I felt like I had wasted a night off. I had just watched him play basketball with his older brother and we had watched some NBA highlights on youtube.com together. Surveying the evening, he said, "What a good day, Dad. Tonight was great! Thanks so much for being with me!" What?! My worst day was his best? What a lesson, not only about parenting, but also about the importance of being with our Heavenly Father. In today's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I just want to provide this reminder: we may have all kinds of dreams and strategies, but nothing is better than time with our Father. We must be a church of people who value being still in relationship with the One who loves us.

In the services last weekend, I mentioned the enthusiasm of a one year-old boy who "entered in" to his birthday cake. In today's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll share with you what his sister wrote to me in a hand-made get-well card. She's not quite old enough to write but her mommy held her hand around the pen and wrote just what she wanted to say. Her precious words provide a picture of the kind of encouragement we are to offer in Christian community. She wrote: Dear Larry, Don't be sad. You will be strong and healthy very soon. We pray for you all the time that God will heal your booboo arm. The front of the card features a colored dolphin jumping from the water. When we bring comfort to one another, we experience the liberating love of God in our midst. Consider this passage from 2 Cor. as you think of what our church is to be and do: 1:3,4 - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." If you are experiencing some deterioration in your health, you may also be encouraged by 2 Cor. 4:16-18 - "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Remember to pass on God's compassion and perspective to comfort others around you. That's part of how the church is to work.

This year, like the last few, a group from Dayspring Fellowship went to the Summit Leadership Conference. It is a huge conference held near Chicago and simulcast in thousands of places all around the world. We watched it on a big screen in Eugene. In today's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I'll tell you something I got out of one of the talks. Bill Hybels was speaking about leading people from one point to another. He called attention to how tough it gets for people when they are half-way home. I thought about the example in Nehemiah 4:6 - "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart." The next verses describe how, at that point in the process, the Israelites experienced opposition from outsiders and also inner discouragement. It's easy to give up when you can't see the finish line. Bill said that celebrating milestones along the way is a way to keep people inspired to stay on the journey. This made our staff begin to talk about how to keep the hope fresh here, as we continue to work with all our heart. We're looking forward to increasing this practice here. More to come!

I was thinking about how odd it seems that Jesus said he was the light of the world but also told his followers that we are the light of the world. So, who is the light of the world, him or us? Who bears the responsibility? What I realized was that he is the source and we reflect his glory. We are to represent him.

It's like God told the Jews in Isaiah 49:6 (and quoted in Acts 13:47) "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." That is a very high call. My response is to ask God to ignite my soul with passion for what he can do in our midst and through our lives. In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I simply want to ask you to ask God to set revival ablaze in your heart and in our church. Let's ask him to cause us to catch fire and then let's get about the business of shining!

I envision followers of Christ passionately following him by reaching, connecting and growing. I also have the privilege of observing this going on right here at Dayspring Fellowship, where Reaching, Connecting, Growing is our motto. In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to briefly explore the relationship between the first and last of these three words. While the link between reaching and growing may be complex, I'll say two simple things: growing individuals will reach out, and a reaching church will grow.

I make this first statement in recognition of the fact that growing Christians become more Christlike in how they think and what they do. To follow Christ closely is to care about what he cared about and to devote ourselves to what he did. Jesus made disciples. His followers should do the same. If we are growing as Christians, then we will reach out as he did.

The second statement, that a reaching church will grow, should be obvious. If a church is making many disciples (leading people to follow Christ), then they will accumulate! Churches that are focused outward will grow as people are reached.

Let's pray and plan to experience both of these results. May our individual growth motivate us to reach out, and may those we reach connect with others and Christ here at Dayspring.

I saw something in the book of Galatians that confused me at first. Gal. 6:2 says, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." But then in verse 5 it goes on to say, "for each one should carry his own load." I learned that the second sentence doesn't contradict the first because a different word is used. The first instruction is for us to help others with difficult loads they cannot bear alone. The second instruction reminds us that everyone ultimately is responsible before God.

In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to apply this to the financial support of the church. In summer we see a decline in our average weekly attendance. When the weather finally gets nice, Oregonians enjoy the break. With this temporary exodus comes a decline in our average weekly offering. Unfortunately, our fixed expenses don't go away when a bunch of our attenders do. This is where the twin teachings from Galatians come into play. On the one hand, we are all responsible to do our share, but there are also times when we need to take up the slack for someone else. Let's bear the burdens of those who aren't here to support the ministry. To make matters worse this summer, many Dayspring attenders are out of work. We who can give should give while others can't. It will take strong motivation for you to sacrifice in order to cover for someone else. May the motivation be love.

At our elders' meeting this week, John was talking about the mentality of church planting teams. He said they typically realize that their very existence is dependent upon the effectiveness of their outreach strategy. They grasp that if they don't grow they will die. They not only know this, but they act on the fact. His words got me thinking about the process that led my last church to plant a daughter church in Carlsbad. The team clearly lived out a simple philosophy: We are not yet what we will be! In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to make some noise about that idea. I believe healthy churches and healthy individuals must comprehend and act on the realization that they are not yet what they will be. New Christians generally think this way. They grow up quickly at first and then grow complacent and plateau. It is said that we get what we expect. Let's expect progress! Let's not be satisfied with things as they are. We are not yet what we will be! This is a healthy mentality for both individuals and churches. Let's believe it and live it!

I recently talked about how we reflect Christ. If we want to lead others to follow Christ, then we should be very careful about how we follow him. In this week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I want to remind you about how and why God poured blessing out on his people, Israel. He told Abraham that there was a purpose behind the blessing. God wanted all the other nations to recognize his favor on Israel and decide to serve him based on what they saw in his people. In 1 Kings 8:60 we read a phrase that is found many times in the Scriptures. It is the explanation for why God has blessed his people. This has happened " - so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other." God has given us what we have in order that others may see what he can do and be drawn to him. Long ago, the architecture of the lavish temple reflected God's grandeur. The New Testament says that we are the temple now. People look at us to see God's character. Do we reflect and represent him well?