Catalyst Blog [happenings and other things at catalyst]
Recently I was reading a blog posting by a friend. The title of his article was “How I’d spend $1000 at age 23.” He’s in his late twenties now. It was very clever and thought provoking. So much so that I thought I’d put together my own list.
I’m going to change the rules a bit, though. I’m going to tell you how I’d spend $1000 today, not at age 23. And I’m assuming I have to spend it only on myself. So, if someone handed me $1000 today, here’s how I’d spend it:
- $300 – Amazon Kindle – The Kindle is to books what the iPod is to music. It’s a digital reading device that downloads books, magazines and newspapers for you to read. It’ll also read content to you. The smallest version will hold 1500 titles, any of which you can download in less than a minute. And books are cheaper (most are $9.99) and magazine subscriptions are very cheap (like $1.50/month for Time and Newsweek). And you can download the first chapter of most books for free just to make sure it’s a book you’ll like before you commit to paying for it. Plus, there are no contracts or fees.
- $130 – UNA Football Season Tickets for 2 – Since I graduated from UNA and am a huge football fan this one seems appropriate. Granted, I am bending my rules a bit since I’m buying two sets. But you can’t go to a football game by yourself. That’s against the man code. So I’d invite my dad to go with me to as many home games as he’d like, which would probably be all of them. If he couldn’t go then I’d take my wife. Sorry honey.
- $270 – 6 month membership to Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center – I’d start with 6 months and extend it thereafter. It’s $10 cheaper each month if you don’t do the pool but I want to ride that water slide dang it!
- $40 – 2 pairs of jeans. I’m a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy. It’s my uniform. And since I’m only giving myself $40 I’d probably buy them at Old Navy. They have some great clothes for cheap.
- $60 – Madden 10 for Xbox 360 – This one sounds lame. I’ll admit my addiction to playing video games. I recently read an article that says the average age of video game players in America is 35. It made me feel better about myself. See, there’s a little child in all of us. Plus, it helps me relax. And all pastors need a healthy way to relax. And I call crushing a virtual opponent in one of the most savage and brutal games in the world relaxing.
- $100 – Books – I’d download 9 books and 5 magazine subscriptions that I want to read to my new Kindle. Here are a few that are on my list: (books) Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson, Repenting of Religion by Dr. Greg Boyd, and How To Lead and Still Have A Life by Dale Burke; (magazines) Reader’s Digest, Time, Newsweek.
- $100 – Tithe – this would be the first thing I’d do with the $1000 (but I saved it for last just to throw you off a bit). I’d take $100 and give it to Catalyst. I guess you’d expect this. After all, I am a pastor. But what may surprise you is that this $1000 isn’t salary (remember, someone hypothetically gave it to me). My wife and I have agreed that we’d give at least 10% of our INCOME to God. That’s everything that comes in regardless of where it comes from. Tithing is a way of life for us. And I would consider it an investment in people because Catalyst uses its money to bless others. There I go bending my rules again.
What would you spend $1000 on if someone handed you cash today? Send me an email at cowens@catalystchurch.net.
Posted by Chris
cowens@catalystchurch.net
I spent some time today thinking about people who are on the outside of churches looking in. Those of us who are in the church business often think too highly of ourselves. Seriously. We tend to think that we have something to offer people. We think that we're doing things better than the church down the street. We think our music is better, our programs are better, our ministries are better. And we gear ourselves up every weekend for a massive turnout of people who, we think, are just dying to hear what it is we have to say...some revolutionary truth that's going to reshape lives. Most preachers are left scratching their heads over lunch on Sunday afternoon wondering where all the people were. Most unchurched people don't even give us a second thought. And maybe they shouldn't.
The most recent statistic I heard is that 17% of Americans will be in church this weekend. Yet, at the same time, 80% of Americans say that faith is important to them. Red flag! There is a major disconnect here somewhere. It's amazing to me that we spend six days a week living normal, everyday lives but on Sunday we are asked to conform. Put on your Sunday best and act like you're supposed to act in church. What's that about? Aren't churches supposed to be a place of authenticity? Act like yourself six days a week but act differently in here on Sunday? Come on.
Most red-blooded Americans go off to work in the morning then come home in the evening to spend time with family or we hang out with friends. We seek out relaxation. We seek out times to connect with people who are similar to us and do the same things we do. Obviously people aren't finding meaningful connections in church or they would be there. Obviously we aren't doing things that create an environment where people feel relaxed and welcome. Obviously we aren't reshaping lives the way we hope. People don't want to be someone six days a week then be someone totally different on Sunday. So the result is, they stay who they are seven days a week. And they stay at home.
I think every church starts out wanting to impact lives. I have yet to meet a church planter who says, "We're not about the unchurched. We don't care about those people. We're here for people who want to worship Jesus." We all want to reach people. We all want to make a difference in our communities. We want to be the church known for its outreach programs and for helping heal broken lives. But come on, we can't be deaf to what society is screaming at us. "Churches, until you get it...YOU DON'T MATTER!"
At Catalyst, we are adamant about creating a place that does away with the outside-looking-in mentality. So why in the world would we want to create another church in a society that's tired of them? Because we're suckers.
Here's a short list of "We're suckers because..."
...we're authentic. What you see is what you get. Why be somebody different on Sunday? At Catalyst, we don't wear masks or hide behind some Christian rhetoric.
...we're Biblical. We believe the Bible has a lot to say about life. The trouble is, most of us can't understand it. And if we can't understand the Bible, how are we supposed to apply it to our lives? Which leads to our next reason.
...we're culturally current. A lot of people don't go to church because they feel it's outdated and out of touch with reality. We agree. Why teach from the Bible like we're in the Middle Ages? We aim to be culturally relevant in everything we do. We realize it's the 21st Century. And that goes a long way with people these days. Especially those of us who want to hear something that relates to us on Sunday.
...we're about doing life together. Nobody can get through life entirely on their own. Many have tried and they've ended up like the Unabomber. I'm not talking introvert/extrovert. I'm talking about relationships with an impact. I go to church because I hear things from people that challenge me and build into me. I learn about myself and about God through others. I'm challenged to be a better person by people who are doing some great things with their lives.
...we value excellence. Unfortunately, this is one of those business buzz words that gets way too much airtime. But excellence is a value we find in the character of God. So of course we want to model that. We want to bring our A-game to everything we do everyday, not just on Sunday.
...we're interested in freedom. Jesus didn't give us a bunch of rules to follow. He doesn't require us to live perfect lives. He simply wants us to follow him and do our best with what we've got. There's incredible freedom in that. We want to be a place that embraces freedom, not a bunch of religious rules.
...we're growing. Healthy things grow. When we grow we're pursuing God. We're loving people. We're serving them. Growth is about more than numbers, it's a condition of the heart. It's an identity.
So we're suckers. But we're suckers with a purpose. We honestly believe we can make a difference in people's lives. We believe Catalyst is a different kind of church in the making.
