Uncommon Life | Uncommon Faith

Celebrating Uncommon Lives

January 27, 2012 in Uncommon Church with 0 Comments

Here’s a great guest post by one of the Uncommon Church Core Team members. I love seeing God stories in these very early days of launching the church. I wanted to take some time and celebrate what God is already doing!

2 Cointhians 9:7 “I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.” MSG

We know what the Bible says about tithing. We’ve been taught the principle of tithing in church, we know it is a non-negotiable. But somewhere along the way, we made every excuse in the world not to tithe. Then we went through a season of extreme burn-out with church and decided to stay home on Sundays for a couple of years. Honestly, we did not even think of tithing. When we decided to finally re-engage and look for a church, it was the first thing we dreaded. Tithing! Suddenly we find ourselves with an opportunity to join the core team of Uncommon Church. Uh oh!

As my husband and I discussed joining the group and investing our time and family into this incredible journey with Uncommon, we knew tithing was a must. It was a no-brainer! Scary? Yes. Especially since we had not been living in obedience with our finances over the last couple of years. But we knew it was time to FULLY obey what God’s word instructs. We sat down last Sunday and wrote every single bill out and what was owed. At the top of the list, my husband wrote “tithe” and the amount (10% of his check). We both agreed that on the next payday, the tithe would come out first. We had to wait for the payday! But there was such joy and relief in just making the decision.

The next day my husband went to work and his boss pulled him aside. He said this. “I just want to tell you that I am working on a way to get you more money. I see the work you do and I don’t want to lose you. I am doing everything I can to get you more. You deserve it.” As my husband explained the conversation, he said something that really stood out. “When he pulled me aside, I was shocked. This came out of nowhere!”

No!! It did not come from “out of nowhere”! Isn’t it amazing how personal our Father is? He longs to meet us right where we are at. He knows we have a growing family, a house we’ve outgrown and the nervousness we feel when buying groceries each week for our large family. He knew it would be hard to send that first initial tithe. He even knew we needed some motivation. You see, all we did was “decide” to tithe and the Lord began to bless us. We “decided” to obey. Sometimes just making the choice to do something is the first part of obedience.

Yesterday…we acted on our decision. We obeyed. And we did it without reluctance or fear. We gave cheerfully! Obeying the Father brings relief, peace and undeniable JOY.

For EVERY Church Planter

January 26, 2012 in Church, Leadership with 1 Comment

This week I was reading through Acts 20 and something became increasingly evident. Paul is talking in Acts 20:20-24 about leaving Ephesus to go plant a new church, do something new and start over. He discusses the tough road ahead, and he even talks about God calling him. He goes through the verbiage many church planters often rehearse and reuse throughout their journey.

But, Paul says something that EVERY church planter needs to hear. He says something that EVERY church planter needs to believe. He says something that is crucial in the life of EVERY church planter if they want to succeed. He says something that, too often, church planters are missing in their vocabulary….

Paul says in Acts 20:24, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God”

Paul acknowledges 3 things:

His life is not the center and not the focus
His ministry was not his own, but something created and given to him by God
It’s 100% about the Gospel, making much of Jesus!

If church planters could more plainly understand this, live this and believe this….They would find success. No matter the trials, the hardship, the stress, the anxiety, the long days, the transitions, the battles fought, the money raised, the money spent, the money absent, the building built, the trailers loaded and unloaded, the coffee made, the band rehearsals, the sermons prepared, the meetings endured, the heart aches of life, the development of staff, the balancing of volunteers, the momentum, the speed and the exhaustion…..

If it’s not about us. If it’s not our own appointment. If it’s all about the Gospel, then we can do it. If it’s about the Gospel then we can endure it. If it’s all about Jesus we can succeed.

Give Up On The Past

January 25, 2012 in Leadership with 0 Comments

One of my greatest flaws is that too often I look at my past success, or failures, and let it determine my present and my future. Often times it is grounded in pride! I brag about past success and expect position and recognition as a result. Most often I let my failures limit my possibilities. I am unforgiving of myself, and it’s weighs me down. The reality is that when this happens, I miss out on God’s greatest for my life.

My past does not have to determine what lies ahead, and neither does yours!

Take a second and read Philippians 3:13-14. Paul says something that is incredible. He says he is choosing to forget what is behind; Paul is forgetting the past. Paul had successes (great ones) in the past. He also had failures (HUGE ones) in the past. Paul says that he has set his eyes on what lies ahead, the goal….The prize of being called by God. Paul did not let his mistakes, other’s criticisms and the trials of life to keep him from God’s calling.

One of my mentors and friends has told me repeatedly, “No man has the authority remove God’s call in your life. You don’t have the authority to remove that calling. Not even your sins have the authority to remove God’s call in your life. Only God has the authority to remove that call! And, until He removes that call, we must keep on pursuing it.”

If you and I could stop worrying about our past and let God’s call determine our future, we could change the world. Paul changed the known world through his focus on God’s call and God’s potential in his life.

Keep your eyes on God’s call, and don’t let the world, or yourself get in the way!