David Whiting Live

"Why don't we show the giving in the Sunday program anymore?"

A few times in the last few weeks I've been asked why we don't show the weekly giving update in the program every week. It is a fair question and I wanted to explain why we have chosen to no longer publish the weekly numbers. There are two basic reasons:

• Primarily because that is "insider" information. That isn't the type of information that we think that brand new people need to see week to week. We are always thinking of people who are brand new to church and sadly, that is the item they notice most (for various reasons) in the program. Printing that info in the weekly program goes back to the days when almost everyone who showed up week to week were committed Christ-followers who were also members and givers.
• Secondly, we have an easy way to get that information to those who give.  We send out quarterly updates to all of those who give anything during the year. As part of that update of their personal giving (for tax purposes and for their personal accountability) we will include where we currently are on our weekly giving.

As a member, if you ever want more information, feel free to contact the church office. Karen can update you on giving statistics or put you in contact with someone who can get that information to you. Otherwise, you will be updated on a quarterly basis.  Great question... thanks for asking! Transparency on these things is very important to us.

Quote on Contentment

If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisifed if it were doubled.

—C.H. Spurgeon

Helping Without Hurting - Churches Helping Churches

I have a huge burden and conviction concerning missions - how often (and unknowingly) American pride and culture take the driver's seat and the Gospel is offered the passenger seat. That would take me a long time to talk about... ask me sometime, I'd love to say a lot.

And I also have a burden and conviction about natural disasters and how Americans try to come in and fix everything, and in the process - they hurt while trying to help. I do not question their motives - just their methods and the results.

When you see photos of hospitals built in Haiti that are now unused, or warehouses full of unused medicine, it breaks hearts.

So - I was excited a few months ago when I discovered Churches Helping Churches (click HERE to view their website). This is an organization started under the leadership of pastors James McDonald and Mark Driscoll. Instead of assuming what a country needs and just sending supplies or personnel that may hurt more than help - this organization asks churches in the area of devistation what they really need.

And - whatever help does come to that devastated country - comes via a LOCAL Church that can help them in the long term.  The heroes end up NOT being Americans but Jesus and His Church.

OK - I will stop jumping up and down on my soapbox and get to the point.  We are going to take an offering Sunday night at Vertical Worship for Japan's crisis. We will send our money through "Churches Helping Churches" and allow them to find the best use for our gifts. We will also keep a small portion for our "Disaster Relief" fund that will allow us to get the right people on the ground as quickly as possible with a situation arises where people from our church can help - in a future crisis.

CREATING SPACES - Total...

Hello Northridge Church -

What an amazing Sunday we shared! I've never experienced something quite like it!  Thank you for your commitment to "More and Better Disciples."

I wanted to let you know that the total committed on Sunday morning was $3,030,000. I keep reading it and it keeps blowing my mind.

Thank you for re-surrendering, listening, and obeying! Thank you for following your leaders deep commitment to what God is doing at Northridge Church! I can't wait to see what He has for us next!

A letter will be going out to celebrate the total and to provide an opportunity for those who missed church on Sunday to participate. What an exciting time to be serving Christ together!

 

Giving: Cash vs. Checks vs. Online Donations...

I would LOVE to have been in the church business meeting when they voted on whether to allow people to give by "check" rather than cash.  Don't you think that would have been quite a debate?  I can just imagine some of the comments:

• "That's a worldly invention!"
• "It is a piece of paper! How do we know they HAVE it?"
• "We could be aiding them to sin by allowing them to write a check they don't have money to cover!"
• "We've always taken cash and that is working just fine. No reason to change it now!"

I'm not sure, but I imagine this debate happened in hundreds of churches in the mid 1800s (when check writing became popular).

I think the same debate has taken place many times in the last five to ten years among churches when it comes to online giving. Rather than enter that debate, I clearly believe the debate will be laughed at like we laugh at the assumed debate over check-writing. In other words, I'm just not going to argue about it.

Do you know that 64% of Americans pay their bills online?  In fact, in the year 2000, 61% of bills were paid by check.  In 2010 - only 26% were paid by check. Online payments have grown from 12% to 45% in that same time frame. The age of digitally paying and donating are clearly here!

Anyway... we don't yet have a way to give through our website YET, but that is coming. The only way to pay online right now is to set the church up as a "vendor" or "automatic bill pay" with your own bank's website. That is how my family does it, and it is the option that is free to our church and to you.

Eventually, we will set up the website to receive online donations, BUT - even then - we would prefer people to do it through their own bank (since it is free). Once we accept any type of payment through our website - we will get charged .22 cents per transaction and something near 2% or 3% for credit and debit cards.

Have you considered giving online?  If you are interested, let the church office know and the finance committee will give you a unique number that you can put in the memo of your online check.  That makes tracking easier for our committee.

You can also put CREATING SPACES in the memo line with that assigned number so they know when you are giving toward the CS Project if you want to give your CS commitment online.

Does this hurt? How about this?

I've had two knee surgeries and only a few injuries that were extremely painful (two knee dislocations, torn calf muscle).  Other injuries were very uncomfortable but not extremely painful (two shoulder dislocations, sprained ankles, jammed toes or fingers, etc...).

But when one of those injuries causes a visit to the emergency room, doctor, or specialist, he or she will often begin to poke, prod, and press various places and ask, "Does this hurt? How about this?"

And when I'd cry out in pain, one of two things happened. Either the doctor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity. Or, more likely there's something wrong, and the doctor will say, "We'd better do some more tests. It's not supposed to hurt there... at least not that badly."

Sometimes when I teach on financial responsibilities and stewardship - I receive cries of discomfort - criticizing me, my message, or just about anything else. While a large, large majority recognize they needed to be pushed and prodded - some become very critical. I always try to be balanced in my teaching with grace and truth, but I am sure I miss the perfect balance all the time.  But sometimes - I just want to say, "Somethings wrong here, because when I 'push' there - it shouldn't hurt that much. Something isn't right inside of you."

I love Jason's quote yesterday... (this is my paraphrase) - "Nothing has the potential to clog our spiritual arteries like money, and nothing has the potential to clear those clogged spiritual arteries like giving."  So true!  But many won't sit still long enough to see if their arteries may be clogged...

Just a thought.

I also need to say that probably 95 to 98% of what I hear has been SO positive. I'm more thankful than ever to be able to pastor Northridge Church.

Video #3 - Creating Spaces...

Here is the third video (out of four).  We showed this last week.  You DO NOT want to miss church today. I have an amazing announcement to share!!  Don't miss it!  Either 9:15 or 11:00 AM!!

Creating Spaces - Video #3 from David Whiting on Vimeo.

As always, if you receive this by email, click HERE to go to the blog to see the video.

Video from Sunday, March 20th

Here's the second video we used during Creating Spaces (in case you missed it).  Don't forget service times tomorrow (9:15 and 11:00 AM).

Creating Spaces - video 2 from David Whiting on Vimeo.

As always, click HERE is you receive this via email.

Sunday @ Northridge (plus a video)

Hello Northridge,

Don't forget the time changes for our services starting Sunday: 9:15 AM and 11:00 AM.  You don't want to miss that.

Every week of this series, we've been featuring a video of a group of people who live out generosity. For those who may have missed it, here was the first week's video from March 13th:

Creating Spaces - video 1 from David Whiting on Vimeo.

As always, if you receive this by email - click HERE to see the video or click on the link above.

 

Millionaires Who Aren't Rich

According to Time magazine, 4 out of 10 American millionaires say they aren't rich!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?  And, those 40% of millionaires who believe they are not rich, believe that they would need $7.5 million MORE to truly feel wealthy. (I still can't quit laughing at that.)

Yet, I'm not surprised because most people struggle with the false truth that if they had more money, most of their struggles would diminish or be gone. And theologically and observationally, we know that is not true. But because of the power and deceptivity of money, we too easily buy into that lie.

(Is deceptivity a word? I like it...)