What's Up Archives - Page 33 of 42

So What Does ‘Financially Partnering’ With You Mean?

A friend had a question about how to give and what each button means. I’ve been making some assumptions that people understand how and why missionaries raise monthly support. This is the accidental assumption one makes after 10 years of being a church secretary and dealing directly with a Missions Commission. If you have other questions, feel free to email me. All questions will be kept confidential.

Q: Do I give now or when you quit SRCF and go into full time ministry?
A: To go into full time ministry, I need to raise 100% support now. This means all giving must go through the “start/modify” button after you press “give.” For Direct Debit or Credit Card/Debit Card, it only allows monthly giving. “Mail a Check” allows for annual giving.

Q: Does a Special Donation go towards your monthly need?
A: No. Special (tax deductible) Donations go towards my ministry account. This does not get counted towards what I need to raise per month. It does help keep down expenses in the Ministry Account as an appointee. To give towards my monthly support, please use start/modify a commitment.

Q: What is a Personal Gift?
A: A Personal Gift is non-tax deductible and gets deposited right into my checking account. I would prefer no personal gifts until I am at 100% support.

Q: I don’t want to do an automatic debit (i.e. Direct Debit or Credit Card/Debit Card), but I do Want to have my yearly donation go towards your support. How can I do this?
A: Go to “Start/Modify” and choose “Mail a Check” instead. Choose how often to give and how much, and mail a check out.

Q:I want to give annually using credit, debit, or direct debit. How can I do this?
A: You cannot give annually using credit, debit cards, or direct debit. To get around this, you can set up online banking to issue a check. Just make sure the memo states my name and account number. The bank will mail a check for you. It can even be scheduled to send at a much later time. Meanwhile, you’ll need to set up an online commitment so, when the check arrives, it is credited towards my support account, not my ministry account.

Q: What do the numbers reflect each month on the first of the month?
A: I am so thankful for the number of verbal commitments I have received, but the numbers only reflect those who have registered those commitments online (even if the check is sent annually at the end of the year). I encourage you to register your verbal commitment so we can together pray to 100% support.

Q: How do I set up an online commitment?
A: Let’s talk. I am happy to walk you through the process. Send me an email to set up an appointment to either call you or come over to your house and walk you through it. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are always open. We can meet and walk you through the process provided no other appointments exist that day.

Q: Why do you need to live on support?
A: The Bible contains numerous examples of both Jesus, His disciples and the Apostles depending on the financial support of others during their ministry. Luke 8:1-3 says,“Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.” These women, among others, were paying the expenses for Jesus to travel through the cities “bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.” Jesus depended on others for support. READ MORE

July Wilderness Trekking Video (Episode 2)

Episode two of the Wilderness Trekking Video Series will be available on my Youtube channel about mid-July. Our focus is a married couple this time who will share an amazing story.

I wish I could tell you the question given to them to answer on our video. I can tell you that we will be hiking the Mingus Mountains.

The Wilderness Trekking Video series, if you are new here, is a series of videos about 2-6 minutes in length that features the trail and the story of the individual we take hiking.

Again, we don’t care if you wish to share the video with your friends privately or share the video in front of a church or a group. We create so we can give freely and generously.

Of course, we wouldn’t be able to create without the generosity of a community of artists who create the music we add to it. Check out Free Music Archive!

Volunteers Needed #Missions #Mentors #Writers

TRC Magazine:

You told her many times that you aren’t a writer. She heard your testimony many times and so have others. You can’t put two sentences together. TRC Magazine is looking for writers who will give a voice to the people God is working through that can’t write. We are looking for writers to show us all aspects of the Christian life. We are a very diverse crowd. Provided the story follows the usual statement of faith and won’t lead anyone astray, you are welcome to apply here.

Cataclysm Missions Intl LLC:

Many volunteer positions exist here. Can you mentor someone online? Can you help a church or ministry do online work better? Can you write once per month on the blog and help others evangelize online and face-to-face? Check out this ministry here.

Social Media Tip: #FathersDay

Father’s Day is this today. In a time when we like to re-define the word father as meaning anything and anyone, I hold to the traditional definition. A father, whether single or married, who adopted or whose child is biologically theirs, that showed up every day, worked hard to provide for his family to the best of his ability; yes, that is the father we celebrate today. If you are a mother, you have your own day. Today, let’s put aside our anger towards the ones that let us down, and honor the ones who showed up.

You can even stay off social media if Fathers Day is unpleasant for you or celebrate with others that good fathers do exist. Try to keep it positive today.

Confessions of a (Sort Of) Reformed Passive Aggressive

Has Social Media Crashed Your Relationships?

What we put on social media reflects our hearts and makes us focus on those things which weigh heavily on our emotions. No matter how vague we think we are being on social media, the pain spills out and becomes a manuscript for others to read of what is going on inside of our heads.

As a Social Media Missionary, I wrestle constantly with myself to decide what my motive is behind publishing. It’s so tempting to have a targeted audience and it is such a fine line. How do we express the grief, anger, and pain in responsible ways so others can minister to us or so we can minister to them?

Several faces do come to mind as I write this piece. It’s unavoidable. No one is completely un-passive aggressive. Our lives reflect what we see and experience, and this translates onto social media. Social Media is no different than face-to-face. We share stories with our friends on and offline. Gossip is a constant threat because friends can also share those stories publicly even when done in face-to-face situations. The copy and paste feature is the only difference between Social Media and face-to-face communities. How do we use social media responsibly as we battle the temptations of the tongue and wrestle with our pain?

I have some suggestions:

Ask yourself why you want to post something. Before you hit publish, search out your heart. Read some Bible verses that address this area. Read the context. It matters less what inspired the post as it does why you are posting it.
Where’s God’s lessons in the post? Will it irreparably harm a relationship? Will it cause dissension? Will it harm someone else’s relationship? If you insist on posting the post, treat it separately from yourself. Change names, dates, and even make it out to be a “friend.” Change details so it is so far removed from the actual event that God’s lesson comes out while keeping the relationship secure.
Passive aggressive behavior doesn’t change people. When my passive aggressive behavior was out of control, relationships were harmed. This is actually a symptom of a need to control other people from a place of fear. Trust God to handle people and pray for them. As Sheila Walsh said in one of her books: The prayer might feel insincere at first, but eventually God will work on your heart and the prayers you say for them become authentic. These days I pray that God will change me even if the other person won’t change their behavior.
Set healthy boundaries on your friends and relationships. This is important. People can be great in face-to-face, but toxic online. Or maybe a lot of drama is happening in that person’s life and you need a break from it? First, “Unfollow” the friend. On Facebook, unfollowing isn’t unfriending. It keeps their feeds from showing up on your newsfeeds, but you still have access to their profiles so you can minister to them or be a friend. If the drama continues to impair your ability to be a friend, “unfriend” them only as a last resort. On Twitter and Google Plus it is less confrontational to unfollow or take them out of your circle. People take it too personally on Facebook. As this article states, many reasons exist for people unfriending others. Taking everything personally will make you a very lonely person.
Set up a Facebook group (set to secret) or Google Community (set to private) for people you trust so you can let them minster to you or you to them. A Calvary Church Facebook group has approximately 14,000 people on it and it is set to public. This means it is not an ideal place to share confidential prayer requests or problems. Setting up a group of your most trusted friends is a better idea. You are allowing people to share your burden without gossiping, being passive aggressive, or harming relationships.

Meanwhile, don’t be afraid of online community. It can be beneficial especially if you live in a place where you are having a difficult time connecting. Engage people. Talk to them about what they shared. Be a part of their lives as much as they are a part of your virtual life. You can’t live as if everyone will break your trust and heart. Trust God to make your heart whole again and live your life pouring into others lives even if they let you down.

Exploring Creation: Granite Dells, Prescott, Arizona

How to Persevere Through Difficulty

When a Brother Strays

We all struggle with sin. If we treat the cross as an excuse to sin, Jesus’ sacrifice was pointless.

On that thought, I’d like to share a video from Solid Rock Christian Fellowship on what to do when a brother (or sister) strays.

Lifting the Heavy Weights

I am happy to report that I have finally passed the 50% mark in my Kindle of the required reading from WorldVenture called, Intercultural Communication For Christian Ministry.

Between working a full-time job and working full-time ministry, reading is challenging. Added to this, it’s not your Hallmark easy reading book, but heavy, like lifting weights at the gym; only it’s working the muscles in the brain.

Something that I would like to share with you is this quote:

“Since people of any one cultural group do not think in one style alone, but rather in a variety of styles, it can be useful to construct a profile of styles for a people and use this as a guide for communicating with them.” (51%, Kindle version).

Communication styles are necessary if you want your message understood. As a blogger and a writer, I get it. I find this book completely fascinating. Still, I cannot wait til I am done with it and I can check one more thing off my task list as an appointee.

Many thanks though to Pastor Dave Droste for helping me get through Wayne A. Grudem’s book, Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know: Christian Beliefs. Only a few chapters left to run through of this task! I am learning a lot, but not just from the book, but from him.