Just recently posted a new gadget on my Resources page that points you to my favorite quotes. This is the next little step into “the cloud.” I mean, if quotes aren’t for inspiring me and those in connected with, what are they for? I’m collecting my quotes through Quotiki. It’s not the greatest (where are my user tags?) but oh well. You might also check out WikiQuote. I’ll post more quotes up when I have time to. In the meantime, here’s a quote about quotes:“The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is.”Mary Pettibone Poole, A Glass Eye at a Keyhole (1938)Good night!
Updates from February, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Mark
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Mark
The CEO that Bails ME Out
Take a good long look. This is what “bad news” looks like. These are the top bank executives that have in recent years loaned to just about anyone with less and less bank capital to technically loan out with hopes that everyone that borrowed from them could pay all their upside-down monster-sized mortgages on their McMansions. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t work.
Now we’ve handed these guys hundreds of billions of dollars in troubled asset relief, hoping to see banks get back into the business of banking again, but so far, it seems Americans were only paying for the banks’ top exec year-end bonuses! Yech!
The term “bailout” has been on my mind a lot lately. I guess because its the hot topic on all the news sites and at watering holes throughout the nation. Bailout. What a term. As you begin to really ponder the meaning of the word, spiritual overtones begin to emerge.
I’ve been asking myself how a Christian – a missionary – might respond to the mess we’re watching unfold in this nation and around the world. Big Bank and Big Business corruption, Washington’s fits and starts, a nation-wide credit card debt crisis, a slow fading of international trade and trust…and bailouts.
Think for a moment about your own financial story. “Where is MY Bailout???” a friend on Facebook noted on his status. Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t that be grace? What is the CEO’s of Big Business and these top level bank executives bailed you out?
God’s overarching story is about a CEO – THE CEO of the Universe (props) – giving up his wealth and glory, and bailing us out. He refused greed, ambition, and honor, and instead took on the disgrace and shame meant for us. While American CEO’s are refusing to accept responsibility and act to repair their damages, God sacrifices everything he’s got to try to mend the problem he didn’t start. God not only went bankrupt, he died to cover our debts, to balance our budget, and to hand to us a heavenly inheritance.
…and for what? For love.
Share this message with others. Frame the gospel in terms that sound like “Good News” for a cynical world. God as the CEO that bails me out. Is it too good to be true?
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I heard last night that a state representative in Flordia is bailing out Henrietta Hughes after her plea to Barack Obama to help her and her family out of homelessness – by letting her live in one of his homes. Read the amazing story of grace here.
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Part 1: Church Planting in the Economic Downturn
Part 2: The CEO that bails ME out
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Chaner-Sac 9
Heyya Willises,
While you’re thinking about the word bailout, here’s a bit of pointless minutiae that’s been bothering me. The word for some reason is combined as a noun (bailout) but must be separated as a verb (bail out). Why? =)
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Mark
That’s sorta like March 4th is both a day and a vocative. Totally cool.
Chaner-Sac 9, and 
Mark
Church Planting in the Economic Downturn
Yes – going through seminary was a blessing and continues to keep my head up in a hard mission field.
Yes – seminary is a financial chain around my neck.
Both statements are true.
I know others in my seminary who have taken mega-church preaching positions for the sake of paying off debt (some are making near 100,000K a year!). Some say that this puts the pastor in an unhealthy position of being “the mouthpiece of the rich” and unable to prophetically speak against greed, etc, since he too is under the weight of debt.
At a church level, we’re seeing new church plants cost somewhere in the upper reaches of a million dollars per plant in the first 3 years! Is that really something that can “catch fire” or “catalyze a movement” in these economic times? Other established churches are building huge additions to their meeting space to accommodate their audience. Right now, many of those construction projects have stopped – in limbo while the recession has its grip on the nation’s pocketbook.   Many other churches live in a state similar to the banks that recently tanked – with debts far outweighing their assets, especially since churches are non-profit organizations. Many churches just live in a constant state of debt, teetering on the brink of disaster, and regularly hold “Commitment Sundays” to avoid catastrophe or to fund the next project.
This was more feasible to do when times were “good.” When construction was booming, when stocks were booming. Right now, the Church has to decide what is most important – it has to step up and live differently from the rest of the world. No organization will bail out indebted churches – only Christ can.
To those churches that operate debt-free: Thank You! Teach the rest of us! For those that don’t – this is not a slam against you – God loves you and is pretty good at paying debts (money and sin), but we can’t expect him to “bless our work” if we’re plowing deeper and deeper into bondage with the God of Mammon.
TallSkinnyKiwi, a prolific blogger on all things emergent and organic, has written a fantastic piece on the current shape of church planting as it relates to financial sustainability.
I agree with TallSkinnyKiwi:
One of the reasons I believe the simple, organic/house/emerging church movement is continually gaining ground and in some countries, blossoming beyond expectations, is because it is sustainable and reproducible, just as the early church was.
Yes – we’re reaching lots of people with huge church plants.
Yes – the burden of a church campus is a huge financial chain around a church’s neck.
Both statements are true.
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Part 1: Church Planting in the Economic Downturn
Part 2: The CEO that bails ME out
miller and one other person are discussing. 
miller
mark,
good thoughts.
one question, you say “we’re reaching lots of people with huge church plants.”
really? ’cause my impression is that these churches grow largely through immigration from other churches.
i wonder how things are going for Joel Osteen and his “best life now” church.
good post,
peace
Mark
i think you’re right – most mega-churches pull in transfer christians. but a lot of new, launch-day style church plants do baptize/convert lots of new Christians. I think they do a good job of “getting them in the door” of their faith, but like we heard from Willow Creek, are struggling with how to disciple them. Thoughts?
Daniel
When did we all decide to believe that debt=happiness/prosperity/advancement/necessity/prudence? Lies! The fruit of the Spirit is, among other things, patience and self-control. Piling on debt to get everything we want RIGHT NOW! or ASAP! seems to be the opposite of godliness.
Mark
danx, if only you had written that comment on this blog 8 years ago, before i took on tons of debt myself…of course, it would’a been pretty sweet watching you write a comment on a blog that wouldn’t be created for years to come…*du du du du* twilight zone…
Mark 12:34 pm on February 20, 2009 Permalink
I gotta say – almost as soon as I posted this article, the guys who run Quotiki personally emailed me to ask me why I said their service was “not the greatest.” I wrote them back with a few things:
— While I really like how you can organize quotes by tag, I couldn’t find a way to view all my tags (in a cloud, for example). I could only search quotes written by the entire Quotiki community. It would be rather intuitive to put a “Tags” tab next to “Details” “Posted Quotes” and “Favorite Quotes.” It would also be great to do the same with a searching through authors. Finding a user’s interest in a particular author helps you understand the user better. Maybe you could add an Author tag cloud. Also regarding authors, I noticed the rss feed does not include the author of the quote – seems like something that would help the rss more usable. Finally, I’m big into widgets and “pushing” information to my blog. I created a wimpy little google gadget on my resources page that displays my quotiki rss posted quotes feed, but if Quotiki had their own gadgets I could configure that customized the gadget with your own branding, etc, it would help promote Quotiki to more people. —
He wrote back the same morning and said they were working on each of the issues I mentioned and “thanks for the feedback.” I’ve never used a web 2.0 service with this kind of interaction. Use Quotiki!