When my wife and I were in our first home with a mortgage, car payment, student loan payments, credit card debt, and two kids we thought there was no way we could give financially to the church. We thought somehow that our financial situation exempted us from giving sacrificially and generously. One week, we heard [...]
This has been an exciting year at Riverview as we expanded the capacity of our Holt Venue, launched a new Church Planting Residency with our MSU Venue, and began preparations for another church plant within the next year. We are also gearing up to send over 200 people to Mazatlan, Mexico on short term mission trips [...]
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the first Saturday Night worship service ever at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. During the message, Mark Driscoll shared eight questions every Christian should ask themselves about money. I thought they were excellent and thought I’d repost them here: 1. To whom do you compare yourself financially? [...]
Last week, I began to answer common questions about our series on generosity at Riv. Today we pick up with another very popular one: Today’s Question: Should I give even if I am in debt or should I work to get out of debt first? This is a question that I get from time to [...]
This week, I’m answering common questions I am receiving about Riv’s series on generosity. Today’s Question: What do I do if I’m really struggling financially? Should I give anyway? I know there are a lot of people facing this very question in Michigan these days (not to mention all the broke college students around here). [...]
This week (and probably next week), I’ll be answering common questions I am receiving about Riv’s series on generosity. Today’s Question: What do I do if my spouse thinks differently about how much money we should give away? Since opposites attract, it is no big surprise that a husband and wife often approach the issue [...]
The series on generosity we are currently in at Riv is generating a lot of very good questions. I want to make sure everyone has a chance to hear them (as well as my attempt at answers). So, this week I am going to answer the most common questions I am getting. Today’s Question: “Why [...]
This weekend at Riv, we passed out over a thousand copies of Jamie Munson’s new book Money – God or Gift. The books were a gift from a handful of businessmen and women who help us make business related decisions by serving on our Stewardship Team. Jamie does a great job in this book addressing [...]
Yesterday, I posted a clip from John Piper about the “Prosperity Gospel.” This is a theology that is gaining steam in many parts of the world, but quite honestly I don’t run into too many people around these parts who buy into it. It seems we deal more with the other extreme, which is also [...]
There are two equally dangerous traps followers of Jesus can fall into when it comes to our material things. The first is the “Prosperity Gospel.” This trap says you will be materially blessed if you are in “right relationship with Jesus.” In other words, sanctification comes with bling, an Escalade with rims, and a Chinchilla [...]