Warren on his affluence

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Tim Stevens is blogging from a conference where Rick Warren spoke. He took notes. These are interesting.
  • The book Purpose-Driven Life brought in tons of money and attention. I had to make several decisions about what to do with the money. We made 5 decisions...
    • I'm not going to spend any of the money on myself. I still live in the same house I've been in for 14 years and drive a 7-year old truck.
    • I stopped taking a salary from the church.
    • I added up everything I'd made for 25-years and gave it back to the church.
    • I set up some charities to give money for AIDS.
    • I became a reverse tither (living on 10% and giving away 90%).
  • I want to make a bumper sticker that says: "Tithe if you love Jesus. Any fool can honk."
  • I had to decide what to do with this influence. I found the answer in Psalm 72. Solomon prayed to have influence "so that..." he could help all the marginalized of society.
  • I learned the purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence.
HT: Ben Dubow
My many other thoughts on church.

Comments

J. Guy Muse said…
Great stuff, thanks for sharing! These thoughts really cause me to think my own giving patterns and habits.
October 06, 2007
John Umland said…
thanks for coming by Guy.
when i teach the financial class at church i tell people, the issue isn't 10% its generosity. be generous.
God is good
jpu
October 06, 2007
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