Observations on Reimagining Generosity
Phil Miglioratti @ The Reimagine.Network
- My interview with a "Generosity" vsion>>>
- A plan for family, ministry, comunity>>>
- Generosity: Lifestyle Stewardship>>>
Generosity is more than how much money you donate. Generosity is how much ministry you permit God to generate through your life.
Your life purpose. Passions. Spiritual Gifts.
Where you live. Work. Play.
Generosity is the tangible expression of grace, the unmerited/undeserved blessing of God that confers salvation (redemption; the forgiveness of sin) and sanctification (made holy: "set apart" by Jesus' work on the Cross and with the Holy Spirit's work in our lives, to lead us into the Father's purpose and calling for our lives).
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5
We are created in the image of this generous God. “But God gives us grace generously.” James 4:6
Generosity is embodied in God’s actions because it is embedded as an ingredient in every attribute of God. It’s in God‘s DNA.
- God's creative acts gave us a world with abundant resources and a body with an extensive capacity for knowledge and creativity
- God's communication with us is pervasive and transcends our humanity; Scripture, scientific discoveries of that which God created, prayer
- God's righteousness, requiring condemnation of sin, is satisfied by God's unfathomable, amazing grace sacrifice
- This is how God loves the world. God gave. John 3:16
- Extreme sacrifice. Extraordinary redemption, Extravagant mercy.
- God's redemption is the result of God's extravagant gift of the Holy Spirit, who resides within us, providing unlimited access to God's love and power
The filling of the Spirit is a yielding that allows the generosity of God to flow through us to make a donation of God’s grace-truth-love-compassion when we serve others.
"Be filled (yielded to) the Spirit..." in Ephesians 5:18 is written as a:
>Prescription - this is an imperative for every disciple/follower of Jesus; it is not an option
>Plural - this command is given to the church community; God wants filled-with-the-Spirit churches>Passive - this is not something we produce; we allow the Spirit to work in and through us
>Present - this indicates an ongoing process; not a once-in-a-while event
"You, your congregation, must keep on yielding to the Spirit..."
The Holy Spirit resides within each believer for the purpose of growing the fruit of the Spirit into our character and equiping us with spiritual gifts in order to do the work of the ministry. Ephesians 4:6
What could God do through a congregation devoted to applying generosity to each component of our spiritual life?
- Worship: lavishly loving God as a response to God's gift of an endless, limitless life with God forever; more time devoted to praise and thanksgiving
- Stewardship: extravagantly sharing our resources; financials, talents and skills, influence and opportunities
- Leadership: empowering others to lead readily, unselfishly, open-handedly, through their roles and responsibilities (family, company, community)
- Fellowship: equipping the saints into a lifestyle of being filled with the fruit of the Spirit and serving with the gifts of the Spirit
- Discipleship: reimagining the process of making disciples, pursuing a different paradigm that views Scripture as a primer on how to live and serve generously (rather than as a book of theological statements) ... a lifestyle of sharing the Good News of a transformed life in Jesus the Messiah
- Citizenship: CItizens of God's Kingdom influencing culture and impacting communities with a demonstration and proclamation of the Gospel
In this day when Christians, especially evangelicals, seem to be against everything, resisting change, even judging, we desperately need a new, compelling, apologetic. And generosity might just be it. If it were to become in the DNA of every Christ follower and in every Christ focused congregation, the world would take notice.
“So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.” Romans 12:1 GNT
“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25 NLT
“I already know that you are eager to help. I keep boasting about your passion to give. Your enthusiasm is contagious—it has stirred many of others to do likewise. Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God loves hilarious generosity! Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.” from 2 Corinthians 9:2-8
Begin a journey to invite the Holy Spirit to permeate your life and congregation with an innate attitude of generosity. Seek God's designed-for-you strategy:
Cast a biblical vision with inspired preaching and instructive teachingInfuse and fuel each ministry and activity with the generosity-factorLead by example; pastors, elders/deacons, councils/committeesGo church-wide: saturate worship-fellowship-discipleship-leadership-stewardship with the fragrance of generosityAsk-Seek-Knock by talking with, reading from, other ministry colleaguesEquip your ministry/members into aPrayer-Care-Share lifestyle-Free handout to distribute churchwide
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