Locusts and Banks

I have been reading a lot in the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament lately - guys like Micah, Nahum, and Amos.

(I know, I know, I am a wild and crazy, fun-loving party guy, you are thinking...).

Have spent the last couple days in Joel, which is - believe it or not - incredibly on target and relevant in a time when banks are getting bought out from under us and there is a looming worldwide financial crisis.

In Joel, a plague of locusts (federal regulators?) had destroyed the crops in the land (investment vehicles?) - the very lifeblood of the people. They faced not just economic dislocation, but the very real threat of starvation.

As the Joel story continues, three things stand out:

-God used the crisis as a wake up call to his people to remember that he and he alone is the source of their security and confidence.

-God used the crisis to invite his people to re-order their lives to match his priorities.

-God promised that after the crisis he would restore what had been lost - IF his people did in fact turn their hearts back fully to him...that God would always care for his people.

The implications for us as individuals are obvious: trust in God alone, examine our hearts to see if we have been trusting in bank accounts or jobs instead of him alone, place our hope in his goodness and provision instead of panicking.

But I have also been thinking about the implications for us as Next Level Church.

Here is the bottom line, in a world in which bottom lines are suddenly shaky:

We are not going to retreat or panic or back away from our God-sized dreams as a church just because the human economy is uncertain (because it will always be uncertain).

Instead, we are going to charge ahead - with loving on kids through the Give:Love Project, expanding through campuses, and insuring that our new auditorium in Matthews will allow us to continue to grow. This is the time for God's people to seize Kingdom opportunities and to model to a panicking world that we have a source of security, confidence and hope that is unmatchable!