Three Paradoxes of Generosity

I was invited to share at Create Church in North Park this weekend about generosity. This is the Create Church Logo and symbolizes the purposes of the church:.

Good morning! Thank you Pastor Jake for inviting me to share today. My name is Craig. My wife Kay Charlotte and I live in Chula Vista. We’ve got two adult kids. Our son Levi is 25 and is in graduate school at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Our daughter Taylor graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Construction Management. She’s working for a big firm and is currently building a school in Los Angeles. I’m a long-time member of Eastlake Church and that’s where I met both Kaelia and Jake. I used to volunteer in the Young Adults and Youth ministries there and when these two said they wanted to start a church in North Park, I said I’d help. So here I am!

Jake asked me to talk about generosity because my wife and I have a somewhat unusual lifestyle. We are missionaries with Youth With A Mission or “YWAM” here in San Diego. No one on YWAM staff gets paid a salary. Instead, family and friends and my church back home support me and my wife financially. We live like crazy, and we give like crazy.

Enough about me. Let’s talk about God—he’s way more interesting!

Generosity Is Who God Is

God is generous. It’s in his nature. God is love and giving is a beautiful expression of love. His generosity motivated him to create us. I imagine Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sitting around just vibin’ — in perfect love, unity, harmony, and intimacy and thinking with one mind, “This is soooooo good! Let’s create humans in our image so they can enjoy this with us!”

And as we follow Jesus, as we learn to organize our lives around His life, we will be challenged to become more like him. He’ll ask us to be generous with what He’s given us.

And We Have a Lot to Learn

Our Economy: Buying and Selling

Human economy is based on buying and selling. And for the most part there’s a whole lot of manipulation going on… Buyers are trying to get a good deal, a special deal, a discount, or even something for free. Sellers are trying to make a profit and often try to convince buyers to pay a premium. This economy is transactional and it’s based on greed. In this economy the goal is independence. Sadly though, there is never enough and we end up being owned by our money and by our stuff.

God’s Economy: Giving and Receiving

Meanwhile, in God’s Kingdom, His economy is based on giving and receiving. This is a generosity economy. God’s economy isn’t transactional, it’s transformative. It changes us when we give. It requires us to trust God when we give. Giving is a faith-muscle exercise. It says, “I will go without so that you can be provided for… and I will trust God to meet my needs.” Not only that, but receiving changes us too. We must set aside our pride and independence to receive what’s given. We get to agree with God that we don’t have what it takes to provide everything we need. In this economy we all are interdependent. In this economy, there is enough. Yes, we can own stuff, but it doesn’t own us.

Paradox 1: We Give to God Because He First Gave to Us

The most famous bible verse in the world is John 3:16. God loved the world and he gave us His son… Paul writes another famous one in Romans, “But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 NIRV

• We can’t give out of guilt — that kind of giving won’t last.

• We can’t give out of fear, thinking that God is watching… that won’t change us.

• We give as a response to His giving, and this enhances our loving attachment with God!

Somehow the acts of giving and receiving enhance and amplify love. We experience love when we receive from God and from others. We express love when we give to God and others. This makes us into better people. This makes us into the people we want to be. This makes us better reflections of who God is.

We give because he first gave to us.

Paradox 2: We Serve Others and End Up Serving Ourselves

I am part of an organization that builds houses for families in Mexico. We build about 350 or so each year. Teams come from all over the world to build a house in a weekend. The team that comes raises the funds, our staff helps them with the construction, and then we give the house to the family… What an incredible expression of God’s love and generosity. The irony is the team members who raised the money and built the house thank the family! They say things like,

• I’m so grateful I could come and build for you and your family.

• This helps me act out my values.

• Our friend Penny said, “My family and I had the privilege of working with Homes of Hope in Tijuana. We experienced firsthand the joy and pride that comes with giving a family a safe place to call home...”

Jesus invites us to serve and he knows that serving is good for us. It helps us become the people we want to be, and helps us better reflect his love to others.

We serve others and we end up serving ourselves.

Paradox 3: When We Bless Those in Need, We Bless Jesus Himself

Jesus tells a story about sheep and goats in Matthew 25. Here’s the gist of it…

The King Sorts People Like a Shepherd Sorts the Sheep from the Goats

Sheep go to the right; goats go to the left.

To the sheep he says, “Welcome! You were generous in life!”

• You fed me when I was hungry

• You gave me drink when I was thirsty

• You welcomed me when I was a stranger (shoutout to our awesome Create greeting and hospitality teams!)

• You clothed me when I was naked

• You cared for me when I was sick

• You visited me when I was in prison

To the goats he says, “You’re cursed! Away from me forever!”

• You didn’t feed me when I was hungry.

• You didn’t give me something to drink when I was thirsty.

• You didn’t welcome me when I was a stranger.

• You did not clothe me when I was naked

• You did not care for me when I was sick.

• You did not visit me when I was in prison.

Both the sheep and the goats are surprised. They ask, when were you hungry? When were you thirsty, or naked or sick?

And the king replies, “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.”

God measures our faith not by our words, or by our church attendance, but by our love, by our compassion, and by our generosity.

A Hidden Grace

Friends I want you to notice a hidden grace here. When I imagine this scene, I make the assumption that God the Father would be the judge, with the black robe and the gavel in his hand. But this is clearly Jesus on the bench. Jesus, the human one — Jesus the one who knows what it’s like to be hungry, Jesus the one who was tempted in every way. Jesus gets us and will judge us with truth and grace.

Jesus is in disguise.

We expect Jesus to come again in glory someday. There will be trumpets, probably some very bright light. His voice will be like thunder and he will be so awesome, we will literally fall on our faces. However, right now today, Jesus identifies with the poor, with the lost, the least, the overlooked, the ignored. And in this life, He expects us to care for those who can least care for themselves. Good goats will say, “We kept the law — we didn’t worship other gods. We honored the sabbath. We didn’t kill, or steal or commit adultery!”  And still Jesus’ judgement is correct — in life there is more than just following the rules. His life in us is meant to transform us into a loving and generous reflection of himself.

When we give to those in need, we give to Jesus himself.

When we serve others, we serve ourselves

We give because he first gave

Pastor Jake is going to come back up and give us a practical path that will help us care for Jesus through our generosity…

What I'm Reading Right Now

Thirsting

by Strahan Coleman

Of course this book is about the built in ‘want to’ within us to be with God. But what is wonderful and surprising is that it’s about God’s ‘want to’ in His heart to be with us.

“God wants you, pursues you, and wants to live inside you not to make you some kind of ‘host’ for His mission on earth, but to commune in the very depths of your soul where you are most naked, true, and alive.”

And this is what I’ve needed. Too often I get caught up in working for God instead of walking with Him. I am learning to be more still. I am trying to be quiet. I’m making space for that internal communion with Him. I find it unbelievable that He wants to be with me — for no reason. I am confronted with my ongoing need to try to earn this. He continues to remind me that His grace is opposed to earning, but not to effort.

My prayer for you today is that you recognize your thirst for sweet time alone with God. My prayer is that you wake up to His thirst for sweet time with you.

Those Who Can't Teach…

Teach Gym!

This week I’m in Ensenada, Mexico. I’m the teacher for our Mission Adventures ministry. There’s a Christian school from Torrance, CA here and when I had the chance to meet with the staff that accompanied their students, I just couldn’t help myself…

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There’s a great line from the incredible film, The School of Rock, starring Jack Black. His character, Dewey Finn, has conned his way into a teaching job at prestigious private school. He’s eating lunch with the other faculty and staff, and teasing the gym teacher. He says:

“ “Those who can’t do, teach. And those who can’t teach, teach gym.” ”

— Dewey Finn

They all laugh, and the gym teacher takes it in stride. This is funny, of course because is teaching gym class really teaching? I mean, that’s what we all believe, right? But what if there’s more to gym class than we think? We tend to believe that education is the training of the mind. And at least with the little kids, recess, and gym class are about letting all the energy out so we can capture their little brains. The idea is if we can change their thinking, then we can change them!

Those of us who are believers will faithfully quote:

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

— Romans 12:2

And this is true, and it is biblical.

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One of the great things about YWAM is that we do things hands-on. Yes, will spend a little bit of time in the meeting hall, but will spend most of our time out on the field. The kids will get some education here, in the big room, but they’ll put it into practice, out there.

And there’s something about putting it into practice, isn’t there? When a student applies what they’ve received in the classroom, learning outcomes are increased. This is where we see real growth and change. It’s not just in the mind, it’s in the body:

“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices…”

— Romans 12:1

And this is why Paul wrote in Romans 12 verse one, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Somehow it was understood that our transformation is both bodily and mentally.

I think this is why Mission Adventures is successful in accelerating the spiritual growth of students. Yes, we will have Bible teaching. And I love to teach, but I’m not the best teacher ever. And so with Mission Adventures, we don’t rely solely on what happens in the classroom. We take it outside. We make the neighborhoods and the colonias and the people they serve a part of our learning opportunities.

You all have a unique opportunity this week. Those of you on the faculty of the school likely spend most of your time in the classroom. This week we’re going outside of the room. This week we get to apply the learning. This week we get hands-on , this week we get dirty. And this will make all the difference.

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So maybe we need to be a little bit nicer to those who teach gym class…

How Saul of Tarsus Became the Apostle Paul

Kay Charlotte and I are reading Paul by N.T. Wright.

This is an engaging portrait of the man who wrote a good portion of the New Testament. Wright helps us imagine what Paul’s early life could have been like. He straightens out that tangle of where he went and when. He asks, “How did this guy become who he did?”, and, “Why did his work spark the incredible movement of the Church?” Of course, Kay Charlotte and I are both challenged — Wright’s scholarship is excellent and I really have to focus to keep up with his thinking. Not only that, we are challenged with his lifestyle, his theology, and how to follow Jesus as he did.

And…

We’ve registered for YWAM’s Paul Seminar this summer. We’re getting a jump start on the reading for a 2 week class at the YWAM campus in Lausanne, Switzerland. The seminar focuses on Paul’s journey to Christlikeness, and the course description says,

Through personal study, communal worship, intentional discussion, and hands-on application, you will gain new insights into Paul’s letters and the Book of Acts—discovering how his life “in Christ” was never meant to be a solo venture but walked out together in community.

We are both so excited for this:

• The seminar is led by Maureen Menard.* We are going to be working with Maureen on a school of spiritual formation in Tijuana in 2026. And so this seminar is an opportunity for us to get to know one another and lay a foundation for working together.

• I (Craig) am hoping to join the next cohort of the University of the Nations’ Spiritual Formation masters degree program — led by Maureen. So this will be a good first step in that direction.

• We get to travel to Europe… together — most of the time it’s one of us who goes while the other ‘keeps the home fires’ burning. We hope to add a few extra days to enjoy Europe.

I love that God is leading us in this way. It’s as if He is saying to us,

“You are not finished yet — I have good works left for you to do. I am continuing to expand your lives so that you are capable of what I Am calling you towards…”

We look forward to what these next steps will lead us to…

Thankfully, we’ve already received a scholarship that helps cover our tuition.

We anticipate that airfares, ground fees and other expenses will total around $3500 US. If you’d like to be a part of sending us, click the button below. We will keep you posted on this upcoming adventure.

This link will take you to YWAM San Diego/Baja’s staff support page. There you can give online securely and get a tax deductible receipt. Please, once you’ve given, send us a note to let us know that your gift is for the Paul Seminar.

*Maureen joined YWAM in the 80’s, is a Vice President in YWAM’s University of the Nations, and has founded the Centre for Christian Formation and Discipleship.

Homes of Hope Goes to School

Recently, Kay Charlotte and I heard about Jairo and his school project. This story was originally sent to YWAM’s Moment of Hope subscribers. Click this link to subscribe for more stories of transformation.

Jairo was so excited he could hardly contain his emotions as his class was dismissed.

Jairo's teacher assigned a project to his class. Each child was instructed to create a scale replica of their home out of any craft materials they wished. They were to bring the models to school and share about them. Just a few months earlier, Jairo helped build his real home when a team from New Life Church came to build his family a Homes of Hope house..

Later that evening, he worked diligently to create a scale model from cereal boxes and cardboard as his older brother, Sergio Junior, watched. Maybe he remembered that special moment he raised the walls with the Homes of Hope team. After being evicted from their rental in Tijuana, and sharing a single room in his grandfather's house for four years, Jairo's family began a new chapter in their life by becoming homeowners through the gift of a Home of Hope.

While Jairo might be the first child to bring his Home of Hope to school with him, the impact of a home resonates far beyond its four walls.

We’ve identified Five Benefits of a Home. A stable home environment significantly improves a child’s ability to focus on their education. Obstacles that are linked to low school attendance rates are mitigated through secure housing. Jairo’s parents, Sergio and Brenda, dream that their children will keep studying and find a career. “I will support them in any way possible”, Brenda shares.

Homes of Hope is the gateway into our communities to see true and lasting transformation. Every day, thousands of families walk out the doors of their homes, carrying transformation with them into their neighborhood, their workplaces, and beyond.

Learn more about Homes of Hope by clicking the link below

I Picked You Out of the Crowd Because I Think You'll Do It

Scott from Oak Harbor, WA went on a Mission Adventures Outreach in 1999. His youth group received training in Los Angeles for four days, and then shared God’s love and gospel Tijuana for six. It was a life changing experience for him.

Ross Tooley was our featured speaker that week.* He sought Scott out one day and said:

I have a challenge for you.

And I picked you out of the crowd because

I think you’ll do it.

The challenge was to read three pages of the Old Testament and one page of the New Testament every day for a year. Ross told him it would fill his life with scripture and he would never be the same.

So Scott did it! It was his junior year in high school, and he didn’t miss a day of reading for the whole year. He said it drastically changed the entire course of his life. He chose to go to Bible college, studied theology, became a youth pastor, and then started working in business.

Two weeks ago, Scott returned to YWAM Tijuana. This time he brought his son and together they built a Homes of Hope house for a family in need.

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I love this. I love that Scott accepted Ross’ challenge. I believe it was the Bible that transformed Scott’s life. I believe Holy Spirit met Scott each day and helped him understand the Scriptures. I believe Scott then made his choices with God. I love that Ross picked him out — and that Scott is part of Ross’ great legacy of faith. I love that this started on a Mission Adventures outreach. What a privilege for Kay Charlotte and I to have played a role in Scott’s story.

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The theme in 1999 was Route 99: To the Ends of the Earth. It was centered on the idea of a great American road trip from here to everywhere. Here’s the tee shirt artwork from that year:

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*Ross Tooley was a YWAM legend. He grew up in New Zealand and at age 18 joined Youth With A Mission. He pioneered YWAM’s ministries in the Philippines. He ‘promoted to glory’ in 2019. You can learn more about him through his books, including Adventures in Naked Faith (1996 YWAM Publishing)

Joy!

The Third Week of Advent Is Focused on Joy

When the angels appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem, in the glory of God they announced:

““Do not be afraid. I bring you good news. It will bring great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.””

— Luke 2:10-11 (NIRV)

There is so much joy to experience as we remember the coming of our King!

I also think about the wonderful privilege it is to repeat the angel’s announcement of this great news. This is our joy as missionaries with YWAM and as believers to go everywhere and tell everyone that God is with us in the person of Jesus.

Joy & Happiness

While joy rhymes with happiness, I think happiness is much more fickle and fleeting. It is my shallower response to my circumstances. If someone compliments me on my outfit, I’m happy. But if someone honks at me while I’m driving, happiness is gone instantly.

Joy is something deeper. Joy doesn’t depend on what’s going on in my life, it’s the deep result of God’s presence. God’s Spirit produces joy in us and makes joy for the world through us. It’s God’s fruit growing through our lives because we are connected to Him.

Joy & Togetherness

God so often produces joy in me when I’m with the ones I love. A good cup of coffee and a meaningful conversation with a friend can bring such joy. Jim Wilder writes in his book, The Other Half of Church, “Joy is relational. It is what we feel when we are with someone who is happy to be with us. Joy does not exist outside of a relationship.” This shows me that togetherness and joy are hand-in-hand.

Joy & Loss

And at the same time, I think of joy as a fragile thing. I think sometimes I’m afraid to fully give myself over to it. I don’t want to look like a fool — but more than that, I hesitate to let myself experience joy because I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want circumstances, difficulties, sicknesses or anything to steal it. Have you felt this? Have you, like me, withheld your expressions of joy because it hurts too much when it’s gone? Christmas can be hard when we are reminded of loss, of who’s not here, of what’s missing. And so it can be challenging to allow ourselves to experience joy if we are fearful of loss and pain.

Joy & Difficulty

I’m reminded of the last supper. Jesus was telling the disciples that He was about to go away. It was a difficult moment. They were upset, and Jesus comforted them by saying, “Now it’s your time to be sad. But I will see you again. Then you will be full of joy — and no one can take it away!” (John 16:22, paraphrased)

Joy & Reunion

And Jesus took this further. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the author of Hebrews wrote, “…He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to...” Hebrews 12:2 (NIRV) Here’s the relational thing again — Jesus endured torture because he knew that it would ensure our union with him. The suffering paled in comparison to the coming joy of all of us being able to be with him forever. There’s something about joy and reunion, isn’t there?

Come Lord, Jesus!

As we anticipate remembering Christ coming into the world, we can allow ourselves to experience joy. And this is a foreshadowing, a little bit of a taste of the unspeakable joy we’ll experience when He comes again in Glory. We will see Him face-to-face, and I know I will be undone.