A conversation with longtime friends in ministry surfaced a memory . . . and not necessarily a pleasant one as I considered its implications.

The memory took me back to a time when my children were small.  Nothing they liked better than a trip to their favorite store where they could in those days rove the aisles of toys, sports equipment, clothes and whatever else caught their attention.  They loved to go there . . . exclusively with Alice.

One day I asked them, why don’t you like to go to the store with me?  Answer?  “Because you always find someone to talk to.”

And it was true.  I always did.  Seemed as if there was no difficulty finding someone who wanted and needed to hear about God’s grace . . . and often they actually initiated the conversation themselves!  How did they know that I just might have a response they needed to hear?

The recent conversation left me with this troubling question: why doesn’t that happen as much these days?  The only time I seem to message the Gospel is when I’m scheduled to speak somewhere.  While that’s good, it is nothing like those once-frequent, exhilarating, spontaneous opportunities that seem to have shriveled away.

I think the answer rests in this old saying – familiarity breeds contempt.  In my case it’s a contempt that finds its way into my life through taking something for granted . . . knowing you know and thinking that’s enough . . . becoming complacent in your status with the Lord . . . in danger of acting like a Pharisee whose “lips talk about Jesus, but whose heart is far from him.”  It’s the danger of allowing relationship to become religion.

Isaiah, my coach (yes, mine!) who lived over 700 years before Christ, has taught me a key to countering this drift.  The key is all about messaging and a prophet’s life.  That life had to be messaged in three ways: know a message, speak a message, live a message.  Perhaps for many of us in this culture in general and in our current church cultures, we drift toward simply knowing the message and thinking that’s enough.  But if you want a life marked by the power of God’s grace found in Jesus, nothing could be further from the truth.  Like Jesus, our Savior and ultimate coach, our lives need to be messaged like the prophets of old: we need to know the message, we need to speak the message and we need to live the message . . . intentionally.

Introduction

Pastor D travels to a church conference in another state. The conference lasts for 5 days. Pastor D’s expenses include transportation, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses, and come to $2,500. Can Pastor D deduct these expenses as a business expense? Can Pastor D’s church reimburse them?

Most pastors occasionally travel out-of-town for church-related business. Common examples would be a trip to a national church convention, a seminar, or conducting services in a previous church. The expenses incurred in traveling out-of-town overnight for business are called “travel expenses.” Such expenses can be deducted as a business expense, or reimbursed by your church. This week’s lesson addresses the handling of travel expenses for purposes.

What are Travel Expenses

Travel expenses are your ordinary and necessary expenses while traveling temporarily away from home overnight in your ministry. You can deduct these expenses if you can substantiate them. However, you may not deduct expenses that are extravagant or that are for personal or vacation purposes. Deductible travel expenses include:

• air, rail, and bus fares
• operating and maintaining your car
• taxi fares or other costs of transportation between the airport or station and your hotel, or from one work site to another
• meals and lodging while you are away from home on business
• cleaning and laundry expenses
• telephone and telegraph expenses
• tips

Travel expenses must be incurred while you are “away from home.” You are traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your “tax home” longer than an ordinary day’s work and, while away, you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work. This does not mean napping in your car. You do not have to be away from your home from dusk to dawn as long as your relief from duty is long enough to get necessary sleep or rest. To satisfy these requirements, a trip ordinarily must be overnight.

It is important to determine where your tax home is, since you may deduct travel expenses only to the extent that they are incurred while you are traveling away from your home. Generally, your tax home is your main place of employment or work. You will be considered away from home if you are away from your tax home on a temporary rather than on an indefinite basis. If you expect your trip to last for one year or less, it is temporary. This rule obviously covers most trips that are made by pastors, which last only a matter of days or a few weeks. On the other hand, if a business trip lasts more than one year, it is considered “indefinite” rather than temporary, and your tax home changes to the new location. This means that none of your transportation, meals, or lodging expenses incurred at the new location can be treated as “travel expenses” since you are not “away from home.” An example of this result would be a pastor who accepts a 2-year missions assignment to a different area.

If your trip was entirely for business, you may deduct your ordinary and necessary travel expenses. If your trip was primarily personal, you may not deduct any travel expenses even if you had some business activity at your destination. If your trip was primarily for business and, while away at your business destination you extend your stay for a vacation, make a nonbusiness side trip, or have other nonbusiness activities, you may deduct the travel expenses to and from your business destination.

If your trip was primarily for vacation, the entire cost of the trip is a nondeductible personal expense, except for any expenses incurred that are directly and properly allocable to your business. A trip can be a vacation even though a promoter advertises that a trip to a resort or on a cruise ship is primarily for business. The scheduling of incidental business activities during a trip, such as viewing video tapes or attending seminars, will not convert a vacation into a business trip. The deduction for business travel on a cruise ship or other luxury water transportation cannot exceed twice the highest per diem travel amount paid by the federal government to its employees traveling in the United States multiplied times the number of days in transit.

Travel expenses that are not reimbursed by your church can be deducted as a business expense on your tax return (if you are an employee, you can only deduct them if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040). If your church reimburses your expenses, the reimbursement is not reported as taxable income to you so long as it is accountable (you are only reimbursed for those expenses that you properly substantiate within 60 days)

Reprinted from Church , Law and Tax.com,  by Richard R. Hammar, J.D., LL.M., CPA
© Copyright 2005 by Christianity Today International/Church Law & Tax Report. All rights reserved.

In the North American church family, is the respected foundation and gift of the church and rightly so. The family unit controls almost every aspect of the ministry that goes that goes on the church.

The children and youth groups orient their programs to getting the kids closer to God and the family. The adult ministries orient their ministry programs towards developing men and women into good Christ following husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers. The single is a decidedly odd and troublesome person to the family oriented churches.

Churches try to accommodate these single people by making “single groups” or “dating circles” for them to meet their future spouses. If the single leaves these groups without the success of finding their soul mate, then they pitted, and their singleness is not spoken of again. What the church has done with the single person is unbiblical. 1 Corinthians 7 provides us with a foundation to value, respect and support the single person, within the church.

To understand the argument for singleness better in 1st Corinthians 7, one has to know the purpose and background information of the epistle.  1st Corinthians is a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Corinth on the mainland of Greece. It was a Roman colony and a significant intersection of trade, culture and religion.

Since this city was such an immense crossroad for culture and religion, the newly established church in Corinth, had trouble maintaining God’s holy standards.  The church dealt with many things such as; division, sexual immorality and elitist living. Paul addresses these problems, and informs the church that God wants holiness out of his servants.

Paul has five main concerns that he addresses in the letter. The first being the church is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit so the church should be in unity. Secondly, Christians should build up the church by being sensitive to faith, evangelizing and by proper use of spiritual gifts in worship. Thirdly he [Paul] outlines for the Corinthian saints a proper view of marriage and singleness. He continues with the importance of the Lord’s Supper and baptism. Lastly Paul shares the truth of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  For the purpose of this article, I want us to focus on the claim that singleness is important to the church.

Paul starts off chapter seven by switching the focus from sexual immorality and lawsuits against believers to marriage and singleness by saying “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: Is it good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman?” This question that Paul is responding to infers that Paul wrote a previous letter to the Corinthians. It seems that the Corinth church was confused about what Paul was saying in his previous letter and adopted a view that any sexual relation was sinful.

Paul objects to this view and reestablishes that sexual relations within marriage are good. However, Paul does make a bold claim afterward; that it is good for “unmarried and widows” to abstain from sexual relations and to stay single if they can. This is an extremely anti-cultural claim Paul is making, going against Old Testament criticisms of singleness, and cultural norms in the region.

Singleness is contrary to Old Testament teachings and Paul would have been well aware of this because of his training as a Pharisee. For example, Deuteronomy 28 states;

1…“if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth… 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb”.  (ESV)

It also goes on to say in verses 15-18 that if the Israelites do not keep the commands of the Lord then the Israelite will not have “fruit of the womb.” Because of these two reasons it was very unpopular for the Israelite to stay single because it would have been seen as a curse. Paul even goes to a further degree in his letter to say that singleness is a better state to be in when serving the Lord. Paul explains in 1st Corinthians 7:32 – 35 why singleness is a good.

 “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.”  (ESV)

What Paul is saying here is clear; being single someone can now devote more time to the Lord instead of being concerned with worldly things. Paul is upholding singleness or celibacy as a great gift from God since now they can devote more of their time serving the Lord and others.

Churches should uphold this gift of singleness for the reasons Paul presents in this chapter. Singles could be doing extraordinary things for the kingdom of God because of their flexibility, freedom, and sole devotion. The church can move from treating the single as a lesser member to a valued member in four steps.

1. Congregations should evaluate their model of singles group; are they primarily developed to be a place where singles meet to find a spouse. If so let’s work at transforming these match making groups to groups which unleash giftedness and talents of Singles, such a group could move God’s Kingdom to new territory because now they are more focused on God instead of their marital status.
2. The church can start viewing singleness as a mature option for a Christian. Not all singles are immature, many of them having the call of celibacy, and want to serve God fully.
3. Churches could work at developing ministries where singles are readily welcomed to participate. Many churches are working on developing ministries where singles are welcomed and can feel comfortable attending. Both singles and married people can learn and grow from each other if they come together and talk.
4. The church can function properly if both the Spiritual gifts of marriage and singleness are utilized.  In 1st Corinthians 12: 21-26 it says;

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  (ESV)

Churches that embrace singleness into the body of Christ will function properly, and supported and unleashed singles will significantly further the kingdom of God.

Christians are urged to be content with the status God has given them. Paul urges the Corinthian saints, and by extension us, to live as God has called us. If we are called to live as a single person, the married person needs to respect that calling. If we are called to be married, the single person needs to respect that as well. All parties are urged to be happy where God has called them, and to live out their calling to the best of their abilities. These steps can help reshape the ministries the North American church has for singleness, and unleash a potentially powerful army of saints for the Lord.

]]> http://swchurchconnection.org/blog/2013/05/07/singleness-and-the-church/feed/ 0 http://swchurchconnection.org/blog/2013/05/06/a-superior-partnership/ http://swchurchconnection.org/blog/2013/05/06/a-superior-partnership/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 20:16:21 +0000 SW Church Connection http://swchurchconnection.org/?p=2319 Continue reading →]]> by Pastor Dan Lowe, Associate Pastor of Family Ministries,  CalvaryBaptistChurch, Show Low

Superior, Arizona is not exactly a happening place.  At least it hasn’t been for the last 30 years since the copper mines stopped operating at full production in 1982.  However, First Baptist Church has continued to serve as a lighthouse in the midst of this struggling community for all these years.  The labor has not always been easy.  There have been good times and hard times, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is still shining in the darkness of this sleepy little copper town in Central Arizona.

Pastor Bart Muller leads a small congregation of faithful saints in this difficult ministry setting.  Battling spiritual apathy and false religion in the community, Pastor Bart preaches the good news of Jesus Christ consistently with an eye toward seeing lost sinners being saved and changing the community of Superior.  The road has been challenging to say the least and First Baptist Church has often lacked some of the necessary resources to make an impact in their community.

Therefore, in a joint effort between Southwest Church Connection and Calvary Baptist Church (Show Low), a team of young and enthusiastic teenagers made the decision to spend their spring break in an effort to minister alongside FBC in the community of Superior.  A team of 32 people was assembled at CBC (17 teenagers, 10 adults, 3 children and 2 infants…) and prayerful plans were made to assist in several outreach events in March 2013.

After sending out mass mailings of 1,300 flyers and posting signs all over the community in advance, the team arrived in Superior on March 24^th and began knocking on doors and inviting families to the week-long series of events at First Baptist Church.  This would be a daily practice until most of the community had received a personal invitation to visit FBC during the week.

Monday was the beginning of “One Way Vacation Bible School” at FBC.  Kids from the community came every day to play games, make crafts, and hear the good news of Jesus Christ and how He is the Only Way to God!  By the end of the week, two children made professions of faith in Christ!  We pray that the seeds of the gospel planted in those young hearts will continue to be nurtured and grow into salvation in the days ahead!

In addition to children’s ministry, FBC sponsored a family-oriented outreach event in the park.  The youth praise team from Calvary Baptist led the event with worship songs, testimonies, and a gospel message presented by CBC worship leader Paul Sherman.  It was exciting to see the park fill up with many people from the community as the night progressed!  Food was served and relationships were built as more and more people came out to see what was going on in their local park!

Thursday night was youth outreach night at FBC!  Although the numbers were not large, it was encouraging to have some teenagers join with the teens from Calvary Baptist Church to sing praise to God and hear Pastor Bart discuss the role of courage in the Christian life.

On Friday evening, the team from CBC joined the congregation of FBC in sponsoring a Good Friday service for the community, complete with worship and a solid reminder of the sacrificial work of Christ on our behalf.  And we can’t neglect to mention the delicious fish tacos which were served to nourish those who came out to worship!  It was a time of remembrance and celebration as Pastor Bart pointed all to the sufficiency of Christ in all things.

It was with some degree of sadness that the CBC team departed Superior on Saturday morning.  This was the first time that many of the teens from Show Low had ever been to Superior, but it probably will not be the last!  This church and community will live on in the hearts and prayers of these young people for some time to come.

From the heart of CalvaryBaptistChurch, we would like to thank SWCC and First Baptist Church for allowing us to join you in this gospel ministry!  The teens here in Show Low have learned firsthand what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…because of your partnership in the gospel…” (Phil 1:3-5.)  We are not alone in the work of the gospel in this world and SWCC and First Baptist Church made it possible for our teenagers to see this up close and personal.  Many of them have grown distinctly because of this opportunity to serve the community of Superior. Thank you!

However, it is also important to remember that the work is not yet done in Superior, Arizona!  The community of Superior is still immersed in spiritual darkness and First Baptist Church can use additional encouragement and support in this endeavor.  We would invite other churches to follow the example set by SWCC and support this local church and community through prayer and ministry assistance.  The labor is not in vain and the rewards are great!  May the Lord complete the work which He has begun in First Baptist Church and may the community of Superior experience a great awakening of God’s grace in the days to come

Pastor Dan Lowe

Associate Pastor of Family Ministries,  CalvaryBaptistChurch, Show Low

pastordan@calvaryshowlow.org

I want you to meet Robert Banks (Bob), the new pastor who began his ministry at Grace Community Church in Salome AZ on April 21^st. Bob is married to Deborah.  Most people call her Debbie or Deb.  They have three adult children and seven grandchildren.  He comes to Salome from the Texas panhandle town of Pampa where he has spent the last twelve years as senior pastor.

After graduation from William Tyndale College, Bob attended Dallas Theological Seminary and graduated in 1985 with Master of Arts in Christian Education (MACE).  One of his favorite professors while there was the late Howard Hendricks or “Prof” as most of his students liked to call him.

Pastor Bob comes to Salome with experiences that span a full spectrum of 28 years of ministry from youth, Christian education and lead pastor.   From 1992 to 2013, he served as a lead pastor of three churches.  Twenty one years of ministry in just three churches!  That is significant, and that was one of the many qualities that caught the attention of the Search Team at Grace Community Church.

Along with bringing good and solid Bible teaching in his messages, Bob‘s emphasis for building disciples especially among men also caught the attention of the Search Team.  He told me that he desires to be a man who not only teaches God’s Word with clarity but demonstrates how it can be applied.  He also feels that many churches lack in attracting and mentoring men.  So, one of his emphases at Grace Community in Salome will be pouring his life in to developing, mentoring, and coaching men.

So let’s welcome Pastor Bob and Debbie to the SWCC, and don’t be surprised when he and Deb come to visit you or come to one of our conferences, that they pull up riding his huge BMW motorcycle.

His email is banks7578@gmail.com.

Grace is the foundation of everything that is precious to us in our relationship with the Lord. As those who are following the Lord Jesus and acting as His ambassadors to this world we want our character, our churches, our ministries to be full of grace. It is grace that marked the life and ministry of Jesus in such a special way.

John 1:14 puts it like this, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

He was full of grace! You see it as He offers living water to the woman at the well, the woman with five ex-husbands who is living with a new man, not her husband. You see it as He stops to heed the calls of blind Bartimaeus coming out of Jericho. You see His grace perfectly in tune with truth as He deals with the woman taken in adultery. You see His grace stopping to dine at Zaccheus’ house, the house of a tax collector and cheat. You see it as He calls Judas “friend” in the garden and after His resurrection makes special mention to the woman to not only tell the disciples He is raised and will see them in Galilee, but to especially tell Peter who had denied knowing Him. We are called to reflect that same grace to the world around us.

I love that it says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. It wasn’t a 50%-50% balance, but it was 100% grace and 100% truth. He always stood for the truth and He always showed grace. This is what we are to be like, we are to be like Him, full of grace and full of truth! It’s not easy in this world we live in where people want to ignore truth – the current debates in our own country over same-sex marriage and abortion rights – but it seems to me that as the ambassadors of our King (who is full of grace and truth) that is exactly what we are called to do.

I love John’s testimony just a few words later in John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace”. That is not only a wonderful personal testimony from John himself, but it is a blessed promise and reality that we have experienced also! We have touched and received of His grace in our lives and He is even now working in our lives to make us like Him so that we might represent Him to this world as people full of grace and truth. Let us strive hard to be grace infused in our lives and ministries.

Steve

You and your spouse are invited to revitalize in an all new experience during our SWCC Leadership Retreat – August 15-17, 2013 at the beautiful Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

Southwest Church Connection is taking the annual leadership retreat to an all new level.  This retreat, formerly known as the “pastors and wives retreat,” is now an experience for the whole church staff, elders and their spouses.  The setting is one of relaxation and renewal as you spend time at a beautiful resort with private rooms, refreshing pools, fine dining, and encouragement from the Word .  Come take this opportunity with us to be refreshed and to bring back to your congregation a renewed spirit ready for your next phase of ministry.

Joining us at the Leadership Retreat will be our keynote speaker, Hal Seed.  He and his wife Lori are the founders of New Song Community Church, established in 1992. New Song has led over 13,000 to Christ, helped plant 174,000 churches and resourced 90,000 churches with outreach tools. In 2010, New Song released its first feature film, To Save A Life, which has appeared in over two dozen countries and prevented thousands of teen suicides.  Hal’s first book, The God Questions, has sold over 250,000 copies. His most recent book, The Bible Questions, is designed to launch a Bible-reading revolution in our country. Hal has also written Future History: Understanding the Book of Daniel and End Times Prophecy, and Jonah: Responding to God.

Registration is a two step process:    

1) Conference Registration – Register online with SWCC by clicking here!

The conference fees this year are:  $60.00 per single and $100.00 per couple.  These fees include:

• Thursday evening reception
• Friday morning breakfast
• Friday evening dinner
• Saturday morning breakfast
• Conference amenities
• Conference materials

2)  Resort Registration – You must reserve your own room at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

The resort accommodation fees this year are:  $77.00 per night for a single or double occupancy room.  To reserve your room contact:  Scottsdale Plaza Resort, Reservations at 1-800-832-2025 or online. CLICK HERE!

* * * *  To guarantee your room at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, at this discounted rate, reservations must be called in by July 16th- to the Resort – 1-800-832-2025  or online CLICK HERE!   * * * *

* * * *   It’s our desire that everyone attend this conference.  But we realize different reasons will prevent some from coming.  If your reason is financial, we encourage you to contact Dwight Hunt (623-750-5532 or dhunt@swchurchconnection.org). 

Schedule

For questions about the retreat contact Carol Tetzlaff, SWCC Events Coordinator at 480-897-2036 or email at ctetzlaff@swchurchconnection.org.  For registration questions, contact Meri Marion, SWCC registration coordinator, at 480-897-2036.

* * * *  To guarantee your room at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, at this discounted rate, reservations must be called in by July 16th - to the Resort – 1-800-832-2025  * * * * *