Troy Marshall

The tithe

Even years later, my post on "does tithing work" continues to be the most read and commented post of all time. There are as many views on this subject as there are people who read it. A very popular belief is that tithing is in the Old Testament and therefore doesn't apply to us. Well that comes straight from your theological foundation. Yes, I know we are under the Covenant of Grace now. Thank God that He did what He did when He sent Jesus. But, being under the Covenant of Grace does not mean that the Covenant of Works no longer exists. On the contrary, man still must obey the Law. In fact, Paul writes in Romans that the "Law is good". The Law points us to our need for Jesus. We can not accomplish what the Law requires. It's impossible. We are corrupted by our sin. But thank God that the Covenant of Works is not dependent on both parties fulfilling the obligations. God upholds His end even though we don't uphold ours. Jesus made a covenant with the Father on our behalf, He said even though man won't fulfill the Law, I will do it for them. Now, let's talk again about tithing. Tithing is biblical. Jesus said that we ought to tithe. I don't believe tithing is just necessarily part of the Law. It's not just a command, it's a spiritual law or principle. When you give generously, God gives to you generously. The law is already in motion. God doesn't have to look down and say, "Troy tithed today, I think I will bless him." When I give cheerfully it is returned. I'm not talking about giving to get. If your motives for giving are so you get more, it ain't gonna happen. It's all about the heart. Everything is given to you by God. He does ask for 10% back as an act of trust and obedience. You can argue with it all you want but that's the way it is. In fact, Abram, before he had a covenant with God and before the law was ever written, gave 10% of all he recovered to Melchizedek, "a priest of the Most High God". I personally don't even stop at a tithe, I give way more than 10%. I've seen many who grudgingly give exactly 10%, down to the penny. If you are not giving because you love God and trust Him to do what He says, then don't bother. As for me, I give. Regularly. Quickly. First thing when I get paid. Not because I'm a pastor. Not because someone told me to. Not because I think God will smash me if I don't. I love Jesus. Jesus was the most generous person who ever lived. We are commanded by Him to be like Him. That means although I screw up all the time, I strive to obey the law and I embrace the Covenant of Grace for my shortcomings. That covenant is between God and His Son, therefore both parties will uphold their responsibilities. Thank you Jesus. This year, I made one resolution, to be more generous than I ever have before. I no longer think in percentages, I think in opportunities. I've prayed for more ability to be more generous and I can't wait to see how God leads me in 2011.

Was it a Good Move?

I fell off the grid for a while. This mobile church thing is a lot of work! The question on everyone's mind is was it the right decision for BCC to move to Spring Lane Cinema? In a word- YES.

In the words of Ike Turner on the "Johnboy and Billy Big Show", "Let me preach on it". When we decided to move, we had little opposition. Yeah, we had a few people who grumbled, but they are the ones who always grumble about anything we ever do that is new or out of the ordinary. God miraculously provided the money to purchase the things we needed to make the move. The theater provided much needed space to reach more people (we had been @90%+ capacity for some time in the old facility). The number of people taking their first step towards Jesus was @ an all time low, too crowded means less visitors. Everything to our logic said we can do this. That should have been the first red flag.

By no means do I think we shouldn't have done it but I did think it would be a move without obstacles. I was shocked to see in the first month how many people who I thought were committed to the vision simply bailed out. Many comments like "I can't go to church in a theater" or "all you care about is 'Lost' people" started filtering back to the staff. I have to admit, when tithing families leave, you are left wondering if you heard from God. But all we have to do is look at the stats. Since moving to Spring Lane Cinema, 40 people have made that crucial first step and picked up a red bag signifying they want to begin their journey following Christ. We have had huge numbers of guests and a renewed focus of our vision to bring the change to this city that only Jesus can bring. I have watched grown men get girly giddy over someone being snatched from the Kingdom of Hell. I know now that us moving, pissed the Devil off. Now is the time to push harder, reach farther, and sacrifice deeper, because God's Kingdom is advancing forcefully in this city and it will take violent men and women of God to lay hold to it. God has already won, but the job is not done. Every knee will bow to Jesus one day, it's our job to make it today!

Peace Out

We're Moving

BCC Lead Pastor, Bill Maye, announced this past Sunday that beginning March 7, 2010 that we are moving our Sunday Services to Spring Lane Cinemas. In the last 3 1/2 years, we have seen unbelievable growth. 187 people have taken a first step in their journey with Christ just in the last 24 months. We have been breaking all the "rules" of church ministry space throughout 2009. For two years we have been working on a building plan. We raised commitments, met with builders and investors, worked with financial institutions and every door we tried to go through closed in front of us. Then in November, we aggressively sought to rent a larger facility and secured the Spring Lane Cinema.

Gotta admit, we are nervous- a little. Going from a permanent location to a mobile location seems like a step back to some. We will probably lose some people. That's OK. They are already in God's Kingdom. But we are excited a lot. Why? Many reasons- here's a few

• Without moving, we will soon run out of room for more people to come
• Without more people coming, the number of people making decisions to follow Christ will stop
• Without people making decisions to follow Jesus, we fail our mission
• By failing our mission, we have to stand before God one day and tell Him why we failed

Not an option. Tens of thousands of people in our community still haven't made a decision to follow Jesus. We can't not grow- because we are not growing a church, we are reaching a city. We are snatching people from Hell's grip and bringing them to the Kingdom of Heaven. That's why we are here, and that's why we move. Pray for us, we have obstacles ahead. But I am convinced that this is the right next step for BCC.

Blog? What's That?

Dang- It's been awhile! I have been out of the blogosphere for some time. Since June I think. I have been gravitating towards Twitter lately. I have always been considered a "man of few words" so the appeal is great for me to 'microblog'. I wondered what was going on in the world since the last time I posted a blog, so I dd a little digging and here's what I found.

• I only had 3 kids. Well I still have them, but Mrs. Marshall is expecting our 4th
• I had just begun Twittering or Tweeting or IDK what it's really called yet
• It was 30 degrees warmer outside
• My mom wasn't married
• Began a church office renovation
• The Carolina Panther's hadn't lost a single game this season:)
• I actually visited Facebook.com... Daily
• Began the long process of acquiring financing for our building project- still working on that
• I did not own a minivan- yeah, I am now one of "Those People" and I'm OK with that
• Apple Stock was below $130 a share- wish I had bought in last march!

A lot has changed in the last 4 months. I will be catching up on the past but I am really pumped about the future. I really believe that the best years are ahead. I can't wait to see how God uses us to change this region. Until next time- I promise it won't be that long- Peace Out.

Who (or what) Are You Following?

    Yesterday, I received a twitter message from a friend of mine at Revolution Church. It led me to find out that their Lead Pastor stepped down from Revolution and admitted being in an emotional and physical affair with his personal assistant. I was at Revolution Church last month. I heard the stories of how radical they are. Stories of their members so committed to the church that they get tattoos of the church logo. People who meet at 5:00am to set up for weekend services, week in and week out. Just a few weeks ago, I heard that over 300 people have made decisions to follow Christ since January this year. The church is made up of 70%+ who didn't attend church prior to Revolution.
    I'm sickened inside about what transpired. Not that the pastor "sinned" because we all sin. I am sickened at the fact that many of those people will be forever affected by the fall of yet another leader. It's times like these that make me think about BCC. The question that plays through my mind is, "Are people who attend BCC following a church, or Jesus?" For many, it's church. They are immature in their faith and need 'the church' to spur them on. But I never want BCC to get in the way of someone passionately following Jesus Christ. Every day, I hear about awesome churches. I hear the stories of great leaders in those churches. But the simple truth is, we are all one sin away from losing everything. Now I don't want to come off as being legalistic. I trust God and what He is doing. I know that He is in control. But as leaders, we have to set boundaries. We have to have people hold us accountable and we have to have people who speak the truth in love when they see stuff that isn't right. Did Gary have that in place? I don't know. Do the leaders at BCC have it in place? Somewhat. But I see many areas that we need to tighten up.
    I think everyone should ask themselves that same question. Are you following a church, a movement, a specific man (or woman), or you following Jesus Christ? He's the one who died for you. He is God. Make Him your "new favorite" ;o)