50/50

50/50 might not seem like a good proposition.   Suppose like 27 year old Adam Lerner in the 2011 film 50/50 you discover you have cancer in your spine and the survival rate for your type of cancer is 50/50.  How would you feel?  Your mind might become like a pinball machine in your head.  Thoughts flip this way and then that way.   Back and forth.   Will you be alive in five years?  Perhaps yes; perhaps no!  Just a flip of the coin.  For anyone facing an illness or that of a loved one, 50/50 is not a good proposition.

But there is a 50/50 proposition that is good and it aligns very much with our missional vision to be a church reforming to reach the lost for Christ.   Bob Buford writes about this proposition in his inspiring book Halftime:  Moving from Success to Significance.   I read this book on my recent trip with Jeannie into Outback Queensland.   I wanted to challenge my thinking about how I can continue to live a life on purpose for the glory of God beyond employed ministry.   I figure, D.V., I will have about another 27 years on this earth.   I want those years to be some of my most significant years as a follower of Jesus.    And this was when I read about the "50/50 church."

And here I quote Bob Buford:

The basic idea of the 50/50 church has been to challenge...churches to allocate 50 percent of their resources to themselves and 50 percent to serving their community and world.   This may sound like a simple enough idea, but in terms of individuals and churches, it's radical.   Most churches feel they are stretching themselves if they spend a tenth of their time, talents, energy, and money on ministry beyond their own congregations.   Think of what could happen in your community if every church adopted this 50/50 formula.  (p. 164)

Yes, think!   Think of what could happen if your church decided to take 50% of your annual budget, 50% of the combined time, talents, and energy of your church members, and invest these resources outside of your local church.   Imagine what impact this would have on your community and the world.   This might sound radical but it is not novel.   In fact, as churches we covenanted together " to reform continually the life of the denomination (including our church ethos, customs, church order, use of resources, denominational committees, support staff and agencies) to encourage and enable the fulfilment of the fundamental aim” (emphasis mine).   While this might not propose the "50/50 church" it does underscore how as churches we need to reform how we use our resources (money, time, talents, energy) to encourage and enable the fulfillment of reaching the lost for Christ.   That is our fundamental aim.   This simply means that as churches and leaders we need to keep thinking how we can direct more and more of our resources toward reaching the unsaved millions in Australia and the unsaved billions in our world.

Is this proposition part of your church's thinking?   Is this the heart beat of how you use the resources that God has given you?  When you put together your church's budget for the financial year, consider what percentage of your budget is spent outside of your local church.   5%?  15%?   30%?   What could you do to increase your giving beyond the walls of your church?   And when you consider people serving the cause of Christ, do you encourage and enable your members to serve in the community, to be salt and light in the midst of our decaying and dark world?  What if you measure the successful church as one in which an increasing amount of resources are funnelled outside of your local church - all aimed at reaching the lost for Christ?   What if your church moves ever closer to adopting the 50/50 formula?

Bob Buford goes on to say, "And think of what would happen to you if you spent half of your time and resources on yourself and your family and the other half on others." (pp. 164-5)   This challenges me as I look forward to the rest of my years here on earth.   What if I take the 50/50 formula and apply that not just beyond employed ministry, but beginning today?   This will take courage and sacrifice, but isn't this what living for Jesus is all about?   I somehow think that the closer I get to 50/50, the next 27 years will be some of the best.   And the closer as churches we get to being the "50/50 church", the greater will be our gospel impact.   50/50 can be a good proposition!