July 9, 2016 – The Christian “App” Devotions The Table,
iOS | Web, (The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 tools every Christian should know about; by Jeffrey Kranz)

“So he (Jesus) came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:5-10

With all of the social networks that exist on the “Interweb”, I am surprised that I have not heard more about Christian social networks. “The Table” is just such an “App”. The Table is a social network that helps church members get to know one another, stay connected throughout the week, pray for one another, and serve one another. Here is a little information from their website: “The Table is a custom social platform that aims to encourage community in your local church, empower leaders and move people beyond the pews and into authentic, life changing relationships. It enables church to happen between church services.”

In the time of Jesus, when there was no social media technology the likes of what we have today – heck they barely had any real technology outside of weapons, tools and the wheel. So, the city well and the city gate were places people gathered to socialize (so to speak) and to share news, gossip and do business. The benefit of having a place to gather is the one-on-one personal and physical relationships that can be developed – and the ability of people to strengthen their interpersonal skills. With online “communities”, we lose the physical closeness of the relationships, but with these communities we can develop relationships with people all over the world. My wife is a good example. She has developed relationships with women across the East and West Coasts in online communities for all kinds of interests. She has even had the opportunity to meet many of them as we have traveled on the East coast.

Maybe it is time to try a Christian social network – not just for dating, but also for meeting others who are trying to make sense of their faith and how our faith can be lived in the world.

Pastor Dave

July 8, 2016

Pushpay (eChurch giving), iOS | Android

“He (Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

“eChurch giving is a way to make donations to your church without having to give cash or write out checks. Pushpay would be one of those apps you could download for your phone or computer for just this purpose. Here is some information for Pushpay: “Pushpay® is the fastest, free, and convenient way to…support your favorite charities or give to your church.
Make secure 10 second payments from your iOS or Android smart device.
Just load your debit or credit card details once, and you’re ready to go!”

Now, one of the ways that Lutheran churches have tried to make donating to your church a lot easier is through the “Simply Giving Program”. The “Simply Giving Program” is endorsed by Thrivent. Here is some information from their website:

“The Simply Giving® Program is an automated stewardship program that helps members live generously. It’s a convenient, safe and simple way for individuals to make automatic payments to nonprofit organizations through electronic funds transfer (EFT) directly from checking or savings accounts. Thrivent Federal Credit Union has contracted with industry leader Vanco Payment Solutions to provide electronic payment processing services at reduced rates – so your generosity goes further.”

Giving to the church has gone through many different phases over the last 350 years. In the early years of the church in America, families would often give small amounts of money, but also nails, eggs, boards, chickens – whatever they had for the building of the church and the support of the congregation and the pastor. As time wore on and churches were built, people gave money, wrote checks, and even put the church in their wills. Now, we have so much technology available that many people never carry actual cash. They only pay bills “on-line”, rarely write checks, and look for any way they can pay or give using online resources. The biggest problem today is convincing the church to invest in this or a similar resource. Anything to make giving to the church easier and more convenient is worth the investment. And if the millennials are to feel welcome in the life of the church, we may need to meet them where they and their money is located.

Pastor Dave