We're having a church-wide fast today.

I'm part of it. After all, it was my idea.

Jesus tells his followers to keep their fasting private in Matthew 6:16-18. Yet this day is one of those rare occasions when in the spirit of solidarity, we'll encourage each other and even go public with our fasting.

Fasting has been a regular part of my routine with God for about 15 years now. I generally fast one day a week -- and try not to tell anyone about it as it is happening. It can be hard. But, literally, "at the end of the day" the fast makes me feel lighter, cleaner, and refreshed.

And food tastes awfully good when you break the fast.

The idea behind a corporate fast is this: if you have an entire group of people telling God, "Lord, you are more important to me than food!" and that same group of people prays for the same things at the same time . . . well, God moves.

So we're looking for his sovereign move in our church, in our marriages, in our own souls.

You can find out more about the fast here.

Today I'm headed to a first-of-its-kind conference.

It's a meeting of the pastors of the 100 largest United Methodist Churches in the United States. There are over 34,000 UMCs in our country, and Good Shepherd is one of the top 100 in terms of average Sunday attendance. I was pretty psyched (an 80s word, I know, but descriptive of how I felt) when I received the invitation.

The meeting, which is being held at the Chateau Elan near Atlanta, is the brainchild of Adam Hamilton, the senior pastor of the Church Of The Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. The Church Of The Resurrection is roughly the same age as Good Shepherd but has an average weekend attendance of almost 10,000.

The purpose of the meeting is two-fold: 1) to gather pastors of similarly-sized churches together so that we might share what the corporate world calls "best practices"; and 2) to discuss ways the group can influence the United Methodist denomination as a whole.

See, the majority of the churches represented have effective ministries while serving as part of a denomination that has been largely ineffective at reaching people in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Over the last 40 years, for example, the United Methodist Church has lost about three million members -- this at a time of great population growth in the US and in an era in which non-denominational churches have exploded in popularity and influence.

The churches coming to Chateau Elan are exceptions to that trend of decline. Some of the churches -- like Church of the Resurrection, Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio and Granger Church in Indiana -- are spectacular exceptions to the trend, churches known for boldness, innovation, and passion for the Gospel.

I'm excited have some "up close" learning from people I had previously only known from a distance.

I'll keep you posted.

Back in June, I had a couple of posts (here and here) about why we don't do fund raisers at Good Shepherd Church.

But I neglected to include what is perhaps the most important reason why churches should do no fund raisers other than the weekend offering.

Here it is. Ready?

When we use fund raisers to generate income for the church, we are teaching people that they give in order to get something in return. It's like "I'll give some money to the church and in return I'll get a barbecue dinner, a halloween pumpkin, and some pine straw to boot!"

That's the opposite of biblical giving. When we give according to the Scriptural pattern, we give something with the expectation of getting nothing in return. Nothing tangible, that is.

Because didn't Jesus say something about the intangibles of giving? "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 12:20)