[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":86},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fbuy-in":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fbuy-in-surround":75},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":57,"date":58,"description":16,"extension":59,"image":60,"meta":61,"minRead":62,"navigation":63,"path":64,"postType":65,"publication":66,"publicationUrl":60,"seo":67,"stem":68,"topics":69,"__hash__":74},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fbuy-in.md","Buy In",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Acts",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":53},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Should you rent or own? That's a key question when it comes to houses, cars, and office equipment.",[14,18,19],{},"I have fond memories of the first house my wife and I purchased. It was a boxy little home in a crowded Long Island neighborhood. We scraped together a down payment and paid our monthly mortgage so we could experience the healthy pride of home ownership. We carefully mowed and trimmed the lawn, planted flowers, and turned our unfinished attic into nice bedrooms for the kids.",[14,21,22],{},"If you own a house, when something is broken, you're the one responsible to fix it. If you rent, it's the landlord's problem. Since I've done a fair amount of renting and leasing over the years myself, I'm not picking on those who choose the rental option. But as a general rule, most of us take better care of something when we have a personal sense of ownership.",[14,24,25],{},"What about the church? Ultimately it belongs to the Lord. It's his prized possession, purchased with his own blood. Individually and collectively, we belong to him. But it's our church, too. Members of the body of Christ should \"own\" our personal faith and feel a healthy sense of ownership toward the church and its mission. Children of the King should care about the upkeep of the palace.",[14,27,28],{},"Unfortunately, in today's consumer environment many approach the church as if we were customers instead of owners. A spiritual renter expects a lot from the church, but forgets he is the church. He expects to be fed, but refuses to lift his own fork and feed himself. A spiritual renter wants the church to meet his needs, but doesn't feel obligated to be a need-meeter himself. If something in the church is broken, a spiritual renter expects someone else to fix it.",[14,30,31],{},"How can you tell if you're really buying in? Here are some clues.",[14,33,34],{},"You use words like \"my,\" \"we,\" and \"our\" to describe the church, not \"they,\" \"them,\" and \"their.\"",[14,36,37],{},"You experience joy when your congregation is doing well; and when it's struggling, instead of responding with apathy or blame, you ask, \"What can I do to help?\"",[14,39,40],{},"You find it natural to talk about your church to others, explaining in positive and enthusiastic terms what makes it special.",[14,42,43],{},"You pray with your congregation in mind, remembering that Jesus taught us to pray, \"Our Father,\" not just \"My Father.\"",[14,45,46],{},"You affirm and personally embrace God's Word. Biblical truth is what you really believe, not merely \"what the church teaches\" or \"what the minister says.\"",[14,48,49],{},"Your personal relationships with others in the church are growing, not stagnant. You see other church members as fellow-travelers in your journey of faith, mutual recipients of God's grace, coworkers in fulfilling the Great Commission. You care about them and accept them, quirks and all. You sense a deepening connection with them as you experience life's ups and downs together, rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep.",[14,51,52],{},"With all its struggles and flaws, the Lord's church remains the greatest enterprise on earth. It's God's family, his flock. It's where you can find the richest relationships, the strongest support system, and the highest purpose for your life. This noble fellowship has Christ for its founder and head. He bought you. Have you bought in?",{"title":54,"searchDepth":55,"depth":55,"links":56},"",2,[],"First Look","2009-05-03","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fbuy-in","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fbuy-in",[70,71,72,73],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","Christian Unity","bGe0vXA9iYfcnu-qbfVXc5Wleyect2ls0etMLjF3Tq0",[76,81],{"title":77,"path":78,"stem":79,"description":80,"children":-1},"'But I Tell You'","\u002Farticles\u002Fbut-i-tell-you","articles\u002Fbut-i-tell-you","What makes Jesus' Sermon on the Mount so remarkable? Not the fact that he delivered it outdoors—although we like to imagine the picturesque scene as the crowd gathered in a natural amphitheater on a mountainside.",{"title":82,"path":83,"stem":84,"description":85,"children":-1},"By What Authority?","\u002Farticles\u002Fby-what-authority","articles\u002Fby-what-authority","Mark Twain said, \"It's not the parts of the Bible I can't understand that bother me; it's the parts that I do understand.\"",1790466140965]