Mark Conner Contemporary Culture

Do You Really Need MORE Money? (Part 4)

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Do you really need MORE money?
 
Sometimes more money can be of help – especially to meet our needs and to do good in the world. There is nothing wrong with money. Contrary to the opinion of some, money is NOT "the root of all evil". The apostle Paul declared that "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10) … and you don’t have to have money to love it. The issue is not whether we have money or not but whether money has control of you.
 
It is easy to buy into the belief that the answer to personal financial problems or pressure is to earn more money. Occasionally, that may be true but more often than not our problem is with our spending not our earning. Most people will earn well over a million dollars in their lifetime. But where does it go?
 
"The #1 money problem today is spending more than you earn, resulting in destructive debt."
 
A budget can help but the disciplines of regular saving and consistent spending within our means are vital.
 
"The #1 key to financial freedom is to spend less than you earn, then save and invest the difference over a long period of time."
 
Interestingly, after a certain level of income, more money doesn’t guarantee more happiness. In fact, it can simply add more stress and pressure to your life. That's why there is such an array of current trends  today emphasising activities such as downsizing, de-cluttering and minimalism.
 
"In the end, there is much more to life than money. In fact, the most important things in life you can't buy with money. This includes personal integrity, inner peace and quality relationships."
 
You may need more money … but you may not. Don't just naively jump on the conveyor belt to acquiring more and more wealth without thinking of the cost involved and the possible repercussions. Could contentment with what you already have be today's choice?
 
If you are interested in learning some practical principles for becoming financially free, check out my new book Money Talks.
 
Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary was kind enough to recently endorse the book:
 
“Countless books on how to use money compete for readers. It is easy to find complicated ones. It is common to find those that just promote getting rich, even by so-called Christians. There are plenty of theoretical studies that are hard to apply and how-to-manuals not based in good theory. But where does one find a short, practical, biblically grounded, clearly written little book that addresses all the important questions about using money in Christian ways with up-to-date charts, graphs and statistics to back everything up? Mark Conner has now written it. Get a copy. Devour it. Then live it out.”
 
 
Mark Conner Contemporary Culture

Do You Really Need MORE Success? (Part 3)

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Today we continue our series of BLOG posts reflecting on the question, "Do You Really Need MORE?"
 
Those of us who live in the West are born into a world dominated by the religion of capitalism. From our early years, we hear it preaching its gospel of success. "Growth is good!" "Bigger is better!" "MORE is the goal of life!" To be fair, capitalism does a lot of good in the world but unquestioned it can develop a sinister dark side. We do ourselves a favour when we question its assumptions. Let's not embrace the status quo so easily and so uncritically. 
 
Let's be honest, there is a certain appeal to climbing the ladder of success. I was recruited to the pursuit of achievement from an early age, based on my upbringing and culture. I'm also an achiever by nature and I love setting goals, accomplishing things, and completing tasks and projects. There is a positive side to all of this but there is also a cost. When is enough enough? Is this all there is to life? At some stage you have to ask whether your ladder of success is leaning against the right wall. After all, success always creates more pressure and more work. The god of success is never satisfied and the admiration of the crowd quickly fades. Could a shift from success to significance be really what our heart longs for? What truly gives life meaning? What brings joy and is life-giving? 
 
 
Popular business thinker and author Jim Collins, after investing extensive research into studying businesses and companies that are built to last and then companies that move from being good to great, turned his focus to how great companies lose their way – how do the mighty fall? The fall always begins with hubris (pride in one’s own achievements) followed quickly by the relentless pursuit of MORE. That’s often the beginning of the end … yet very few people want to talk about the addictive, intoxicating nature of success that in the end often destroys organizations … and people. 
 
The church world is not immune to the alluring seduction of success. As a young church leader, I quickly bought into the belief that churches needed to grow and that bigger is always better. Having the church NOT grow bigger was not even an option. After all, wasn’t rapidly increasing church attendance the true measure of success and a mark of favour with God? Who would question that? 
 
I think it is time to question our assumptions about growth and success. If your neighbours have more kids than your family does are they a better family? Is bigger really better? Is a bigger church really better than a smaller one? You will never read a letter from the apostle Paul to a church in the first century saying, "I'm so excited you've broken the 200 barrier!" It's just not there. But he did commend his churches for qualities such as their growing love for one another (see 2 Thessalonians 1:3), which just happens to be what Jesus said his followers should be known for (John 13:35).
 
For over 20 years, I was involved in leading a church congregation that grew from 1,500 people to around 10,000 people and I can tell you that reaching more people can be exhilarating. But it comes at a cost. There is a shadow side no one really likes to talk about, including the increasing stress and strain on staff and volunteers, often due to an unsustainable pace and unrealistic schedules. The contemporary church can become like a machine, gobbling up good people up and spitting them out. No wonder we are seeing such a sharp increase in the DONES.
 
Nicole and I actually missed the intimacy of the church when it was smaller. In the end, it felt like managing a large corporation, with all internal politics that come with that. We knew thousands of people but had little time to go deeper with many of them. How easy it is for pastors to degenerate into professional managers of organizations delivering religious goods and services, competing with each other and fighting for people’s attention within the broader marketplace of our consumeristic society. 
 
Is this what Jesus had in mind? Who are we doing this all for? Genuine care for people can easily morph into empire building and the cult of personality, if we are not careful. Yes, the church world today creates it’s own ‘celebrity stars’ who become the ‘rich and famous’ working their brand and distributing their products just like people in every other sector of society. 
 
So, do we really need MORE 'success' – personally, in our businesses, and in our churches? 
 
This post is not 'against' success. I think Dwight L. Moody captures best what I'm trying to say:
 
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure,
but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter.”
 
Maybe its time to change the scorecard and the focus of our success orientation.
 
 
Mark Conner Contemporary Culture

Do You Really Need MORE Stuff? (Part 2)

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We live in a world that continually seeks to make us dissatisfied with what we currently have and tries to motivate us to buy the latest and the greatest things. As a result, we end up with far more stuff than we really need. Where I live in Australia, many homes have a double garage. The trouble is many people can't fit their two family cars in the garage because of all the stuff they have stored in there. As a result, one of the fastest growing businesses in Australia is the the self-storage industry! People pay money for more space to store all of their things. 

I'm as guilty as anyone in getting sucked in by the gravitational pull of materialism. I love new technology and I love books.  There is a certain joy in buying a new book even if I haven't read the last few books I bought. Fellow book addicts understand. Those are two of my weaknesses. What about you? 

Let's face it, material things always under-perform in bringing us true happiness. Yes, there is a momentary buzz from buying something new or better but before long that feeling fades.  

Beware of impulse buying, which refers to unplanned expenditures that we make based on emotion. Some of us get excited at the very sight of the word ‘SALE’, an interest free offer or an offer of ‘2 for the price of 1’. Just because you can afford it does not mean you should buy it. If you buy something on sale, you are not saving, you are spending!

Research indicates that women do this more often than men. But men do it in larger amounts. Come one guys, that extra pair of shoes your wife recently purchased will not bust the budget as much as that new mega-size television you bought for the games room! In fact, when it comes to credit card debt, men owe an average of $450 more than women.

So, when is enough enough? Why don't we all step off the treadmill of endless consumption. Could less actually be more? Is it time to de-clutter, to give stuff away, and to down-size?

On this matter, the wisdom from the sacred text calls to us:  

Ecclesiastes 4:6. Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind. NLT

Think about that. Could it be better for you to have less and with it joy and peace than to have more and the debt and accompanying stress that goes with it? I believe so. If your standard of living is creating pressure and anxiety in your life and relationships, why not lower it? Right-size your living expenses to match your income.

It amazing how much stuff we can accumulate through the years. There is something therapeutic about cleaning up, clearing stuff out and simplifying your life. Nicole and I have down-sized a few times in the last year and each time it has felt so good. 

Have a read of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Become a minimalist. It will change your life. 

Think about it … do you really need MORE stuff?

Next: Do You Really Need MORE Success?

Mark Conner Contemporary Culture

Do You Really Need MORE? (Part 1)

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We live in a society that continually encourages us to pursue MORE – more money, more work, more success, more relationships, more experiences and more stuff. Personally, I love working towards goals and continually accomplishing new things. But this constant achievement-orientation can become addictive and it takes a toll on us – physically, mentally, emotionally and relationally. I can testify to that first hand. In fact, I've experienced what it is to virtually wear myself out in the unquestioned climb up the mountain of MORE.
 
For those of us who live in the West, we are born into a world where we breathe the air of Capitalism. It tells us that the 'normal' life involves acquiring more education, earning a bigger salary, moving to a bigger house, driving a newer car, building bigger businesses, living in expanding mega-cities, and growing larger churches. But is this what life is meant to be? And at what cost? Could the relentless pursuit of MORE actually be killing us and our planet? We sure have moved a long ways from the hunter-gatherer era of our human species where we only pursued what was sufficient for the day.
 
Yuval Noah Harari, who has a PhD from Oxford University, is the best-selling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind  and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. In his most recent book, he calls Capitalism the religion of our time, with its belief in the supreme value of growth. He says, “If we somehow succeed in hitting the brakes, our economy will collapse, along with our society. The modern economy needs constant and indefinite growth in order to survive. If growth ever stops, the economy won’t settle down to some cosy equilibrium; it will fall to pieces. That’s why capitalism encourages us to seek immortality, happiness and divinity."
 
Australian sociologist Hugh Mackay talks about the human desire for more in his book What Makes Us ticks? The Ten Desires that Drive Us. He notes that the human appetite for whatever feels good seems insatiable and that the desire for more has an inherently dark side – greed. Greed can tip the balance towards excess, addiction and even mania. Instead of moderation and self-control, we end up with feelings of entitlement and frustration.
 
Could it be time to jump off the fast moving conveyor belt heading to the land of MORE and be satisfied with LESS? Is it worth considering being counter-cultural and choosing to live in the land of contentment?
 
Listen to these words of wisdom from the apostle Paul who lived in the all-consuming Roman Empire of the first century. 
 
"I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." Philippians 4:11-13. The Message Bible.
 
Here we have someone who is not against MORE but who isn't looking for MORE in order to be happy.
 
Over these next few weeks, we will be diving a little deeper into the specific things we seem to want MORE of … and questioning their validity. In the process, we might be able to live even more meaningful, fulfilled and joyful lives. 
 
 
Mark Conner News

New Book Release: “Money Talks – Practical Wisdom for Becoming Financially Free”

Mark has just released a new book called Money Talks: Practical Wisdom for Becoming Financially Free. 

Those of us who live in the Western world live in some of the richest countries on the planet yet, despite this fact, many people are under financial pressure. In this book, I share practical principles for becoming financially free and living wisely with the resources we have. Learn fresh insights about earning, saving, investing, debt reduction and spending wisely. The book also includes extra material on alleviating poverty, church finances, fundraising and the purpose of business.

For those who live in Australia, you can order a paperback copy from WORD Australia for the special price of $15.00 (RRP $17.99).

OR you can purchase it in eBook format for Kindle, or other eReaders, on the Australian Amazon site (for AUS $11.99).

OR, if you live in a country other than Australia, you can purchase the international edition in paperback format on Amazon (US $12.99) or in eBook format for Kindle also on the USA Amazon site (for US $9.23) or 10 other Amazon sites around the world (check your locality).

Some Endorsements:

“It is often not productive to ask pastors for their views on finance or financiers for their views on pastoral care. It is therefore very refreshing to read Mark Conner’s ‘Money Talks: Practical Principles for Becoming Financially Free’, which blends the insights of the pastor with the practical applications of someone who has thought carefully about the power that money has over us. He tackles the biblical road map to freedom in financial matters with a persuasive skill and hands on application.”     

Ken Costa, Author: God at Work

“Mark Conner has a wealth of experience when it comes to the vital subject of how Christians should handle their money. In this practical guide to saving, spending and giving, he helps us view our finances from God’s perspective. He eloquently explains where our hearts should be focussed and offers biblical financial principles that stand the test of time. It’s a timely antidote to this age of conspicuous consumption.” 

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, World Vision Australia

“Mark Conner’s capacity as a leader is only outweighed by his honesty, big-heartedness and integrity. In the chapters of this book we see his authenticity jump off each page. “Money Talks” is not only accessible and well researched – it is REAL! His down to earth teaching is heaven sent – a balm for the fiscally frazzled!” 

Rob Buckingham, Senior Minister, Bayside Church Melbourne

“This is a timely and significant book about managing our money well. Mark provides practical ideas to help us improve our thinking about money as well as our daily practices. This book is a great read!”     

Lisa McInness Smith, Global Keynote Speaker. Best-Selling Author. Transformational Coach

“In the time I have known Mark, his strength of character, leadership and deep understanding of biblical teachings have had a profound impact on my life. Mark’s ability to translate complex issues into simple and actionable disciplines is a rare gift, and it is one that he delivers in a deeply personal and authentic way. One of the many principles that Mark has taught and practiced both in his personal life and church leadership role, is financial freedom. As a student of Mark’s teaching, I have witnessed individuals and families transform their financial situations from being hamstrung with credit card debt to owning their own properties and running successful businesses. With the wisdom contained in these chapters, I am confident that reading this book will challenge your perspective on biblical stewardship and provide you with the tools to achieve true financial freedom.”

Dan Daniels, Founder and Global CEO Daniels Health

“Finances can be the F word for many of us, but Dr Mark Conner is a person to trust when it comes to making sense of financial headaches. From million dollar budgets in some of largest churches to standing with people living in extreme poverty, Mark has seen it all. With 7 in 10 people currently living on less than $10 a day and disparity between rich and poor creating global instability, this book could not be more urgent or important. This book will especially help us Christians in rich countries to take stock, pray, think and find imaginative ways to be a solution to injustice in the world by making the most of God’s resources at our disposal. Please read this practical, prophetic book and act on Mark’s advice. It will help us all.”
Rev Dr Ash Barker – Director, Newbigin School for Urban Leadership (NewbiginHouse.uk)