Generous and Engaged
A Different Kind of Ship
Welcome to The Well Community Church. I am so glad you’re hanging out with us today. My name is Brad, if we haven’t met yet. We are in the middle of a series—actually, bringing it to an end today—called All Hands. Throughout this series, we’ve been acknowledging the fact that here at The Well, we are a very peculiar church. In some ways, we’re a little bit more like a battleship and a little bit less like a cruise ship.
What we’ve tried to do in this series is two things. First, we want to remind those of you who’ve been around for a while and have been a part of the madness exactly who we are as a church. It’s easy to fall into the pattern of becoming more and more “normal,” and we don’t want that. We want to continue to be a bit abnormal here. Second, we want to invite our guests into the movement. We want you to know what you’re getting into and help you discern whether or not this is the type of church you want to be engaged with and participate in. Hopefully, we’ve accomplished both of those ends.
We’re going to look at four passages today: Matthew 16, Acts 1, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and Jeremiah 29. If you haven’t been with us, here is a quick reminder of where we’ve been. Week one, we talked about our name: Why The Well? We said we are a home for the broken, using the story of the woman at the well in John 4. We want to be a place where broken people with a past can find Christ. The second week, we talked about our first value: we are Biblical. We do everything through the lens of Scripture. Last week, we talked about the fact that we are Authentic—we own our stuff—and we are Restorative. Our desire is to see all of us brought back into intimacy with God and others. Today, we wrap up with our final two values: we are Generous and we are Engaged.
The Called-Out Ones
I want to start with Matthew 16. If you’ve been around for a while, these passages are core to who we are, so this might be a familiar path. In Matthew 16, Jesus takes the disciples north toward a city called Caesarea Philippi. That’s significant because, like most Roman cities, it was pagan, but this one was exceedingly disgusting. They worshiped the god Pan, a half-goat, half-human deity. The worship was sexual in nature and involved live animals. It was a dark, dark place. There was nothing else around the city, so when Jesus started heading north, the disciples were likely asking, “Why are we going this way? The only thing out there is that place.”
Jesus brings them to the city and asks, “Who do the people say that I am?” and then, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter, always the first to speak, says, “I think you’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In this moment, Jesus says he is going to do something unique on “the rock.” The rock isn’t Peter himself—whose name means a small pebble—but rather the bedrock truth that Jesus is the Christ.
Matthew 16:18-19 (NASB)
’I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.’
This is the first time you see the word “church” used in your Bible. The word is ekklesia. It comes from two words: ek (out from) and kaleo (to call). Jesus is defining a gathering of individuals uniquely assembled and mobilized toward a common cause. Notice he says the gates of hell will not overpower it. Gates are defensive. Jesus is suggesting that this ekklesia of God would be on the move, bringing light into dark places. The dark places do not have the power to hold the light out because Christians are coming to bring hope.
He mentions the “keys of the kingdom.” This means the church is a called-out group of people who are extensions of the very kingdom of God. Practically speaking, you didn’t just “come to church” today. You are the church. The church is not an address, a building, or a campus. The church is the people. Because we are the ekklesia, we are called to bring light into dark places.
Matthew 5:16 (NASB)
’Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Witnesses in Life and Death
This is exactly what the early church did. In Acts chapter 1, Luke chronicles what happened after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The disciples are interacting with the resurrected Christ, and they ask a very logical question.
Acts 1:6 (NASB)
So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’
They’re seeing the scars on his hands and feet, and they’re thinking, “This is rad! Let’s go! Is it time for the kingdom?” They had learned the Lord’s Prayer—“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” They were ready for the rule and reign of God to be fully established. But the answer is “already, but not yet.” Jesus is ruling in glory, but His full reign on earth is still unfolding, and we are part of establishing it.
Acts 1:7-8 (NASB)
He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’
The word “witness” is martus, where we get the word “martyr.” A witness is one who testifies. As you read the New Testament, that’s exactly what happened. The gospel spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth. By 350 AD, an estimated 50% of the Roman world was Christian. How does a movement of 12 disciples influence the entire world like that?
Historians tell us it was partly because of the martyrs. Tertullian, an early church apologist, famously said, “The blood of the Christians is seed.” But it wasn’t just how they died; it was how they lived. They had what was called a habitus—a deeply embodied set of habits and dispositions.
It was the Christians who fed the hungry and invited in the stranger. They lived out James 2, showing their faith by their works. They kept their behavior excellent among the Gentiles so that even those who slandered them would eventually glorify God because of their good deeds. In a world of sexual immorality, they remained pure. They visited orphans and widows. They were honest in business and cared for the sick. The Roman world had no answer for this kind of witness. They lived for their faith every single day.
Value 4: We Are Generous
This leads us to our fourth value: We are generous. In Acts 2 and 4, it says there was no needy person among them. That doesn’t mean poverty vanished, but it means that when someone like Barnabas had land, he sold it to meet the needs of others. The people of means and the people of need were connected.
Why were they so generous? Because our God is generous. In Genesis, He speaks the world into existence and breathes life into us. He didn’t have to make the world as beautiful as He did. He didn’t have to put on a show with a sunset like the one I saw at the Clovis West game last Friday, but He does it because He’s a generous God. He was in need of nothing, yet He gives everything.
John 3:16 (NASB)
’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Because God is generous, we are called to be generous. This starts with a shift in perspective: we are not owners; we are stewards. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.
Haggai 2:8 (NASB)
‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts.
Think about it this way: if I asked you to pull out your wallet and give money, you might feel a certain way because you think it’s your money. But if I asked you to reach into the wallet of the person sitting next to you and give, you’d feel much more liberal with it! Why? Because it’s not yours. That second picture is the reality of our lives. God has entrusted everything to us, but it’s all His. We are managing wealth that belongs to another.
Stewardship of Time, Talent, and Treasure
We are called to be stewards of our time.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NASB)
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
When you talk about time, I know you might feel that “heartburn” of a busy schedule. You’re one soccer practice away from a breakdown. But is it possible you’re overcommitted to things that don’t matter? Time is a zero-sum game. If you say yes to the mundane, you’re saying no to kingdom initiatives. I’ll let you wrestle with that.
We are also stewards of our talents. Most of us have a long list of things we’re terrible at and a short list of things we’re good at. But you were fearfully and wonderfully made.
Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
You are His poiema—His workmanship, a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. He created you specifically for good works. What would it look like for you to invest your unique talents into the kingdom?
Finally, we are stewards of our treasures. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul talks about the church in Corinth. Corinth was an incredibly wealthy, affluent city. Paul tells them about a need in Jerusalem, a very poor city facing a famine. Watch how they responded.
2 Corinthians 8:3-4 (NASB)
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, [they gave] of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
They were begging for the favor of participating! There was no “drive-by guilting” or shame. They just wanted to be a part of what God was doing.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NASB)
Now this [I say], he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one [must do] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
As a church, we try to model this. We set aside 10% of everything that comes in to give away to nonprofits and global partners. We even support other churches in town. That makes no sense to some people, but we aren’t building our own castle; we are building His kingdom. If another church is in need, we want to say yes.
Proverbs 11:25 (NASB)
The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.
Value 5: We Are Engaged
Our fifth and final value is: We are engaged. You are here in the Fresno-Clovis area for a reason. I know some of you told your parents in high school that if you could just get to UC Santa Barbara, you’d never come back. Some of you moved to Texas or Tennessee, and then God—like the whale with Jonah—puked you right back here in Fresno.
Fresno has a narrative of self-loathing. People say it’s not “awesome,” it’s just “close to awesome” (close to the mountains, close to the coast). Yet, this is where God has placed us. In Jeremiah 29, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon—a place they didn’t want to be.
Jeremiah 29:5-7 (NASB)
’Build houses and live [in them]; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ’Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’
Instead of throwing a tantrum or whining about the heat, God told them to plant gardens, build houses, and pray for the city. He said, “Seek the shalom (the peace and wholeness) of the city.” As the city experiences shalom, we experience shalom. We are the ekklesia sovereignly placed here to be part of the solution.
Mark 8:34-37 (NASB)
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, ’If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ’For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ’For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ’For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Real life isn’t found in saving your life; it’s found in losing it for the sake of the gospel. When you invest your life in kingdom initiatives, you find what you were truly made for.
Seeking the Shalom of Our City
We are the relational presence of God dispersed into every neighborhood. We have identified four pillars of need in our city where we want to focus our energy:
- Homelessness: A multifaceted and huge issue in our community.
- Anti-Human Trafficking: It’s happening right here in our backyard.
- Education and Mentoring: Over 70% of young men in certain demographics here are growing up without a dad. Manhood is caught, not just taught.
- Foster Care: Caring for the orphan is pure and undefiled religion.
We aren’t putting on “super suits” to save the day; we are joining organizations that are already doing great work. If those four don’t grab you, find your “holy discontent.” Nehemiah’s heart broke for a city he’d never even been to. You’ll know it’s your holy discontent when the thought shifts from “somebody should do something” to “I think I want to do something.”
Overcoming Inertia
I want to close by reminding you of Newton’s Law of Inertia. An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an opposing force like friction or gravity. In a small church, it’s easy to see your impact. But the bigger a church gets, the more “drag” and “friction” there is. The tendency of a large church is to look inward.
The gravitational pull is for everyone to say, “That’s great, Pastor, but somebody else will do it.” If we all do that, we stop being a church and start being a club. But we are the ekklesia. We are the people of God putting His relationality on display.
This is a loving nudge in the small of your back: Let’s be about it. We cannot allow inertia to set in. To our guests, we want you to be part of this movement. We need your help to be the church, establishing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Lord, we are grateful. Thank you for Your Word that encourages us to move beyond ourselves. Stir our affections and remind us of the gospel. Because of what You’ve done for us, may we respond to our generous God by being light in our city. We seek the shalom of Fresno and Clovis. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
James 1:27 (NASB)
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of [our] God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, [and] to keep oneself unstained by the world.