Pastor Brandon

3rd Quarter Update

2010-10-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

By: Pastor Brandon Balkenbush

Late Summer and Early Fall has been a season of much excitement, anticipation, and amazing evidences of God’s Grace. It has been awesome to see Jesus work through His people – the dedication of our leaders and volunteers is simply amazing.

On Saturday, August 7^th we had a BBQ/Cleanup Day/Baptism at Wingfield Park. We dunked 27 people in the Truckee River and were able to assist the City of Reno in making Wingfield Park a cleaner place.

We have been growing rapidly and on Sunday, September 12^th we added a second morning gathering, which was nearly full the first day. Our worship gathering times are now at 9:00am, 11:00am, 5:00pm, and 7:00pm.

We finished the fund raising for our new building on Sunday, September 19^th, and over $200,000 was raised. We genuinely thank all those who gave sacrificially to raise these funds – more unbelieving people will be exposed to the gospel because of your generosity. It has been amazing to see God provide us with exactly what he wants us to have.

On Thursday September 30^th we received certificate of occupancy at our new downtown building. Our primary worship gathering location was moved to 445 S. Virginia on Sunday, October 3^rd - our official grand opening will be on Sunday, October 24^th. As for the parking – there is some parking available on the East side of the building fronting S. Virginia St. – this parking area is primarily reserved for handicap, young mothers, and anyone who has a legitimate need to park directly adjacent to the building. The primary parking area is in the parking garage to the North of the building – you must enter from Sierra St. and Exit onto S. Virginia St.

Pastor Harvey has been preaching through I Corinthians and is currently going through a series called Sex, Singleness, and Marriage. If you want to have a biblical understanding of these topics be sure to regularly attend one of our 4-Worship gatherings – if you’ve missed any of the sermons, you can download the podcasts here: http://www.lsreno.com/podcast.html.

Our next Covenant Membership class will be held on Sunday, October 24^th at 2:00 at our downtown campus. We encourage all those who are interested in becoming a member to attend. To learn more about Covenant Membership click here.

I’m excited to see what God is going to do through this next season at Living Stones. Pray for God’s Mission to continue moving forward and for protection against the evil one. Praise Jesus for the work He’s doing.

MID SUMMER UPDATE: BAPTISMS, BUILDING, PRAYER…

2010-08-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had a BBQ/Cleanup Day/Baptism at Wingfield Park. We dunked 27 people in the Truckee River and were able to assist the City of Reno in making Wingfield Park a cleaner place.

Last week we held prayer events with our community groups meeting each evening at the new building downtown. We gave tours off the new facility, prayed for God’s provision, and prayed for the future mission of reaching the City of Reno with the Gospel from our downtown campus.

The tenant improvements for the new building are moving forward quickly (though getting a building permit from the City took longer then expected). We’re currently on pace to make the move in early October, but delays are possible.

We finished week 4 of the downtown registry fund raising just under 40% (or $61,000 of $161,000 needed). We are very close to being on track and are encouraged by the sacrificial giving – we need the generous giving to continue.

Please be praying for our Guatemala Mission Team. They left August 4th and will be returning August 14^th. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel with those they’re with and their continued health and safety.

Last Sunday Pastor Harvey preached on I Corinthians 4:8-21 – If you want to be in leadership – you need to submit to leadership. The message was excellent - listen to the podcast if you missed it - http://www.lsreno.com/podcast.html. We’ll be continuing through I Corinthians during the fall months - much of which will be on the sexual immorality of the Corinthian Church and how it applies to our Church in Reno.

Brian Howard (a pastor from Sojourn Church in Louville Kentucky and part of the Acts 29 Network - http://www.acts29network.org/) will be visiting Living Stones and Preaching on Sunday, August 26^th. He will also be meeting with the Elders to discuss future vision/partnership of planting new churches through the Acts 29 Network.

Financial Stewardship

2010-07-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

Good financial stewardship is a lifestyle the scriptures clearly call us to live by. However, based on statistics, Americans and even Americans who call themselves Christians are not doing well when it comes to managing their money.

General American Statistics

· 70% of people in America live paycheck to paycheck. - The Wall Street Journal

· 17% of Americans do not have enough savings to cover 1 week without a paycheck - USA Today

· The estimated average credit-card debt per US card-holding households is $9,312. - Time Magazine

· The personal savings rate in the US has now fallen to -2.2% - meaning people are spending more than they make — the lowest in 60 years. - The Department of Commerce

· The average American has 2.7 bank credit cards, 3.8 retail credit cards and 1.1 debit cards, for a total of 7.6 cards per cardholder. - CardWeb.com

American Church Statistics

· Overspending: 40 percent of church members say they overspend monthly; also, 40 percent of church members pay more than $2,000 a year in interest, not including their mortgage. - The United Methodist Foundation

· Christian Wealth and World Poverty: On average, American Christians enjoy an annual household income of $42,409, while 1.2 billion of the world's poorest people must survive on $1 a day. - Sider, Ronald. The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. Books and Culture

· Giving Not a Priority: It is estimated that Christians worldwide have personal incomes totaling more than 16 trillion but give only 2 percent, to Christian causes. - International Bulletin of Missionary Research

· A Reachable Goal: "According to the Borgen Project, annual expenditures of $19 billion between now and 2015 could eliminate global starvation and malnutrition. Another $12 billion per year over that same time period could provide education for every child on earth. And an additional $15 billion each year could provide universal access to clean water and sanitation." - Stanford Social Innovation Review

What does the Bible tell us about Financial Stewardship

First - Good financial stewardship must be gospel motivated – Because Who We Are Drives What We Have

· Many of us have this perception that God calls us to give and that once we’ve done our tithing we can do whatever we want with the rest of our money. But God calls us to manage all of our money wisely (Luke 16:1-13).

· Our first question shouldn’t be - God what do you want me to do with my money – our first question should be - God what do you want me to do with your money.

· We have to recognize that all our money belongs to God (I Chronicles 29:11) says “Yours, O Lord is the greatness, The power, and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.” Everything we have belongs to God – and we need to be willing to steward our finances the way he wants us to – this is a heart issue, a Gospel issue.

· Fifteen percent of everything Jesus said is related to money and possessions. He spoke more about money and possessions than heaven and hell combined. He knows that money can be an idol and a stronghold in our lives – he wants to be first.

Specifics on managing money

· The scriptures teach that in general, going into debt is not wise - don’t buy things you can’t afford. Establish a budget within your means and stick to it.

o Proverbs 22:7

· The scriptures call us to give generously to God’s mission.

o II Cor. 9:6-7

· The scriptures teach that saving a portion of your money is wise.

o Proverbs 13:11

o Proverbs 13:22

· The scriptures call us not to worry about money.

o Matt. 6:25-33

Spiritual Gifts

2010-05-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Spiritual Gifts are part of Gods gift to His church. For a church to be moving forward effectively and efficiently, the individuals inside the church must be exercising the gifts God has given them. If anyone neglects to use their gifts, the body as a whole suffers.

Spiritual gifts are supernatural gifts given to believers at the time of their conversion. Scripture gives several lists of spiritual gifts none of which line up exactly with the other (1 Cor. 12:8-10; 12:28; 12:29-30; Romans 12;6-8). Because the lists do not line up gift for gift, scripture does not seem to support the existence of one exhaustive list. This being said, there are potentially many spiritual gifts that scripture doesn’t specifically name. Whether or not this is the case, the known spiritual gifts are certainly alive and exist in the church today.

At the beginning of the church age, namely the day of Pentacost, the Holy Spirit came upon some believers in a way that had never happened before. The Spirit came upon the apostles, giving them all of the spiritual gifts, while others seem to have been given at least one gift as a part of service to the church. The unexhaustive list of these gifts can be divided into three main categories: utterance, practical ministry, and wonderworking. Gifts of utterance would include: prophesy, teaching, wisdom, discernment of spirits, and speaking and interpreting tongues. Practical ministry gifts would include gifts such as: serving, comforting, hospitality, and compassion. Wonderworking gifts are gifts like healing and miracles.

Paul uses two Greek terms while identifying spiritual gifts: ta pneumatika and charismata. Ta pneumatika stresses the fact that the gifts are solely from the Spirit and that there is only one Spirit who is the source of all empowerment. Naturally, this ta pneumatika supports a global unity among all the gifts. The term charismata emphasizes that the gifts are entirely from God’s grace, not for an individual’s own common good but for the edification of the church. Though many gifts are certainly evidenced throughout the new testament each with a unique role and purpose, all the gifts must unite and benefit the body as a whole (Romans 12).

Spiritual gifts should not be neglected or despised, but earnestly desired (1 Cor. 12:31; 1 Cor. 14:1, 1 Tim. 4:14). Though striving for the gifts is commendable, believers need to be cautious in not overemphasizing their importance. Paul numerously emphasizes the overriding importance of loving and evangelizing all of mankind (Matt. 7:22-23; 1 Cor. 13:1-2). If love is not present, the gifts amount to nothing. Scripture tells us that the gifts are temporary, but that love is eternal, “Love never fails. But whether there are prophesies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away” (1 Cor. 13:8).

There is much debate among the church today as to whether or not some of the utterance and wonderworking gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and healing still exist. Scripture does not give a clear answer to this issue, so neither side of the debate has an extremely strong argument. The original purpose of these gifts was to authenticate the message of Christ, and get the church moving in the right direction (Acts 2). One thing to keep in mind is that even in the early church there was never a huge emphasis put on any spiritual gift. Paul says again and again that believers must put their emphasis on love, unity, and reaching the world with the gospel.

Determining your spiritual gifts takes time, development, and others speaking into your life. Bottom line - discover your gifts and use them - the church is dependent on it.

Investing

2010-05-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Introduction

The scriptures teach that both saving money and generously giving money away are good things. They specifically say that saving and investing money for a return over time is wise and that giving an inheritance to your children is admirable. The scriptures also command believers to give generously and go so far to say that money is the root of all kinds of evil and that followers of Jesus are not to store up treasures on earth but in heaven. This could be interpreted as a contradiction, but if the Bible teaches that believers should be engaging in both saving and giving, then managing your finances through doing both seems prudent.

This blog is not written to prove that saving a portion of your money and investing it is biblical (though I believe it is), but rather how to wisely invest some of the money that God has blessed you with. Further, this is written to people who have their finances in order - meaning they already have money to invest, have little or no debt, and are giving generously.

Strategy

Before talking about the specifics of investing, I should be clear to say that the practical applications I discuss are not necessarily biblical, (as the Bible doesn’t give specifics on how to invest) they are simply my own thoughts. Also, investing has risk, meaning there are no guarantees and sometimes what appear to be good decisions don’t have the desired results.

I will address the basic concept of investing through the filter of analyzing value investing principles. I have essentially taken the most important aspects of value investing and attempt to explain them in a straight forward manner. There are many ways to invest in today’s market, but the type of investing that has the longest track record for producing the best results is clearly value investing. Though some say that we’re moving into a new time period where value investing won’t be what it once was based on a fast moving global economy – I believe the proven principles of value investing apply in all markets and in all economies. Value investing is essentially buying good stocks (or portions of companies) that are selling at competitive prices and holding on to them for a very long time. If you have absolutely no time to spend on investing then you may want to simply consider paying someone else to do your investing for you which is essentially investing in mutual funds, bond funds, or any other funds that are designed to follow the major indices. This may be the best route for some, but I think it imperative to explain the fact that this type of investing will at best match the markets performance. I believe that by applying a few proven principles, beating the market by at least a small margin is achievable. That being said, I will go about explaining this strategy by examining companies from three different standpoints: Financials, Industry, and Management. To be sure, there are many other ways of researching companies, but I believe these three filters to be a thorough way of examining the most important aspects of any company.

Financials

Analyzing the financials of a company is probably the single most important aspect of value investing. The philosophy is simply – how much is a company selling for and how much are they worth? If a company is selling for less then they’re worth then buying is a good decision.

Determining how much a company is selling for is simple – simply look at the total price of the company – which is the market cap, or the price the stock is selling for and multiply that number by the number of shares outstanding.

Determining how much a company is actually worth is a much more involved process.

Book Value

Also known as total assets or shareholders equity. If the company completely liquated right now, this is how much they would be worth. Compare this number to the Market Cap - if this number is greater then 1, you have an automatic factor of safety built in – this was coined by Ben Graham (Warren Buffets Mentor). The larger the factor of safety the safer the investment is. All of this can be determined by looking at the balance sheet which every publically traded company is required to make available to the public.

Income

A company must be making money. The easiest way to determine how much money a company has recently made is by looking at the P/E ratio which is the market cap divided by the total yearly income. In general, a P/E ratio bellow 15 is good. Keep in mind that the P/E ratio is just one piece to the puzzle. A company could be doing things like paying down debt or reinvesting their earnings for future expansion which can make the P/E ratio appear much higher (or even negative) then it actually is. Also, just because a company has a low P/E ratio at the moment doesn’t mean that the trend will continue. Their industry and potential for future growth must also be analyzed.

Intrinsic Value

This is a term investors have developed that represents how much they think a company is actually worth taking everything into consideration. This is the tricky part. Often times investors will disagree on intrinsic value, where as book value and cash flow are set numbers that can’t be disagreed upon. There are a variety of ways to go about calculating the intrinsic value of a company – analyzing book value, current cash flow, and reasonable estimations on the future growth and cash flow must all be considered. Warren Buffet has been a huge advocate of making investments based upon intrinsic value. He differs somewhat from his mentor and predecessor Ben Graham, who based everything off book value and cash flow.

Evaluating a companies intrinsic value will take some time and research. There are a number of free online resources available that evaluate the intrinsic values of companies. Using these resources can be a good starting point, but remember – always do your homework and double check the numbers yourself.

Industry

In most industries the potential to make money exists, although some more lucrative than others. That being said, some industries are gradually dying. A good example of this is record stores. Since the creation of the IPOD, sales in record stores have continued to decrease with many stores going bankrupt. In general, pick stocks in industries that have the long term potential to grow. In addition, invest in industries you are familiar with and understand. Don’t over diversify and invest in areas you aren’t familiar with. Warren buffet has often been criticized for not investing in tech companies, missing the big boom of the 90’s – and his response has always been the same “I don’t invest in things I don’t understand”.

Management

Is the company being managed by solid leaders who understand their industry and what future growth will require? Determining good management takes time and research. A good way to go about this is by looking at the board of directors (specifically the CEO). On an individual level what type of experience do they have? What type of track record of success do they have? Have they led well and do they have a vision for the future?

A company’s management will determine their Economic Moat – a term coined by Warren Buffet. Economic Moat is the company’s ability to have an edge over their competitors. What sets a company apart from their competition? Why are they better? What will allow them to dominate their competition in years to come? A good recent example of this is Circuit City vs. Best Buy. Why did Circuit City dominate the 80’s and early 90’s and is bankrupt now, where as Best Buy is currently thriving while both companies are in similar markets. The answer is good management.

Recommendations

Unless you can spend the majority of your time researching and examining stocks, you simply need to have a good regular source of recommendations. There are a number of resources to choose from when determining this. Remember though, you still need to do your own homework – “don’t take someone elses word for it”. A good lead on a stock is a great thing, but you must double check and do the research yourself. This doesn’t mean spending hours and hours analyzing every company you consider, it simply means running every potential investment through a few different tests to see if they measure up to the principles you’ve developed.

Closing Thoughts

Start Researching. Believe it or not, there are many good companies that are selling for less than they are worth. After you’ve selected a solid company based on their financials, industry, and management, watch them closely and wait for a dip in price. Buy and hold on to them for a very long time. Also, don’t invest money that you’ll need in the short term. The market goes up and down and so do good stocks, in the long run however, solid companies beat that market

Above all, do not let investing consume you. Serve Jesus, give generously, be wise with your money, and do not worry – God will provide.