I salute you, Mr. organized budget number cruncher explainer guy

During our session meetings, we usually bring up some sort of budget stuff: to see how things are going financially. Looking at all the numbers, I'm usually fairly overwhelmed-not because numbers were too small-because I didn't really know what they meant.

Well, last night, I started to understand some of them. Then I realized how thankful I am that I don't have to understand them perfectly. People in the church have different gifts. While preaching and teaching are very 'up front' public gifts, every gift is just as important as the next. And when you don't have administrative gifts or abilities to run budgetary stuff, you become incredibly thankful for those who do. Churches don't work without such people.

I hate radio commercials. They are like 10 times worse than TV commercials in my opinion. But there is always an exception that proves the rule: the "Real Men of Genius" commercials. They say, "We salute you Mr. really really short basketball shorts wearer" or things like that.

They're sarcastic of course. But seriously, I do salute you Mr. organized budget number crucher explainer guy. But even more so, I salute the one who gives various gifts to His church (Eph 4). No church would survive on my gifts alone, nor yours either (though you may have more than I), nor the gifts of a few. We need them all. Yet another reason to become a regular part of a local church-though I didn't plan on making that point. Last night, I was just especially thankful for the gifts that God gives His church.