Last week I spent some time in Chicago at a NewThing Network gathering. NewThing is a network of churches and church leaders who desire to plant more churches and reach more people for Jesus.

On the plane ride back I spent some time journaling about my new dream. It is a bit to intimidating to share this, but if it gets others excited it’s probably worth it right? Here is what I wrote:

I have been frustrated lately because I’ve felt a lack of direction. I have known planting a church was what I was working towards and what I felt God calling me to do, but it seemed like I was spinning my wheels a little bit. One morning during the first main session at the NewThing event when they were talking about writing your dream on a napkin, I felt myself slipping back into thinking something like this.

“Well, I know I want to plant a church that reaches people, and of course I want to raise up other leaders to do the same. But not because I am special in any way or because I can “do church” better, but for the simple fact that we need more healthy churches to reach more people. Especially in an area like Raleigh that is growing so quickly. And I’m willing, I’m willing to do something about it.”

Yes there are certain ways I want to do things and plans and specific passions I have, but it’s driven by the fact that we need more churches where people can live in community with one another. Not because I can do anything better than anyone else.

And this is when I felt the Lord say, “that’s not good enough.”

I realized the problem wasn’t God not giving me direction. The problem was me. I wasn’t asking God for what could be, my mentality instead was simply to fill a need, that need being more healthy churches.

But that’s not good enough.

So I carried the napkin they gave us for the rest of the day having no idea what to put on it. What was my dream? Not what can I do to fill a need, but what is it that I would love to be a part of?

And it couldn’t be something easy, that wouldn’t be good enough either. It needed to be something only God could do.

So during the last session of the day I still had my blank napkin. I knew at the end they were going to pray over our napkins, but I figured mine would be blank for now and I would try to think of something later.

But with about 15 minutes left in the last session I simply felt I should pick up my napkin that was on the floor near my feet. I put it in my lap and told God whatever I wrote would probably be embarrassing to tell people, but that I wanted to give myself to something that only God could do. And then I wrote this:

My dream is to be a part of a movement that is actively reaching 50,000 by the year 2040.

Now that doesn’t mean I want to lead a church of that size. I don’t, and I honestly couldn’t even if I wanted to. But if we can plant a church that God uses to reach people with the Gospel, that creates environments where Jesus changes us, and then sends people out to do the same thing, 50,000 people can be reached.

Churches that plant churches over a period of time will always reach more people with the love of Christ than one church or one leader can, always. And I want to see God do just that.

My dream is to plant a church that produces disciples that reach 50,000 people in 25 years. That dream seems to be a little bit more exciting that just filling a need.

The first step to any God sized dream is to bring it to him and petition for it. So that’s what we are going to do, we are going to pray. Pray for Raleigh. Pray for more people in Raleigh to be reached for Jesus. Pray for churches and church plants to reach more people in our area.

Tuesday night, January 5th, we are doing just that. If you would like to join us, you can find more info here and let us know if you plan to attend!

I recently wrote about how you can save thousands of dollars a year.

How you manage your money is important. Because either you manage it, or it manages you. And debt not only causes stress and can strain on a marriage, it also prohibits us from living a generous life that Christ calls us to live.

The reality is, making more money will not make you more generous. In fact, statistics show that the more money you make, the less amount you give. In 1933 at the height of the great depression, per-member giving in churches was at 3.3%. Today its at 2.5%.

We are much more affluent now compared to then, and we are less generous with what we have.

When it comes to making a budget, where to you even begin? Now I’m not a financial expert, but I can share how Christina and I organize ours. But it is important to remember that it will take a few months of estimating what each line item should be.

So my recommendation is to pick a number as best you can, and adjust it accordingly. Budgeting does take a little more work as you figure it out the first few months, but once you are up and running, it takes less than a minute at the end of the day to update what you spent.

Practically you can use a simple program like Microsoft Excel. My wife and I use Google Sheets (which works the same way). The benefit of Google Sheets is that you can view and update it anywhere through your Google account, so you can access it on any computer and on your phone.

Here is a screenshot of the line items in our current budget. We have added some and taken some away as life changes, but many of these line items carry over to most people. Click on the image to see it enlarged.

The “Fixed Budget” are things that we know will cost the same every single month. The “Variable Budget” are things that vary. The goal is to not go over on any of the variable budget line items, but these are not concrete expenses so that can fluctuate a little.

You will also notice our middle column Detailed Account Spending. This is where we track everything we spend. If we spend $20 at Chili’s, then we put Chili’s under “Purchase,” “Eating Out” under “Category,” and “$20” under “amount spent.”

This way if there is a discrepancy in how much we have spent in “Total to Date,” we can look at our “Detailed Account Spending” to make sure everything matches up. You aren’t budgeting if you aren’t tracking every penny you spend. And if you don’t tell your money where to go, it just goes.

I added a couple of examples so you can see how it works. Notice how there are two instances of “Eating Out,” and the “Total to Date” reflects both of those purchases. You can also see how the phone bill is a fixed number.

The truth is, having a budget means having to say no to certain things, and that isn’t always fun. But not having to worry when you have car trouble, or having the savings to go on a vacation is more than worth the trouble.

All of this, goes back to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Have any questions about this post? Click here to connect with me on Facebook and let’s chat!

Seriously. That wasn’t just a catchy title to get you to click the link.

Research shows that about 32% of people are already doing it, but that seems a lot higher than what my experience has been. Which, if I’m just going to be honest, means there is a good chance you are not doing it.

Here is how I know. From time to time in conversations with people the topic of finances will come up. And whenever it is shared that my wife and I have a budget that we really stick too, I often hear some variation on why the person I am talking to doesn’t have a budget, which is usually followed by some justification about how they are still smart with their finances and that they don’t spend more than they should.

Which leads me to two observations I always have.

1. People seem to get really defensive that they don’t have a budget. Which I think means that everyone knows it would be better to have one.
2. If you aren’t tracking what you spend, you actually have no idea at all that you aren’t spending too much.

I really don’t mean that in a condescending manner, but every single person who starts and sticks to a budget will tell you, “I had no idea we were spending so much on ____ (usually a number of things).”

Growing up my dad would teach a lot of financial classes. So he had plenty of stories to share of people in horrendous amounts of debt and how they got to be there. Which means he also had a lot of stories of people who turned their entire lives around by getting out of debt. All because they did one thing.

They made a budget.

Now I get that it takes work and you don’t even know how to categorize how much you spend on what. And the truth is, is that it will take a few months of tracking everything to know how much to allot for each category.

But what if I told you that you could save literally thousands of dollars a year for 3 minutes of work every other day? Who in the world would say no to that?

If you were to save $1,500 a year by making and following a budget, and spent 3 minutes every other day (182 days a year) updating your budget (and it honestly doesn’t even take that long), that would take 9 hours out of your year.

Does 9 hours sound like a lot? It doesn’t if you do the math.

That comes to $166 dollars an hour.

Who wouldn’t want that job?!

Here is why I say all of this: Jesus is clear, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). And if you are not telling your money where to go, your money owns you, whether you want it to be that way or not.

For Christians, this is important for two reasons. One, we own nothing. God can take and give whatever he pleases. It’s like we are kids getting an allowance. It’s really our parent’s money that they are giving us. It’s simply poor stewardship not to know what you are doing with God’s money.

Secondly, you can’t be generous if you have no money. You just can’t. And if the reason you have no money is because you don’t manage it well (not because you lost a job, had a crisis, etc.), you cannot live a generous life that God has called all believers too.

I guarantee you, if you work a full-time job and are not tracking what you spend, you easily losing over $1,500 a year on things you wouldn’t miss at all if you cut out, you just don’t know it.

Think I’m wrong? There is only one way to find out.

Make a budget.

It not only honors God, but reduces a lot of stress in your life as well. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Question: What could you do with an extra $1,500 a year?

I have written a follow up to this post on how to practically build a budget. Read it here.

“You’ll be stronger because of this.”

“Imagine how much good will come from this.”

These are some popular phrases we use that cause me to cringe and shake my head. Often by well meaning people trying to comfort somebody in the midst of suffering.

In fact, many Christians say things like this. Using the following verse like Romans for why they think whatever bad may be happening, good will always outweigh it.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

-Romans 8:28

People assume especially if you love God, of course it’s better that you are going through what you are going through. In fact, you would have missed out if you hadn’t experienced this thing!

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

First, God allows everything to happen, he doesn’t cause everything to happen. We live in a broken, fallen, and sinful world. God is not broken, fallen, or sinful. So when broken, fallen, and sinful things happen it is not of his doing, it is of his allowing.

So yes, you may be in the midst of a really hard time, but that is not necessarily because it is the best thing for you, it could just be because we live in an imperfect world.

My dad’s suicide is a really good example.

It was not God’s will for my Dad to end his life. That decision has caused a lot of pain and suffering for me and my family.

Now it is true that I have learned a lot of things from that experience, many of which have made me a better person and brought me closer to Jesus. As someone is not an inherently empathetic or sympathetic person, I now grieve much more with others when they are in difficult times than I ever would have if I had not experience so much grief myself. I’ve learned things I never would have learned how I not lost my Dad in that way.

However, by losing my Dad, I’ve missed out on a lot of other things. Things I would argue far outweigh what I learned my losing him.

Since I was 19 years old and for the rest of my life, I have missed out seeking his advice. I have missed out on asking him questions about marriage, about raising a family, and about every single adult decision that I have and will face for the first time.

I have and will miss out on enjoying his presence. On watching sports with him and experiencing life with him. I lost so many things when my Dad died.

Here’s the reality. Though God allows terrible things to happen, the good news is that he doesn’t waste anything. So while losing my father has had more of a negative impact on my life than a positive one, God in his goodness still will use that experience to bring good in my life in spite of the bad. And hopefully my story will be an encouragement to others in a way it wouldn’t have been otherwise.

We also have to remember that “our good” often does not mean our earthly good. Ultimately God works in all things to bring us closer to him if we let him. And the best thing God could ever do was send Jesus to die on our behalf so we could have a relationship with him.

So in that sense yes, God can use everything for our good. And even in bad things, God can use it to bring us good in spite of how much we lost. But that doesn’t take away from the pain we experienced along the way.

A final note to those suffering. The reason you are experiencing what you experiencing may be because first and foremost we live in a fallen world, not because God is punishing you and wants to teach you something. There are always things we can learn, but please know that God cares for and loves you and wants good for his children.

Christina and I are taking our next big step in ministry! We’re excited about it and (if we’re being honest) maybe a little nervous. But it’s time, and it’s also time to let you all know about it, and how you can even be a part of it.

Background

I grew up in and around the church my whole life, and I loved God deeply, though I had no plans to work in ministry as an adult. All that changed when I was 19; the year my father died.

Shortly after the death of my father, and after speaking at his funeral and sharing the gospel there, I couldn’t shake the compelling vision or calling of doing anything other than pastoring. It became clearer and clearer to me that the Spirit was changing my plans, heart, and desires, and leading in me in a new direction—not just towards ministry in general, but church planting and pastoring specifically.

My heart and passion were and are for making solid, growing disciples of Jesus Christ. So I changed my college major to Religion, wrote and published a book, and began serving in greater ministry leadership and speaking capacities. I completed my B.A. in Religion, married my beautiful wife, Christina–who was working on staff
at a large church at the time–and then went on to complete my Master’s in Religion as well.

Residency apprenticeship

So what does that mean for us now? We have submitted to the Stadia Church Planting Network which will provide me with the practical training, accountability, leadership, and resources necessary to equip me as a church-planting pastor. Joining with Stadia includes participating in a one-year full-time residency apprenticeship with a local church to receive hands on biblical training and practical, real life ministry experience.

To do this, I will be partnering with Lifepointe Church, a multi-site church in the Triangle area which is a local Stadia Network church partner, from whom we will eventually be sent out to plant. And that’s the exciting news.

Our Need

However, I cannot do this without your help. The church-planting residency is a 1-year full-time self-funding program of which I have to raise 100% of my financial support. The support needed will fund us now through September of next year. Our goal is to be almost fully funded by August, so there is great urgency in this.

Partner with us

For our full story and lots more info regarding both our 1-year residency and future church planting plans, please CLICK HERE. Would you please consider adding your support to the residency-support funds we must raise? If you have been encouraged by or enjoyed my blog in any way, or simply would like to be a part of what God is going to do with and through us in this next year, please give (tax-deductible) by CLICKING HERE. (Note: Make sure to change the giving reference from “General Fund” to “Leadership Resident – Dodson.”) 100% of every donation will go directly to Christina and I.

Also, if you do decide to give, please let me know so we can put it into our records, and so we can keep you up to date throughout the year with how things are going. And know that both one-time and re-occurring gifts would be appreciated. If you have any specific questions, or just want to be on our newsletter list to receive updates on what is going on with the residency and our church plant, don’t hesitate to contact me (dylanjdodson@gmail.com).

That’s the way we like to define ourselves in our culture today. It sounds “open minded” and like you are willing to change your stance on things if necessary.

It also gives room for those who honestly don’t consider God much at all, but are fearful others will judge them for it. While at the same time not wanting others to think they believe in something that they really don’t (like a certain religion).

And this “spiritual” mentality has bled in into the Church. Nominally committed Christians can keep the “Christian” label without really having to follow Jesus. Or we hear things like “I like Jesus’ teachings” or that the Bible says we should love one another.

And so many view the Bible as another self-help book. Something you read only time to time (if at all), maybe only to say that you read it.

So much so, that many Christians don’t (at least in practice) view the Bible as really that important when it comes to their relationship with God. As long as we listen to worship music from time to time, or go to church, or maybe even a small group or Bible study. As long as we do these things, we don’t really need to spend time in God’s word.

And besides, many of us aren’t sure it can be fully trusted anyway. We maybe cool with what it says about Jesus, but we aren’t sold on everything else.

But here is the irony of it all. When we say we just want to love like Jesus and be the most like Jesus that we can be, yet neglect reading and studying our Bibles, we are showing that we really don’t know what Jesus was (and is) like.

In Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4 we see that after Jesus fasted for 40 days, 40 days, Satan came to tempt Jesus. Satan tempted Jesus three times. Yet every time Jesus was tempted, he responded not with positive thinking about himself, not with doing whatever would make him happy, not even with some sort of worship song.

Jesus responded to each of his temptations with Scripture. He read it and he studied it.

When we neglect God’s word (which if you believe the Bible to be God’s word, and don’t read it, that’s quite paradoxical), and simply rely on sermons, or talking about God with others, or worship music, or anything else really, we really aren’t being like Jesus and we are missing out on the best opportunity to learn and grow in our faith.

We need God’s truth to live the way he calls us to live. But if we willfully neglect reading his truth (for those of us who have access to it), how should we expect to grow in godliness and represent Jesus in our daily lives, not too mention in the difficult times?

As I read Luke 4 this morning I was convicted of the need and importance of reading God’s word and also believing God’s word. Jesus did both of these things.​

About a year ago I heard a prominent Christian leader whom I respect explain his thoughts on depression. He said that he did not believe true believers in Christ could really be depressed because our hope is ultimately in Christ. He talked about how Christians understand that this life can be difficult, but that in the end we know that Christ will not give us more than we can handle, and that we know in the end that Christ will prevail.

Therefore, no committed Christian should suffer from depression because we know there is more to life than our present circumstances. It did not make sense to him that a Christian could be depressed.

He was wrong.

Now for those familiar with my story, you know that I lost my father to suicide in 2009. However, this is not about him. If I were to be talking about my father then what I am saying here would be more speculation than knowledge. I’m talking about me.

2009 was a horrible year in my life. Five people I knew died in 2009, and obviously none were as difficult to deal with as my father’s death. In the fall I headed back to UNC-Wilmington for my sophomore year, hoping this would help me heal and move forward.

Unfortunately it didn’t. Many other things went wrong when school started back up. I got to the point where I feared each day wondering what bad thing would happen next. I was not happy, I was internally bitter at every single person who seemed happy, and I thought I would never feel anywhere close to “normal” ever again.

I was depressed.

I thought I hid it well, but then people I barely even knew began asking me if anything was wrong. I must have been asked that at least twice a week by various people for about two months. I still am not sure how most of these people could tell I was “different,” they barely even knew me.

I knew many people were praying for me and my family. I was surprised by the people who knew what I was dealing with and truly cared. I was also surprised by some who I thought would care more but hardly did anything.

But how does this prove that this prominent Christian leader was wrong in his views on depression? Because I have never been closer to Jesus in my life than I was those three months that I was depressed.

I read the entire bible through in about 70 days. I prayed more often and for longer amounts of time. I would be so upset that I would hand write chapters of the bible on notebook paper. I read the entire biblical books of Isaiah and Jeremiah in one day. That was 118 pages of the bible in one day. Bible pages have small print and two columns per page. That’s a lot of reading.

And I was depressed.

Never once did I question God’s goodness in all I went through that year. I never questioned why this happened to me or even if God existed. The only thing I did question was the power or prayer. And through it all, I knew that God was still God and that God was still good. I knew that Jesus was still greater than what I was going through and that he can bring good out of any situation.

I knew all of that. I know God cared, I knew God loved me, I knew God was in control. But I couldn’t help it, I was still depressed.

By the end of the year I began to come out of it by the grace of God. I was still a long ways away from feeling any kind of “normal” again, but I was slowly getting better.

If you are a follower of Christ and for whatever reason have fallen into depression trust me, it will get better. I like the following quote that says,

It’s okay not to be okay, but it’s not okay to stay there.

Pain and grief were emotions created by God, you should not feel guilty for feeling them. Being depressed does not mean you no longer love Jesus or that Jesus no longer loves you.

If you need help, get help. Do not stay “stuck.”

And to the prominent Christian leader, and no doubt others, who believe that firm believers in Christ should never be depressed, you’re wrong. I’ve been there. I did not chose it, and I did all I could to get out of it. But for a while there was nothing I could do to change it.

So yes, Christians can suffer from depression. And in the words of David Crowder who wrote a song I listened to over and over in my depression:

In joy and pain. In sun and rain. You’re the same.

Oh, You never let go.

You never let go.

You never let go.