Louie Giglio - Cultivating a Lifestyle of Generosity
There was a book a few years ago that became a major leadership book called «Start With Why.» The book essentially stated that unless you know why you’re doing something, you don’t really need to proceed with it. Now, I don’t know about you, but in my demographic, the answer to «why» when I was growing up was «because I said so.» That was the answer back in the day, and it was good enough. But today, we don’t want to have a «just because I said so» discussion. We want to ask, «Why are we, as a house, giving above what we normally give so that we can go beyond where we normally go?» So, let’s begin with why we might not be doing that today.
I loved the message last Sunday from Dr. Crawford. Did you love his talk? A few of you did; that was a smattering. I think we could give Dr. Crawford just a little more recognition. What an incredible word! I love this guy. He is on our board, and I see this happen all the time. He can convey more in a sentence than I can say in four paragraphs. He opens his talk with a front-and-center idea, saying to us, «God doesn’t need your money.» I thought, «Exactly! Of course He doesn’t need our money.» He has, as Psalm 50 says, the cattle on a thousand hills.
Notice this: if you’ve heard that phrase before, it comes from this incredible Psalm in which God dialogues with His people about their offerings and their gifts. In verse 8, He says, «I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings.» So they were bringing offerings to God, and He is saying, «I’m not going to push back on that. But I need you to understand that if your motive for bringing the sacrifice is that you think I need it, then you’ve missed the point altogether.» He unpacks that for them, saying, «I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens; for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Imagine that! God is saying, 'I’ve got everything already. I know every bird in the mountains and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry, '—now He’s not hungry, but He’s making a point—'I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it.'» He has the cattle on a thousand hills, and He doesn’t need our money.
So that begs the question: if God doesn’t need our money, then why are we giving above and beyond today? There are two main reasons that I want us to consider together. The first one is this: the mandate of God on Earth does need our money. The mission of God on Earth does need our money.
The last command of Jesus Christ on Earth was this: «All authority has been given to me in heaven and on Earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I’ve commanded you. And behold, I will be with you until the end of the age.» The last command of Jesus was to go—go where? Go to every single person on planet Earth and tell them the story of Jesus. This is the most essential enterprise on the planet today, and it’s expensive. It requires us to lean in with our resources to fulfill the purposes of God.
Notice how Paul expresses this in Romans 10: «But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.» That is the word of faith we are proclaiming. If you want to know how to go from death to life spiritually, how to be saved, it’s right here in the Word of God. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. How are you saved? Not by works, not by our effort, not by our good deeds. You’re saved by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in faith in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. That is how we are saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, «Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.» Amen! For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile; the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him. For everyone—hello! —who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Oh come on, Passion City! This is the mission! Yes! This is what Jesus has left us to do because every person, no matter who they are or where they’re coming from, who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But then look at what He says about the «how.» How can they call on the one they have not believed in? How can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? How can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, «How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.»
What we’re rallying around today is this idea: it’s the sending part of the equation. We know the mission is to preach the gospel to the whole world. This is the most essential thing going on on planet Earth right now. But how can people be saved if someone isn’t sent? And how can someone be sent if there aren’t the resources to send them? I was preaching at Passion City Church DC last week, and one of our new team members highlighted some of the things they’ve done in DC this summer during the giving section of the gathering. She spoke about an ice cream meetup they had in Lincoln Park, where a bunch of folks from the church gathered. During the meetup, one girl wandered in from the community. She saw the free ice cream and came up to take one. She started talking to the person on our team and asked, «Where are y’all from?» They replied, «We’re part of Passion City Church DC; we’re just out here meeting folks in the community.» She said, «Oh, church? Yeah, I’m not into the church thing. My boyfriend is, though; I wish he was here because he would love meeting all of y’all.» She stuck around, spent some time talking to some of the door holders from PCC DC, and about an hour later, she circled back and found the person she had initially met. She said, «I just had the most incredible conversation with the people from your church. It was such a meaningful conversation.» In that moment, we were able to tell her when church is, show her where the Lincoln Theater is on U Street, and invite her to come and be a part of Passion City Church.
I don’t know if she has come yet; I don’t know where her story will end up. But I do know that it all happened because of a free ice cream cone. And here’s the thing about that ice cream cone: it wasn’t free. We are not subsidized by the ice cream cone company. We don’t have a secret deal with them; we had to pay for those ice cream cones. I was able to say to the young congregation—60% of them in DC are under 30—thank you for paying for the ice cream cones! Can anyone get excited about paying for an ice cream cone? Because I’m not kidding. Who knows how her story will play out in heaven? If it ends up being a story of eternal life, that ice cream cone will have been a major part of how God found her. Sometimes the sending involves literally sending a person to an outpost on the other side of the globe, but sometimes the sending is as simple as an ice cream cone in Lincoln Park. It’s God’s way of touching someone’s life, and I love that we are a part of that. We have the privilege of giving into the most critical thing happening on Earth. I pray that we will see a surge of resources pouring into the idea of Jesus being lifted up to all people.
It’s been a crazy month in the political world. First, we had an assassination attempt, and at the end of that weekend, an astonishing amount of money poured into that campaign—record-breaking amounts in a very short period of time. It wasn’t just big hitters; it was people from all demographics giving what they could. Then, a few weeks later, we had a change on the ticket in the opposing party, and in the next few days, an incredible record-breaking amount of money flowed into that campaign as well—not just from big hitters but from people across the board giving what they could, smashing records in both instances. Why? Because people in America believe this is a very critical moment. I ask you today, what could be more critical than the entire world hearing about the Savior? What is more important than the whole Earth knowing about Jesus?
I pray we will see record-breaking, mind-shifting participation from people. It won’t be just the heavy hitters; it will be everyone doing what they can. We are setting, if you will, heavenly benchmarks that we haven’t seen before. We need warriors in the giving space who ask, «What do we need to send people with the story of Jesus? What do we need to create a space where someone walks in and thinks, 'A, it’s beautiful, ' and 'B, I felt welcomed and safe in this place? ' What do we need to keep making space for people to hear about Jesus? Just tell me what we need, because I’m all in on the most critical thing happening right now in Atlanta and on planet Earth.»
That’s why we are giving above and beyond today: because our mission is the greatest mission of all. The second reason we’re giving today is that your generosity writes you into the story of God. I love how Psalm 50 ends. I’ve quoted «cattle on a thousand hills» many times in my life, but I had never really studied Psalm 50 from beginning to end until recently. When I did, I loved this landing point: «He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me.» This is the Lord speaking back to the people. «And he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.» Not only does the sacrifice honor me, but it also prepares the way for me to move into that person’s life in a deeper way with the blessing of God. This blessing is not limited to financial gain but encompasses God’s favor on a life for generations to come.
Interestingly, when I dug further into this verse, I realized it emphasizes that God wants our hearts. He said, «Your sacrifices of thankfulness, when they come from a life that says you can have it all, lead you into the blessing of God and honor Him.» What He’s saying is that it doesn’t matter what you put in the envelope; if your heart’s not in it, you can keep it because I have the cattle on a thousand hills. So, if you put a million bucks in here but harbor bitterness in your heart towards your neighbor, you can keep it. I want your heart. I want your life. I want everything that is in you as a thank offering to me. He says when you bring me that offering that honors me, it positions you to be blessed by God, allowing you to move into the fullness—not to earn salvation from God, but to embrace the fullness of salvation in your life.
Your giving, generosity, and thank offerings write you into the story of God, and we’ve seen that already in these first few days of Above and Beyond. The first gift I heard about for Above and Beyond was from a family in our church. They have means, and their gift for today is $390,000. They have the capacity to make a gift like that in such a moment. But we also heard about a single mom who wrote on her card and sent it in, saying, «This gift in this envelope is all I have saved towards a deposit on an apartment.» This single mom contributed $480 as her part of Above and Beyond. I just love that in the very first few days, there were gifts of $390,000 and $480.
It highlights again that generosity is not about the amount; it’s about our hearts. It’s like the widow in scripture who put in two small coins. Jesus acknowledged her, and heaven applauded. So, think about that today: $480 from a single mom can ignite heaven into thunderous applause today. It’s not about the amount; $390,000 can spark the same response from heaven, but whatever we bring from a heart wanting to be obedient to God and to express gratitude to Him will elicit applause from heaven and write us into the story of God.
We have such an incredible story here. Passion City Church’s story is a story of miracles. We’ve told that story many times here. Some of you at Cumberland have been to this location; some of you have not. But you probably know what’s going on over here in TR and that there’s a 515 location as well. Some of you know that, while some of you may not, but this is where it all began. This is why there’s a DC location, why there’s a Cumberland location, and why there’s a 515 location from right here. This building itself was a miracle. I’ve told you this story many times. We moved around the city for the first couple of years, meeting in various venues like the Tabernacle downtown, GAC, and the Cobb Energy Center. But we wanted a home.
The first week that Shell and I sensed the Lord saying to plant Passion City Church, we’d been praying about it and talking about it for a long time. But at a conference we attended in another country, it all clicked, and God put it together for us: this was going to happen. We knew we were planting a church by the grace of God in Atlanta, Georgia. However, we had no one to tell, as we were in another country that entire time. There was, however, another speaker at that conference— a pastor from Atlanta. I didn’t know him, but I knew of him. Toward the end of the week, I felt I just needed to ask someone for their blessing. That’s how life works, by the way. When you set out to do something, find someone ahead of you and ask for their blessing. Especially if you’re planting a church in a city, find someone who is already building a church there and ask them for their blessing.
I didn’t know this person, but I approached him at the end of the week, saying, «Shell and I feel like the Lord wants us to plant a church in Atlanta. You’re a pastor in Atlanta and have a lot of influence there, so I’m asking for your blessing.» I was hoping for a «Wow, that’s amazing! God bless you!» but was also fearful that he would ask, «How close is it going to be to my church?» or «When are you going to be planting?» and let me remind you that Atlanta already has a lot of great churches. But here’s what he said to me. The person was Jensen Franklin, by the way, in case you’re curious. He said, «I know right where your church is supposed to be.» I was like, «Really?» We just figured it out a few days prior, and we weren’t actively looking for a location yet! Then he said, «You know when you go up 85, right before you get to the 400 split, there’s a huge flagpole that sticks up? Right there is where your church needs to be.» I couldn’t believe it! We were going to put one of our churches there, but we decided on a different location, and he suggested we take on that flagpole location. I thought, «Okay, thank you! I know we’re planning a church, and I know there’s a big flagpole, so this is good so far.»
We came home, and a few weeks passed. I drove over to check out the flagpole, the one I was thinking about off 885. It was different from the flagpole he mentioned. When I got to my flagpole, I couldn’t see anything that looked like what he explained. Months went by before we decided we needed to find the right flagpole. We called back to ask for the address to the flagpole, plugged it into the GPS, and it led us to the location. We drove down, got off 400, turned right on Sidney Marcus, and I thought, «No, this isn’t the right way.» Sure enough, we rounded the curve on Garson Drive and spotted the largest flagpole I had ever seen out in front of what was once an abandoned Home Depot Expo Design Center.
Most of you know this story: it had gone out of business, but the PGA Superstore had come in and put a wall down the middle of the building, about where our main hallway is now. On the other side, you could buy your golf clubs, shirts, shoes, and tennis rackets. Sadly, that went out of business too, and now only the flagpole stood there. We had the opportunity to make a deal and get this building, but that deal came to a halt, and we had to walk away from it. The people who owned the building planned to construct a condo tower right when the market crashed in 2008, and the entire project fell apart.
When we arrived, there was a chain-link fence around the property, graffiti tagging on the building, and a sinkhole in the parking lot. The deal we needed to make fell through, so we walked away. Then a day or a day and a half passed, and they called back, saying they were willing to make the deal we wanted. From that moment on, it has been a miracle. It has been a miracle that we are in this place. Thank you, Pastor Jensen Franklin, for pointing out that flagpole, because we are sitting under it right now.
We were having a financial oversight team meeting—not in here, as the building was still left as it was before—but we met on the PGA Superstore side. We were all sitting around a folding table, along with some of the pioneers helping us figure out how to establish Passion City Church. You can see it in the picture. Interestingly, they had this golf gallery on the wall on one side—there’s a blown-up photograph. This is our warehouse space now, and if you’re in there and look over your shoulder, don’t be freaked out, because those people are all on the corner of the wall! If you were testing your putter, you had an audience to watch! I don’t know why the lady has tape over her face, by the way; it’s not some kind of privacy issue.
In this space was also a place where you could test your tennis rackets. As you can see, there were tennis balls laying around the whole court. At one of the meetings, Bob Day came to the table, picked up one of the tennis balls, and took a Sharpie and wrote on it. As we discussed how to proceed, he placed the tennis ball in the center of the table and proclaimed, «Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.» That became an emblem for us. What’s the step? What are we believing God for? Well, we’re trusting the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills.
We’re moving with the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills. We’re moving with a God who is writing an incredible story, and that’s our story. Our story at Passion City Church, from that moment to now, is filled with miracle after miracle after miracle. If we had three days together, we could recount all the miracles of how God has made a way and demonstrated that He has it all—the cattle, the hills, all the creatures of the earth. If I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you, because everything belongs to me. Trust me, follow me, believe in me, and watch me do a miracle.
That’s what God is inviting you into today. We have a miracle story, and I believe after this Above and Beyond season, we’re going to have another miracle story! God wants you to have a miracle story. I love when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, whose life was chaotic. He offered her living water that would never end. She was so amazed that she went back and told everyone in the town. Look what happened! Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony. Her testimony was, «He told me everything I ever did.» It may sound like a terrible testimony, but it just showed her that He knows all the bad stuff about me, and yet He’s still here, reaching out to me. He’s still offering me eternal life.
So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. Because of His words, many more became believers! You don’t want to be the few that didn’t believe, right? But many more did, and they said to the woman, «We no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.» Their story went from «I heard about what He did for you» to «Now I’ve heard for myself, and this is what He has done for me.»
Ultimately, I believe this is the «why» of Above and Beyond. Our story is a story of a God who has the cattle on a thousand hills. When we look back, we see a transition from nothing to everything. We didn’t have a sponsor, a gifting organization, or even a dollar in our bank account when we started Passion City Church. The very first gift we received came from another church on the other side of the world when a pastor learned we were planting a church. He said, «Great! Here’s $50,000; we just want to be a part of that.» That same group—sitting around that same table with that same tennis ball in the center of the table—said, «Let’s give it away!»
We gave $25,000 to a church plant in Atlanta that was just starting and $25,000 to a church plant on the other side of the earth that we knew was getting off the ground. We said, «We just want to be a conduit of the generosity of God.» It’s a miracle story! Even over the next few days, some of it will be ice cream cones. But 10% of everything we give during Above and Beyond will go to our partners, both globally and locally, in DC, in Atlanta, and around the world. We have specific partners in Trill, Cumberland, 515, DC, and additional organizations that are doing phenomenal work on planet Earth. And 10% of everything we give in this season goes through Passion City Church to other places on Earth that are sending people to share the story of Jesus everywhere and to everybody.
Our story is a miracle story. So why should you give? Because the «why» turns our story into your story! It won’t just be the miracle that was Above and Beyond at Passion City Church; it will become the miracle that is Above and Beyond in YOUR story. God doesn’t just want us to have a story; He wants YOU to have a story, and He’s inviting you in today.
When you leave today, every family will receive a tennis ball. We didn’t write anything on it because I want to let you write down what you’re believing the God who has the cattle on a thousand hills for. Maybe you’ll write «a thousand» on your tennis ball, claiming faith in a God who provides. Perhaps you want to trust God for a specific amount to put a deposit on an apartment. By the way, a handful of people knew about your gift, just a few. But a family in our church, aware of your situation, has said they will cover your deposit—paid in full—for you and your child right now!
Maybe for you, it’s the initials of a coworker or friend you want to see come to know Jesus. Perhaps it’s the address of somewhere important to you that you are trusting God for. Everyone will get a free tennis ball on the way out. However, those tennis balls weren’t free; they were cheap! I’ll tell you that if you buy a bunch of tennis balls from Amazon, they’ll deliver them in four or five vans. They’re pretty cheap, but they are not free. They are free to you!
I hope many of those tennis balls will end up in cup holders like that one did back in the day. That one made appearances at staff team meetings for several years. I hope yours will be somewhere prominent, reminding you that God is writing a great story!