Citizen ATX

The holiday season is filled with family time, decorations, and...of course...food. We tend to have more than our fair share of food during this time of the year, but is there a point where we have indulged a little too much? At what point are we stepping into the sin of Gluttony? Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they begin this new series called Christmas Crossroads.

There are many great churches and many great organizations out there that could use our help. How are we to discern whether to help the church or a charity? How do we determine which charity's to give to? What is a healthy motivation for giving? Join Jonathan, Matt, and Stephen as they answer these questions and more on this final episode of Church and Money.

"Doesn't the church have enough money?" "There are plenty of other members that will give to help keep the lights on. Why do I have to give?" "What do they even do with all of that money? It's probably to pay for the pastors house." If you have been in the church long, then you've probably heard a few quotes like these. Many are skeptical about giving to the church and they have good reason to be. Any place where money changes hands provides the opportunity for fraud or malpractice. What is the church's history with money? What should I look for in my local church and how they deal with finances? How can I talk to my pastors about financial concerns? Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they lay out the case for a healthy model of church finances that you can trust.

Money is one of the hardest subjects to talk about in church. It just has a weird aura about it that the kids would call..."cringe"... But how are we as DualCitizens supposed to handle money? How can a church be transparent and open about it's finances? How do I talk to a friend about giving to the church? Join Jonathan, Matt, and Stephen as they discuss all of these questions and more. 

If you've been a Baptist for long, then you have probably heard of the Cooperative Program. A lesser known stat is that 40% of Southern Baptist Churches choose to be autonomous and opt out of the cooperative program. With all of these options, how does the church choose whether or not to cooperate? Who should they cooperate with? Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they discuss the history of the cooperative program and whether a church should join it, go autonomous, or a mixture of both.

Congratulations! Your church has been experiencing a tremendous amount of growth in recent years. But the room is getting packed out every week. What do you do now? Should you build a bigger room? Should you build a new campus? Should you use resources to plant a new church in another city? Sometimes it is hard to make these decisions, but they are all good problems to have. Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they discuss effective ways to steward your church's resource towards the greatest kingdom impact. 

"Should I stay or should I go now...." Am I the only one who thinks of this song when considering a mission opportunity? The balance between local missions and global missions is often a sensitive topic in any church. Many are connected to the needs right here in our city, while others are passionate about helping those in extreme situations overseas. Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they talk through best practices for finding the balance between staying local and going global.

If you have been in the church long, you have probably seen man different examples of missions. There is a tension involved in the planning, operation, and philosophy of every mission objective. Join us in this new series as we take an in depth look at Church Missions and Individual Missions.

Spiritual Gifts might be the most polarizing topic in modern Christianity. What does Jesus tell us about the Holy Spirit? How did Jesus intend for us to use spiritual gifts to serve the church? How should a church facilitate the use of spiritual gifts? Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as the discuss all of this and more on this final episode of Blueprints.

In this episode, we tackle the hot button topic of church discipline. Many different strategies for church discipline have been developed over the years. In this episode, we look at how Jesus demonstrated best practices for church discipline. Join Matt, Jonathan, and Stephen as they discuss effective strategies for church discipline.