Tuesday, July 3,
2018
I really don’t
need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in
Jerusalem. For
I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in
Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact,
it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to
begin giving. 2 Corinthians 9:1-5(NLT)
Pastors have Facebook chat
rooms – pages that are closed to the public, but open to the venting of
frustration between the clergy. Yup,
that’s right; some clergy get pretty “venty” at times. Sometimes it is over unreasonable expectations
of church members. Sometimes it is about
trying to be in too many places at the same time. Most times it is the frustration of wanting
to be better than we think we are, so the church can grow strong and do more for
the kingdom of God. Sometimes we just
think it’s up to us.
Unfortunately, sometimes
those on the other side of the pulpit agree with us – if the pastor was just (well…you just fill in this blank if you
care to) then the church would be so
much better off. I’d like to say a kind
word of correction about that, but time, space, and reality do not allow me to
dig for bland kindness at this point – that is a blame game that
won’t hunt. Pastors may be charged with
a difficult, important role of being a leader, but the success or failure of a
church doesn’t rest squarely on the shoulders of any preacher…not any more, at
least, than it does on those who occupy the pews. We are all responsible for what our church is
becoming day by day.
C.S. Lewis once wrote: with our thoughts and actions we are
becoming every day, more a child of heaven, or more a child of hell. That’s also true for churches.
Now, while that is a
thought-provoking truth, it spawns the ugly reality: there is no fence to sit on when it comes to
whose child you’re becoming. There is no
middle ground for humans. Just like you’re
either breathing or not, alive or dead, male or female, saved or lost, you are
most definitely moving in one direction or the other.
Now this is true in many
areas of our lives, but it very often shows most dramatically in stewardship…how
we handle that which God has placed in our hands (which is the main reason many
preachers stay away from talking about it like they stay away from the plague). Isn’t it funny how preachers/churches are
condemned so often for only being interested in money
when preachers really say so little about it?
A few weeks ago, in one of
the preacher chat rooms the discussion was all about stewardship, and how you
introduce the offering time in worship.
There were some typical responses, then one of the contributors got
giddy; she wrote: I introduce our offering by
saying ‘I want you to reach forward, take the checkbook from the person in
front of you and write the check to the church you’ve always wanted to’.
YES!
Another preacher chimed in –
Here’s
how I do it; I say: the good news is
this church already has all the money it needs.
The bad news is that it’s still in your wallets.
The Good News is that God
has promised His providence to every believer:
And this same
God who takes care of me will supply
all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in
Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19(NLT)
The Bad News is that some
(sometimes many) people haven’t gotten the rest of the memo. The memo says, in baptism our wallets are
also supposed to get wet, covered with the splashy blessing of God’s Spirit
calling us to holy generosity, not just supporting the church so the light bill
can be paid, but making every treasurer and finance committee in the land work
three times as hard trying to figure out how to spend the tremendous blessings God
gives through His church.
Consider this – God’s standard for
the follower of Jesus Christ 2is the tithe – ten percent of what you receive,
given back to God in thanksgiving and worship, acknowledging His Lordship over
your life. That is a given…and it has
not changed. It is expected and
required. The joy in giving is
different; it begins after the 10 percent tithe!
For You Today
If your wallet somehow
missed getting baptized along with the rest of you…I know where there is water!
Go to VIDEO
[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com
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