MONEY AND SUCCESS October 8, 2006
Stewardship Sermon,
Scripture: Exodus 35: 4-5, 20-29; 2 Cor. 9:6-15, Lk 12:13-21
It gives me great delight to step up to the challenge of another Stewardship sermon. Did you know that many pastors rather not preach to their own congregation about money so arrange to swap pulpits for the Stewardship kickoff sermon? I believe strongly that not only on special occasions but very frequently it is important to preach on how we can be good stewards of all that God has given us. You who attend worship here frequently know that I often say at the offering that it is not just your money that God wants but the dedication of your whole self. When talking about stewardship we pastors often stress the 3 T’s: talents, time and treasures; however, today I’m going to talk about the part that is most difficult: money. One of the biggest complaints from church goers is that the church is always talking about money. When I first came to Deering, I was trying to sort out who the people were on the membership list, so I called a lot of the names that I had not already met. I remember how angry one man was about the letters he received from this church asking for money, saying that he didn’t want any thing to do with this church anymore. So I know that this whole subject area is a sensitive even a dangerous one. Not only do church goers disdain hearing about money, but pastors themselves in general hate to talk about money. In church we struggle with profound topics: life, death, justice, peace, the existence or non-existence of God. Yet the subject of money is seldom brought up-even sex seems to be an easier topic to discuss in church. I don’t know about you, but some of my greatest anxiety is about money: not having enough, having more than others, how to make money and then what is the right thing to do with the money that you do have. What is our responsibility to the poor and those in crises? How much stuff is okay to have—maybe 2 tv’s but not 4, maybe two bicycles but not 20. How much money should we save for our retirement years? Are we like the foolish farmer that accumulated so much that he had to build more barns and silos and that very night he died? Jesus says that the important thing is to be rich towards God, not to save up treasures for ourselves. But what about that rainy day? Money is a very hard subject for me. I struggle too much to even pretend that I have all the right answers; however, I don’t mind sharing my thoughts with you; however, I don’t want it to be too grim so let me tell you a couple of stories before we get any deeper into this topic.
In our Corinthians passage today is that famous quote about how God loves a cheerful giver. One Sunday morning a father gave his son $5 for the offering and 3 one dollar bills so that he might get an ice cream on the way home. Well the ice cream shop was closed so when the boy got home the dollar bills were gone but he still had the $5. His father asked him what happened, why he hadn’t put the $5 in the offering. “Well, it was like this,” the boy explained. “The preacher said that God loves a cheerful giver. I could give the dollar bills a lot more cheerfully than I could the $5.”
Then there was this minister of one our neighboring churches who announced to his congregation that he had bad news, good news, and bad news. “The bad news is, the church needs a new roof, the congregation groaned. “The good news is that we have enough money for the new roof.” The congregation cheered. Then the pastor said, “The bad news is, the money is still in your pockets.”
So brothers and sisters the money the church needs to meet our financial obligations for 2007 may not be in your pockets; however, it is in your bank accounts, in your paychecks, in your social security deposits, or in your creative ability to raise funds for the church.
The offering is an ancient religious rite, performed in nearly every human society. We heard about the ancient Hebrew people’s offering in today’s Hebrew scripture: gold, silver, bronze, purple yarn, acacia wood, spices and oil and fragrant incense. We’ve read about the sacrifices of goats and lambs. Even the poorest people gave to the offering—remember the widows’ mite. Today our offerings are less tangible, dollars and checks instead of livestock and jewels. We come to worship not just to heal our own souls but to bring our gifts for others who have needs.
This year the Stewardship Committee has asked you to fill out a brief survey to see why you give and what you would like to have happen in your church if money were no object. Most people said they give because they have been blessed so richly that they want to share with others; or just because they love the church or love the Lord. A couple of respondents even said that the Bible passage about tithing, giving a tenth of all you earn to God, was the reason for their giving. In 2004 in the United Church News reported that the top 3 reasons why people give to their church are 1)Because they feel connected to what the church believes in and stands for; 2) Because they believe the ministry is producing changed lives—either their own or observable changes in other members’ lives; 3)Because they want to improve their communities—the outreach aspect. In our survey many of you said if money were no object that they wanted to do more outreach in the community, welcoming new residents, reaching out to invite folks to worship or help with special needs. Others said they wanted to see more Christian Ed opportunities for children and adults. Several responses mentioned wishing the church would have a full time minister—which was your major goal the year that I came at ½ time. There were also a considerable # of answers that stressed the need to take care of the building to bring it up to a solid and attractive structure, repairing rot, painting and so forth.
This same article in the UCC News said people are more apt to give to a church that they see as successful, having meaning and vitality; churches that are struggling to find direction or just barely surviving are not so likely to inspire great giving. This statement made me start thinking about what is success for a church. If you read my Pastor’s corner in this months’ newsletter, you read about a whole list of things that have been happening in our church that I was pleased to report. At the same time our attendance the last two (3?) Sundays has been extremely low, we have lost many members and the new members that have joined over the last 3 years are not very regular in attendance. Often times in Sunday School there are only 3 to 5 children, plus we have lost several teachers and are finding it difficult to recruit new teachers.
What is success in a church? What is God’s definition of success? One of the sermon summaries I saw on the Internet[1] said that the first part of God’s success is to answer the call of Christ in our lives; secondly, we must be accountable for what God has given us—storing up treasures in heaven instead of stuff in our house and bank; and thirdly, we must realize that we are not self-sufficient, that all we have comes from God, who wants our obedience, and it is out of our relationship with God that generosity will flow. Another Internet sermon, one by the Rev. Gary W. Charles was particularly interesting to me. He started out with saying that throughout Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tries to teach his disciples that whatever society counts as success, the church should say much the opposite. According to this contrarian theology, the successful church lives among the poor and the dispossessed, doesn’t worry about how it will make ends meet today or tomorrow, instead trusts in the presence of the risen Jesus. If you and I believe that our whole life is a God given gift, then money is a theological matter; it matters how we earn it, account for it, and give it away, both individually and as a church.
For me a successful church is one that shares the good news with others. I believe strongly that participating in worship and other activities of the church can be transformational, can change lives; therefore, a successful church gets members and others involved. Increasing attendance and membership is a theological matter; it matters that we have all ages involved in Christian education and participating in mission trips. It matters that you and I invite others to join us on this great journey of faith, that we talk to others about what we believe and why we do what we do. And it is important for us to ask others to come to church with us, no matter how difficult it is and how many people say no. Another area that is clear to me is that God throughout the Bible is holding followers accountable for caring for the exploited, the vulnerable, and the marginal; therefore, social justice is a theological matter, an outgrowth of our religious beliefs. If we are blind to things such as AIDS, wars, economic imbalance, we are not following Jesus. We need to demand more of our governments and corporations and individuals, more mercy and justice.
I believe that a successful church has to care about numbers, both financial figures and membership. It’s not so much that numbers are important as a measure of accomplishment but that these numbers represent women and men created in God’s image. They are the people that Christ has commissioned us to go and tell the Good News. The financial numbers are important because they signify how this particular church will be able to do the work of Christ. Dollars have to be given for mission work if we are to follow Jesus’ teachings. Salaries have to be paid to the minister and the organist/choir director in order for there to be worship and administrative leadership. Bills have to be paid to keep the building repaired and the utilities on.
It’s hard to go against our upbringing. Most of us were taught to be frugal. I have heard many arguments about how giving money away is not prudent or responsible for then we may be a burden on others in our old age. I wonder how much the real reason for this frugality is that we don’t really believe that God will take care of us. Is all that talk about lilies of the field and birds of the air is just poetry? This whole stewardship business, how much money will I pledge, how much money will you pledge, is a choice offered to each of us about how we are going to approach the world. We can continue living in a scarcity mode, fearing we will never have enough, that we have to keep saving more. Or we could try our darnest to shift into an abundance mode, recognizing our incredible blessings already given to us by God—the amazing people in our lives, the meaningful experiences we have had, the opportunities to worship and commune with the Divine Spirit that have already happened as part of our life with Deering Community Church. Then sharing ourselves and our gifts, including money, becomes just another way of praising our awesome, loving, gracious God. And that my church family is SUCCESS.
In closing let me quote from today’s scripture, Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” ( 9:7-8) Amen and Amen
[1] Jesus the Revolutionary: Implications for Christ-Centered Stewardship .Joseph Stowell. Sermon preached at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., March 1-3, 2001.
Scripture: Exodus 35: 4-5, 20-29; 2 Cor. 9:6-15, Lk 12:13-21
It gives me great delight to step up to the challenge of another Stewardship sermon. Did you know that many pastors rather not preach to their own congregation about money so arrange to swap pulpits for the Stewardship kickoff sermon? I believe strongly that not only on special occasions but very frequently it is important to preach on how we can be good stewards of all that God has given us. You who attend worship here frequently know that I often say at the offering that it is not just your money that God wants but the dedication of your whole self. When talking about stewardship we pastors often stress the 3 T’s: talents, time and treasures; however, today I’m going to talk about the part that is most difficult: money. One of the biggest complaints from church goers is that the church is always talking about money. When I first came to Deering, I was trying to sort out who the people were on the membership list, so I called a lot of the names that I had not already met. I remember how angry one man was about the letters he received from this church asking for money, saying that he didn’t want any thing to do with this church anymore. So I know that this whole subject area is a sensitive even a dangerous one. Not only do church goers disdain hearing about money, but pastors themselves in general hate to talk about money. In church we struggle with profound topics: life, death, justice, peace, the existence or non-existence of God. Yet the subject of money is seldom brought up-even sex seems to be an easier topic to discuss in church. I don’t know about you, but some of my greatest anxiety is about money: not having enough, having more than others, how to make money and then what is the right thing to do with the money that you do have. What is our responsibility to the poor and those in crises? How much stuff is okay to have—maybe 2 tv’s but not 4, maybe two bicycles but not 20. How much money should we save for our retirement years? Are we like the foolish farmer that accumulated so much that he had to build more barns and silos and that very night he died? Jesus says that the important thing is to be rich towards God, not to save up treasures for ourselves. But what about that rainy day? Money is a very hard subject for me. I struggle too much to even pretend that I have all the right answers; however, I don’t mind sharing my thoughts with you; however, I don’t want it to be too grim so let me tell you a couple of stories before we get any deeper into this topic.
In our Corinthians passage today is that famous quote about how God loves a cheerful giver. One Sunday morning a father gave his son $5 for the offering and 3 one dollar bills so that he might get an ice cream on the way home. Well the ice cream shop was closed so when the boy got home the dollar bills were gone but he still had the $5. His father asked him what happened, why he hadn’t put the $5 in the offering. “Well, it was like this,” the boy explained. “The preacher said that God loves a cheerful giver. I could give the dollar bills a lot more cheerfully than I could the $5.”
Then there was this minister of one our neighboring churches who announced to his congregation that he had bad news, good news, and bad news. “The bad news is, the church needs a new roof, the congregation groaned. “The good news is that we have enough money for the new roof.” The congregation cheered. Then the pastor said, “The bad news is, the money is still in your pockets.”
So brothers and sisters the money the church needs to meet our financial obligations for 2007 may not be in your pockets; however, it is in your bank accounts, in your paychecks, in your social security deposits, or in your creative ability to raise funds for the church.
The offering is an ancient religious rite, performed in nearly every human society. We heard about the ancient Hebrew people’s offering in today’s Hebrew scripture: gold, silver, bronze, purple yarn, acacia wood, spices and oil and fragrant incense. We’ve read about the sacrifices of goats and lambs. Even the poorest people gave to the offering—remember the widows’ mite. Today our offerings are less tangible, dollars and checks instead of livestock and jewels. We come to worship not just to heal our own souls but to bring our gifts for others who have needs.
This year the Stewardship Committee has asked you to fill out a brief survey to see why you give and what you would like to have happen in your church if money were no object. Most people said they give because they have been blessed so richly that they want to share with others; or just because they love the church or love the Lord. A couple of respondents even said that the Bible passage about tithing, giving a tenth of all you earn to God, was the reason for their giving. In 2004 in the United Church News reported that the top 3 reasons why people give to their church are 1)Because they feel connected to what the church believes in and stands for; 2) Because they believe the ministry is producing changed lives—either their own or observable changes in other members’ lives; 3)Because they want to improve their communities—the outreach aspect. In our survey many of you said if money were no object that they wanted to do more outreach in the community, welcoming new residents, reaching out to invite folks to worship or help with special needs. Others said they wanted to see more Christian Ed opportunities for children and adults. Several responses mentioned wishing the church would have a full time minister—which was your major goal the year that I came at ½ time. There were also a considerable # of answers that stressed the need to take care of the building to bring it up to a solid and attractive structure, repairing rot, painting and so forth.
This same article in the UCC News said people are more apt to give to a church that they see as successful, having meaning and vitality; churches that are struggling to find direction or just barely surviving are not so likely to inspire great giving. This statement made me start thinking about what is success for a church. If you read my Pastor’s corner in this months’ newsletter, you read about a whole list of things that have been happening in our church that I was pleased to report. At the same time our attendance the last two (3?) Sundays has been extremely low, we have lost many members and the new members that have joined over the last 3 years are not very regular in attendance. Often times in Sunday School there are only 3 to 5 children, plus we have lost several teachers and are finding it difficult to recruit new teachers.
What is success in a church? What is God’s definition of success? One of the sermon summaries I saw on the Internet[1] said that the first part of God’s success is to answer the call of Christ in our lives; secondly, we must be accountable for what God has given us—storing up treasures in heaven instead of stuff in our house and bank; and thirdly, we must realize that we are not self-sufficient, that all we have comes from God, who wants our obedience, and it is out of our relationship with God that generosity will flow. Another Internet sermon, one by the Rev. Gary W. Charles was particularly interesting to me. He started out with saying that throughout Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tries to teach his disciples that whatever society counts as success, the church should say much the opposite. According to this contrarian theology, the successful church lives among the poor and the dispossessed, doesn’t worry about how it will make ends meet today or tomorrow, instead trusts in the presence of the risen Jesus. If you and I believe that our whole life is a God given gift, then money is a theological matter; it matters how we earn it, account for it, and give it away, both individually and as a church.
For me a successful church is one that shares the good news with others. I believe strongly that participating in worship and other activities of the church can be transformational, can change lives; therefore, a successful church gets members and others involved. Increasing attendance and membership is a theological matter; it matters that we have all ages involved in Christian education and participating in mission trips. It matters that you and I invite others to join us on this great journey of faith, that we talk to others about what we believe and why we do what we do. And it is important for us to ask others to come to church with us, no matter how difficult it is and how many people say no. Another area that is clear to me is that God throughout the Bible is holding followers accountable for caring for the exploited, the vulnerable, and the marginal; therefore, social justice is a theological matter, an outgrowth of our religious beliefs. If we are blind to things such as AIDS, wars, economic imbalance, we are not following Jesus. We need to demand more of our governments and corporations and individuals, more mercy and justice.
I believe that a successful church has to care about numbers, both financial figures and membership. It’s not so much that numbers are important as a measure of accomplishment but that these numbers represent women and men created in God’s image. They are the people that Christ has commissioned us to go and tell the Good News. The financial numbers are important because they signify how this particular church will be able to do the work of Christ. Dollars have to be given for mission work if we are to follow Jesus’ teachings. Salaries have to be paid to the minister and the organist/choir director in order for there to be worship and administrative leadership. Bills have to be paid to keep the building repaired and the utilities on.
It’s hard to go against our upbringing. Most of us were taught to be frugal. I have heard many arguments about how giving money away is not prudent or responsible for then we may be a burden on others in our old age. I wonder how much the real reason for this frugality is that we don’t really believe that God will take care of us. Is all that talk about lilies of the field and birds of the air is just poetry? This whole stewardship business, how much money will I pledge, how much money will you pledge, is a choice offered to each of us about how we are going to approach the world. We can continue living in a scarcity mode, fearing we will never have enough, that we have to keep saving more. Or we could try our darnest to shift into an abundance mode, recognizing our incredible blessings already given to us by God—the amazing people in our lives, the meaningful experiences we have had, the opportunities to worship and commune with the Divine Spirit that have already happened as part of our life with Deering Community Church. Then sharing ourselves and our gifts, including money, becomes just another way of praising our awesome, loving, gracious God. And that my church family is SUCCESS.
In closing let me quote from today’s scripture, Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” ( 9:7-8) Amen and Amen
[1] Jesus the Revolutionary: Implications for Christ-Centered Stewardship .Joseph Stowell. Sermon preached at the annual Generous Giving Conference, Phoenix, Ariz., March 1-3, 2001.
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 9:15 AM
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