The Cold, Hard Facts vs. the Unseen Forces at Work in God's Kingdom!
Do
you remember the difference between
I
know I’ve written about this before.
Einstein,
however, pointed out that according to the laws of the atom, the basic building
blocks of that bowling ball, it is basically made up
of… empty space!
Congregational Assembly Meeting!
Some theologians
are wondering if the paradox of
The cold, hard reality of last Sunday afternoon was that our congregation had its semi-annual congregational assembly meeting. We gathered to talk about the “business” of the church, such things as elections and finances, school funding and yard work, the practical realities of what it takes to make a church work.
The unseen, powerful forces at work, however, showed themselves once again. When we gather, we are more than just a local church doing business; we are the assembled people of God. His promises apply, and when we gather in the name of Jesus, He is present through the guiding, leading and working of His Holy Spirit.
The cold, hard reality of what we’ve been doing lately was given in the reports of the boards and committees.
The unseen, powerful forces at work were on display when we humbly recognized that the credit everything we have ever accomplished belongs to God the Holy Spirit.
Dollars!
Something very powerful happened at the meeting last Sunday that those of you who weren’t there need to know about. The cold, hard reality of our meeting was that we were faced with our annual challenge, presenting a balanced budget for the coming year that is responsive to the offerings given and allows us to do as much as we can with what we’ve been given. That’s a budget.
The
unseen, powerful forces at work in the hearts and lives of the extraordinary
servants of the Lord made themselves known in a very significant way. When we were considering approving a budget
that called for across the board reductions, because the contributions this
year are down from what they were last year, a conversation arose concerning
our offering to missions. When the cold,
hard realities of “
Tithe!
A ten percent offering, right off the top of what God provides, is a benchmark standard of faithful giving in the Bible. The Old Testament requires it and the Lord Jesus affirms it and many of the Lord’s people use it as a foundation for their testimony of faith in their financial giving. For years we’ve considered becoming a tithing congregation, passing along a minimum of 10% to mission agencies in our area and to synod and district for the work of the Church at large.
The vote Sunday was not about what we can afford. It wasn’t a “Newtonian” response to our past record of offerings. The vote Sunday was an “Einsteinian” act of faith, an expression of who we are. Our commitment to give more to missions than we can reasonably afford is not a reflection of what we can do, but an expression of what we believe God is already doing in us and among us and through us.
The cold, hard reality of giving ten percent is about making promises to our friends in mission who rely on the generosity of churches like ours, promises that we will write checks each month so they can continue on.
The unseen, powerful forces at work are on display when, week by week, we gather at the Lord’s bidding to offer Him worship and praise, to confess our sins and believe that the promise of grace and forgiveness is real and true, and when we respond to goodness with our acts of worship that include our own sacrificial offerings to God, believing that He will multiply them like loaves and fishes to do His work in our world.
Worldwide
The cold, hard reality in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is that missionaries have been called back from the field and important ministry efforts and departments of synod, our work together, have been told to find much or all of their support elsewhere than in the offerings from churches.
The unseen, powerful forces at work are on display as God continues to call and place servants into mission fields through creative efforts and the generous funding of people like you and me. Funding shrinks back, but the commitment to reach out with the love of Christ to 100,000,000 people worldwide as our churches and worldwide partners catch hold of the Ablaze! movement continues to soar.
The synod received a report on stewardship that says dramatic change is called for as offerings to our national efforts continue to decline, but at the same time a call has gone out for 2,000 new mission congregation starts and for 2,000 of our existing 6,000 congregations to show renewal and revitalization, a return to the passion and fervor to share Christ’s love and grow as more and more people in our neighborhoods are called to faith.
I’m almost certain that some of us went away from Sunday’s meeting wondering, “How in the world will we raise an extra $500 per week all through 2007 to meet our mission commitment?” I have to admit; there were a few of those thoughts swirling around in my own mind!
But
Sunday was really another sign for us that the Holy Spirit is swirling the
winds of change in our congregation.
It’s another sign that there are forces more powerful than us at work at
We believe that God is up to something, and if it calls for some changes in who we are and what we do, we’ll follow.
And we know God Himself will be with us every step of the way.