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Stewardship Moment

Friends

For our prayerful consideration, here is another stewardship moment. Below is pasted some quotes from the book, "Right on the Money: Messages for Spiritual Growth Through Giving," written by Brian K. Bauknight. I pray that each of us will be blessed and grow in our faith.

Peace,

Pastor Jim

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2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says,

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

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Stewardship Quotes from Right on the Money:
Messages for Spiritual Growth Through Giving

"When we open our hearts to the astounding message of what God has done, the miracle of sharing engulfs us!" (p4)

"The Christian life is a disciplined response to the good news of God" (p7).

"Jesus wants us to recognize that our money is an extension of who we are and what we value in life" (p32).

"We give in order to unleash energies for good in the world" (p39).

"We give in order to grow our relationship with God" (p41).

"Tithing helps us focus not only on what we give, but on all that we spend and save" (p46).

"The tithe binds us to (1) healthful living, (2) discipleship, (3) faith, and (4) God" (p50).

"A tithe is a guide toward responsible, healthy, significant faith promise giving" (p58).

"Tithing is a spiritual discipline around the principle of proportionality" (p64).

"A good gift is a gift that has a positive effect upon the spiritual development of the giver. It is not a grudging gift. It is not an arm-twisted gift. . . . A good gift stimulates our spiritual maturity" (p80).

Stewardship Considerations

September 8

Friends

As the calendar is turning to September, we return our attention to things which commonly occur during the Fall season. One of those things which becomes a focus again for the church and God's people is "stewardship." Over the course of the next several weeks, I will be sending out a variety of items for our consideration. This is done so that each of us may prayerfully consider stewardship and the call God has placed upon all of our lives to be faithful stewards.

Today's offering is simply a series of quotes which are worthy of our attention.

Peace,

Pastor Jim

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In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 the Apostle Paul reminds Christians:

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Stewardship Quotes Worth Noting

"Our callings are not simply secular means of making money or a living, but are God's means of utilizing our gifts and interests to his glory." -- a paraphrase of Martin Luther - 16th century

"Money not only is the Achilles heel of the religious institutional forms we have, but it is also a subject that religious leaders on the whole avoid like the plague"-- Loren Mead (speaker and writer from the Alban Institute an ecumenical, interfaith organization founded in 1974, which supports congregations through consulting services, research)

"Alas, how many, even among those who are called believers, have plenty of all the necessities of life, and yet complain of poverty!" -- John Wesley (the founder of Methodism)

"So long as clergy are cowed and anxious in the face of money and wealth, they will remain silent about the spiritual issue that touches our culture more deeply than any other" -- Dean Hoge (late American sociologist)

"When it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of pain" -- Anonymous

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it" -- George Bernard Shaw

"For the most part, we do not consume the goods we buy. We display them, flaunt them, hoard them; we incorporate them into the self...."

-- Robert Wuthnow (is the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Sociology, Director of the Princeton University Center for the Study of Religion, and Chair of the Department of Sociology at that institution)

"A new and growing awareness of financial development techniques and lore will not save the church from the mission funding crisis"-- Ronald Vallet and Charles Zech (authors of "The Mainline Church's Funding Crisis: Issues and Possibilities")

"Money follows affections, not thought" -- John and Sylvia Ronsvalle

(authors "The State of Church Giving Through 2002" and "Behind the Stained Glass Windows: Money Dynamics in the Church")

A Story of Giving

January 4, 2009

Stories of Sharing

A Safe Place

Your Human Relations Day offering cultivates Community Developers.

"It is harder for the poor. The poor get poorer….It's harder because there are more needs, more diseases, more that have lost their jobs or their homes. It's getting so that elderly people on fixed incomes can hardly pay their bills. Sometimes they have to decide whether to buy food or their medicines," said Ms. Maudine Holloway, executive director, Community Enabler Developer, Inc., in Anniston, Alabama. Community Enabler Developer is a part of the Community Developers Program (CDP), an initiative administered by the General Board of Global Ministries for The United Methodist Church since 1972. The Community Developers Program gives seniors, children, teens, and anyone in need, such as the residents of Anniston, a way to improve their social and economic situations through services and support.

As is the case with more than 40 United Methodist-related community development sites around the United States, Community Enabler Developer provides meals, classes, housing, and health advocacy. Anniston's Community Enabler center first began at Haven United Methodist Church and now operates out of its own building near the First United Methodist Church of Anniston. The center also runs Sable, an after-school program located in nearby Hobson's City.

Serious Illness in Anniston

Holloway, a community developer for 37 years, notes a trend in the number of serious illnesses in the area. "A lot of our folk are dying of cancer and other diseases. I'm seeing more sickness, more kids born with deficiencies, and more seniors with Alzheimer's. Cancer and diabetes are rampant."

Scientists, environmentalists, and community members attribute these high rates of illness to the environmental damage that has strangled the neighborhood since the 1930s. Monsanto, a chemical company, provided work for the community for 40 years but also dumped contaminated water into the streams and soil of the low-income neighborhoods of Anniston. The EPA has found mercury, arsenic, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), among other chemicals, in Anniston's land and water. Since 1997, Solutia, an offshoot of Monsanto, has produced chemicals at the plant.

Community activist David Baker remembered his brother who died in 1970: "At 16 years old, he died from a tumor of the brain, cancer of the lungs, and hardening of the arteries of his heart. He never smoked. He never drank. He didn't do anything but play in ditches and have a good time. He got sick and died within a year." Baker is currently training people on how to purify the soil of chemicals.

The Anniston ditches and streams and yards where Baker and his brother played were polluted by PCBs. In 2002, the case against Monsanto, filed on behalf of 20,000 community residents, was settled for $700 million. The scientists and lawyers who helped establish and build the case have turned their attention to other neighborhoods; community developers like Holloway have stayed and continue to reach out to the residents.

Hanging on in Hard Times

Like other community developers across the nation, the Community Enabler has not had an easy time. "We ran out of food four times this year—bare necessities, like bread and eggs," reported Holloway. In 2007, the Community Enabler center provided meals, clothing, and emergency supplies to 5,216 people.

"We don't say you have to be Methodist or Baptist; we don't turn anybody away….These people have nowhere else to go. If it wasn't for the church, I don't know what would happen to them," Holloway added.

In addition to distributing food, community centers distribute knowledge. At the Sable center, teens learn conflict-resolution skills and parents learn how to get involved in their kids' schooling. Of the 53 students enrolled in the Sable after-school program, 35 have perfect attendance at school and 30 are on the A or B honor roll, reported Holloway proudly. Sable also offers classes in sewing, cooking, nutrition, and sexual health. Holloway realized the need for sexual information when she learned that a fifth-grade student at the local school had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.

The Community Enabler center has helped meet the needs of young people seeking medical attention, like the boy who needed insulin five times a day and care from a hospital in Birmingham. When the boy's family could not afford to take the boy to the hospital, the center arranged for round-trip bus tickets for the boy and his mother to travel to the facility 65 miles away.

Ms. Holloway is humbled by and grateful for the folks who themselves face difficult times, yet come to the center to volunteer. An older woman who buried her daughter donated $300 in her daughter's memory to the Community Enabler Developer Center.

"People who have been helped are coming to help," Ms. Halloway reported. "During the Christmas holiday, an older lady came in and said, ‘I told my children, "Don't give me anything, I want to help Miss Maudine's center." ‘ "

Relearning the ABCs

Establishing and supporting one another through community-development centers is one way the people of Anniston in Calhoun County are lifting themselves out of entrenched cycles of poverty.

At the foundation of the Community Developers Program is a philosophy known as ABCD—Asset-Based Community Development—a process developed at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Rather than focusing on the resources a community lacks, an asset-based paradigm encourages residents to identify and draw upon the resources they already possess. Such re- sources may be people-powered.

For example, many volunteers at Community Enabler Developer are aging. One hero, so named by the local newspaper, The Anniston Star, is Myrtle Miller. At 76, Ms. Miller volunteers to work with "the elderly" at Community Enabler. Miller is also on the board of the center.

The success of community development centers relies on "the power of many as opposed to one," said Tanika Harris, executive secretary for the Community Developer Program at Global Ministries.

Many community-development centers use a multipronged approach to address the pervasive poverty in low-income neighborhoods. Strategies depend on a neighborhood's resources. In general, community developers try to engage children, teens, and the elderly, as well as those who are sick, homeless, unemployed, or substance abusers, to become involved in their communities in positive ways.

Community developers may build economic development opportunities for the disenfranchised and invigorate the financial viability of communities. For example, at Community Enabler, unemployed people learn handicraft skills and job readiness training.

"When the pipe [manufacturing] shops closed, we had to help people find jobs and skills. The pipe shops were the center of industry here in Anniston," Holloway explained.

The center has also helped to provide and build housing. In the United Methodist North Alabama Conference, where the center is located, two new retirement homes were built. "We built a retirement home in the black community," Holloway said. "We are involved in so many ways in the community."

Churchwide Support

"We are rehabbing lives, credit, and buildings," Harris said of the Community Developers Program.

The work of the Community Developers Program is funded through gifts given on Human Relations Day, a Special Sunday giving opportunity usually celebrated near Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

"A taxi brought a man here; he had no socks or shoes and he was so thankful. He was homeless. When you can do the things that most people take for granted, it warms your heart. It makes you so humble. Like I say all the time, I was hired by the church, but I was called by God. It's been my life," Holloway said.

Community Developers Program

For more on the Community Developers Program, visit the Global Ministries web page at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/cim/programs/developers/

For more on community activist David Baker's story and that of other residents of Anniston, Calhoun County who have struggled with the fallout from the Monsanto plant, visit the website for the Center for Public Integrity, Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest. The report on the PCB manufacturing plant in Anniston can be found at www.publicintegrity.org/superfund/videos.aspx

by Mary Beth Coudal
New World Outlook, March/April 2008

Stewardship Testimony

December 22

A Personal Testimony

Can you remember the last time you experienced the joy of receiving something special or significant in your life? You may have responded with laughter or perhaps tears of joy. Whatever the response, that moment brought with it a fulfilling sense of joy, satisfaction, and appreciation. Let's be honest, it is GREAT to receive things! Yet, Jesus reminds His disciples in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus spoke the words of God which were always intended to change men and women from the inside out. We call this "transformation," and differs from being conformed to the standards or norms of a particular culture (see Romans 12:1-2). Jesus' messages were intended to transform our thoughts, our words, and our actions so disciples of Christ would express God's love in this world.

Friends, it was love which motivated God to send Jesus into the world. God loves humanity so much that Jesus came to show us how to live, how to make the world a better place, how to be reflections of God on earth, and how to have sins forgiven and our fractured relationship with God restored. When we have that relationship with God through Christ, God "adopts" us as daughters and sons providing for us the blessings which come from such a great status (Romans 8:14-17). Love motivates God to continue to "give" to each of us. It is love which motivates God

to transform our sin into righteousness,

our anxiety and worry into peace, broken relationships into new bonds, and

bitterness and strife into love. God too,

is "blessed" as God continues to "give" to disciples of Christ. Friends, the blessings

we experience from God are surpassed

only by the blessing experienced by God!

To say it a little differently, "The blessing experienced by the receiver is surpassed

only by the blessing experienced by the giver." Thus, Jesus' words from

Acts 20:35 noted above, are indeed, an eternal principle and promise!

The Apostle Paul teaches God's people to

be a "follower (or imitators) of God" (Ephesians 5:1). The Apostle Peter writes that Jesus "left us an example that we

should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21b). When we follow God's example in our

tithes and offerings, we are following

God's example of being "more blessed" because of our giving. Our tithes and offerings provide the necessary conduit through which the Gospel of Jesus can

flow from us to the church to people. And, then their lives have the opportunity to

be transformed as we make disciples for Jesus Christ (see Matthew 28:18-20 and

Acts 1:8). Our tithes and offerings play

a major role in fulfilling the mission of

the Franklinville Church of making

disciples for Jesus Christ! What an awesome privilege it is to give when we realize that people can be helped in this life, and their eternal destinies may be changed as well. Yes, our tithes and offerings make a difference now, and for all eternity. Can you think of any better investment? Can you think of any better way to demonstrate our love for God and our neighbor (Mark 11:30-31)? Can you think of any better way to receive "more blessing" than for us to give to God?

Stweardship Quotes

August 5

Stewardship Quotes Worth Noting

"Our callings are not simply secular means of making money or a living, but are God's means of utilizing our gifts and interests to his glory." -- a paraphrase of Martin Luther

"Money not only is the Achilles heel of the religious institutional forms we have, but it is also a subject that religious leaders on the whole avoid like the plague"-- Loren Mead

"Alas, how many, even among those who are called believers, have plenty of all the necessities of life, and yet complain of poverty!" -- John Wesley

"So long as clergy are cowed and anxious in the face of money and wealth, they will remain silent about the spiritual issue that touches our culture more deeply than any other" -- Dean Hoge

"When it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of pain" -- Anonymous

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it" -- George Bernard Shaw

"For the most part, we do not consume the goods we buy. We display them, flaunt them, hoard them; we incorporate them into the self...." -- Robert Wuthnow

"A new and growing awareness of financial development techniques and lore will not save the church from the mission funding crisis"
-- Ronald Vallet and Charles Zech

"Money follows affections, not thought" -- John and Sylvia Ronsvalle

Biblical Example of Generous Giving

August 2

Examples of Generous Giving in the Bible

1. 1 Chronicles 29:11-17 - Everything we have and everything we give comes from God

2. 1 Corinthians 16:2 - On the first day of each week, give according to God’s blessings upon you

3. Romans 12:13 - Share with God’s people who are in need

4. Galatians 6:6 - Support financially those who teach you the Word of God

6. Matthew 25:35-40 - Helping the least of these people is helping Jesus

7. Acts 20:35 - It’s more blessed to give than to receive

8. Matthew 23:23 - Jesus affirms tithing

9. Luke 11:42 - Jesus affirms tithing

10. Deuteronomy 8:18 - God gives people ability to produce wealth

11. Proverbs 3:9-10 - Honor God with your wealth and first fruits

12. 2 Corinthians 9:5-15 - God loves a cheerful giver

Another Personal Testimony

July 29

A Personal Testimony

During vacation I saw an old chest of drawers sitting in an antique shop. The top of the chest is cracked and one of its legs needs some mending. Also observed were some cracks in the drawers due to aging. Yet this beautiful red oak chest of drawers remains a sturdy piece of furniture. I learned that it as handcrafted in the mid-1800's by someone whose initials are still engraved underneath. Now, more than 150 years later, someone will buy this beautiful chest of drawers and will pay more for it than if they purchased a new chest of drawers. Over the years, the value of this beautiful handmade chest of drawers has increased.

Do you think the person whose hands artfully cut each piece of wood and carefully placed each peg in it's place ever thought the work of his hands would outlive him? Do you think he ever thought this chest of drawers would outlive his children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren? Do you think he ever thought that someone born a century after him, whom he would never meet, would receive the benefits of his labors?

Friends, do you ever stop and wonder about what you and I are building that will outlive us? Most of us will never build a professional sports stadium and have it named after us. Most of us will never have a college or university renamed after us. Most of us will never have a town or community named in our honor. What then, if anything, are we building that will outlive us and future generations?

YOU and I, along with God, know the answer to that question. What we do for God will last for eternity! We might not build sports stadiums, colleges, or even a community. BUT, WE CAN build a church, one that will be here today, tomorrow, and will last until Christ comes again! When we give to God our very best, God will use that to bring peace, hope, joy, comfort, food, clothing, a safe haven and so much more to countless numbers of people in our community and the world! Not any one of us on our own can do what God will do though a church community when each of us is giving our very best.

How do you and I build a foundation for the future? How do we build a foundation which will stand the test of time? How do we build a foundation which will ensure that future generations will continue the work of God in our community? As disciples of Christ we begin by making a commitment to support the work of God through our local church. When we make a commitment to the work of God through the church, we can ensure that present and future generations will be able to receive divine blessings.

Qualities of a Christian Steward

July 15

Qualities of a Christian Steward

1). A Christian Steward is Compassionate

Christian Stewards are caretakers and caregivers. They concern themselves with the distribution of gifts and resources so that all might benefit----see Genesis 2:4-9 / Matthew 14:13-21 / Matthew 25:31-46 / 1 Corinthians 12:12-28 / James 2:14-17

2). A Christian Steward is Content

Christian Stewards acknowledge that their strength comes from God through whom they can do all things regardless of how many or how few material possessions they have---see Philippians 4:11-13 / 1 Timothy 6:6-10

3). A Christian Steward is Generous

Christian Stewards give whatever is needed and whenever it is needed---see Proverbs 11:24-29 / Mark 10:17-22 / Luke 12:13-21 / 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 / 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 / Galatians 5:22-23 / 1 Timothy 6:17-19

4). A Christian Steward is Grateful

Christian Stewards value what has been entrusted to their care and protect and preserve everything as if it were their own, yet acknowledging that the earth and all that is in it belong to God--- see Psalm 24 / Psalm 92:1-4 / Luke 16:19-31 / Philippians 4:6

5). A Christian Steward is Loving

Christian Stewards know that the Lord requires justice and kindness and humility, and they follow the two greatest commandments---see Deuteronomy 6:4-9 / Micah 6:6-8/Mark 12:28-34 / Luke 10:29-37 / Luke 11:42 / 1 Corinthians 13:3 / 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 / 2 Timothy 1:7 / 1 Peter 4:8-11

6). A Christian Steward is Committed

Christian Stewards are committed to serve God faithfully, remembering who they are, whose they are, and why they are here on earth---see Matthew 6:19-21 / Matthew 6:24 / Luke 14:25-33

7). A Christian Steward is Obedient

Christian Stewards obey God by setting aside a part of all their income for others---see Deuteronomy 14:22-29 / Deuteronomy 26:1-18 / Malachi 3:6-18/Luke 18:18-30/1 Corinthians 16:1-2

8). A Christian Steward is Prayerful

Christian Stewards acknowledge the greatness and goodness of God through an active prayer life, fellowship, Bible study, and worship---see Isaiah 40:28-31 / Psalm 145 / Jeremiah 29:11-14 / John 6:25-40 / Romans 12:1-21

9). A Christian Steward is Responsible

Christian Stewards realize that caring for God’s creation and wisely managing resources never ends---see Genesis 41:37-45 / Numbers 18:25-32 / 2 Samuel 24:18-25 / Matthew 28:16-20

10). A Christian Steward is willing to Sacrifice

Christian Stewards follow Jesus’ teaching to sacrifice what they have out of gratitude for their many blessings---see Mark 12:41-44

11). A Christian Steward is willing to Share

Christian Stewards have learned to distribute equally so that no one will be in need---see Luke 19:1-10 / Acts 4:32-35 / Acts 20:34-35

12). A Christian Steward is Trustworthy

Christian Stewards can be trusted to make wise decisions concerning the resources placed within their care---see Matthew 25:14-30 / Luke 16:10-13 / 1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Generous Giving: A Personal Testimony

July 1

A Personal Testimony

Hebrews 7:8-10, provides evidence for us that the first century church did in fact practice the spiritual discipline of tithing. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written approximately 30 years after the death /resurrection/ascension of Jesus. And in v8 we see that "men" living at that day practiced tithing. We see in v9 reminds the reader of the Jewish and Christian spiritual father, Abraham, paid tithes. It further states that Levi, a descendant of Abraham paid tithes to God through Abraham, v10 (see also Genesis 14:17-19). In short, tithing is the way God asks people of faith to support the work of God through the Church. There certainly is a fear for some when God asks them to tithe to the work of the church. On the surface it appears that we cannot afford a tithe. By looking at our budgets we might be tempted to say, "I Can't Afford to Tithe." However, the spiritual truth remains and the Bible teaches we can't afford NOT to tithe! If God is omniscient (all knowing), then God knows what we can and cannot afford. In Malachi 3:10 we're reminded of a promise which God makes to those who tithe. Perhaps this story will tell it better and in fewer words than I can.

There was a man of Chinese descent who worked as a grocer and managed his own grocery store. This man was asked to take over the finance ministry of the church he attended. When the man was asked by the church to assume this position the church was $5000 behind on its bills and the entire ministry was in financial disarray. Everytime a financial campaign was started by the church, it seemed that everyone gave all sorts of colorful reasons as to why they could not afford to tithe to the church. The grocer was the only one in the church who had any experience with money and so they asked him to be the new church treasurer. This man humbly agreed to do the job but on one condition. That condition was that no one would ask him any questions for a year. The church leadership agreed to the condition. At the end of that year the man gave a financial report to the church. He reported that the church had caught up on its debts! The church owed nothing to anyone! The church had also paid over $2000 to missions, something it had never been able to do before, and there was $1800 in the bank! The people of that church were amazed! They all began asking the man how was he able to turn around the financial picture of the church? The man began saying, "You know I no speak very good English and not write well either. You all buy grocery from me, and put grocery on credit. I charge you extra 10% and give it to church. Congratulations! Praise God! You are all tithers!" Seems like the people of that congregation could afford to tithe after all!

More Generous Giving

June 17

Examples of Generous Giving

In the Bible

1. Genesis 14:29 - Abraham gives 10%

2. Genesis 28:20-22 - Jacob’s decision to give 10% to God

3. Exodus 35:4-29 - Moses and the people’s

gifts received to build the Tabernacle

4. Leviticus 27:30 - A tithe (10%) of

everything is the Lord’s

5. Numbers 18:21 - Tithes are collected to support ministers of God

6. Deuteronomy 16:10, 16-17 - Give in proportion to the blessings the Lord has given you

7. Proverbs 22:9 - A generous person will be themselves be blessed