Sorry if there are extra numbers and odd spaces. I am having a little bit of a formatting problem.
We had the choir from First Presbyterian Church, Eaton, OH join with our choir to provide music leadership at our sanctuary service. If you were in the sanctuary service, the preached sermon contained a few references to their presence which are not contained in the written notes below.
I borrowed the final illustration from a sermon I listened to at the suggestion of my friend Karl (if you want to hear that sermon in its entirety, go to http://cogpc.org/worship%20sermons.html and listen to the Oct. 9, 2011 sermon). I thought the illustration was funny story/joke, but I wasn't sure about whether it was a merely a funny story, or if it added to the sermon. Consequently, I think there was some hesitation in the story that kept it from working as well as it could have. A reminder that when preaching, I have to commit to what's being preached, or it will not come across as well as it could.
This sermon is part of our "shining Our Light" capital campaign, and it was designed to be the minister's personal sharing about his (in my case) commitment to the campaign, including (if deemed helpful) an announcement of what the minister is pledging to the campaign. As you will see, I shied away from making that public declaration and made it more about how each of us is being asked to make a personal commitment. I did share some of what is behind how my wife and I go about making a commitment like this. Not sure if the minister sharing his or her specific commitment is more effective or not.
As I preached the sermon, I would like to play with David's "free will" offering a bit more. I think there is a richness there barely got tapped in this sermon.
My discussion of an "obligation" giver vs. a "specific project" giver grows out of my own experience of talking to people about giving. Those terms did not come from a source I had read on the topic of stewardship, but I found them helpful. People's reasons for giving, of course, are more nuanced than those two categories, but I do think most of us fall into one or two categories. I suspect that our campaign consultant would cringe at the thought that I list my first rationale for giving as obligation, but that is true to who I am as a giver. It is probably an area of growth for me as well!
I hope that in the personal sharing people could find themselves and lay claim to how they approach their giving.
The 2 Corinthians passage comes from a section of that letter that has some tremendous stewardship insights. My advanced Greek exegesis paper was on stewardship in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, so I am enjoying revisiting those texts.
“A Personal Commitment” October 16, 2011; Capital Campaign;
Introduction: King David eloquently shares his desire to give back to God and the desire of his people
I love the enthusiasm David feels for giving.
I find it a bit ironic that King David, the one who sets the rules, the one who controls the people, calls them to give a “free will offering.” I'm not sure how much “free will” the Israelites felt when King David urges them to give.
Perhaps you know that feeling each fall when stewardship season rolls around, particularly in a year when we are all being asked to give to the “Shining Our Light” capital campaign as well.
Let's take a few moments and reflect on what it means to make a personal commitment at this time.
Move 1: Personal means we each have a different context for our giving.
Move 1: Personal means we each have a different context for our giving.
a. Each of us is at a different place in our lives right now.
- Some of us have secure jobs with no fear for loss of income.
- Others of us are looking for jobs or are feeling vulnerable at work
3. Some of us at at our peak earning.
- Others of us are on fixed income or just beginning to reach the income level we want.
- Some of us have kids in college or parents to care for at this time.
- Others of us have lots of accumulated resources.
b. We do share some contexts.
1. We are all connected to this congregation.
2. We all have been blessed by God.
3. we all are living in a time with economic uncertainty, political unrest, and ongoing war in our world.
4. Of course, each of us is impacted differently by those contexts we share.
- c. Let me give a concrete example of my context.
- 1. Leslie and are both employed and we like to think we are both secure in our jobs.
- 2. Our family income is greater than it was at earlier points in our married life.
- 3. We have a child we hope is headed to college next year, so we know that two of the three years of the capital campaign will take place with that added burden to our expenses.
- 4. I am the minister, which brings with it a certain obligation.
- 5. In our personal context, Leslie and I are prayerfully considering our commitment to the “Shining Our Light” campaign.
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d. It is not about what someone else is doing, but about what I am doing or in your case, what you are doing.
- Each of us is being asked to make a personal commitment to the Shining Our Light capital campaign.
- Move 2: Reflect on various reasons to give
b. Obligation giver.
- This person gives because they fell an obligation.
- An obligation to God for all the gifts God has given to her.
- An obligation to support this congregation.
- I am an obligation giver.
- When Leslie and I set a goal of giving at least a tithe, 10%, I view that goal as an obligation.
- I arrange to have checks sent from my checking account twice a month to meet that obligation.
- I monitor our income (Leslie's income fluctuates with her work and I make varying amounts as a soccer referee) and our giving to make sure that we are reaching our giving goal.
- When I think about our commitment to the “Shining Our Light” capital campaign, I begin with what should my obligation be.
- The good news about an obligation giver is that they consistently give whether they are excited about what's happening or not.
c. But I live in split household. My wife is more interested in giving to specific projects.
1. If she hears about a mission project in Africa or a local group raising funds to help a specific person or project, she calls me or texts me or tracks me down and says we need to give to this project.
2. She usually feels passionate about the project.
3. She does not have much sympathy when her obligation giving husband says, “I'm not sure we can give to that, we've already given enough to meet our giving goal.”
4. In other words, when you want funds for that special project, you better as my wife!
5. When Leslie thinks about the “shining our Light” capital campaign, she thinks about the particular projects that excite her.
d. In truth, most of have a bit of both the obligation giver and the specific project giver in us.
e. As you consider your personal commitment to the Shining Our Light capital campaign, I hope you will be open to the the obligation of giving we have and the passion and excitement of the particular projects involved in this campaign.
Move 3: Giving as part of discipleship
a. King David connected his giving with the many blessings God had showered on him. His giving was part of what it meant to be in relationship with God.
b. Paul understands giving to be part of what it means to be a follower of the resurrected Christ.
- Paul writes to these fledgling followers of Christ to help them figure out how to be Christians in their world.
- A world where they are at odds with the governing authorities.
- At odds with the Jewish tradition out of which they came.
- At odds with each other.
- Paul offers them lots of advice on how to live out their new found calling as disciples of Christ.
- An important part of that is their giving. Paul challenges them to eagerly give both to support ministries in their communities and to support Christians in other places.
- As each of us is invited to consider our commitment to the “shining Our Light” campaign, we are asked to do so in the context of our calling as disciples of Christ.
Conclusion: Story about a church that was short on its budget; had a contest to see who could give the most on a Sunday morning to catch up the shortfall; winner could pick three hymns.
Sunday arrrives; offering; Treasurer quickly goes through the offering; minister announces that Ms. Johnson, the spinster woman has given the most; she makes her way from back of the sanctuary on her walker; minister introduces her and announces she now gets to pick three hymns – she immediately looks out at the congregation and points as she says, “I pick him, and him, and him...”
Lots of different motivations to give.
King David wanted to give in response to the blessings he had received from God.
Paul wanted to give as a part of his calling as a disciple of Christ.
Each of us is being asked to prayerfully consider what our personal commitment will be to our "Shining our Light" capital campaign.
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