History... and Future

It has been fascinating and most enjoyable for me to have been able to visit several of the congregations in our Presbytery.  Without fail, I have been greeted with kindness and warmth.  Having lived most of my life in parts of the country where something that is 100 years old is "old," it's a joy for this history buff to visit congregations that are well over 200 years old.  I love this sense of history in  our churches and our part of the state. As much as I love history, I also love looking toward the future.

The image in Genesis 1 of the Spirit (or wind, or breath) of God moving over the primordial chaos, readying to birth order and wonder in creation, is a powerful image for me of how the Lord is stirring in our midst to give birth to new life in the future. This is the time of year when many, even most, of our congregations are in the midst of discerning their financial stewardship needs for the future.  It's always tempting during these times to simply ask, "Well, what do we need for the next 12 months?"  What if we reshaped the question?  What if we asked, "What seeds need to be planted in 2014 for the next 20, 50, 100 years of worship, witness, ministry, and work to be lived in faithful discipleship to the God of all creation?"  This might reframe the issue, don't you think?

Another way to look at this whole issue, of course, is not to consider what we should give to God, as if we were considering how much of our credit card balance is really "due" this month.  Rather, we can look at this as how we demonstrate our gratitude to God for God's gifts to us in the first place.  A friend and blogger recently wrote about financial stewardship in this way:  "It helps if people understand,... in the Christian tradition, that God gives people 100 percent of everything and  lets them keep up to 90 percent if they need to." May God bless and guide you all during these weeks of discerning people's financial stewardship.  The results will affect not just 2014 but also the years and decades to come.

Blessings and peace,

Steve