Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.” – Luke 21:1-4
Dear Disciple of Christ,
Last week I reflected on one aspect of stewardship, that of our recognizing all we have is a gift from God intended to be used for the cause of Christ in the world. I’d like to continue with the topic, discussing how my views of stewardship grew and developed based not just on seminary training but on real life; life in my congregation in Queens.
As was then and is now my perspective, when someone visits our congregation, they should be welcomed and greeted and, I believe, contacted as quickly as possible. The studies I’ve done indicate that a person (or family) will decide by 36 hours after worship if they are returning to the church they visited. The advantage in visiting them within that 36 hours, is we have the opportunity to answer any questions or even apologize for any “failures” in welcoming that person or family. I did that back in Queens when we had a visitor attend one Sunday who seemed pretty happy to be at our church.
I began by simply asking him how he found his way to our church. He had been (and was still, at the time) a member of a congregation over in Manhattan. There would be a natural benefit we could offer just on the basis of distance and travel for him getting to his church each week. But it was pretty clear the distance was not a factor in his decision to look for another church. As I’ve mentioned, no one I’ve ever met woke up one Sunday and said to their spouse, “Hey, Hon. We don’t have anything else to do today. How about if we try out that church down the street.” No, in every conversation I’ve had with people, “something” is going on. Many times there is a precipitating event or events that cause somebody to start “church shopping” (their description, not mine).
We talked, small talk, for a while, and when he didn’t offer a (the) reason, I asked him directly what brought him to Atonement. “Well,” he said with some sadness in his voice, “I’m having some trouble at my church. I’ve been a member for many years but things have changed.” “Oh,” I said, “How so?” He went on to describe the familiar development of his church getting smaller and smaller and being challenged by limited resources (donations) of the members. In reality they were asset rich, in fact, VERY rich. They owned an entire city block of Manhattan (not unusual for churches of all kinds as immigrant groups came into the city and settled in communities around their churches). To “make ends meet,” they sold most of the block to a developer and everyone rejoiced, completely assured their troubles with money were over.
In reality, their troubles were just beginning in earnest. Now they had so much money and interest income from the sale but the congregation itself was worse off than when they had financial shortfalls. Now, all council meetings and congregational meetings were consumed by discussions (fights?) over how to invest the money and how to spend it. One thing was sure and that was the amount being made available was more than they could have imagined. AND, it overshadowed any giving on the part of the members. In fact, there had not been an annual stewardship program since the land was sold. Individual giving seemed fruitless and useless and insignificant compared to the interest alone on the sale of the property.
So the visitor was looking for a place where he and his giving could make a difference. It is so hard to do that, isn’t it? Can we actually believe that Jesus was literally telling the truth, that the smallest amount given (the widow’s mite) was actually greater than the large gifts? What Jesus was teaching was that stewardship is, and always will be a “singular” work. It is not to say that there isn’t a corporate aspect to giving in the church to support the mission and ministries of the church. But that should and must begin with the heartfelt giving of the individual members. If we only see our giving as supporting a budget, we may miss the joy of recognizing that all we have is a gift from God. In His wisdom He has given us what we have. When we make a pledge or donation, it can represent our very selves and is a statement of our faith.
Just like the widow’s mite, our giving can actually be a great gift when it comes from our hearts. When we are set free from the “love of money,” we can disconnect from that which is, according to Paul, “the root of all evil.” That is no longer simply a giving of a donation. It is an expression of our faith, that we believe we have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
It was sad the visitor couldn’t have seen that in his church in Manhattan. I actually did encourage him to go back and share some “stewardship” ideas, but he had tried and he couldn’t get them to take their eyes off the “pile,” to allow each of them to be a faithful steward of God’s blessings. He joined our church with joy and became a “happy steward,” but I never forgot the danger that can come with the surplus that interferes with the joyful giving of each member. May each of our donations come as a joyful response to the blessings God is giving us.
Peace in His service and blessings in stewardship,
Pastor Johnson