Even I Like this Buckeye Van

Pastor Robert, would you be able to attend a photo gathering at Medill Elementary School on Tuesday at 12:30?

Sure! What's going on? 

Our church gave $1,000 to help a family with two disabled children have a handicap accessible van that includes a chair lift.

OK, I can do that!

When I arrived at the school, I walked passed the van (see picture above) and was very impressed! I approached the door of the school and could see that they were already having a special party in the hallway. Standing there were the very grateful parents and their two children sitting in wheel chairs. A teacher introduced them to me. I told them that I was Pastor Robert from First United Methodist Church in Lancaster. I looked up at the parents and said,

My church is so glad that we could help contribute funds toward the van. That's why we're here. We're here to be a blessing.

I wish all 1,400 members of our congregation could have seen the look of deep gratitude in each of their eyes.

They thanked me (meaning you, the congregation) over and over again as if I didn't hear them the first two times. Dad and mom were so appreciative that our church gave so much to help them even though we hadn't ever met their family personally and they don't attend our church. I wish all 1,400 members of our congregation could have seen the look of deep gratitude in each of their eyes.

Actually, we do know this family. About two years ago, we provided an air conditioner for this family because one of their children had extensive surgery and would need to stay in their hot apartment during the extensive recovery process.

Our church was able to make this generous donation through your faithful giving to our Local Relief Fund. We used to call this our Pastor's Discretionary Fund but that sounded like it was a fund to send the pastors on a vacation to Hawaii! This fund has always been used to help people like this family who are facing significant financial challenges and who are finding it difficult to care for basic needs.

Thank You!

So thank you church for helping to buy a special van that will help this family get from place to place. Our dollars are being used to build God's kingdom right here in our community!

As I was getting ready to leave the school, a church member standing next to me said, Hey Robert, did you notice the large Buckeye decal that is on the back of the van? Isn't it nice? If you look closely at the picture of the van above, you can see this sticker on the back side of the van.

The new owners of the van overheard our conversation and they looked at me with a confused look. The church member said, Oh, don't worry about him. He's just a Penn State fan.

I have to admit that even though I bleed blue and white, that Buckeye sticker looks really great on that van!

SPECIAL NOTE: Our Local Relief Fund is received on the first Sunday of each month when traditionally we offer the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Click here for the article about this story in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.

Join the Spoon Challenge!

This past Sunday as part of our church-wide "Living Generously" focus, I challenged our congregation to intentionally serve three different people this week. Here's the link for the sermon. Throughout Jesus' ministry, he went out of his way to show God's love to people. This was Jesus' way of pointing people to God's in-breaking kingdom.

"Spoons are for feeding ourselves but ladles are for serving others."

To remind us of this serving challenge, each worshipper was given a white plastic spoon. The spoon was supposed to be a ladle but I wasn't able to find an inexpensive bulk supply of plastic ladles to hand out to everyone. As the saying goes, spoons are for feeding ourselves but ladles are for serving others.

Don't be like this guy who used his spoon to stuff himself with tons of ice cream.

Be more like  this person who used her ladle to serve others.

We want to hear how God prompted you to go out of your way to serve somebody in the name of Christ this week. You can share your stories on our Lancaster First UMC Facebook page or send me an email at robertmcdowell@lancasterfumc.org.

"Lord bless our congregation as we seek to be open to the promptings of your Holy Spirit to serve the needs of others this week. Teach us what it means to live generously. Amen."

Living Generously - Hug a Lutheran Today

[Henry Mechior Muhlenberg,1711-1787,  Founder of American Lutheran Church.]

Our church is in the middle of a church wide "Living Generously" focus. Through our worship services and Sunday School classes and small groups, we are following the character, Frank Donovan family who is learning what it means to live generously. On today's church calendar (October 7), we celebrate a man who made a huge impact in the church through his generosity.

Lutherans have their Henry Melchior Muhlenberg...

United Methodists have their Francis Asbury who traveled from England to help organize and grow the Methodist movement in America in the 1700's. Lutherans have their Henry Melchior Muhlenberg who left Germany and did something very similar around that same time with Lutherans living in America.

"Who and what he was, future ages will know without a stone."

Muhlenberg died on October 7, 1787 and is buried at Trappe, Pennsylvania. His epitaph (in Latin) reads: "Who and what he was, future ages will know without a stone." Students at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania and Lutherans in general are beneficiaries of his generosity.

How might we observe this special day? Do something nice for someone. Go out of your way to serve others. Share your faith. Hug a Lutheran. Don't hold back. Live generously.

First Week "Living Generously" Reflections

During a recent worship service, Judy Hug, a church member reminded us that several young people had recently volunteered through United Way by dusting, polishing, and cleaning our sanctuary. As Judy shared this news with us, I felt so humbled that people outside our church had done this on our behalf. Sometimes, I forget about the people who serve in such gracious ways.

We are called to "live generously."

Our congregation has just begun a five-week church-wide focus called, “Living Generously.” We are already discovering through this focus that God has blessed us in so many ways and we are called to share these blessings with others. We are called to “live generously.”

My eyes are becoming more open to the blessings that are all around me thanks to this church study. I look forward to the remaining weeks of this series. “O Lord, help me to live generously for you. Amen.”

Living Generously Small Groups In Full Swing

[Small groups meeting together last night at our Crossroads facility to view the 1st week video of Living Generously. The groups then met separately to continue their discussions and time of prayer.]

Our Living Generously church-wide focus began this past Sunday (September 28.) Some of our Living Generously small groups met last evening (see above picture) as part of our Wednesday Fellowship program at our Crossroads facility. The groups met together for the first few minutes to watch the video for the first week of the series. After the video, we broke into our smaller groups for further discussion and prayer.

[A scene from the first Living Generously video shown at the September 28 worship services. Frank Donovan is consulting with his financial advisor.]

Other small groups are meeting at other times during the week and our adult Sunday School classes are also focusing on the Living Generously theme during these five weeks. Small group participants books are available along with a video presentation based on the previous Sunday's theme.

It's also prompting people to think how God is calling us to be a blessing to others by living generously.

We are already hearing people share how this Living Generously series is helping them see signs of God's generosity throughout our day to day living. It's also prompting people to think how God is calling us to be a blessing to others by living generously.

If you would like to become part of a Living Generously small group, there's still time to sign up. Contact our Discipleship Director, Dan Kemp at dankemp@lancasterfumc.org for more information or you can simply sign up at the information table next to the desk in our church parlor.

A Real Life "Living Generously" Story - Day #2 of Five-Week Spiritual Focus

So, I guess it doesn't take long for God to provide an opportunity to practice what was preached the previous day in worship. This opportunity occurred exactly 24 hours after we sung the last song in worship yesterday.

A family of five children, ages 4 months old to 16 years old stopped by our church today. They left their home in Columbus because they live next to a drug house and there was a murder in their neighborhood. For the past week, they have been living out of their van and looking for shelter. Our shelters in Lancaster are currently full.

Some of our church staff met the family at a gas station and put $40 of gas in their van so that they will be able to continue driving to another town where they will hopefully be able to live with an uncle. With the help of today's Monday lunch crew, we were also able to give them some food and table settings.

As one staff member shared, "They are certainly at rock bottom." Let's pray for this family as they seek to find a new place to stay where they can be safe and get back on their feet again.

Join us this upcoming Sunday as we continue our "Living Generously" church-wide focus. Let's continue to be open to the opportunities where God may be calling us to live generously and be a blessing to others.

See you Sunday!

The Right Scripture at the Right Time

[View from the top of a mountain in Central Pennsylvania where my dad went deer hunting every year.]

As the sun was rising above the beautiful mountain range in Central Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, I randomly opened the bible to begin my day. It opened to Psalm 125 which had these very appropriate words for my geographical setting, As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time on and for evermore.

I like to spend time at the mountains. It’s where dad took me deer hunting and where our family enjoyed summer vacations. This area is filled with God’s beauty. The early morning mountain fog, the beautiful and well kept farms, and the nearby State Park with a crystal clear lake shape my childhood memories.

That morning, when I read that bible verse about the mountains, a smile came to my face. God really does provide the right scriptures at the right time for us. As I read that verse and took in the beauty of the sun rising above the mountains, I was reminded of God’s protection and presence in my life.

We are in the middle of our church-wide “Committed to Christ: Six Key Steps to a Generous Life. The steps include prayer, bible reading, worship attendance, witnessing, financial giving, and serving. When we make a commitment to make these six steps a priority in our lives we become more aware of God’s presence.

I’m so glad that I opened the bible to Psalm 125 that morning in the mountains because God had a special message for me that day. May God bless each of you as we continue our “Committed to Christ” journey together.

New Commitments to Follow Jesus Christ!

   

     For our first Sunday of our "Committed to Christ" sermon series, 29 people made first time commitments to follow Jesus Christ! Another 256 of us renewed our commitment to follow Christ! Praise God!

     Lord, thank you for this past Sunday in which many people in our church made a commitment to be followers of Jesus Christ. Some, have made a first time commitment to follow you. They may be excited and nervous at the same time as they begin this new journey of faith. Bless them and remind them that they are not alone. You promise to always be with them and you provide a community of faith to support and surround them as they live out their commitment to you. 

     And Lord, thank you for the many people who made a re-commitment to follow you. As we continue to explore how to stay in a strong relationship with you during the remaining six weeks of our "Committed To Christ" focus, bless our church that we might be the faithful community you are calling us to be. Amen.

     Our "Committed to Christ" journey over the next six Sundays:

September
22 - Prayer
29 - Bible Reading

October
6 - Weekly Worship
13 - Witnessing
20 - Financial Giving
27 - Serving

Church-Wide "Committed to Christ" Focus - September & October

This month, our congregation will begin a forty day journey exploring the theme of what it means to be fully committed disciples of Jesus Christ. During each Sunday of our seven week journey, we will be invited to make personal commitments in the areas of prayer, bible reading, worship attendance, witnessing, financial giving, and service. Several of our Sunday School classes and small groups will be focusing on these topics as well. We will have ministry fair displays corresponding to each week's theme beginning Sunday, September 22.

We are also invited to participate in a forty day devotional book reading beginning Wednesday, September 11 and lasting through Saturday, October 26. These have been available in our church parlor.

One of my prayers during these weeks leading up to our forty day journey is for us to make worship attendance a top priority during this time. Our weekly worship services (September 15 through October 27) will give us a lot to think about as we seek to be fully committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

Mr. Quarter Man

Every once in a while, Mr. Quarter Man will slip me a quarter or two as I'm walking by during some church event. One night after getting home from church, I checked my pockets only to find a quarter and an OSU golf tee in my pocket!

How did that happen? Am I that oblivious to people dropping things into my pocket? Oh, that's right. Mr. Quarter Man was at the event. It definitely was him!

Yesterday after one of the worship services, I'm shaking hands at the door as people are leaving. A very nice lady who I didn't recognized shook my hand and said how much she enjoyed the service. As she took away her hand, a quarter fell to the floor. I politely picked it up thinking that it was her quarter which she dropped by mistake.

As soon as I handed it to her, she gave it right back to me and said, "No, this is your quarter." I said, "Are you sure?" Just then, the next person who was with this lady also handed me a quarter. And then the next person. Mr. Quarter Man was up to his tricks again! He planned this whole thing out during the worship service with his relatives who were visiting him from out of town.

Why did this man become Mr. Quarter Man? This is proof that some people do listen to the sermon. I preached a sermon in the fall of 2009 about how I have a problem hoarding quarters. It was my stewardship sermon. Below is an exerpt from this sermon.

And I just want Mr. Quarter Man to know that the four quarters I received from his family members are being donated to the church. I think by giving me these quarters, he has helped me to become a more generous giver.

Thanks, Mr. Quarter Man! But if it's ok with you, I'd like to keep that golf tee!

From the November 8, 2009 sermon, "Big Spender" by Pastor Robert McDowell

I’m not sure why I’m as fixated as I am with quarters. Perhaps it was that time when I was in a major city, pulled into an open parking spot along a busy street, only to find out that the parking meter only took quarters, something I didn’t have at the time.

Or maybe, it’s because you never know when you want to buy a newspaper on the spur of the moment. And you just never know when you might have a hankering for one of those giant size gum balls. What if you didn’t have a quarter in your pocket? That would be terrible.

Whatever my issues are, I just don’t like to part with my precious quarters. And here I thought I was a big spender!

Maybe this is why I am enthralled with this story of the widow and the two copper coins from Mark’s Gospel.

As Jesus is teaching, he decides to do a little people watching with his disciples. They were sitting across from where the Temple treasury was located. The Temple treasury was most likely a large box that had a little opening at the top of it for people to place their money to support the work of the Temple.

It was out in the open where the crowds would walk, so this would have been a great location for Jesus and his disciples to do some people watching. Picture crowds walking by and once in a while someone stepping up to this treasury box to drop in some money.

Evidently, while they were watching all of this, they would spot a few people who had a lot of money to drop into the box. And because they had so much money to donate, they would stand there for a long time dropping in one coin at a time. But obviously, they didn’t give away everything they had, because they were wearing the nicest clothes and they probably had plenty of money to eat at the finest restaurant later that day.

I can’t help but to think that the disciples would have been impressed as they sat there watching all of the rich people putting large sums of money into the Temple treasury. Who knows, maybe the disciples were feeling a little envious as they watched this impressive display of wealth and charitable giving taking place before their eyes.

As one person after another makes their way to drop in their big payments, someone makes her way to the same treasury box and in a very brief moment, she drops in two copper coins, and is lost in the crowd again.

Jesus, who always knew what to look for in a crowd, turns to the disciples, and makes sure they didn’t miss what this unassuming woman had just done. Jesus wanted the disciples to know who the big spender really was during their people watching exercise. It wasn’t the one wearing the nicest clothes and who gave the highest dollar amount. It was the one who gave all that she had to her name. Two copper coins.
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Thank You for Giving to the Lord

Thank you for your gift of $1,122 to go toward the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) spring storms relief.

We also gave $4,672.70 through our special Easter offering to support our missionaries and the upcoming West Ohio Annual Conference miracle offering.

Thank you for giving to the Lord!
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Stewardship Reflections - Getting Ready for "Christmas in July"

Over the past two Sundays here at Lancaster First UMC, we have been focusing on how our denominational apportionment money is being used to bring transformation to our community and world in the name of Jesus Christ. The reason for this focus is due to our month long "Christmas in July" special offering which will go toward our apportionments at both the district and conference levels. On Sunday, July 25, during our "Christmas in July" worship celebration, we will be announcing our special offering total. It will be a very special day! Below is the article.
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Leading Ideas is a free bi-weekly newsletter offered by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary. It is an excellent source of support and ideas. The March 31 edition featured an article by Cynthia Woolever that explores the question, "Why People Give." Here are ten reasons that emerge from a recent U.S. Congregational Survey.
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"The most important is gratitude. About half said they give to the congregation because they feel a sense of gratitude for God's love and goodness. (49% said this is a major influence on giving decisions.) More than one in three worshipers say they give to support God's work in the world. Giving out of a sense of duty was the third most important influence. It motivated the giving of about one in three worshipers. The fourth most important influence rests on the church's teaching that the Bible instructs believers to support their congregation. One in four worshipers described this as a major influence. Finally, the last major influence in the top five is a sense of obligation to support the work of their local congregation."

"The remaining five factors rated by worshipers are less important in their motivations for giving. Hearing about specific needs was rated sixth (23%). The seventh most influential factor is a sense of gratitude for help that the worshiper and his or her family receive from their involvement; about one in five worshipers said this was a major influence. Very few worshipers rated the last two factors as major influences on congregational giving the congregation's or leader's urging to give and possible tax benefits."

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Stewardship Reflections

Yesterday, I was able to worship at Stewartstown United Methodist Church, my home church located in southeastern, Pennsylvania. (See picture.) They are in the midst of a stewardship sermon series and one of the points in the sermon has stuck with me:

"Stewardship is Lordship, not hoardship."

This memorable quote reminds us that how we handle our financial resources is connected with the ultimate authority in our lives. Who calls the shots in my life? Me or the Lord Jesus Christ?

I remember a woman in one of the churches I was serving at the time telling me about how she arrived at what she would be pledging toward a capital fund drive the church was conducting.

She said, "When the campaign leaders asked us to write down a dollar amount to make as a pledge, I wrote down what seemed like an appropriate amount. But after I went home and prayed about it a little more, it was like God was speaking to me to reconsider the amount I had put on the card. I ended up pledging an even larger amount and it ended up being the right amount for me to give."

The sermon at my home church also referenced Haiti and how this tragedy of huge proportions has given us an awareness of just how much we really have here in the United States. It has awakened us to this very important and biblical stewardship principle:
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"Stewardship is Lordship, not hoardship."

P.S. On a slightly different note, it was the first time I have not sat next to my mother in worship at my home church during a visit. A few weeks ago, she fell and fractured her pelvis and her arm and has been in a rehab. unit. In a way, I felt like I was worshipping on her behalf as I greeted her many friends who were seated near my pew.

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The Why of Christmas Presents

Yesterday, a staff member told me about how exciting it was to see the many Christmas gifts that have been donated to be given to those who can use a little extra help this Christmas. Whether we buy Christmas gifts for a family member, a friend, or for people in need, the "why" of buying Christmas presents is an interesting question.

My wife, Penny has already told me, "We don't really need to buy anything for each other this Christmas, so let's just keep it simple this year." Fair enough, but c'mon. If I see something that I think she might like, I'm going to buy it. There's just something inside us that wants to give to others.

In the mail yesterday, I received the annual report from York College of Pennsylvania where I graduated in '85. This report is always very well done on glossy paper, with lots of pictures, inspiring stories, and of course, the names of people who have given financially to the college this past year.

Throughout these pages, small boxes appeared which included brief quotes by donors as to why they gave a gift to the college. Here are just a few:

"I give to York College in the hope that other students will have the chance to have their needs met, and their opportunities realized."

"...the staff in the Education Department prepared me to be an excellent elementary school teacher!"

"I want to make sure that other students have the same opportunities that were available to me."

"I give to YCP because I believe in giving back..."

Here's one from one of my History professors: "York College offered us, as members of the faculty, the opportunity to grow professionally, intellectually, and personally. We hope that our gifts will enable others to experience opportunities as fulfilling as those we have enjoyed at YCP."

From these quotes, I notice that the "why" in giving gifts to the college is because these persons have received something from the college that has made an important difference in their lives and they want to give back.

The next time you get an impulse to buy a Christmas gift for someone, think about why you want to buy that gift. As we approach the coming celebration of Christmas, hopefully the biggest reason we want to offer our gifts has something to do with this...

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.'" - Luke 2:10-11

Stewardship Reflections

This is a season in which many churches are holding their stewardship campaigns as they prepare for a new year of ministries. Here at First United Methodist Church, we will be holding our stewardship campaign on Sunday, November 8.

This is my 4th recent post to help us reflect on stewardship and it also gives me a reason to post beautiful pictures of the changing autumn leaves!

Stewardship Reflection:

Several years ago, I had a conversation with another United Methodist pastor in my district about stewardship in his church. It was refreshing to hear him share that based on the average household income in his area, members of his church were giving somewhere around 5% of their income to support the ministries of the church.

At the time of our conversation, I had read that the Wesleyan denomination had the highest percentage of givers of all the church denominations. Our denomination (United Methodist) was bunched together with several other mainline denominations around the 2% average giving. One of the reasons the Wesleyan denomination has a stronger financial giving record is because they have consistently taught the biblical principle of tithing (giving 10% of your income to support the ministries of the church) to each generation.

Back to the conversation with the United Methodist pastor: So I asked him, "What gives? Why is your church giving at such a higher level than most other United Methodist churches?" His response mirrored the reason the Wesleyan denomination has been at the top of the list in terms of giving. Before he arrived at the church to serve as pastor, the pastors and key lay people before him had consistently taught the biblical principle of tithing to each generation in the congregation. Tithing had become a core value of that church.

Over the years, I have learned that becoming a tither or moving closer to tithing usually doesn't happen overnight. It's a process of putting our giving to Christ and the church at the top of our budget with the goal of giving the biblical principle of 10%.

It's exciting when people in the congregation see how their generous giving fuels ministries which help us fulfill our stated mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world. Our giving takes on that snow ball effect. As we see lives being transformed through the grace of Jesus Christ, we want to give even more since we can see how God is at work through our giving.

Stewardship Reflections

This is a season in which many churches are holding their stewardship campaigns as they prepare for a new year of ministries. Here at First United Methodist Church, we will be holding our stewardship campaign on Sunday, November 8. This is my 3rd post to help us reflect on stewardship and it also gives me a reason to post a beautiful picture of the changing autumn leaves! Ok, this time the picture is more about our dogs going for a walk in the leaves.

Stewardship Reflection:

Beginning in 1731, at the age of 28, John Wesley, 18th century founder of the Methodist movement, began to limit his expenses so that he could give more to assist the poor. In that year his expenses were 28 lbs, his income 30, leaving him 2 to give away. The next year his income doubled, his expenses remained at 28 lbs, so he had 32 to give away. As Wesley’s income grew over the years to as much as 120 lbs, he maintained the standard of living established early in his career and used the rest to assist others in a variety of ways.

Wesley used his charitable giving as direct aid to those in need. This was done in part through the “class meetings” which included many who were among the poor. Wesley took the further step to establish institutions to empower those in need to develop skills to help themselves. He helped establish schools for poor children and weaving factories for the employment of widows. He created a loan fund for struggling merchants. He even established medical clinics so that the poor might have health care.

Stewardship Reflections

This is a season in which many churches are holding their stewardship campaigns as they prepare for a new year of ministries. Here at First United Methodist Church, we will be holding our stewardship campaign on Sunday, November 8. This is my 2nd post to help us reflect on stewardship and it also gives me a reason to post a beautiful picture of the changing autumn leaves!

A couple of years ago a pastor of a church called me and in the course of our conversation he told me this story, “Something wonderful happened yesterday in church. In between services, two teenage boys in our church came up to me and gave me two one hundred dollar bills. And they said, ‘We want to donate this money to the New Orleans Christmas outreach fund that we talked about in church today, and please keep it anonymous.’"

And I said to this pastor, “Wow. That was a big amount of money for two youth to give in the church.” And he said, “Actually, they’re brothers. And instead of the parents giving them gifts for Christmas this year, they gave them each a hundred dollars just a few days ago to spend on anything they wanted and they chose to donate it all to this mission outreach. These two teenage brothers were so moved by the pictures of the devastation in New Orleans during the worship service, that they knew Jesus wanted them to do this."

This pastor went on to tell me, “I’m not going to forget what these two youth did for a long time to come.”

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This story reminds me of the time when Jesus was teaching his disciples about stewardship and pointed out to them a poor widow who gave all that she had by placing two small coins into the Temple treasury.

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We'll be focusing on the story of the poor widow in worship on November 8. Her act of generous stewardship will not be forgotten.

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Enjoy the changing leaves!

Stewardship Reflections

With the beginning of autumn, many churches offer sermons or even a series of sermons on stewardship and the handling of money, especially as we begin to put together church budgets for the upcoming year. At Lancaster First, we will focus on this important spiritual topic of stewardship in early November.

John Wesley, the 18th century founder of Methodism, preached, taught, and wrote on the topic of stewardship extensively. Below is one of his famous teachings on the topic of money. This three-part summary is an easy way for us to remember what it means to be good stewards of all that God has given us.

Gain All You Can. However, do this without hurting your neighbor. We cannot ruin our neighbor's trade to advance our own.

Save All You Can. Do not throw precious money and talent away in idle expenses, which is the same as throwing it into the sea.

Give All You Can. First, provide things needed for yourself, your wife, children, and any others who are part of your household including whatever is moderately required to maintain health and strength. If you have a surplus, then "do good to them that are part of the household of faith." If there is still a surplus, "as you have opportunity, do good unto all men."

Instead of trusting riches, Wesley encourages us to “trust in the living God; then we will be safe under the shadow of the Almighty; his faithfulness and truth shall be our shield and buckler.”
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The Stewardship Crisis

"Christianity Today" has a recent article on a looming crisis facing the church regarding stewardship and church finances.

First, the bad news:

- Over 25% of Christians give absolutely no financial gift to support the work of the church they attend. I was shocked at this high figure. Does this mean that based on our church membership, that almost 200 of our church members don't give anything at all?

- 36% of church goers give less than 2% of their take home pay to the church.

- The average financial amount that a church attendee gives to his/her local church is approximately $200 a year which represents about a half of one per cent of the average person's after tax income.

Here are some reasons why stewardship is suffering:

- People have overextended themselves with house and cay payments. These overextended financial commitments have caused the percentage of fixed living expenses to go from 54% to 75%. In other words, because of tremendous debt, people don't have anything left to give.

- People have a general mistrust of how organizations and in this case, the church, will spend their money.

- Pastors and church leaders are becoming more and more reluctant to talk about stewardship in church. Sadly, more and more pastors are neglecting their responsibility to tithe and to lead by example.

And now some hopeful news which includes a challenge:

- The key in seeing growth in the joy of extravagant giving to the work of Christ and the church is through discipline and good financial habits. As we all know, habits and discipline are not developed overnight but over the course of several weeks, months, and even years.

As I reflect on this article, I think of how the Apostle Paul wasn't shy about encouraging the churches he founded to be generous in their giving not only for their own ministries but for ministries beyond their local area.

I also believe that one of the reasons why many people haven't adopted biblical stewardship habits is because the church doesn't always do a very good job of sharing how our gifts are transforming people and the world for Jesus Christ. We need to share these stories of transformation at every opportunity.

Effective January 1st, candidates for ordination will be expected to be tithers (give 10% of their income to the work of Christ and the church.) Pastors need to lead by example, so this is a good move for the UMC to take.

How Much Is 700 Billion Dollars?

The recent $700 billion dollar proposed bailout of our nation’s financial system has created a climate of alarm, embarrassment, anger, and disbelief that our country has fallen so far. On SNL’s satirical “Weekend Report,” the news anchor says, “To give you an idea of how much $700 billion dollars is, I can’t give you an idea of how much $700 billion dollars is.”

Most of us already knew that we were a nation living on the edge, feeding off greed and the insatiable appetite of always wanting more toys, but how many of us knew that we were this close to collapse? Even with all of the safeguards surrounding the proposed bailout, we have been painfully reminded of the cost of being part of a culture which promotes the philosophy that enough is never really enough.

Many of our area churches are participating in stewardship campaigns this fall to prepare for 2009. Part of our stewardship campaign includes reflecting on what it means to be faithful with the financial resources God has given us. Obviously, the secular agenda’s approach to handling money (unbridled capitalism) when left unchecked, offers instant gratification, but in the end, will lead us down a dead-end street (the street formerly known as Wall Street.).

Enter the biblical view of stewardship and God’s call for each person to recognize that all good gifts come from God: a roof over our heads, food for the table, skills and abilities, the air we breathe, good health, loving relationships, a caring and nurturing community of faith, and the list goes on and on. When we remember this basic truth that all good gifts come from God, our attitudes and approach to money take on a whole new meaning.

Not only do we become more grateful for what we already have, we begin to see ourselves as extensions of God’s grace on behalf of a world in great need. Our lifestyles begin to reflect the giving nature of God, and we grow in what it means to practice extravagant generosity through the sharing of our financial gifts with those who are hurting.

Recently, our community participated in an annual two-mile Hunger Walk, CROP Walk, in which 25% of all funds collected remain right here with our Greene county FISH food pantry. The remaining money will go to support world-wide hunger relief efforts. Our food pantries are in need of additional financial and volunteer help, especially after the recent wind storm that left thousands of people without power.

As I made the stroll down the Xenia bike path and through the canopy of changing leaves on that warm autumn day, it was obvious that God’s many gifts were streaming down upon us from every direction. Pure gifts. Pure grace. So yeah…I know how much $700 billion dollars is and it’s nothing compared to the immeasurable love of God.

That’s something Wall Street can’t teach us.