Wellspring UMC; Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost; November 11, 2007:

-Deuteronomy 14: 22-29; 2 Corinthians 8: 1-7

“The Grace of Giving”

In 1993, while in seminary, I made a trip home to visit my family. There are many pastors in my family, including my brother in law, and as often happens at the dinner table, the conversation turns toward church stuff. As a seminarian I was interested in learning, and my family is always eager to share, and at some point my brother in law Steve said, “Bob Parsons is building a church out in Centreville, and the monthly mortgage is $40,000.” Without thinking my immediate response was, “I’d never want to be assigned to a place like that!”

Now if you’ve been here awhile, you heard me say before, “never say never.” I said I’d never be a pastor, Teresa said she’d never marry a preacher, and both of us said we’d never want to be responsible for that kind of debt! Sure enough, despite that “never” I was assigned to that very church when I entered the ministry two years later.

After I knew I was going to serve there, I began to make preparations for what was before me, and I realized that I had never been through a stewardship campaign in my life. I had grown up in congregations that simply expected people to give. If there was a need, folks stepped up to the plate, and things got done, but I had not really been through a true stewardship effort, at least not that I could remember.

I grew up in churches with folks who were a lot like my parents. They taught us that we’re simply supposed to tithe. That is, that God calls us to give 10% of our income toward God’s purposes. Whether that’s before or after taxes, that’s up to us, and whether it’s to the church or not, that too was left up to us in responding to God, but the expectation was for us to tithe. I have to tell you, that didn’t make much sense to me. There’s a rebellious streak in me that screamed inside saying, “Well, that’s a good plan, but to just give because God says so isn’t good enough for me.” I asked questions like, “So is this God’s idea or Church’s idea?” Is this just an ancient means of assuring that synagogues and churches stay open?” In addition to these questions I thought about how much I could use that extra 10%.

Of course, I never verbalized those questions at the time, lest I receive an answer that would convince me to give that which I wanted to hold onto, and since I’d never been through a stewardship focus, I’d not had that offered to me either. So I didn’t tithe, much less give consistently to the church in high school, college, or even in seminary...until I met my wife, a lifetime tither.

I had a great excuse. I was in graduate school. 10% of nothing is nothing. However, I watched the way Teresa handled her money and time. She was faithful in giving God both, and it was amazing to see how God used those gifts to make a difference around her as well as to bolster her faith.

After observing this I brought up the subject, and she shared with me that that’s how she was taught and that she’d seen evidence of God’s love and grace revealed by her faithfulness to tithing. God worked on my heart in that conversation, and I made the decision to tithe. I did it cold turkey. Oh, I didn’t make much as a bus driver, but I did it. I gave 10% of my income, but in order to do so I had to make small sacrifices. I packed my lunch and made coffee at home instead of going out on campus. I bought generic food. I rode my bike and walked to save gas money, and most importantly, I listened to God and my conscience before purchasing things. I’d ask myself, “Do I really need this?”

Amazingly, God made a way for me to have what I needed. There were weeks when I’d get my paycheck, pay my tithe and bills, and I’d have $20 in my bank account to take me through the next couple of weeks, but I never starved. In fact I received a deeper relationship with God.

That step literally changed my life, because it moved me from relying less on myself and what the world said I should trust in, to trusting God more. The result is that God has been faithful. We have tithed, and God blessed Teresa and I in powerful ways when we lost 3 months of her income while she was on bed rest for 100 days with our oldest son. God has blessed us with unexpected gifts that came just at the right time, and God has blessed us with the reminders of what is most important – family, friends, and God’s grace.

I share this with you for 2 reasons, first, so you know that I’m a strong believer in tithing, not because it is what God stated to the Israelites thousands of years ago, not because the church needs the support, and not because it’s some magical solution where, if we give then God gives back more, rather I’m a believer in tithing, because through such giving, I have seen God work in amazing ways. I’ve seen God exponentially increase the faith of others and myself, and through tithing countless people have developed a deeper relationship with Christ.

Secondly, I share this because I hope that you’ll begin praying about how God might move you toward tithing. Again, not because of the church budget nor any felt obligation to give, but because God wants to be in deeper relationship with us, and God works in powerful ways when we submit ourselves to God’s purposes through giving.

So, what is a tithe? Simply stated, it’s 10% of our income given back for God’s purposes. Whether that’s before or after taxes, or whether we give to the church or another agency or cause which is fulfilling God’s call to care, those decisions are between us and God, but the concept centers around us sharing that with which God has blessed us. It is making sacrifices of our time, talent, and treasure, so that others will receive the love and grace of God. It is stretching ourselves, so that we’re moved to trust the One who has provided all we have received in the first place.

Roland/Debbie read for you part of the Deuternonomic Law. This was the law of God passed to the Jews, and it clearly states, “You shall tithe out of the abundance of what God has provided.” The intent of this gift is two-fold. First, that in giving, one learns to trust God and to rejoice together in God’s bounty. Secondly, the tithe is intended to take care of the resident aliens – widows and orphans, the down and out, the shunned, those who have nothing to live on. This was law, and is today in the Jewish faith. If ones wants to receive the services of the synagogue, one pays a tithe...which by the way is billed to them.

Interesting enough, in the Jewish faith as well as in Christianity, such law can and does become a stumbling block. That is, the call to tithe has been forced upon the faithful across the ages, thus losing the original intention of the tithe. To tithe out of obligation or simply because it is law, was not God’s intention. Instead God proclaimed the tithe as a spiritual discipline which leads to a God-filled, God-infused, God-led life...the life that God wants to give to us as a gift – a life which pours forth love and grace to others.

Fast forward 1500 years or so, and we hear from St. Paul. He has been receiving an offering from the Gentile members of the Body to be sent to the Church in Jerusalem, and as the churches have responded, Paul has seen marvelous things happen. In this passage from 2 Corinthians Paul writes of the Macedonians who were going through a horrible time of persecution and poverty, and yet they gave “out of overflowing joy and a rich generosity.” In fact, Paul says, “they pleaded for the chance to give.”

Paul and those with him did not expect them to respond so powerfully, but in watching them give, they saw rich living by those who gave. They visibly saw God at work, moving through the giving to make a difference in the world. Paul speaks of their attitude of giving as that which was contagious, that which brought joy to all around them, that which emulated the very heart of our Giving God.

Then Paul ends this by saying, “You Corinthians excel in everything – faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness and love – excel as well in this grace of giving.” In other words, we’ve seen in the Macedonians what God does through giving hearts. We’ve observed how God’s Spirit has moved the faithful to live as Christ did – sacrificially and with God’s purpose being central. We’ve seen God in those who give, and the best part is that those who give, don’t only see God, they receive God in all God’s fullness.

Last week I spoke about how stewardship is ultimately about our relationship with God. This past week, I sent out e-mails each day following the prayer guide. In response some folks shared stories of their joys and how God is giving them patience and moving them toward kindness. In the midst of those responses is a yearning for a deeper relationship with God, and in cultivating those relationships God is transforming those who seek Him.

As we enter this week of discernment before handing in our pledge cards next Sunday, we are invited to continue to pray, “God what do you need me to give of my time, talent, and treasure in order for your purposes to be fulfilled through Wellspring?” Then God wants us to listen and respond.

In response, we’re invited to take out the Faith Card in the envelope you’ll receive today. Go over the chart on the back and figure out where your current giving level is. If you are not yet to the point of giving at the level of current givers, which is $32 per week, we invite you to take that step of faith. If you are above that level, we invite you to either take a step forward by giving one more percentage point toward God’s ministries here or if God invites you to do more then take a step of faith toward a tithe. This is a guide to help, and we hope it does.

That being said, however, what is most important is that we each listen and respond as we feel God needs us to. That may mean you are led to give far more than you expected, or it might mean you’ll need to give less. The key is for us to take the words of Paul seriously. After all we excel in so many things, we are called to excel in the grace of giving.

The grace of giving is revealed in the truth that God’s tithes and our offerings are not about what WE receive from God individually or as a community of faith, but they are about GOD’S tithes being used for God’s purposes through us. This is the core of Christian Stewardship. It is the Truth that God urges us to receive, and it is the message revealed in what you’re about to see. A reminder to all of what God’s grace and love is all about...