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A minister received a call from
an Internal Revenue Service agent. “Is Richard Smith a member
of your church?”
“Why, yes, as a matter of fact
he is,” replied the minister.
“Well, I have a report here that
says that he gave $10,000 to the church. Is that accurate?” To
which the minister replied, “Well, I’m not exactly sure but I
can tell you this much: if he didn’t, he will.”
A few years ago an order came
down from the Internal Revenue Service. All non-profits had to
send out statements to their donors indicating that their
donation provided “no tangible benefits.” You will now find
this indication on all statements from the church.
At first I was somewhat
offended. I thought the rule to be somewhat audacious. But I
have now been able to give this a positive spin. The really
valuable benefits of the Christian journey are intangible, and
many could be declared as priceless. Your gifts here produce
priceless fruits.
Jesus told a parable about the
Kingdom of God. He said, “The Kingdom of God is like a man who
discovers a treasure in a field. He hides the jewel, and then
goes and sells all his possessions so he can buy the field.”
This man knew that what was in the field was priceless. The
Kingdom of God says Jesus is like that treasure.
Yes, it does cost money to heat
and cool and maintain this facility. It does cost money to cut
the grass in the summer and remove the snow in the winter. It
costs money to provide curriculum for Sunday School classes
and music for the choirs. It costs money to maintain
excellence in staff leadership and support. Yes, it costs
money to open up new ministries like Reel Sanctuary and Abel’s
Place. But the real benefits of your giving are priceless.
The Old Testament reading from
Isaiah today is an invitation to the people of Israel to come
and to celebrate the priceless gifts of God.
Your presence each week and your
gifts in the offering help make priceless things happen here.
Let me illustrate.
ENDURING COMMUNITY
First,
they produce a sense of enduring community. This is a time in
America when many people hunger for community. Loneliness and
isolation are rampant. It may be our own fault. It may be no
one’s fault. It’s simply true.
We reflected some of this in our
vision statement when we said we are an open and hospitable
community. We didn’t put “church.” We didn’t put
“congregation.” We put “community.” We did so because we
recognized the need for community in our time.
But that expression goes deeper
than our vision statement. I watch what happens here after
worship on Sunday morning and before worship on Sunday night.
I watch you greet and embrace and offer expressions of
gratitude to each other.
I remember a video we showed
here a few years ago. A woman from this congregation had just
gone through the divorce recovery program. She said in the
video, “This program and this church saved my life.”
A family in this congregation
lost a son in a tragic accident a few weeks ago. People from
the congregation came in waves to the funeral home to express
support and love. After a large number of people had come and
gone, somebody went to the family and said, “Your members
really do love you, don’t they?”
I was reminded of a text in the
Book of Acts where those outside the Christian community were
looking at the Christians and saying, “See how these
Christians love one another.”
That kind of community is
priceless.
SPIRITUAL GIFTEDNESS
Also
priceless is the sense of spiritual giftedness. I have only
seriously followed the teachings of spiritual gifts for the
past 10 or 15 years. I now believe it is the way a church is
to be organized.
Probably 350 of you have shared
the spiritual gifts assessment. It’s not like an aptitude test
or an I.Q. test or College Board exams. It’s much less
precise. But your spiritual gifts are priceless. When you
discover your spiritual gift it brings you great joy. It puts
the right people in the right place for the right reason at
the right time.
I remember my own struggle here
in the early years of my appointment to this church. I thought
somehow I had to be a brilliant combination of my two
predecessors. Then I found out what my own spiritual gift was.
It was administration. I cannot be who I am not, but I can be
who I am. And what a priceless gift that discovery has been to
me.
Let me offer further evidence of
what this means. The Committee on Lay Leadership has just
about completed the work of selecting leaders for 2004. This
year, as we have invited and asked people to respond, we have
had a 100% “yes” response. One person said he couldn’t work in
that particular area, but he suggested where he might want to
work, and he is now linked to his gift. I believe that kind of
response in selecting leaders is the fruit of a half dozen
years of spiritual gifts emphasis.
This is a church where spiritual
gifts are discovered and treasured and used. Used for the
building up of the body of Christ. Used for the work of
Christian ministry in the world. It is a priceless gift of
God.
ENTHUSIASM IN THE CHILDREN
Also
priceless is the sense of enthusiasm in the children. Bringing
and nurturing the children in this place is making a real
difference. I watch the children walk down the aisle with the
offering ahead of the ushers every Sunday morning. You cannot
see their faces, but I can. I see the delight in the children
coming out of Sunday School classes as I walk down the hall
between the first and second service on Sunday morning.
Children are truly made in the
image of God. I’m sure that’s why Jesus loved them so much.
I love to watch our own
14-month-old grandson in this place. His eyes light up. He
smiles. He loves the space. He loves the staff. He has moved
from enthusiasm to exuberance. That posture is priceless.
There are so many here like him.
This past summer we had the
first “Blessing of the Pets” service in the garden. There were
some skeptics, but we were sure it was the right thing to do.
It was a wonderful service. The evening after the service was
held, one of our young mothers called me. Her daughter had so
much wanted to come to the service. She had a pet guinea pig.
Will I please bless the guinea pig in a private service in my
office later in the week?
I agreed to do so. I’m not sure
how the guinea pig felt about it, but the expression on the
face of the little girl who owned the guinea pig was a
priceless moment.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Fourthly,
the sense of spiritual growth in this place is priceless.
Every single day I pray for the spiritual growth of Christ
Church members. I see it happening. You have a sense of being
loved and valued and used by God.
I read a story of a young woman
who was a new Christian. One Sunday early in her Christian
walk she attended a worship service in which the preacher
talked about dedication. The time came for the offering. He
said, “Everybody should give something.” The woman realized
that she had no money with her. She wasn’t quite sure what she
should do. When the plate finally came to her, she stared at
it for a few moments. Then she got up out of the pew, walked
out into the aisle, put the plate on the floor, and stood in
it.
Members giving thanks to God
here, day by day, spiritual growth toward the fullness of
Christ!
A SPIRIT OF SYNERGY
Finally
there is a sense of synergy in this place. That gift is
priceless as well. Resources go so much farther in God’s
hands. Let me give you one current example.
We are funding a physician at a
mission hospital in Zimbabwe. This particular location has
been without a doctor for several years. In fact, they’ve been
without any medical staff at all. We decided to raise $100,000
for the salary to place a doctor there, plus some money for
prescription drugs and other supplies.
That doctor has arrived as we
expected. What we did not expect was the synergistic fruits of
this. The Zimbabwean government has seen our efforts, and they
have put one of their own doctors in that facility as well.
Plus, this particular doctor’s wife is also a highly trained
nurse.
So now a desperately needy area
will have two physicians plus a nurse, plus sorely needed
medical supplies. It all happened because your seed money was
there to get things started. That’s God’s synergy. That’s a
modern day “loaves and fishes” story.
Someone has said, “God’s work
done in God’s way will never lack for God’s supply.” I believe
that. The late Dag Hammarskjold once wrote, “We live in a day
when our resources are limited only by our vision.”
Next weekend we will receive
your estimates of giving for 2004. The cost of doing ministry
through Christ Church on an annual basis has grown to a little
over 2 million dollars. We have dream teams and vision teams
at work here. I anticipate that 2004 will be our best year
ever. It will be our most exciting year. There are more new
ministries emerging than ever before.
And the fruits will be
priceless. Because you see, the annual fall stewardship effort
is not about raising money for the operating budget. It is
about changing lives.
Come next week prepared to give
of your best to the Master. Then celebrate the spirit of this
place.
Someone penned a takeoff on the
quotation; “The love of money is the root of all evil.” This
new quotation says, “The love of the right use of money is the
root of much good.”
There is a lot of good happening
in and through you here. There is a new spirit of genuine
community. There is a spirit of the giftedness of all
believers. There is a spirit of excitement in the children.
There is a spirit of real growth toward God. There is a spirit
of synergy. And all of these things—all of them—are
priceless.
Thanks be to God. Amen. |
