Give and it will be given...

On Sunday, November 20, our church treasurer informed the congregation that we were far behind budget, and in order to finish the year in the black, the offering per Sunday for the rest of the year would have to be double what it had been so far. We've ended in the red for the last several years, so there wasn't a lot of hope in his voice.

That noon the men served a Potato Topper, the women contributed to a Bake Sale, and the entire congregation provided beautiful items for a Silent Auction to benefit a family who lives across the street from the church. The father has been in a wheelchair for years and the mother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. The event was a great success, and almost $6000 was raised, including a matching gift from Thrivent.

That evening the Luther League met to package boxes for Operation Christmas Child, using almost $500 that had been donated at the Halloween gathering at the Gatewoods' farm. When Andrew came home, he thought they had packed about 30 boxes, but Pastor Mary informed us the following Sunday that it was 60 boxes!

The offerings grew each Sunday, until our entire deficit was erased and a surplus generated before Christmas Eve. What a blessing! I need to remember that Jesus wasn't kidding when He said, "Give and it will be given to you - pressed down, shaken together and running over!" The congregation went ahead and gave generously to those less fortunate, and in return were blessed to overflowing. Will I do the same?

More Thoughts on Unity

Last week I heard about a charitable foundation which had been transferred to the second generation - the grandfather had started the foundation, and now the father was in charge. Recently there was a request for a sizable donation from an organization the foundation had never given to before, and the father called his children before he said yes. He believed it was a good cause and wanted to give, and he had the perfect right to do so unilaterally, but he wanted unity in the decision. It was easy, because the children all agreed right away, but I found it interesting that he asked.

Another example of seeking unity that came to my mind was "John" and "Bill" (not their real names), business partners that I know. They have been working together for over 40 years, and John likes to brag, "We've never had to vote the stock," by which he means they have always come to agreement over the major decisions they've had to make. Each of these men jokes about the times when the other exercised veto power over an idea - Bill says, "John said it could be anywhere in the US as long as it was within 30 miles of home." Or John says, "I just do whatever Bill says." No doubt they have made a poor decision or two, or missed out on a great opportunity or two, because of that policy, but I have no doubt that in the long run, their business is much stronger. Not to mention the awesome example of partnership they present, to the point that the next generation believes working together is not only possible, but preferable, for many years to come. John and Bill have run their business more like a marriage, or a church, than the typical American business. Unfortunately, of course, most American marriages and churches are run more like businesses - "my way or the highway."

We expect that once Michelle is married, she will seek and find unity with her husband no matter what she has to give up, including family, country or all her dreams and goals. None of us knows the future. All the more reason to pursue and insist on unity on that most major of all decisions - who to marry.

Gratitude, Guilt and Giving

Yesterday I had the worst toothache I've ever had. In the night I couldn't sleep because the whole right side of my head hurt - I thought maybe it was my ear because after I took an Advil and massaged the whole side of my head around my ear I was finally able to sleep. In the morning, I had two excruciating episodes of sharp pain in my mouth, and called the dentist. At noon he was able to fit me in - "get here as soon as you can."

On the way in, I was struck by the thought of people in Japan who have abscesses (that's what I thought it was) or other terrible troubles, and they can't go to the dentist because the dentists have no electricity. Then I thought of all the people in many countries where there are no dentists, or very few and only for the very rich. And the people in this country who don't have insurance or cash, or live in a region with few dentists.

The comfortable lives we lead are, to an unimaginable extent, given to us. Why can I go to the dentist and get rid of tooth pain? Because I was born 1) an American, 2) in a region where the economy is stable, 3) into a family of means, both financial and "mindset." When something goes wrong, we believe we can fix it and we try.

When I wasn't pondering these deep philosophical truths, I was asking the Lord to make it the least serious problem possible. The dentist couldn't get my tooth to produce the same kind of pain I had had before, so he sent me home to wait and see. It could be it was just strain or stress on the tooth and it will improve by itself.

I don't believe that feeling guilty about our good fortune is productive, but I did determine that if it turns out not to be an abscess, and I don't have to have a root canal (thank you, Lord!!!), we're going to give the money we save to someone who needs dental care and otherwise can't get it. Pete agreed. While we can easily share our financial means, how can we share our "mindset means"? The mindset that says, "When something goes wrong, we can fix it. Let's try!" That's the challenge before the Church!

What if we all tithed?

Yesterday we had our church annual meeting. A good chunk of the meeting always talks about the budget for next year, which has increased very slightly. The church is considering doing a stewardship program called "Step Up," or something like that, which encourages people to increase their giving incrementally each year until they reach a tithe, or 10% of their income. I'm intrigued by this because essentially the same program was proposed at a company profit-sharing meeting a week ago. Apparently a lot of people don't put any money in their 401(k) accounts because they hear that they should be putting aside 10%, they think, "I can't do that!", so they don't do anything. But they can usually imagine putting aside 1% of their incomes, and the next year they can probably imagine setting aside another 1% of their incomes, and so on, until they reach 10%. "Step Up" is trying to encourage people to increase their giving the same way - by 1% of their income each year until they reach 10%, and then go even further if they wish. The tithe, of course, was commanded by God in the Old Testament, and He even said, "Bring the tithes in and see if I won't bless you!" (Malachi 3:10) so that seems like a good goal.

Pete & I have always tithed, and in the lean years, it was amazing to see God provide. Money would occasionally come out of the sky, it seemed. I had a strict budget, of course, but sometimes there would just be more in the checkbook than there should have been. A couple of times, we got checks in the mail from telephone companies in towns we'd lived in years before for a year or two - some kind of co-op dividend payment. Things like that happened just when we ran short.

What struck me today is - what could our church do if everyone tithed? If the average giving is 1.5% of incomes (as I've read in several places), then we would have almost a million dollars a year EXTRA. Do you think our church could help some poor people with that kind of money? Do you think we could support some missionaries? Do you think we could provide some great opportunities for struggling learners, or struggling doubters, or struggling marriages, or whatever?? I think so!! And that's just little Svea. What could the churches in Kandiyohi County do if everyone tithed? How about Minnesota? How about America? The answer to Big Government is - Tithing Christians!