OPEN HEARTS, OPEN HANDS

The Grace of Giving

A stewardship focus that's not about a budget shortfall. What's going on?

In May this year there was a special thanksgiving appeal to address a shortfall (approximately $30,000) between our congregation's financial giving to that point for 2007-8 and the budget adopted at the Annual General Meeting last November. The response to that appeal has been very prompt and very generous. St Paul's is blessed with people who have a heart for supporting God's mission through their giving. We can be very thankful.

So, you might ask, if the budget for 2007-2008 is back on track, why this focus on stewardship? Is it to shore up the congregation's financial situation for 2009? Is it to cover additional expenditures that are required in the next year? While giving is, of course, required to maintain and develop God's ministry through our congregation, the answer to both these questions is "NO". The purpose of stewardship is not to raise money or to meet a budget, but to raise faith. St Paul urges Christians to 'be generous and willing to share' so that they may 'lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age', taking 'hold of the life that is truly life'. (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

Stewardship — our use and management of all that God provides — is an important expression of our faith in Christ, not a response to the needs of our congregation. It is based on our need to give in gratitude to our most generous God, not on the church's need to receive. If someone walked into the church office and offered to underwrite what ever congregational budget we determined for 2008-9, it would not in any way, to any degree, erase or even diminish our need to give. We would still need and want to give ... because of the grace of God we have in Christ, and the new life we have in Him.

Giving to God's mission is an act of thankful worship. It is also important for our spiritual wellbeing. God does not ask us to give for his sake — He is after all, the Creator and Lord of all things, who lacks nothing. He calls us to give for our sake, for our spiritual good! In and through our giving, we:

• Express our thanks to God. Our monetary offerings are a concrete, physical expression of our gratitude for all that God has given us. Faithful people are thankful people, and church giving is a very practical means of saying thanks.
• Consciously put God ahead of money. Money and possessions are very enticing, and pursuit of them can easily become more important to us than the things of God. Giving is a spiritual practice that helps us guard against the lures of material wealth. Setting aside an offering to the Lord before all else serves to remind us that all we have ultimately comes from and belongs to him, and that our wellbeing depends on Him, not on what we can earn or acquire.
• Connect our possessions to God's mission. It is a trait of human nature that when we give to a cause, we become more mentally and emotionally invested in it. In giving to God's mission, then, we are drawn more fully into it. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). Giving places our hearts into the purposes, will, and passions of God. It is exciting to give and see what God makes of it!
• Become more aware of God's abundant provision. The wondrous mystery of giving is that as we do, we become more conscious of how much more we have left, and of God's ongoing provision for our needs. It has been said that we cannot outgive God. Our giving invites God to continue to give to us, and he does not disappoint!
• Discover a source of blessing. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Giving creates room in our hearts for blessing from God and from others. As we invest our money and possessions in God's purposes, all we receive in return from Him and others outweighs what is given.
• Show willing obedience to God. Regular and intentional giving to God's mission gives us the peace of conscience that comes from following His commands. Giving to God the "first fruits" of our lives sets us free to more fully appreciate and enjoy the whole of God's provision for us.

I can name these as the blessings of church giving because I have experienced them personally. As a young adult, I was not a purposeful church giver. I gave little thought to how much to give — usually it was a portion of what was left at the end of the week. But when Kylie and I married, we agreed that our first financial decision each year would be how much we were going to give to God's mission. That decision was not an easy one to make, but I'm glad that we made it ... because it became a catalyst for spiritual growth. When we increased our giving — and made it our primary financial decision — I found myself to be less resentful over what I didn't have (and wouldn't earn), and more grateful both for what I already had and for what I was able to give. My giving became a source of joy! It was a move from scarcity to abundance — and as my family and I have continued to increase our giving, I have found myself less a hostage to money worries and more open to the wonder of God's abundance. Each year we have aimed to increase our giving as a proportion of our income, and have never been without. In times of particular need, God has always provided for us — sometimes in quite surprising and unexpected ways. In the process, my heart has been enlarged by God's grace and I have more peace about material things.

2 Corinthians 8:7 calls giving a "grace". In other words, it is a God-inspired and God-given gift! And like all of God's gifts, it is given for our good. When we give we do not end up with less but more! On the other hand, when we are focused on keeping for ourselves, we do not allow God to enrich and bless us through this "grace".

Over these coming weeks, as we consider together our stewardship response, may God grow each of us in the grace of giving.

Pastor Greg

God's Word on giving

Respond gratefully

"Freely you have received. Freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

Give willingly

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Obey responsibly

"Then he said to them, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'" (Matthew 22:21)

Share abundantly

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Commit intentionally

"Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given." (2 Corinthians 9:5)

Give proportionately

"For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability." (2 Corinthians 8:3)

"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have." (2 Corinthians 8:12)

Contribute regularly

"On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up." (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Expect God's provision

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:31-33)

Accept a challenge

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." (2 Corinthians 9:6)

This year's stewardship focus:

What to expect

The Stewardship Committee has a different approach

This year's stewardship focus was launched on Sunday, July 27, with the theme being Open Hearts, Open Hands. The aim is to grow our congregation in its collective understanding of stewardship as a response to God's grace, and as an important part of the life of Christian discipleship. The focus involves a number of different elements:

• Presentations in worship services on July 27 and August 3, together with preaching on stewardship
• Small group discussions on stewardship
• A letter to members of the congregation in early August, inviting us to personally and prayerfully consider our stewardship intentions for the coming year
• A Stewardship Response Sunday on August 31.

Stewardship is first and above all a spiritual matter. It is something that we are called to consider personally through meditation and prayer. Though our church giving takes place in community, it is finally something that concerns an individual and their Lord (Matthew 6:2-4).

To respect and emphasise the spiritual nature of church giving, members will not be asked to indicate their 2008-9 giving plans to the congregation. They will, however, be invited and encouraged to commend their giving plans to God in a personal way during worship services on August 31.

How will this be achieved? The mail-out to members in early August will include a so-called "Heart Card" and a self-addressed sealed envelope. This card will contain a prayer addressed to God that members will be asked to personalise and then seal in the self-addressed envelope. On August 31, these envelopes will be offered up as part of worship services. A couple of weeks later, they will be returned to members, unopened, as a reminder of their stewardship commitment to the Lord.

Please take the opportunity provided over the coming weeks to pray for God's guidance in the area of your church giving. We have cause to praise God because of the many generous, committed and sacrificial givers present in the life of our congregation. They provide an example to all of us of faithfulness and of God's care and provision. May we all grow in this area of our faith lives, so that God is better able to form and direct us into his good and gracious will.

Stewardship Team

"Open Hearts, Open Hands"

The theme and logo have a wealth of meaning

The theme of this year's stewardship focus is Open Hearts, Open Hands. This theme and the associated logo capture a number of spiritual truths.

Logo designed by Sam Hardidge

Open Hearts

• We worship, love and serve an open-hearted God. God is immensely generous to us. Above all, he has given us Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
• Through his word, God has given the Holy Spirit into our hearts (Rom. 5:5; 2 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 4:6), opening our hearts towards others in generous love (1 Peter 1:22)

Open Hands

• God has redeemed us in Christ by opening his hands for us on the cross of Calvary (Luke 24:40; John 20:27).
• As people of faith, we approach him like beggars, with open hands. We seek his continual mercy (Matthew 10:46-47). We pray to him, trusting that he will provide for us and for his mission (1 Timothy 2:8). We stand ready to receive his blessings (John 1:16).
• We respond to God’s grace by opening our hands towards others, giving of our time, talents and treasures for the sake of God’s work (Proverbs 31:20; 2 Corinthians 9:11). (As long as our hands are closed, we can neither receive nor give!)

Stewardship Team

Looking for a better way to give?

Let REG help you!

We are increasingly a cashless society. Many people live from week to week with little cash in their wallets or purses, using credit cards or debit cards for their expenditures. It follows then, that for some of us, the weekly giving envelope may not be the most convenient method for church giving.

Do you forget to put aside cash each week for church giving? Do you forget to set aside your giving when you go on holidays? Or if you don't, do you sometimes forget to bring the envelope to church? I'd like to introduce you to someone who'd like to help you — Mr REG Lutheran. REG will take care of your giving for you each week, drawing money out of your bank account and transferring to the St Paul's account with the Lutheran Laypersons' League. He's trustworthy, reliable and a great respecter of privacy.

REG stands for Regular Electronic Giving. Here's how it works:

• j An amount of your choosing is automatically debited from your bank account on a regular basis. You don't need to have an LLL account to use REG.
• k Your giving goes into an account for St Paul's at the Lutheran Laypersons' League. No information about your identity or the amount you give is passed onto the congregation ... only the funds you give.
• l St Paul's draws on the LLL account for its ministry expenses.

REG is very flexible. The amount you give can be increased, decreased, postponed, or cancelled at any time by notifying the LLL in writing.

If you would still like to have the option of placing something on the offering plate, then REG gives you a card for this purpose (you can even put the card in a giving envelope if you wish) — or you can put aside a nominal amount of cash each week for this purpose.

Our congregation's Treasurer is very fond of REG. REG makes his work of managing the congregation's finances so much easier, and there is less cash for him to handle.

I encourage you to think about meeting REG and taking up his services. There are forms about him available in the foyer to the church. He would very much like to meet you!

Pastor Greg Priebbenow

Counting our blessings

Two years ago there was a stewardship focus in our congregation under theme Growing to Give, Giving to Grow. There was a very generous response, resulting in an increase in overall giving of 11-12%. The following year the congregation voted to increase giving by a further 8%. These responses enabled our congregation to fund a number of new initiatives, the most notable being –

• Increased staff hours for pastoral care and adult faith formation
• The employment of a fulltime Pastoral Assistant for Youth and Family Ministry
• The construction of additional rooms for children’s ministry (finally underway) and installation of flexible walls in the Community Room.

The strength of your responses also carried through into the Vision 2012 strategic planning process, which has brought a new sense of purpose and vision to our congregation.

These changes have already brought many blessings for our life together as God's people, and will continue to do so. Thank you for your willing support of God's mission in and through St Paul's.

Pastor Greg Priebbenow