Stewardship is not a four letter word

After about a month and a half of arguing with the Holy Spirit we surrendered (yeah we don’t give up easily) and agreed to co-chair the Managing a Christian Lifestyle (MCL) Committee.  As many of you know we have been members of All Saints since the beginning.  We have come to cherish our “Church Home” and “Church Family” and can’t imagine it not being here in the future.  We have been through worse times in the past and it is painful to see us nearing those discouraging spots again.  We have recently been reminded that “We are the Church”, not the building or the staff.  After all in our relatively short history we’ve worshiped in five locations with three Senior Pastors and one Interim Senior Pastor.  All Saints will be everything we are willing to make it and it will go where ever we direct it, with the guidance of the Spirit.  One thing that was driven home during the Transition Team History Events, and by Pastor Chuck’s visit, was that All Saints was it’s most vibrant when we were focused outwardly not inwardly and shared both common goals and a sense of mission.  We must again regain that spirit and desire.  One thing that is certain, God has not given up on us and we hope that all of you feel that the Holy Sprit still has work to do in our communities.  It’s up to us; after all we are the Spirit’s hands, feet and face.

As we begin forming a committee we will be looking at resources to structure a financial Stewardship Campaign.  We realize that MCL is much more then just financial stewardship, but finances clearly are our most immediate need.  Those who attended the “Norms Event” listed financial stewardship as a top priority and one that had been neglected in our recent past.

Through our recent Monday night Bible Studies of the book of Acts and Paul’s letters to the Romans and Corinthians we have come to a better understanding that being Christian is not just a label.  It isn’t even a passive lifestyle.  It requires actions.  It has become clear to us that the Bible contains all that we need to know about Managing a Christian Lifestyle and that our early Christian brothers and sisters have given us a map to follow.  This will be an exciting journey of rediscovery.

While have already been joined by some who wish to serve along with us for this crucial task we welcome anyone who’d like to participate.  If you are interested please join us at the Church from 7:00 to 8:30 for our first meeting on Tuesday, March 23rd as we develop our committee’s “Mission and Vision Statements”.  Our proposed regular monthly meeting times will be the fourth Thursday of each month.  However, we may need a few additional meetings on Tuesdays to get started.  While this is a serious and critical task we will endeavor to have fun as well.

Trusting in the Spirit,
Kathy & Don Eklov
Home Phone : 248.887.1552
Kathy’s e-mail : eklovk@yahoo.com
Don’s e-mail : deklov@gmail.com