Introduction to the Pastor’s Corner for May ‘08

Dear Friends and members of All Saints Lutheran Church,

I really wrestled with my article for the Pastor’s Corner this month. Lori was not at all comfortable with it. We both feel strongly that what a person gives to God should be very private. Jesus spoke against those who gave alms in any way that drew attention to themselves. He said that you shouldn’t even let your “right hand know what your left hand is doing”. In the end though, I wrote what I wrote in this month’s Pastor’s Corner because I feel that there is a financial crisis facing our nation, our state, and the people of All Saints. I feel that the system of this world has drawn too many of us into financial habits which are completely opposed to God (and to the good of humanity and our planet). Because of this I have taken the apostle Paul’s approach, “Follow me as I follow Christ”. In this Pastor’s Corner I am communicating some difficult things, some things that may make you quite uncomfortable. But I am doing so because I believe it is what God has called me to do. Please read prayerfully.

May ‘08

If you are like most Lutherans in this country you are probably serving the wrong master. Let me explain what I mean.

Jesus talked about money more than any other one subject. I suspect it is because he knew that money gets under our skin and into our souls perhaps more than anything else with which we have to deal.

What did he say about money? Well, one important thing he said is that you cannot serve two masters. He made it quite clear, you cannot serve God and Wealth.

Wealth (the system being promoted by the world, the flesh and the devil) insists that you be a good consumer. Wealth insists that you have the right to spend every penny you make on things that make you feel good (even if only briefly). Wealth, in fact, urges you to spend MORE than you make. Wealth insists that to give yourself and your family the “good life” you ought to borrow as much money as you can afford to borrow.

When it comes to giving to God’s causes, Wealth puts this on a long list of things which make you feel good. Wealth insists that, if you must give away money, it should never infringe on your lifestyle or on any of the things you want for yourself and your family. It also insists that your giving should never be a cause of inconvenience. And, of course, if anything else comes up, the money you have been giving away should immediately be redirected to keeping up the lifestyle that you want your family to enjoy.

Most Lutherans are serving Wealth. They are obedient to Wealth. They have fallen for the lie that Wealth has the best plan for themselves and for their children. I say this because, in most Lutheran congregations (on the average) people give around 2.5% of their net income away toward God’s causes. Enough to keep guilt somewhat at bay…perhaps. A far greater percentage of Lutheran incomes is dedicated to the principles of Wealth.

God has a very different idea about money. Basically, Jesus says that ALL of our money belongs to God and is to be used to achieve God’s purposes and priorities in this world. In fact, the Bible says that God has entrusted this money to the followers of Jesus just so that they can make a difference for Christ in the world. Jesus insists that every decision we make, everything we buy, every penny we spend or save or give should be guided by this purpose. Each week when we pray, “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, we are asking the Holy Spirit to use us and our resources toward fulfilling God’s purposes on earth.

Now, here is the amazing thing; God loves us so much that 90% of what has been trusted to our care can be used for our own expenses and enjoyment with God’s blessing. Of course, even decisions about this 90% should be made so that they are compatible with God’s priorities, but still, 90% for us and our family’s well-being is incredibly generous.

The Bible seems to consistently gravitate toward the 10% figure as a good starting point for how much of our blessings we should give away. This is entry level stewardship in God’s economy. As we are blessed, the goal is to become even more generous, following the example of Jesus.

So, where are you in this picture? Perhaps you are squarely in the category of solid, biblical stewardship. If so, you can relate to the blessing of watching God provide for your needs while living as a channel of the Spirit’s blessings for the world. Perhaps you are a believer who is very tangled up in the system of this world and Wealth has you trapped into spending more than you earn on things that will never help you be the person God longs for you to be. Perhaps you are somewhere in the middle.

Over many years, Lori and I have made the long journey from obeying Wealth and the system of this world to obeying God and following the model of biblical stewardship. It has been a difficult road. The rest of the world thinks you are crazy. There will always be temptations to go back to the system which is so constantly promoted by the world the flesh and the devil. But I have to tell you, it is an amazing, freeing, blessed thing to know that our finances are in line with God’s guidelines. The Holy Spirit has helped us become a channel of God’s infinite blessings.

Since you have called me to be your pastor, I feel strongly that I need to lead by example when it comes to financial stewardship. Here is how it works for Lori and me (even with a daughter at the University of Michigan). Our combined gross income for 2007 was $82,797.00. What we gave to God’s work in the world (including All Saints) this year was $11,726.00. How did we do it? We decided ahead of time that we were going to use our resources to make a difference in the world and every month we wrote checks to the causes that God called us to support FIRST. It is a little scary at times. We could probably get Rachel through school without asking her to work so much and with fewer student loans if we gave away less money, but we are doing what we believe God has called us to do and we are blessed. We have never wanted for anything and God has always been faithful to our family beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined.

There are three questions every disciple of Jesus should prayerfully ask:

1. To whom are you being obedient in your financial decisions, Wealth or God?
2. What would the ministry of your congregation be like if everyone gave as you give (knowing that all of our ministries depend on the financial support that God channels through you)?
3. What steps are you going to take to become more of a servant of God’s mission in the world and to free yourself from being trapped in the Wealth system?

I think you will find as you grow in your financial stewardship that there is no greater joy than being a channel of God’s blessing in the world.
Serving with you,

Pastor Dave