church folks truly enjoyed him and he enjoyed them. His experiences and wisdom are greatly appreciated and his willingness to help me out is appreciated.
For this Sunday Missionary Ed Potter, missionary to the Madeira Islands, will be with us and he will preach for us. He is in the states for a short visit and this is the only Sunday he can be with us. Please come to hear him and give a love offering if so led. Ed and Abbie have been great friends to us over the years and he is truly loved as a partner in the ministry.
Just a few running thoughts from the pester:
•
Don’t
want to hear constant litany of bad news
•
Don’t
want to hear constant begging for money
•
Don’t
want to be guilt manipulated
•
Constant
preaching about church membership (goes with giving)
You want to hear the good news of the gospel and hope
for life today. The Bible acknowledges that we will suffer in this life but it
also gives us reason to hope, to strive and to have joy. The steady drumbeat of
“we need more money” is wearying after awhile. Of course there are times when
money and giving has to be addressed but it is best to discuss it in the normal
course of expository teaching or when there is a dire need that the folks need
to know about.
We must also be careful to not “toot our own horn”
all the time about how great we are. We are not great. Even Paul was reticent to
defend himself against his enemies because it would sound like self-promotion: “are
we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Cor 3:1). I really don’t think
that a church’s finances are a matter of a lack of teaching or a lack
of knowledge. Another “stewardship campaign” is not always the answer: for the
most part we present the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God and the
leadership of the Holy Spirit and “all these things will be added to you.” This
is a part of what we are about at Freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment