McBIC s VISION and OUR STEWARDSHIP Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8 and Matthew 6:19-24 Layne Lebo November 12, 2017 I m going to begin today by reading 2 Scriptures that are foundational to McBIC s mission: Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20 Pastor Rick Warren says that while churches try to be creative and compelling with their mission statements, they really can t stray very far from Jesus command (known as the Great Commission) to make disciples. And in Acts 1:8 Jesus builds on the Great Commission But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jesus told his disciples to start in their home area (Jerusalem); to go out to the surrounding regions (Judea and Samaria); and, to take the Good News to the whole world. Now, let s look at some other words of Jesus from Matthew chapter 6. I read verses 19-21 and verse 24: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. My guess is you ve never heard Jesus Great Commission and the words I just read in the same sermon. But I want to talk with you today over the next 2 weeks, about the intersection between McBIC s vision and our stewardship and giving as individuals. What was your reaction when you realized I was going to be preaching about giving and stewardship today? Perhaps, based on your past experience, this cartoon captures your view of sermons about giving. 1
I m not going to try and separate you from your money. You don t need to move your wallet to your front pocket or leave it at home during this series. This isn t about guilt, coercion or shame. I won t be ending the sermon like this today I admit that I always approach sermons on giving and stewardship with a bit of trepidation, because I know many of us have had negative experiences with churches and pastors asking us for our money. I sent a draft of my sermon to John Miller earlier in the week for his feedback. As a capital fund-raiser John has worked with dozens of churches and talks with Christians about stewardship and giving on a regular basis. After reading my sermon, John 2
encouraged me that I don t have to be defensive. He said that in his view McBIC has a track record of dealing well with this subject and he encouraged me to share with confidence why I believe this subject is so important. I m committed to preaching about stewardship, generosity and giving, because it s an important aspect of discipleship. And like the topic of sexuality which we try and address in a sermon series every 18-24 months how we manage our finances is such a critical topic for us to explore, because what our culture tells about our money and possessions and what the Bible says are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Church-goers have the reputation of not wanting to hear sermons about money, but I don t think that s because people are greedy or selfish. Pastors and churches are notorious for handling the subject of giving or stewardship poorly. Like everyone else, pastors understand we live in challenging financial times. I recently heard a speaker say that based on household income and the cost of goods immediately following WWII, a comfortable middle class income for a household today should be $130,000. In contrast, the average household income in America today is $58,000. Our money just doesn t go as far as it used to. Pastors are acutely aware of the need to keep the church running ministries need to be funded; staff members need to be paid; missionaries need to be supported; the church building and grounds need to be maintained; and, bills come in the mail every week. Feeling that pressure, pastors often resort to arm-twisting and guilt motivation, believing that constant badgering leads people to give more. My goal in preaching this series is two-fold. First, I want to challenge us to view our finances and possessions in a way that s consistent with what the Scripture teaches us, not what our culture tells us. Secondly, I want to help us understand the connection between our stewardship and giving and McBIC s ability to fulfill the mission God has given us. The tendency of church-goers is to separate our personal giving to the church from the church s vision, but we can t do that, because they re inextricably linked. If a pastor communicates that he is going to roll out a new vision, people get excited. But when that same pastor talks about a capital campaign to raise funds for a building project, or to fund a new ministry or to reduce the church s debt, many of the same people groan inwardly. At some level 3
most of us make the connection that money is required for a church to do ministry, but we don t always go the next step and consider that it s our money that s needed. My observation is that churches and pastors tend to gravitate toward one of two extremes when it comes to money and possessions. Either money is talked about incessantly out of fear we won t have what we need. Or we re silent about money and giving, fearing we ll turn people off by discussing the subject. I m convinced there is another option. There s an alternative between ignoring the subject of money and stewardship and being preoccupied with money. There s a sweet spot that views a church s ministry as a partnership in which the people of God give their resources to help fund God s work. Churches who understand this partnership seek to communicate that Stewardship managing the resources God has blessed us with is an important aspect of discipleship and it s the stewardship s of God s people that enables a church to meet needs and take advantage of opportunities that allow a church to fulfill its mission. Viewing our giving as a partnership that allows us to fulfill the mission God has given us of helping people connect with Jesus looks and feels a lot different than the mindset church attenders often have about how badly pastors want their money I want to return to the Scriptures I read for us as we began the sermon today. First, let s look at Jesus words in Matthew chapter 28 and Acts chapter 1. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 4
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 Jesus has given us authority to make disciples of all nations. The word translated all nations, literally means all people groups or ethnic groups within nations. In Acts 1:8 Jesus is a bit more explicit and explains that his authority comes from the Holy Spirit who now lives within those of us who have given our lives to Him. The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work of God of making disciples. And we re called to do that work in our hometowns and communities, in the regions surrounding our community and all around the world. As McBIC s pastor, I m encouraged to see our church ministering locally, regionally and globally. Over the past year or so you may have heard me refer to something that I ve come to call, McBIC s Ministry Footprint. Churches often measure their success by what happens inside our walls how many people attend worship, what the church s annual budget is, how many adults attend Sunday school, how many kids are in our kids ministry or how many teens attend youth group. But a church s footprint goes far beyond its walls and its programming. McBIC s ministry footprint includes the ministry you all do every day at home, in your communities, at your schools and in your workplace. A young man who works in Harrisburg shared with me recently that God put a desire on his heart to bless low-income families in the area where he works with a Thanksgiving meal. I assured him that McBIC would love to support his vision. I m committed to responding like that, because we re ministry partners. When you embrace your neighborhood, your workplace or your school as your mission field, God s Kingdom advances, as people connect with Jesus. Our ministry footprint also includes partnerships we have with organizations like our local schools and library, in this community. And McBIC s ministry footprint reaches to places like Thailand, Guatamala and Zambia where we have or have recently had, McBIC members serving as missionaries. What we do in our Jerusalem (Mechanicsburg & Upper Allen) is important, but we can t stop there. We re called to make disciples around the world. 5
McBIC s ministry in our local community, in our region and around the world is supported by your generosity and my generosity. I d like us to look again at Matthew chapter 6 where Jesus helps us understand the temporary nature of the things we invest in here on earth and the lasting impact investing in heavenly things can have Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:19-21 & 24 The words I put in bold are the key statement in those verses, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Our heart follows our treasure. I ve heard it said that an accurate way to discern someone s passion is to look at their check book and credit card statements and see where their money goes. I ll flesh this out more next week, but let me just say quickly, God has given generosity to us as a gift to safeguard our hearts against greed. We re humans. We live on earth. We re sensory people who rely heavily on our 5 senses. Our natural tendency and this is loudly broadcast by the world around us is to focus only on what we see, feel, taste, hear and smell. And when it comes to our money, our inclination is to invest it exclusively in the here and now. But Jesus reminds us that our investments in temporal things don t last they disintegrate and they rot and ultimately they fade away. It s only our investments in his kingdom that have lasting, eternal value. And God provides us with the opportunity to invest our resources in churches and in ministries that advance his kingdom as a safeguard against our natural bent toward greed. At the risk of overusing a good analogy, I want you to think of the wings of a bird. (I know I recently used the same analogy for the topics of intimacy with God and being on mission with God.) One wing represents a church s vision and the other wing represents the finances needed to fulfill that vision. Some churches are strong in regard to the vision God has called them to, but lack the resources needed to fulfill that vision. Other churches are well resourced financially, but lack a vision to fulfill Jesus Great Commission of making disciples. A healthy church understands the vision God has for them and also has a good handle on the resources needed to reach that vision. In many ways, I think that represents McBIC God has 6
given us a mission to help people connect with Him locally, regionally and around the world and our church family has been faithful and generous in giving of their finances to support an everexpanding ministry footprint. I m grateful that as I preach this sermon, our church s finances are better than I ever remember them being at this time of year. We finished September with our giving exceeding our expenses by nearly $25,000. To give you some context, it s not uncommon at this time of year to have our giving lagging behind our expenses by as much as $25,000-$30,000. So, I m not coming to you today with a sense of desperation saying, We need your money to survive! McBIC is in an excellent position financially. But I also realize that yesterday s and today s level of giving won t support tomorrow s expanding vision. We can t stand pat. McBIC s partnerships and influence in our local community are expanding; we re seeing growing opportunities to partner with churches and ministries in the Harrisburg area and in our denomination; and, God is raising up and calling out new missionaries to serve around the world. I m excited about all that God is doing in us and through us and I m confident He ll continue to supply us with all the resources we need to carry out his mission as we continue to walk with Him and are responsive to what He s laying on our hearts. 7