Stewardship from the mind of a 4-year-old...
UPDATE 2 (December 22, 2017): Our new total is down to $396,494. We're getting closer and closer, one bite at a time.
UPDATE (December 18, 2017): Our new total is down to $584,323—it was a very generous week at South Main. Thanks be to God. That new total works out to $998.84 per giving unit. We still have a long way to go, but we can make it.
These days, life for Margaret and me is at times both crazy and calm, hectic and hushed. The ups and downs of raising our two toddlers—William and Jack—mirror the frenetic pace of the Christmas season. But every once in a while, amid the sights and sounds of the season, a simple message speaks a complex truth.
A few weeks ago I made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. Margaret and I had just sat down for that precious 7 minutes between the boys' dinner time and bath time. Jack, whose favorite words are "No" and "Mine!", wobbled over to Margaret, climbed up in her lap, grabbed half of her grilled cheese, and took a bite. "Mmm," he smiled, "mine!" Older brother William admonished from across the room, "No, Jack, it's not yours. It's God's. God made everything, and everything belongs to God."
A bite-sized stewardship sermon that this church administrator needed to hear.
We're halfway through December, and as of December 16, 2017 we still need $891,796 to meet our church budget. Look at that number again. $891,796. It's huge. In fact, it's the largest December deficit in the history of South Main. It's a lot of money, but when you break it down into bite-sized chunks, it doesn't seem so large.
South Main has 585 giving units—families, individuals, etc.—who in 2017 have given back to God a portion of what God gave to them. $891,796 divided by 585 works out to $1,524 per giving unit. Not $1,524 more per giving unit, just $1,524 total between now and December 31.
It's time to dig deep. Some have already given for the month, some can give 10-20 times that much, and some can give one-fifth of that. But collectively, we as a church family have the capacity to meet and exceed that $891,796 goal, family by family, person by person, $1,524 at a time.
After all, God made everything, and everything belongs to God.
