LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1995, Page 94

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94 ; , CONVENTION ESSAYS -

ticular pastor, congregation, District, or program board of
Synod. “Those are my donors,” seems to be-the statement
heard from many quarters today. i ss

*‘Not so surprisingly, the church has changed as well. Not
many years ago the LCMS had two very important, highly
successful capital campaigns: “Forward in Remembrance”
and “Alive in Christ.” At the time they were conducted,
they were the largest, most successful campaigns ever done
by a mainline church. Their efforts funded missions and
programs of the church for years.

If you look closely at those.campaigns, you find that only
about one third of LCMS member congregations took an ac-
tive part in them. Now-as we look toward the 150th an-
niversary celebration of Synod, “Sent Forth by God’s Bless-
ing,” the clear, consistent. word from the Districts is this:
“Don’t have a capital campaign.” . :

_ It’s a good word; in my estimation the right word. Chris-
tian stewards are closely connected to their local church,
closely connected with particular area, national, and inter-
national ministries with which they identify. It’s not a time
for capital campaigns. And, frankly, there isn’t the associa-
tion, affiliation, or confidence in national organizations that
there once was. This holds just as true for a mainline de-
nomination as any other major organization.

What surprises me is not that the “noncampaign word”
came to Synod from the Districts. (That’s the right word,
the expected one.) What’s surprising is that, even as we
speak, that word came at a time many Districts are run-
ning their own capital campaigns or planning to do so!

In the best. understanding of this most unusual situa-
tion, many Districts are providing magnetic opportunities
for Christians to grow in giving through these campaigns.
In the worst scenario there are some who still believe
Synod’s 150th will be a money-driven campaign disguised
under outreach discussions, and Districts want to “get the
money” before someone else does.

- What Hasn’t Changed
in Christian Giving?

But, we don’t own donors. We don’t own Christians or
their contributions. The Lord owns them. In fact, He owns
us twice over: once through creation; once through redemp-
tion. So when we sing, “The earth is the LoRD’s and the full-
ness thereof,” we see.ourselves redeemed, restored, forgiven

to live our lives to the glory of God. We want to make a dif-

ference. We want to use our God-given gifts in ways He will
bless. And let it be noted that we want to do this. We've
gone beyond the point where we wish to allow even well-
meaning leaders to decide for us how our dollars will be
spent. ;

Basic to all of this discussion is how we view wealth or
assets. If anyone assumes there is one large pool of wealth
and every institution of need dips a cup into the pool until
all the wealth is gone, that’s not surprising. It’s only unfor-
tunate. It’s a concept based on limited knowledge—perhaps
an even more limited belief in Christian stewardship.

We are not stagnant-pool people. We are streams-of-liv-
ing, water people. The joyful task of the steward is to con-
nect with godly opportunities as God gives direction. The
task of all those hundreds of thousands of potential recipi-

ents out there is to clearly focus on what's important, where
the opportunities lie, and how your gift or mine can make a
difference. ne
This pool will not be emptied. The wealth with which
God has blessed us in this country is beyond belief. The En-
vironmental Protection Agency tells us the. United States

leads the world in waste production! We generate some 200

million tons a year, enough to fill a convoy of garbage
trucks stretching eight times around the globe. We are,
says Noel Grove, “the Saudi Arabia of trash.”

The issue is not whether or not there are enough re-
sources to carry out the Great Commission. The issue is
how we Christian stewards connect to God given opportu-
nities to make a difference for Him. To understand that

concern we will be helped by looking at the early church.

How Can Christian Stewards Connect
. with Opportunities?
Let’s briefly examine the congregation at Antioch to see

how the early Christians operated. (In fact it was in Anti-
och that disciples were first called Christians.)

¢ They were courageous and forgiving.

¢ They were growing in the Word.

* They were growing in outreach.

° They grew in giving.

This was the congregation that fetched the converted
Saul to their faith community. That, in itself, was an act of
faith. For over a year they engaged in teaching (and, ’m
certain, planning and financing). They listened to the
prophets and took their words seriously. They looked out-
side themselves in two very focused and positive ways: (1)
They were the sending congregation and the support struc-
ture for Paul’s missionary journeys. In other words, they
lived for outreach. (2) It was from this place that the special
offering for the poor began.

- The offering for the poor was designated giving. And, it

‘was most significant. It was pervasive in those areas of

Paul’s ministry and second only to the Gospel itself in
Paul’s mind. In Galatians, Paul says he was very eager to
do it. Not only is it mentioned in Acts and Galatians but
throughout the New Testament. It also was a uniquely
structured offering: From the Gentile Christians for the
Jewish Christians. At a time when history, pride, and the
emotions of lineage ran high, the Antioch congregation and
Paul were employed in three important aspects of ministry:
(1) they were preaching the Word; (2) they were encourag-
ing Christians to support a major relief effort; (3) through
efforts 1 and 2 they were tying former Jews and former .
Gentiles together in the body of Christ as brothers and sis- °
ters,

Remarkably, the New Testament tells us more about
designated giving than it does of the “routine” financing of
a congregation or a national church body. On the “routine”
side we know, for example, that salaries were paid (“the
workman is worthy of his hire”), that Christians mutually
supported the church (“they held all things in common”),
and that tentmaker Paul assisted the work with his own
skills. But we don’t have a lot of details on these items. On
the other hand, many books of the New Testament mention