From Your Pastor

To the First Presbyterian Church family,

This Sunday is the start of a number of things for our congregation, including the reason for this column – a four-week series on generosity. In my last full-length column to you in the spring, I wrote about two pieces related to that. 1. A thank you for your generosity from the ten-year anniversary collection for my family. 2. Our summer sermon series in the book of Acts. We will pick back up in that incredible book in October, probably resuming with the death of Stephen in Acts 7. This martyrdom and really the whole book of Acts testifies to the need of sacrifice and generosity so that the Church can grow. Now I certainly hope none of us are called to give what Stephen gave, but it does illustrate how the Kingdom needs the totality of our resources: if not our lives, then the things we have that can’t always be counted in dollars and cents.

The church picnic this Sunday is an excellent example of that, as we make it a special day of fellowship for our church (the Greek word for church after all simply translates as “assembly” or “gathering”) by giving of resources to bring food and simply “show up.” The ongoing coffee hour ministry that in some respects represents a weekly smaller version of the church picnic is another example of the generosity of provision and hospitality, also a big theme in Acts.

We put the coffee hour signup sheet on the mission board at the back of Eastwick Fellowship Hall partly for expediency, but also because it does share a kinship with supporting our missionaries and following their example. My favorite missionary example is Dr. Russ White, a talented doctor who could be practicing here in the country and enjoying the abundant resources his profession brings. Yet he has generously given his talents to a hospital in faraway Kenya.

But that example still does not escape the dollars and cents question. Even a broad discussion of generosity like time, hospitality, and talents still leads us inevitably back to money. I’ve elaborated before on our church facility and how it serves many tenants, the expense of its upkeep, and paying our staff; just to name a few examples. While some may enjoy talking about that, I personally don’t, mostly for fear of alienating folks. Probably all of us can think of a time where a church might have been crass in asking for money or at least it was perceived in that way. In college I invited an unbeliever to a community worship service and he later communicated his offense as the way the pastor led the offering and the way the plate was “shoved in his face.” (His words, not mine.) God was still working through this, because he became an on-fire disciple of Jesus within months of this – Praise God! – and actually served as a missionary for a time. In a supreme twist of irony, several years ago I found myself bristling at a request he sent me for funds for his mission work; go figure.

Even with our progress in terms of online giving and that many do give through the mail I don’t see an offering time (and the accompanying offering plates) going away anytime soon, nor should it! The act of generosity is central as disciples of Jesus. Jesus gave it all at the cross and our cross-shaped lives continue to grow the church He started. Plenty more needs to be said about this . . . from the dilemma of when the offering plate comes to you all the way up to examples of martyrdom for the church. Looking forward to starting this series with you on Sunday.

Luke 9:23-25

~Pastor Peter Martin