Perplexed
December 18, 2024
1 Corinthians 4:2
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.
Luke 16:10
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
The word “ignite” can evoke many images.
When our church’s stewardship campaign team decided upon the theme “IGNITE” in July, we could not have imagined the ways we would find new meaning in it. “IGNITE” was meant to evoke the power of the Holy Spirit, found in the Pentecost story of Acts 2. Our team’s desire was for each church member to recognize the spark of the Holy Spirit in them, that can be fanned into a flame – burning bright so that we might continue to be the light of Christ. That light of Christ is shown through the continuation of our many ministries and the creativity for new ones as we make disciples of Jesus Christ. Our campaign’s focus on stewarding time and talents was intended to encourage every person - no matter age in years or stage of faith – to claim their uniqueness. Each of us is uniquely made by God with varying skills, talents and hobbies, as well as the same amount of time every day to steward them. When joining the church, we make a vow to give our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness to grow the church. This requires us to steward our time, talent and treasure with trustworthiness and faithfulness. Yet, with all this understanding of stewardship, our stewardship team could not have planned how the stewardship of treasure would be given new meaning in the midst of this IGNITE campaign.
For just as your IGNITE stewardship letters were being delivered to your mailbox, you also received electronic communication that one of our beloved families had a tragedy of a fire destroying their home. Knowing their treasured possessions had been burned, the word “ignite” brought shivers down our spine, imagining the heartbreak the Pollard family was experiencing. And yet, in the devastation of all their belongings and home destroyed, the spark of the Holy Spirit was at work to bring glimpses of new life through your stewardship. Through the generosity of children of our church and preschool providing toys and clothes,
to our many members offering gift cards to Target and financial donations, the Pollard family is getting resettled, and feeling the abundance of support surrounding them during this time from their church family.
This experience reminds us of our “why” in our financial stewardship. We steward our money to be a blessing to others – to be the body of Christ God needs us to be. Sometimes that looks like a communion offering for a time of need of hurricane disaster relief, like Hurricane Helene or a family crisis, like the Pollard family’s experience . Sometimes that looks like a capital campaign to ensure the debt of our church remains manageable for the next generations, like in our Jubilee Campaign last April. Sometimes that looks like our annual budgeting process, to ensure our church $1.4 million annual budget is aligned with the mission and vision of the church, like we are doing now. We do all of this because as Christians we have a different perspective of money – it is not our money, it is God’s money. Our role is not to use it for our purposes, our role is to steward it for God’s purposes.
So thank you, as always, Flower Mound UMC, for continuing to teach me new ways of how the Holy Spirit is igniting our congregation in continuing faithfulness. You have been entrusted with great time, talent, and treasure, and as we continue to be ignited by the Holy Spirit, we will be continue to be a blessing to this world.
PS – Please bring your pledge card of time, talents and treasure to worship this Sunday, allowing us to prepare our programs and budget for 2025. If you will not be present in worship, please fill out the online form, and submit it by Sunday, October 27th.
