Pastor's Blog: The Giver God Loves
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Our church is one of the most generous congregations I’ve ever known. We are blessed with members who give passionately of their time, talents, and resources to advance the cause of Christ in our community and throughout the world. As a result, our church has been able to do important work in bringing God’s Kingdom purposes to pass. But can we do more? As we consider the many new ministry dreams that have come out of the adoption of our recent Vision 2020 plan, we believe that in fact there is much more that God is calling us to do, and sense that the realization of our vision will require an even stronger expression of generosity.
The past two years our church has participated in a “tithing challenge” as a way of stretching ourselves in the area of financial stewardship. This year we’ve felt led to adjust that emphasis slightly so that we might involve even more people in the implementation of our ministry dreams. On this Sunday, April 23, our church will hold a “Generosity Sunday.” On that Sunday we’ll invite our members to reflect gratitude for the hope we have in Christ by making a generous “special offering” toward the ministries of our church. This offering will be above our regular commitments as a means of not only offering a bold statement of our appreciation for God’s abundant blessings, but also of our conviction that He has so much more for us to do. As we move closer to that Sunday, you’ll hear about new tools and technologies that will make generous giving easier and more accessible, such as “text giving,” which we’ve made available to members in recent weeks. There will also be a planned giving seminar in the Chapel during the 10am SMBS (Sunday Morning Bible Study) hour on April 23, led by our own David Carder and Baker Crow, which will inform us of ways to perpetuate our generous support of Mountain Brook Baptist Church until Jesus returns. Lastly, a group of contributors has made a commitment to match the generosity of all first-time givers during the emphasis because of their enthusiasm over helping others experience the joy of generosity.
All of this activity is simply to heighten the level of excitement in our church over how God honors the generosity of His people, and to assure each of us that no one has to miss out on any part of it. Generosity manifests itself in many ways, but every way can lead to the same level of joy.
So, be in prayer as we approach this significant Sunday. I can’t think of a better way for our church to build on the spirit of last Sunday’s glorious Easter worship. Pray for your own participation, as well as for everyone else’s in our church. Only with widespread participation can we move closer to making God’s vision become a reality for our fellowship, which is a goal surely all of us can support, and support with great generosity.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).