“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can”
John Wesley
Beloved Friends,
The generous life is described by attributes such
as grateful, humble, selfless, content, sharing, caring, hopeful and concerned
(just to name a few). A person’s heart that has been shaped for generosity is
more likely to give out of every “account” found in their life. Their time,
talents, treasures, and testimonies are all arenas within which God calls us to
His benevolent, generous life.
John Wesley’s words of stewarding our life to
maximize “ALL” means, ways, places, times, and people for the greater good of
all is Heaven’s clarion call to stewardship (the planned and proactive
management and deployment of resources).
You and I will soon be receiving an opportunity to
make a pledge (“giving estimate”) for our 2022 operating budget and other
designated giving. This will help our Finance/Stewardship team to plan and
prepare our 2022 budget. It will be presented and ultimately adopted at our
regularly scheduled Church Council meeting on January 24, 2022, 7:00 pm. The
whole church is always welcome to attend these meetings.
At FUMC, one of our five chosen core values is extravagant
generosity. Generosity, in a Christian stewardship context, is all about the
desire (and deep satisfaction) that comes from investing our lives in the
things of God. Deploying our gifts for the Lord’s purposes is the will of the
Father. Doing those things with a great sense of excited joy, partnership, and
fulfilling adventure is the personally excited, “Extravagant Generosity”
portion.
As it turns out, extravagant generosity is much
more about the size of the heart than the size of the gift. It’s all about the
privilege of sharing in the Master’s ministry. Paul spoke of the Macedonian
Christians as a deeply joyful people who loved to be extravagant! “Their
overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2
Corinthians 8:2). What’s more, their commitment was neither casual nor
circumstantial. They didn’t wait for a need (or a campaign) to give to arise.
Paul reminds us, “Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the
privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people” (2 Corinthians 8:4).
This is extravagant generosity in its purest form.
Covid-19 global pandemic
has shaken our world and our church. Many noble saints have held the line and
sustained the ship through our perilous passage. Others have left our church
for singing congregations. This is a deep sadness for us all. We have “trimmed
the sails and battened down the hatches,” and we are not likely done making
significant adjustments to a new season of ministry. This is not the first time
this church has known a season of “tight financial pinch.” The Lord is calling
us all to work together, minister, pray, serve, and sacrifice
financially—together, that His kingdom ministry can continue through our church
family.
As we approach the coming year, the David Parker
family commits our support to a FIRST FRUITS lifestyle of giving our gifts and resources
to God. We believe that our full tithe belongs in our local church, just as the
Bible says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse (the
treasury room of the sanctuary), that there may be food in my house”
(Malachi 3:10). When everyone does that, it ensures that our operating budget will be
strong and uncompromised by designated giving. May God challenge us and
stretch us all in our faith and discipleship as together we seek to become
faithful disciples of Jesus Christ!
Excelling in this grace TOGETHER!
Extravagant Generosity by Pastor David Parker
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can”
John Wesley
Beloved Friends,
The generous life is described by attributes such
as grateful, humble, selfless, content, sharing, caring, hopeful and concerned
(just to name a few). A person’s heart that has been shaped for generosity is
more likely to give out of every “account” found in their life. Their time,
talents, treasures, and testimonies are all arenas within which God calls us to
His benevolent, generous life.
John Wesley’s words of stewarding our life to
maximize “ALL” means, ways, places, times, and people for the greater good of
all is Heaven’s clarion call to stewardship (the planned and proactive
management and deployment of resources).
You and I will soon be receiving an opportunity to
make a pledge (“giving estimate”) for our 2022 operating budget and other
designated giving. This will help our Finance/Stewardship team to plan and
prepare our 2022 budget. It will be presented and ultimately adopted at our
regularly scheduled Church Council meeting on January 24, 2022, 7:00 pm. The
whole church is always welcome to attend these meetings.
At FUMC, one of our five chosen core values is extravagant
generosity. Generosity, in a Christian stewardship context, is all about the
desire (and deep satisfaction) that comes from investing our lives in the
things of God. Deploying our gifts for the Lord’s purposes is the will of the
Father. Doing those things with a great sense of excited joy, partnership, and
fulfilling adventure is the personally excited, “Extravagant Generosity”
portion.
As it turns out, extravagant generosity is much
more about the size of the heart than the size of the gift. It’s all about the
privilege of sharing in the Master’s ministry. Paul spoke of the Macedonian
Christians as a deeply joyful people who loved to be extravagant! “Their
overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2
Corinthians 8:2). What’s more, their commitment was neither casual nor
circumstantial. They didn’t wait for a need (or a campaign) to give to arise.
Paul reminds us, “Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the
privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people” (2 Corinthians 8:4).
This is extravagant generosity in its purest form.
Covid-19 global pandemic
has shaken our world and our church. Many noble saints have held the line and
sustained the ship through our perilous passage. Others have left our church
for singing congregations. This is a deep sadness for us all. We have “trimmed
the sails and battened down the hatches,” and we are not likely done making
significant adjustments to a new season of ministry. This is not the first time
this church has known a season of “tight financial pinch.” The Lord is calling
us all to work together, minister, pray, serve, and sacrifice
financially—together, that His kingdom ministry can continue through our church
family.
As we approach the coming year, the David Parker
family commits our support to a FIRST FRUITS lifestyle of giving our gifts and resources
to God. We believe that our full tithe belongs in our local church, just as the
Bible says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse (the
treasury room of the sanctuary), that there may be food in my house”
(Malachi 3:10). When everyone does that, it ensures that our operating budget will be
strong and uncompromised by designated giving. May God challenge us and
stretch us all in our faith and discipleship as together we seek to become
faithful disciples of Jesus Christ!
Excelling in this grace TOGETHER!