July 17 - 23, 2006
July 17 - 23, 2006
SOLI/Update
www.stewardshipoflife.org
Every congregation gets them regularly:
The hard-luck phone call, the request from an out-of-town family stranded with
no money and a broken-down car, the stranger at the church door looking for
financial help. And it's a recurring pastor's nightmare that one of these
needy souls might be desperate enough and unstable enough to cause trouble.
Such was the case this week at First Lutheran Church in Bend, Ore., when a man
entered the kitchen and demanded money from a church worker. When immediate
assistance was not forthcoming, he grabbed a knife from a drawer, stabbed the
worker in the abdomen, then fled. Thankfully, the worker was able to call 911
and is expected fully to recover from the wound. Police have arrested a
suspect (read a
press account).
This kind of risk has been growing in recent years as government safety net
programs have been cut back, even as the number of families living in poverty
has risen. Pastors and folks who run soup kitchens, food pantries and other
services report a surge in requests for help.
Churches have traditionally been places where the needy can turn for help, as
churches should be. In Matthew 25, Jesus links how we treat the poor to our
very salvation. But the sad fact is that most churches are ill equipped -- in
programs, personnel, expertise and financial resources -- to offer anything
but the most basic assistance. Many of us are struggling to respond
faithfully to the call for greater charity.
But even as Christians mobilize to meet the new demand, we need to be sure our
churches have sufficient security equipment and procedures to keep safe
our workers, volunteers, children, visitors and peaceful persons seeking
assistance. Pastors and parishioners would love to see their houses of worship
be open, welcoming places of good will, where everybody can come and go
freely. But reality dictates that leaders balance that vision with a sober
dose of common sense to make sure their buildings are secure enough to keep
people and property safe.
Perhaps this is an area where we can remember the words of Jesus in Matthew
10:16: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd
as snakes and as innocent as doves."
-Rob Blezard, webmaster and editor
Want to print this message?
Great! Read the note at the asterisk * below.
New this week
'St. Hardup's' Stewardship Presentation
Is your
church's financial picture as dire as that of St. Hardup in Stoneybroke?
Maybe, maybe not, but here is a stewardship presentation that the fictitious
parish -- and you -- might use to help improve things.
Click here for "St. Hardup's Stewardship
Presentation." It's just one of the helpful stewardship resources you can
check out on the website of
St. Asaph's Diocese in the
Church in Wales. (Just for fun, click on "Cymraeg" -- the Welsh
language button on the Church in Wales website and you'll understand why Welsh
has the reputation as one of the world's hardest languages.)
What is your stewardship credo?
"The creeds express a
world view which sees the primary work of God as bringing about salvation and
reconciliation between God and God's people and among all God's people. It is
a sureness that God's Spirit is at work in this world, working through God's
Word to bring people to faith and to the new life that God offers."
Click here for this weekly column from
Pastor Dana Reardon.
Click here to peruse columns from her
archives.
Ministry to Deep-Pocket Donors
The
wealthiest members of your congregation may be eager to assist -- or to assist
more -- with the ministry of your church, and they can be encouraged to see
their wealth as a spiritual gift, says a veteran pastor. "When I approach
someone about giving, I don't see myself as a salesman, a fundraiser, or a
beggar. I am the church's leader, charged with the responsibility of training
every member to use his or her spiritual gift so that the body might be built
up into the image of Christ."
Click here for "Ministry to Deep-Pocket
Donors," from
Building Church Leaders.
Loaves
and fishes
This piece explores a biblical approach to "asset-based
stewardship" for congregations. "Sometimes people phone or e-mail my office to
inquire about stewardship resources. I often tell them that the Bible is our
best stewardship book because it tells stories about Jesus, our finest
stewardship teacher," writes Barb Fullerton, stewardship staff member with the
United Church
of Canada. Great reading!
Click here for Loaves and fishes. This
week's
Treasure Chest offering.
*
Permission is eagerly granted to publish this newsletter's message for local,
nonprofit use. Please drop me a line to rcblezard@earthlink.net to let me know
you're using it, and be sure to publish it with the following notice:
(c) Copyright 2006 by the Rev. Rob Blezard, webmaster for the
Stewardship of Life Institute,
www.stewardshipoflife.org