Every year our church does something that just about every other independent non-profit organization in America does – we conduct a fund drive. We call it a stewardship campaign to acknowledge that in our setting the asking and the giving are faith driven, but it’s still a fund drive.
Over all the years we’ve been involved in these drives, we’ve read numerous books about how best to do it. Sometimes psychological insights about giving are offered. Sometimes ideas about spiritual motivation are given. We’ve tried all these ideas, and they have their merits, but it’s still a fund drive, and given the human tendency for attachment to one’s funds, it’s always a challenge.
In fact, one of the greatest challenges each year is the crafting of the annual stewardship sermon – or what we fondly call “the sermon on the amount.” We find ourselves wondering, year after year, how to say something fresh or creative or clever that will motivate our members to give gladly and generously to the missions and ministries of our church. And then this year we realized something. The first and clearly the most effective stewardship sermon ever is recorded in the Bible in the book of Exodus, chapters 35-36. The preacher is Moses and his method is remarkably direct. Although he tells the people what is needed (gold, silver, bronze, goats’ hair, rams’ skins, spices, oils, etc.), he makes no slick speech; he offers no guilt-inducing, long-winded harangue. His only motivational flourish is this: he says, “let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering.” And what is the result of Moses’ oratorical masterpiece? We’re told so much treasure and finery rolled in that they had to call a halt to it. The people went wild!
We got to thinking about that and wondered if a modern day stewardship campaign could yield the same result. What if we put out the word on what was needed and then sat back to watch the congregation’s offering start rolling in? What if we had to stand up a few weeks after the campaign started and say, “Stop! Our counters can’t keep up! The bank tellers that calculate our balance are in tears! Please hold back and don’t give anything more! Get a grip, you’ve gone wild!”
Is the vision of a modern day avalanche of giving far-fetched and ridiculous? Maybe it shouldn’t be. If the motivation for Moses’ people to give was the realization that they had been treated generously and graciously by God, then why wouldn’t we be equally motivated to give? Haven’t we all known forgiveness, compassion, hope, and love? And couldn’t those God-given gifts that touched our lives be the reasons that our gratitude overflowed and spilled out in floods of generosity? Maybe we have treasure to offer to help ease the way for others, maybe we have time to share, affection to uplift and sustain others, maybe we have energy or enthusiasm or faith that can influence the future for good in others’ lives.
Chances are, we all have more than enough. Chances are, we could give abundantly and make a real difference. So, to quote the best stewardship sermon ever: “let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering.”