Ministers Desk 4th September

Last week in the service I said that stewardship was primarily about our relationship with God.  Growing disciples of Jesus seek to ensure that there is nothing that has a greater hold on their lives than God, including their money and possessions.  Stewardship is therefore about our growth in richness toward God, where we place greater trust and confidence in him, than in our money and possessions.  At the same time, stewardship is unashamedly about the money that we give.  The gospel does call us to be generous in our giving toward the work of God through this congregation.

We can never forget that to run a congregation such as ours requires money, in fact to maintain the ministry team and activities that we now have requires a large increase in income for 2012.  In 2011 we have adopted a balanced budget.  This was only possible because we have planned to rely on $15 000 of savings from previous years to fund our general ministry and $31 200 of reserves to fund planned maintenance works.  These savings are limited and we cannot rely on them for many more years.

On top of this planned use of savings we have also noticed a decrease in our offerings already this year.  We are currently receiving an average of $225 per week less than was budgeted.  Most significantly, this figure is also less than our actual offerings for 2010.  Should we continue with our current level of giving, we can expect an additional shortfall of $12 000 for the year, on top of the planned use of reserves.

The local congregation is God’s gift to bring salvation and discipleship to the world (Acts 2:42-47 & Acts 4:32-37).  I’m sure that we can each think of ways that we and our families have been blessed by God through this congregation.  This congregation has an eternal impact on those that we connect with through our groups for children, youth and adults, Community Helping Hand, ministry to schools, Tiny Town and our mission support locally, nationally and internationally.   God's chosen means of providing financially for his church is through our tithes and offerings (2 Corinthians 9:11).  Whilst God does not need us, the church or our money, God has chosen to use us.  The privilege that it is to be part of the salvation that God is bringing to this world should make us more, not less, eager to give.

So I encourage you in the coming week, prayerfully consider the value of your thanksgiving offering and your pledge for the coming year.  Give generously and joyfully and as you do remember that you are not giving to an organisation, you are participating with Jesus Christ in his mission.  I give you my thanks for your generosity and your participation in the life of this church.  However, ultimately our reward for giving doesn’t come from me; it comes from God as we are blessed in this life and the next with his pleasure and presence as he says to us, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21).

Ministers Desk 28 August 2011

Today we commence our annual season of stewardship.  This season in our life together is a time when we consider the biblical mandate of financial giving and our financial response to God’s generosity.  During this season we will unashamedly talk about money.  But this season is not about money.

In the first place stewardship is about our relationship with God.  During the past five weeks we have talked in worship about growing as disciples of Jesus.  Reflecting on our money and the claim it has on our lives is a further way that we grow as disciples.  If we live with a jealous, ungenerous, selfish attitude toward our money, it restricts our capacity to grow in faith and life.  I heard recently that if you place a young shark into a small aquarium it will continue to grow older, but it will remain the same size.  It restricts its growth to its environment.  A possessive attitude toward money can do the same thing to our faith life, restricting growth because we hinder it with barriers.  Stewardship challenges our attitudes toward money and causes us to think whether it is God or our money and possessions that have first claim on our lives.

Secondly, stewardship is about the ministry of God’s church.  Stewardship is about how we minister within our congregation and how we minister to those who are not yet part of our congregation.  The Church exists so that people can more easily respond to God’s gifts, God’s goodness, and God’s amazing creativity. Our congregation exists for people, and it is the people that make our church.

A congregation is people.  So our offerings are used to build ourselves up in faith and love, to equip us to do the work of ministry and to facilitate our outreach to our neighbours nearby and far.  Some of the ministry of the church takes place in our buildings, using equipment.  Our giving maintains these assets and allows us have the resources that enable ministry.

At the beginning of this season I want to thank each one of you for the generous way that you contribute financially to the ministry of Emmanuel Uniting.  85% of our income comes through our tithes and offerings.  The rest is from contributions from church groups (including a very large contribution from Tiny Town), donations, bank interest and rent on the house.

Over the coming weeks please give prayerful consideration to your growth in Christ and your participation in the ministry of this congregation.  We do this by giving an extra Thanksgiving Offering on Sunday 11 September.  This offering reflects our gratitude to God to his faithfulness and goodness in all circumstances.  Also, consider your pledge for the ongoing work of God for the coming year, and whether you will use direct debit or envelopes to facilitate your regular giving.  In the foyer there is a letter that explains in greater detail our stewardship process for this year, please make sure you receive your letter.

Ministers Desk 21 August 2011

It has been proposed that our congregation adopt a purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  During the past week we have spent time in daily bible readings considering the second aspect of this proposed purpose, exploring what it means to be a disciple of Jesus by being part of a small group.  For the history of the church, from the time of Jesus, through the early church, into the revival of John Wesley and from our own experiences of church, participation in small groups has been seen as an essential part of a thriving faith life and congregation.  Small groups are places where spiritual growth takes place.  Spiritual growth is always at the initiative of the Holy Spirit, but we need to cooperate with him by placing ourselves in those situations where we partner with him in bringing about this growth.  Being part of a small group allows us to read and discuss scripture with other people where we need to consider and account for differing perspectives and opinions.

Yet some people may see small groups as just another gimmick or some other activity to fill up their nights and take their valuable time.  People have spoken to me about groups that don’t address the issues that they’re facing or are interested in.  There is a legitimate argument to be made against these types of small groups, groups that exist for the sake of being a small group.  This is not what we want our small groups to be.  We want our groups to be places where bible study is accompanied by action, where deep, whole of life prayer is offered, where friendship is experienced with care and concern, where sharing takes place with honesty, and where community is expressed with accountability.  Small groups meet the need in our lives for deep intimate community.

As you might be able to guess from the above, small groups do not just happen.  Group members need to commit themselves to the group and to growing as disciples through the group.  They need support and equipping in group dynamics and how to function effectively as a group.  Leaders need training and resources to release the potential that lies within the group to express our Core Values of Healthy Relationships, Christlike Growth, Fervent Prayer, Transforming Worship and Intentional Outreach.

Should we adopt this purpose it would have the effect of us putting greater effort into developing and resourcing our small group network.  We will foster a culture that sees small groups as an integral part of the way that we experience ongoing growth as followers of Jesus.  As individuals we will each be encouraged to be part of a small group that meets either weekly or fortnightly.  These groups will all look different, but will share a common DNA of being places to study and apply the bible, pray for each other, give and receive pastoral care and be encouraged in ministry. 

I encourage you to continue to pray, reflect and discuss our proposed purpose, Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage, so that together we may discern if this is the way that God is calling us to move. 

Ministers Desk 14 August 2011

During the past week we have spent time in our daily devotions dwelling on our response to God through worship.  Our proposed purpose (Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage) calls us to expand our capacity to worship where we surrender ourselves to God, praise his name and experience transformation by the Holy Spirit.

As with any activity that we do frequently over a long period of time, we can lose the sense of awe and anticipation and instead we can allow worship to become a stale ritual.

Psalm 51:15 – 17 says, “open my lips Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Growing disciples are people who continually push themselves beyond stale rituals and tedious routine in worship and look to find fresh and inspiring experiences of God in worship.  Our worship can be in our corporate gathered times on Sunday or at any other moment that we encounter and respond to the divine presence of God.  For instance on my day off this week I went walking in the bush land around Mt Coot-tha.  In prayer I was able to praise and thank God for his work in creation.  That praise though led me to a renewal in my commitment to be a steward of God’s creation, as a response and act of worship to the God who has given us the gift of creation.  This year our combined services have featured one of our three styles of worship, rather than a combination of all three.  It has meant that for two out of three combined services we have worshipped in a style that is not our usual, or preferred style.  This has been a growing time for many as they have reflected on the meaning and purpose of worship.  Worship takes place wherever we are and whenever we respond to the glory of God.

The proposed purpose for our congregation (Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage) envisages us placing emphasis on worship as a means by which we grow as disciples of Jesus.  In the very action of surrendering ourselves to God, we learn to think less of ourselves and more of God.  Worship helps us reorient ourselves to the otherness of God and to the life that he calls us to.  Isaiah 6 is a classic text about the nature of worship and our response.  When God calls out “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?” Isaiah’s response is “Here am I.  Send me!”  Isaiah’s response to God should be our response to God in worship - a renewed response to the life that he calls us to.

Our proposed purpose will see our congregation continuing to offer and develop worship in our three styles, at our three current times.  At the same time we will grow our capacity to worship God throughout the week, responding to his ongoing outpouring of love and grace.

The proposed purpose also affects us personally.  We are each encouraged to find ourselves regularly and frequently in corporate worship and to live with an ongoing worshipful response to the love and grace of God in all aspects of our lives.  please continue to pray, reflect and consider our proposed purpose.

Shalom

Minister’s Desk

 At our congregational meeting on Sunday 31 July we introduced a new purpose for our congregation.  The purpose that we are proposing is Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  This purpose comes as the next step on from the work we did in naming our Core Values.  These Core Values are important to our move into the future as they link us to the past and identify our DNA.

The Great Commission (Matthew 29:16 – 20) tells us that the role of the church is to make disciples.  Traditionally, and rightly so, this has been interpreted as meaning evangelism to bring others to faith in Jesus.  But the Great Omission is that we have failed to continue to grow as disciples.  Our faith and relationship with God is something that is to grow so that we are able to embrace more of the future that God has for us.  The parable of the mustard seed in Mark 4:30 – 32 show us this dynamic nature of growing faith.   Elsewhere in the New Testament we find other verses that remind us that faith is to grow.  Look up passages such as: 1 Timothy 1:6; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2, 3; 2 Thessalonians 1:3.

Coming from this, it is proposed that our purpose as a congregation be to facilitate and encourage all people to grow deeper in faith as they enter more fully into the future that God has for them.  We propose to do this by focussing on four specific areas.  These were key features of the ministry of Jesus, were commanded of his to his followers and have been essential aspects of the ministry of the church throughout history.

We Exalt God in worship.  In worship we surrender ourselves to God, praise his name and experience the transformation of the Holy Spirit.

We Explore what is means to be a disciple by being part of a small group.

We Embody our faith where we are led by the Holy Spirit, to an area of service that stretches and challenges us to use our spiritual gifts.

We Engage with others by having at least one intentional relationship where we will share our faith, in the hope God will lead them to faith in Jesus Christ.

Should we adopt this purpose, it will see the energy of the congregation put into four activities – worship, small groups, supporting people in their service and relationship evangelism.  At the same time each member of the congregation will be asked to focus on four areas:

Find yourself frequently in worship

Be part of a small group

Have at least one role of service for which you need the Holy Spirit

Have one intentional relationship in which you can share faith.

Whilst this can make it look as though these are just four activities that need to be done, they are not.  These are four aspects through which we will grow in our relationship with God and enter more fully into his future.  The activities are not ends in themselves; they are the means through which we experience God’s transformation and growth into the new creations we are in Jesus Christ.  As such this purpose is more about the people and church we are becoming, than about the things that we will do.

Shalom

David Fender