PASTOR'S MESSAGE - 
August - September 2002

ZION NEWSLETTER

Volume 17, Number 4

The STEWARDSHIP issue

Pastor’s Message

“Remember this:
whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

(II Corinthians 9:6)

Dear members and dear friends of ZION,

To write to you about stewardship is not one of the easiest tasks for your Pastor. Coming from an old world Lutheran background and perspective, I have a kind of default shyness in this matter. However, there are examples of stewardship in the Bible which I can turn to to perharps change my mind. Just look at how, for example, the apostle Paul writes about all aspects of stewardship in his letters: the offering of time, talent, and money.

Like when he writes to the Corinthians: “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (II Cor 8:8+9) Paul starts his “pledge drive” by reminding his readers of the incarnation, of the gift we received first through God’s grace shown abundantly in Christ’s life, death and resurrection FOR US. That’s the decisive issue: God’s gift, all that has given us the sure foundation for our well being and our good standing with God.

Before we compare it to anything else we should compare our response to the fullness of God’s gracious gifts. Whatever we do, is a response. That thankful response should include our selves, our time, and our possessions. Some see that simply as a Christian’s responsibility, but it’s more than that. It’s a dynamic relationship with the giver that draws forth the offering. Without the relationship, and without acknowledging it as a relationship, any response is just another obligation.

There is one place where that special awareness is raised and nurtured: and that’s in worship. Worship changes hearts by constantly refocusing our definition of “treasure”. We place it in connection with listening to God’s word, and in connection with our prayers and hymns. Our generosity becomes grounded in the generosity of God’s abundance. Simply put, it is worship that teaches us to say “thank you” to God who blesses, forgives, saves and strengthens.

For sure, this “thank you-response” will have different forms. Not everybody will be able to express it financially. However: “If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”(II Cor 8:12).

It is this willingness that has made Zion such a special place, a place of hospitality and welcome. I am extremely grateful for the commitment so many people have expressed for this, our church. We are experiencing this willingness right now in the overwhelming response of volunteers to help in the office, and wherever needed. We will need more of it, and we will eventually need to transmit it into a capital campaign, too, somehow and with God’s help.

Walking up the road to our 250^th anniversary in 2005, there are a lot of reasons to give thanks to God: that he has kept us here, as a living witness, right next to City Hall; that we have always managed to keep this church going, even in its special bicultural ministry. You have mastered a lot of struggles, and that at times did eat up a lot of classic stewardship resources: it deprived you of time, diverted away talent, and, yes, you lost money through it. Now, with God’s help, the time has come to turn around and to focus our energies on a good project for the future. “Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Cor 9:7)

Have a cheerful consideration of your thankful response!

Your Pastor Dr Holger Roggelin

A stewardship congregation:

-         possesses a clear vision for its mission:
what God is calling members to do

-         knows where and how its resources are doing ministry

-         understands stewardship as more than money

-         sees stewardship as a year-round and lifelong ministry emphasis,
more than a fall campaign alone

Back to Pastor Roggelin's Archive of Messages from Zion Church of Baltimore