What Happens If…?
“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21 NRSV
“A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water.” – Proverbs 11:25 NRSV
Humans have always had a sense that something “bigger” is out there. The argument used to be made that religion was born once humans gathered in communities, and was used as a way to explain the community DNA that has already formed naturally. But other theories suggest religion might be what helped communities be formed.
The archaeological site known as Göbekli Tepe, in modern day Turkey, is one of the oldest inhabitations we know about (dating back to 9500 BCE) and oddly enough did not feature agriculture as the original uniting force. It seems it was originally a burial site, surrounded by images of animals that would protect the dead. The conclusion is that there must be some mythology around these animals, but what has turned former conclusions about civilization-building on their head is that people gravitated towards the religious center RATHER than the religion coming as a result of people being gathered.
Other accounts in the tribes of indigenous peoples detail the mystery of the heavens and the stories that the stars tell. Even in western culture, the planets are named Roman names because the Romans looked to the stars with wonder – assuming there must be something more.
The passage from Ephesians is a benediction that highlights Paul’s belief that the church is part of that “something bigger” and “something more.” The church, just like all of us as individuals, cannot survive without the grace and power of God that is beyond the power of the church – but he recognizes that the church has a power larger than the individual Christian.
We are, in effect, “something more” when we come together because of our common belief that God is doing something amazing through our belief in and following of Jesus the Christ.
In financial conversations, I often get asked about “what’s next?” or “what’s more?” – usually when people are subtly asking me, “What would happen if I gave more?” And there are 3 answers to that question.
The Spiritual Answer
When we give more, we live into the truth espoused many times in scripture that could be summed up by Jesus words in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Proverbs 11:25 adds to the understanding of this sentiment by declaring that generous people will be enriched. Occasionally this type of scripture gets used in the “Prosperity Gospel” way to suggest if you give $1,000 to the church you’ll get $3,000 back in some mysterious way – but that misses the whole point. Notice the second half of the proverb about those who give water will get water.
The simplest way I can put this is, “When you give yourself fully to something, you get all the benefits of being a part of that thing.” So, if you invest yourself fully into a soccer team you will most likely play better, play more, and therefore have more fun and make great teammates/friends. If you invest more into a church, you will likely receive the blessings of friendship, community, identity, and purpose that don’t come as fully with a half-hearted commitment.
The Missional Answer
Of course, giving more to the church also impacts what, who, and how effectively we can share God’s love with our community. After all, if we’re after something “bigger,” that’s not only the largesse of God’s love that is greater than any love we know, it’s also the call to share that love with everyone we can.
John Wesley gave a sermon in 1799 entitled “The Law Established through Faith” in which he expounded upon the law of love that our faith clings to. A certain portion has been translated into more modern day English to read:
“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.”
This type of view on love in action doesn’t come from a half-hearted commitment. A full commitment financially to the church allows us to share the message of Jesus more wide-spread through new avenues like our new Podcast. Additionally, your gifts go to things like Brother’s Keeper and our Missions that share God’s love in tangible ways to those who need a hand-up and a help out.
The Mission Team is currently looking to grow our missional impact by adding on some new partners in the 75069 zip code, while continuing our faithful service to existing partners and empowering our covenant partner church, The Gathering – Anna. With your investment, we might move the needle on the disturbing health metrics in the 75069 zip code and share God’s love in real, tangible, healing ways.
The Practical Answer
I hate to call it “practical” because that sounds boring, but there are improvements, additions, and needs here at Creekwood that play into the operational side of being a church together. I once had a student tell me that it didn’t matter how many copies we made of a curriculum because “paper is free.” He was very surprised when he realized that no, “paper is not free.”
But what would we do if you gave more? I’m glad you asked:
Big Projects Already Planned
- Replacing the dying projectors and screen in the worship center for a better worship experience (and not have a big yellow circle on the right screen).
- Remodel the closet in the back of the worship center to house the choral robes and music to provide the choir easier access, also allowing the current choir room (Room 101) to be used as a launching space for a new small group.
- Tear down the temporary wall between Room 102 and 103 to accomodate the large growth in some of our Sunday school classes AND provide one more large space for building/meeting use that we have found needed.
Big Dreams That “Could Be”
- Provide our full-time staff health benefits. Currently only the clergy receive health benefits as required by the Horizon Texas Conference/United Methodist Church.
- Replace the carpet in the worship center. It is the original carpet from 2008 and there are a “few” coffee stains from the last 17 years of worship.
- Improve the lighting in the sanctuary. This would include adding lights so that those on stage are not washed out by the natural light from the big window, adding a light board that runs on something more than a floppy disk (current situation), and moving/adding lights to give the choir better visibility without blinding them.
- Upgrading the sound system in the worship center. This would largely be upgrading the speaker system from the original system added in 2008 and making sure that those with hearing problems are well accounted for.
- Hire a staff person dedicated to Missions (David is currently the staff liaison to the team…and we all know how that’s probably going).
- Build a state-of-the-art Student Center to add-on to or replace the current Student Center to support our growing Student Ministries.
- Completely wipe out the debt. After we close out the year, we will likely still have ~$283,000 left on our note, with a monthly payment of $3,470. By wiping it out, we could have an extra $41,640 to use for ministry and mission.
- Give more hours to our Pre-K Director, Nancy Tabor, to allow her more time to dream and reach out to our littlest disciples. Currently Nancy only is paid for 5 hours, mostly to administer the Sunday plans that Caitlin Maxwell draws up – and yet Ms. Nancy does a GREAT job with our littlest ones. As a reminder, we don’t just play. They learn about Jesus and do real Sunday school…on top of playing!
- Purchase chairs in the worship center and Room 110 that have “arms” on them so that those with mobility issues can more easily stand up.
And there are probably a dozen or more other ideas just waiting to be had with the financial freedom that comes from abundance.
As you ponder what you will commit to giving to God through Creekwood UMC this year, consider your own longing to be part of something bigger – something that can accomplish more together, as part of God’s great love.
I’ll be back next week with a recap of 2024 to show you what we did together for the glory of God!
Peace,
David Lessner
PS – Please return your pledge card before or by February 2. You can do so by bringing it to the office, to worship on Sunday, or filling out the online pledge form.
