money matters
Stewardship. Investments. Tithing. Wealth. Offerings. Charity. Wisdom. Repair. Justice. The Bible has a lot to say about how we manage money as individuals, families, religious institutions, and governments. I grew up in a community where we all qualified for free hot meals, when the school lunch ladies actually cooked. People didn’t have much, but they gave generously of what they had- a side of venison, zucchini and spaghetti squash (which I hope to never eat again), a cord of wood (or maybe that is wishful thinking, considering how many Saturdays we spent burning brush piles and stacking firewood.) Childhood memories may not be entirely accurate :). Calculating a tithe as ten percent, learning to move the decimal point, was an integration of math and church upbringing.
When I moved on to other faith communities, I was surprised that giving a tenth was not the norm, and that 3% could be considered “tithing.” As an adult, I am learning a much more expansive definition of giving back. In today’s lectionary gospel reading, Jesus warns religious leaders that calculating our tithes must be integrated with our faith, peace, and pursuit of justice:
“How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You give to God a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, but you forget about the more important matters of the Law: justice, peace, and faith. You ought to give a tenth but without forgetting about those more important matters.” Matthew 23:23 (CEB)
How do we integrate money management with charitable giving? How do we offer God a portion of everything we have as an expression of justice and faith? New Covenant has long benefitted from the wise stewardship experience (over 80 years!) of Mennonite financial institutions, merged in 2010 to become Everence and serve Christians beyond the Anabaptist umbrella. Through Everence we have access to stewardship and financial consultants who serve both individuals within the congregation and NCF as a non-profit church dedicated to following Jesus’ teaching.
Over the ten years since I began serving as pastor, I have grown in appreciation of the joyful commitment of Everence staff to helping us integrate faith and finances. I am grateful for NCF folks who have kept us connected to Everence insights and resources- particularly Jim Linder, Karen Hogenboom, and now Kathy Kearney-Grobler who have served as our stewardship advocates. I am thankful for the matching grants that bolster our Family Fund ministry and the encouragement to grow in expressing thanks, planning for the future, and aligning our giving with our values. It is good to be reminded that our Christian journey is one of partnership; as a small, independent church we don’t have to do everything on our own. We are part of a larger body of believers who are gifted with skills and resources beyond our own.
May we heed Jesus’ words to attend to justice, peace, and faith through our giving back to God of the many blessings we have received. May our tithes of time, money, and resources go beyond the letter of the law as an expression of our love and gratitude. And may we not be too proud or embarrassed to ask for help to grow into greater maturity on our financial stewardship journey. -Renée