defined by generosity

from my sermon on 2/6/11 from Acts 20:32-35

The love of money and possessions can corrupt a preacher just as easily as anybody else. In high school, I remember reading Elmer Gantry, the story of a dynamic evangelist who was seduced by his own powers of persuasion and the things of this world. Since then, I have seen many examples of preachers, evangelists, and pastors who have gotten caught up in this web of desiring more. Their stories have been splashed across the media.

In this passage of scripture, Paul offers the witness of his own life as one who is free from this disease of acquiring more. The antidote is generosity. He remembers and practices the words of Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than it is to receive."

He offers his life as an example to follow. I hesitantly offer mine. I have never done this before. I may never do so again. I talked to our worship team; they discouraged me from doing this. I talked to my wife; she said, "Please don't do it." I consulted the Sunday Parade magazine a couple of weeks ago. Maybe you say the article: which would you rather admit? Your age? Your weight? Your salary? 77% said they would admit their age. 15% said they would admit their weight. Only 8% said they would admit their salary.

I am 57 years old (nearly 58). I stepped on the bathroom scales yesterday, and they read 148. And my salary is....I will tell you in a minute.

What pushed me over the edge to share my example was going to a workshop, the New Church Leadership Institute. A gentleman named Clif was teaching about stewardship. He said, "You preachers must take the lead. You must be forthcoming. The congregation is hungry for your leadership. You must set the example."

We are back to Paul, who offers his life as an example to follow. It is as if he says, "What we do is more important than what we say." So I offer my life, not as an appeal to your intellect, not to debate you, not to present you with a problem to solve, not to make you feel guilty because you don't give enough, nor to make you feel superior because you do so much better than I do. I offer you my example to give you room...holy space... in which you can find yourself in your relationship with Christ and generosity.

One of the big influences on my life was my dad. He was a dreamer, a risk-taker. You can know this easily because he was a farmer. At one time, Dad had 100,000 chickens. We did not raise chickens for meat. We had laying hens which produced eggs. With this large commercial operation, Dad had a lot of creditors. I remember some of them coming to our door to ask Dad for money. I remember going to fill my car with gas at Mr. Ritchie's Shamrock station, he who had a daughter in my grade, and him telling me to have my dad come by to pay his bills. So I have issues of shame when it comes to money and possessions.

I also got some positive images from my family. I got an allowance. When I got 50 cents, I understood that a nickel of that belonged to God. My church, First Methodist in Littlefield, Texas, reinforced this. Even as a child, I was given my own offering envelopes for the whole year. I understood from an early age that all I had I had been given. It did not belong to me. It belonged to God. I was to be grateful and to show my worship of God by giving back to God.

Now growing up, we were never poor. We never missed a meal. We always had clean clothes. Sometimes the blue jeans I got were too long for me, because my mom figured I would soon grow into them. Do some of you remember rolling up the cuffs of your jeans until you grew into them? We had a comfortable house. We would go on vacation in the summers to the mountains of New Mexico which were only a few hours away. Sometimes we had a cabin. Sometimes we camped out.

As we children got to be school age, my mom went back to work to help make ends meet.

Another big influence on my life is my mom' mom, my grandmother Johnson. She was born at the start of the 20th century and lived to see the start of the 21st century. She died at age 101. After she died, we were cleaning out her house. And this is what we found: bags of rubber bands taken off the daily newspaper, a stash of bread sacks, a drawer of used aluminum foil. Grandmother was not a hoarder. She was one who had lived through WWI and the Great Depression and WWII and so much more. She did not throw things away. She used them up, wore them out, recycled. I remember finding all of the milk jugs that she had washed out and used to catch rain water. She thought her plants did better with rain water than city water. I remember going to her garden out back and picking fresh asparagus. I remember picking home grown tomatoes. Is there anything better in life than home grown tomatoes? There're not anything like the store bought tomatoes that don't taste much different from the styrofoam they are packed in. I remember the fig tree and the fig preserves grandmother put up. I learned simplicity and stewardship of the earth from my grandmother. I also remember she was in worship every Sunday as her Presbyterian church.

This leads me to my marriage to Cathy, who also happens to be a Presbyterian. She is Methodist only because she married me. I was attracted to Cathy not just because she was beautiful on the outside but also because she was beautiful on the inside. We could share prayer and spirituality together. She was also very generous. One of our first dates was going to finish up a home repair project that Highland Park UMC was doing in Dallas. Cathy and I have always given a lot. For the first 15 years of our life together, we moved slowly to the level of tithing, giving 10% to Christ and His Church. For the last 17 years we have been able to move to a tithe and beyond.

In this passage from Acts, Paul says that he is not dependent on the church for his income. He desires no one's silver or gold or clothing. He supports himself by working with his hands as a tentmaker. I know something about hard work and working with my hands. Growing up on the farm, I learned at an early age about feeding chickens (they don't understand if food is not set out for them), gathering eggs, washing eggs, sorting eggs, and taking eggs to the stores. We also had pigs, and I following a similiar process in raising them up from piglets until taking them to market. Later Dad became a contractor-builder of commercial farm operations. I learned about driving nails and pouring concrete. I know about working with my hands, but today most of what I do is indoors and doesn't involve much heavy lifting.

Today, I am dependent on you for most of my income. And here's the awkward dynamic: you vote on it right in my presence. Every year, we have a meeting called a church conference and some 60 of you show up. My compensation package is presented, and you vote on it. How many of you have your compensation set this way? Not too many. Anyhow it is not a secret what I make.

This past year, my base pay was $53,844. To that was added $7200 for utilities and $22,088 for housing. Health insurance for Cathy and me was $12,576. My degree was in math but it was from A & M, so I figured that came out to $95,708, pretty close to $96,000. So last year, I gave to this church $800/month or $9600 for the year, a tithe of my income. Please know I believe in this church and in our denomination. We have very low overhead. We efficiently deliver real help to real people. The most important thing we do is to bring people into a relationship with Christ. Other entities can provide some of the services we do of feeding, clothing, housing, etc., but the church is uniquely positioned to be in the "changing people's hearts business." I heard a talk at the Austin Seminary this past week, where a layman said, "For all of its faults and frailities, church is still the best idea I have ever heard."

This past year, I also gave $2725 to our building fund. I am on pace to pay my $10,000 pledge to Bldg M by May. I also gave this past year $1100 to Offering Christ Today fund to help start new UM churches in our Southwest Texas area. Furthermore, I gave to my 2 seminaries, to the CROP walk for Hunger, to Texas A & M, to KUT radio, and many more causes. Beyond that I have worked with my hands on Habitat for Humanity, at my local park--Mary Moore Searight, and my neighborhood association, among other concerns. You need to talk to Cathy about her own giving, but she is also very generous.

I have tried to set you an example because I believe in this God and Jesus and Church and Bible thing we are doing. Christ is the center of my life. I have no meaning with Him. I am so grateful for all I have.

Paul says that he set an example that by such work we must support the weak. We are known best by how we treat the least. I am proud of you as a congregation for all you do for others. And this is what we find: that it feels good, feels right, feels holy to so such. We meet the presence of Christ and there is nothing like it in this world.

Paul then remembers a beattitude that is not found in the Gospels. Jesus says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." A Beattitude is a way of being, a way of being connected with Christ. It is what we were made for.

I have set you an example to show you that my life is defined by generosity, first by what God has done for me in Christ Jesus. This 2011 year, I plan to give $820/month or $9840 for the year. I offer you my example this week so you have time to reflect in your soul what you are called to do next week as we make our commitments to Christ and offer them here on this table.

I leave you with these questions: How will you be know? What example will you set? How will be defined? I hope you will be defined by generosity.