What's My Motivation?

What motivates you in life? For me often times it is writing a list so that I can then experience the satisfaction of checking things off of it.  A friend of mine said a few weeks ago that his mom is the kind of person who sits down at the kitchen table with her morning coffee and at the top of her "to do" list writes, "make coffee" just so that she can mark it off.  Kindred spirits, she and I.  Other times it is a deadline fast approaching that motivates me, paying bills for example.  The best motivation comes when you are inspired to do something!  When sheer joy or love drives you to finish that book, write that article or finish that project. One of the most important and exciting things for me to do in the past few weeks has been to prepare for my besties' wedding.  There has been nothing too great or too small that I would not do to help her.  After all, this is part of a bridesmaids' job!  Buying a fancy dress, showering her with gifts, and taking her with friends to the beach for a weekend before the wedding has been such a blast.  Indeed, our continued friendship has motivated me to try and be the very best bridesmaid that I can be!  

I'm sure you know where I am going with this: what is our motivation when it comes to the life of the church? We know that when it comes to the task of giving of our time, talents, and treasures, there are many times when climbing that particular mountain appears to be too steep!  How can we motivate each other to pack up our gear and begin the arduous climb? How do we motivate one another to join us in the journey to become as generous to our church as perhaps we are in other areas of our lives? "What", you might ask, "is my motivation?"

I love this statement from McKenzie and Miller in "Climb Higher."  They write, "God continues to express generosity and give to us in ways we can hardly imagine--not because of what we do, but because of grace.  God's gifts come to us without strings attached.  Our gifts to God should be returned in the same way." Grace, the ultimate motivation! 

I could talk about generosity in the church being budget driven, but if you are like me, reading a bunch of numbers and line items can be intimidating and your eyes begin to glaze over.  Fiscal responsibility is very important and all of us should be aware of the church's expenses and the need to fund our various ministries, pleading with members to help out when times are tough isn't necessarily the best approach. Another option is to merely plea for help in a crisis situation.  This might lead a congregation into a panic or to believe that the church is no longer viable.  While a congregation should always be told if a financial crisis has emerged, it should be a vision for ministry that inspires the congregation to resolve it.    Some churches attempt to divide the amount of funding needed to sustain ministries equally among its members.Families are told what is needed and their portion and are called to respond accordingly.  Wow, um...insulting (in my opinion). This sounds a lot more like being guilted into paying dues rather than out of being lead through prayer to give as they are able.  We also have to be careful not to encourage a "giving to get" mentality.  Have you ever heard a testimony from someone who said that after they increased their tithes to the church they recieved a promotion or a raise? Our tithing should not be based on a bartering relationship with God.  Remember, God blesses us by grace alone and those blessings preceded and exceeded any gift-giving on our own part. 

I have shared this quote with our congregation before: "We don't pay the utility companies because we love paying utilities.  We budget for utilities because of the many different ways in which the building is used for ministry."  So, what is our motivation? Instead of talking about money lets talk about ministries.  

One of our best kept secrets at ACHPC is probably our music program.  When visitors come to our church they are blown away by the amount of talent we have in our small congregation.  It reminds me of a song Martina McBride used to sing, "I'm little but I'm loud."  I hope that for as many folks that come to me on Sunday morning to tell me they enjoyed my sermon, they tell our pianist, choir director, guitarist and choir members how fantastic they are.  While I do not like the notion that worship is a performance, I do on occasion encourage church members to clap after an anthem because the choir deserves to know that they have helped that congregation come closer to God in that moment.  That the Holy Spirit's presence was felt due to their inspiring music.  It isn't just about praising them, it is about glorifying God and in those moments thanking God for the talents they share with us each week! I look forward to occasions such as Joy Gift and Palm Sunday when they are able to breathe new life into our worship.  Having laity participate in worship each Sunday by leading the liturgy is crucial to our continued vitality, it helps members to take ownership of their worship and spiritual health.

I think we are also strong in our Christian Education at ACHPC.  We may not boast multiple Sunday school classes, but why should we?  What is the benefit of being fragmented when such wonderful, thoughtful discussion happens in one room?  The curriculum for the upcoming year for both adults and youth strives to connect real life, newsworthy events and personal narratives with the scriptures.  How do the scriptures help us to respond to what is happening in the world?  The Men's Fellowship Group and the Girls' Day Out study does the same thing, although with a different context.  We know that thoughtful study is an important key to our inspiration, it is what helps us to flesh out our theology and apply our faith to daily living.  

In addition to our study and worship, we fellowship with one another each and every week!  It is a delight for us to have luncheons and dinners together, to sit down and spend that quality time just being in relationship.  But, it is amazing what 10 minutes after worship can do to lift one's spirits, energize them for the coming week, share in a smile that can spread, one to another.  Make no mistake, the stories of the Bible are encounters with neighbors, relationships are at the core of  each one!  

There are churches that are twice the size of ours in number but can't seem to find the time to take care of one another.   Our family ministry is by far one of the most wonderful things we do.  While I try my very best to visit with our members when they are ill or struggling, I simply cannot do all that I would like.  I could never do enough in all honesty, but with help from congregation members, we are able to show our love and support to members. The cards, the flowers, the food, mean so much to people.  I would encourage everyone that you do not have to wait until you are the person signed up to do family ministry to reach out to folks.  Our prayer list is in the bulletin each week for a reason.  After you've prayed for our members, call them, visit them, and pray with them!

The amount of work we do in the community is also phenomenal. When people call us and ask for help with groceries, we can direct them to the local food bank because we are always collecting food for their shelves.  When people need help with their rent or their electric bills, we are able to provide for them because of the congregations generosity with funds as well as the time our members spend working to raise money at the Railroad Festival.  We assist with Habitat, we do an angel tree, 2-cents-a-meal, the list goes on and on.  In fact, we may have too many irons in the fire.  But, they are each so very good.  

Make no mistake, the success of these ministries is directly linked to our congregations generosity. Generosity of tithes, generosity of time, generosity of talents. I ask my congregation to think about the impression these ministries have had on your life. When it comes to generous giving, what is your motivation?