God’s Kingdom has enough resources to accomplish so much more

By: American Decency Staff

Since 1993, American Decency Association has been a part of the Evangelical Counsel for Financial Accountability, a ministry devoted to keeping its members honest in its finances. As such, Dad and I attended a seminar yesterday (Grand Rapids) held by the ECFA (www.ecfa.org) to instruct and encourage churches and ministries in fiscal matters. You can imagine how excited I was to spend the day with all the money people from every ministry in West Michigan. I anticipated a boring day full of spreadsheets and graphs and discouraging numbers, but I was surprised and encouraged by what I learned. It wasn’t about numbers and minus signs and red ink as much as it was about the attitudes and practices that defined these ministries. The speakers shared their knowledge and expertise in their field, and it was often helpful and encouraging even to me.I was especially inspired by one of the workshop leaders, Brian Kluth. Brian Kluth’s ministry is a rare one. His passion is to teach the church to be generous with the money that God gives them. When he told us that for the last 40 years giving to parachurch ministries has been on a steady decline, that was hardly news to us. ADA has for many years watched the year-end total fall, even as our battle becomes more strenuous. That being said, at this point I would like to make it clear that I am not writing this to ask for donations. That is not the purpose of this email. We all love to hear about how God miraculously provides for his people. Kluth has many great stories about not only being blessed by receiving amazing, unexpected gifts, but by responding to God’s call to give those gifts. We have all heard the heart-warming stories about the Christian who had a real need and had nothing to meet it but faith, and God provided for them with a miracle through a check in the mail or a gift on their door step. Have you ever stopped to think about how it got there? Someone had to put that check in an envelope, lick the seal, stamp it, address it, and carry it to the mail box, and put the flag up. How many of us are willing to be that person? That money came from someone’s bank account. They could have used that to buy a new couch, or make a house payment, or go on a much needed vacation.  Would you have been willing to give that up and send it to someone you barely knew or didn’t know at all? During the seminar, Dad got an email from political activist, Gary Bauer. Gary Bauer’s ministry, Campaign for Working Families, http://www.cwfpac.com/  has backed a certain conservative candidate up for election in New York. They sent an email out Tuesday asking people to contribute to this man’s campaign. He had 107 gifts in response. This was what he had to say.  “For months I’ve been reading and responding to messages about how sick and tired you are with politics as usual.  I’m grateful to the 107 individuals who made a gift online or phoned in a donation yesterday.  But I’ve personally answered more than 107 angry e-mails from individuals expressing their frustration with liberal politicians in both political parties.  For those of you who did not respond, what is it going to take to get you to invest in our work? “ Our fists have closed so tight on our money in America. Right now we are in a hard economic climate and some of us simply don’t have extra money. For some this is true, but for some of us it is only an excuse. How much would you have if you gave up fast food, or Starbucks, or (in my case) gave up that accessory for your car, or (Heaven forbid) skipped one month’s deposit into your savings account? Every Christian has learned at some point in his walk that everything we have belongs to God. Do you really act like it? Or when your check comes on Friday is it 10% is God’s and the rest is mine. I will tell you right now, that is me. That is how I have been. Actually, He has been lucky when He gets 10%. I can’t write this as someone who has seen firsthand God’s blessing when we are generous. I can say it as someone who was convicted by one who has. I can also say that at this time in my life, I don’t have a lot of extra to give. I am 20, with no degree, newly married, and we live in Michigan. Do I need to say more? But I am pledging to do more, and to give up some extra amenities to be generous to the causes that are bigger than me. We can rant and rave about our country and our world and our culture falling apart, but we can’t complain that the organizations aren’t there to hold it in check. Whether you are passionate about politics, decency, feeding the hungry, evangelism, teaching children, etc., if you cannot open your hands and give GOD’S money to these organizations, you forfeit all right to complain. ADA is so thankful for those of you have opened your fists and allowed us to use the assets God has charged you with. We also realize that many are in an extremely tight place financially right now and it is simply impossible to give what you have. We understand and pray for those situations. For those of us who are not in those situations, I would encourage you, wherever you are reading this, whether you are at your desk or on your couch or at the kitchen table to get up, go get your check book, and send a gift to a cause that you are passionate about. Again, I’m not asking you to send us money. In fact, you know what? Don’t. It’s not that we need it any less than anyone else, but this is not a fundraising email. God’s Kingdom has enough resources to accomplish so much more, but it is going to take your sacrifice to get it done.  Is there something worth you giving $50 to change? It starts with you. Don’t assume everyone else is going to do it. They are no more likely to do it than you. IT STARTS WITH YOU. Written by Chris Johnson ==================================== American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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