|
APPENDIX
#10 — “We
Learn to Be Free to Give!” On first hearing, it
was an unreasonable request. In
fact, for some it was really unthinkable.
But the visitor from the churchwide office had made it and, out of
courtesy, the local church council not only heard it but agreed to hold
the congregational meeting already scheduled for that evening and to hear
the proposal again. The visitor was
proposing that the congregation mortgage its beautiful stone church and
its fine parsonage in order to provide the necessary capital funds for a
nonexistent congregation in another state half a continent away, with no
known members and no pastor yet called to begin the ministry. Furthermore, if the new congregation could not repay any or
all of the mortgage loan money, the established congregation would have
to. The pastor’s reaction
to the church council session was positive, even glowing.
“Not a single voice was raised in opposition?! He exclaimed.
“With that attitude, the congregation as a whole will surely vote
approval.” The visitor interpreted
the reaction quite differently. “Too
often,” he observed, “folks express their opposition by silence, by
digging in their mental heels. Then
they vote no when it really counts, especially if the vote is by secret
ballot, rather than by a show of hands.” The congregation as a
whole proved to be fully as courteous as the council had been in listening
to the visitor’s presentation. But
when the ballots were counted, the proposal failed by a two-to-one margin.
The group broke up for coffee. The visitor’s
reaction was disappointment, understandable but unexpressed. “There are times,” he said later, “when you’d like to
be proved wrong in your predictions.” But only a few minutes
after the coffee had been poured, a member came up and asked, “Can a few
of us talk with you?” Seven
of them gathered over in one corner of the large church basement and
asked, “If the congregation won’t do it, can we?”
They speculated that if the congregation couldn’t see its way
clear to provide the collateral by mortgaging the church building and
parsonage to provide the capital needs for this new congregation, perhaps
they could provide the collateral by mortgaging their businesses and
homes. The next morning they
had their answer. They,
together with the visitor from the churchwide offices went to the local
financial institution to present their case.
The word was, “Yes!” The
seven members committed themselves to mortgaging their property for the
total amount necessary to establish the new congregation in another state
half a continent away, with no known members and no pastor yet called to
begin the ministry. They
could do it, and they did! No long after, a pastor
who was qualified, capable and experienced did accept the Letter of Call
to establish the new congregation. The
Word of God was preached, taught and lived.
The Lord kept his promises and gave an abundant harvest.
The congregation came into being, it grew and it repaid every cent
of principal and interest on the collateral loan. |