In this week's church newsletter I included two bits I've picked up from recent news for church members to think about as we complete our church's stewardship campaign.1. A recent survey revealed that the number one thing Americans wanted for Christmas this year was a computer. “Peace and happiness” ranked second. My first reaction was judgment—typical materialistic Americans! Then I considered what I would have answered had I been asked the same question I realized that the first thing I would have thought of would have been a material object too. Don’t you hate it when you realize your priorities are out of whack?
2. Columnist Bill Tammeus shared statistics on giving in The Kansas City Star this past week. They weren’t good. According to one survey of 11 Protestant denominations in 2000, giving per member came to just 2.6 percent of annual income. I’ve noted before that I personally do not advocate a specific percentage of income to give, but I was taken aback a bit, since this figure is lower now than in the midst of the Great Depression. That’s quite an indictment.
2. Columnist Bill Tammeus shared statistics on giving in The Kansas City Star this past week. They weren’t good. According to one survey of 11 Protestant denominations in 2000, giving per member came to just 2.6 percent of annual income. I’ve noted before that I personally do not advocate a specific percentage of income to give, but I was taken aback a bit, since this figure is lower now than in the midst of the Great Depression. That’s quite an indictment.
There's a reason Jesus spent so much time talking about wealth and its temptations. His words about laying up treasure in heaven are just remain relevant today--if not more so, given our consumer-driven economy and the availability of goods at unprecedented levels through
technology.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
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