"Releasing the Future"
Sermon Transcript for November 7, 2004
By Rev. Mike Beck
Let’s pray together, “O, Lord, give us open and receptive hearts to hear your call upon us as individuals, upon this great church called Grace United Methodist Church. May our lives reflect what Joan has so beautifully sung, that we would serve you with all of our hearts. And all that you are going to accomplish in the coming days, may all the praise, the honor and the glory go to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved us so much that he died so that we might have the hope of eternal life. In Christ’s name, Amen.”
We have been planning for this special Sunday for almost four months. And I hope you’ll take time to look at the length list of names in the bulletin that contributed in a variety of ways to this special emphasis. We have been praying that God would use this emphasis to pour out His Holy Spirit, His anointing on this church in a very remarkable way in the coming weeks. To use the words of Beulah Schrader, which are my sermon title for today, “To release the future that God has for this church.”
This special campaign is called “Taking the next step forward—special gifts of Grace”. And I want to begin by sharing with you the goals of this emphasis so that we might be very clear as to what this is about. First of all, we go to this emphasis to bring honor and glory to God. It is never about us. God wants to use us to accomplish His work. But we are only servants; the honor and glory goes to God. Secondly, in an emphasis like this, as we give persons the opportunity to give, we are really giving you a gift, an opportunity for you to grow in your trust in the Lord and in your personal discipleship. A campaign like this is not about money as much as it is about the spiritual growth of God’s people. We have a beautiful new building that will be occupied, we hope, in January. But we are still in need of furnishings, landscaping, and other items for that new building. In this campaign, we are going to have the opportunity to make possible those items.
As you go through the new building today, I hope that many of you will walk up those steps. Right now it is just an unfinished shell. But your reaction will probably be the same as every single person I’ve taken up there. When they walk through those doors they say, “Oh my gosh!” when they look at the amount of space that is there. My Dad grew up like many of you playing basketball in the gyms over in Eastern Indiana, places like Brownsville, Dunlapsville, and Harrisburg. But I took Dad in there for the first time. This was his remark; “You could have put three of those old gyms that I played in, in that upstairs space.” that we believe in just a few months is going to minister to hundreds of youth here in the Franklin community.
We’d like to complete that second floor Youth Ministry Center. We want to be able to complete it next spring. It was needed three years ago. But we want to do it in a way that keeps our indebtedness at a very safe and manageable level. We want to be good stewards of the resources God’s given to us. It will take about $350,000 to finish the second floor Youth Ministry Center. And I am happy to announce this morning we are well on our way because my phone rang on Thursday of this week with a $100,000 gift to go toward finishing that youth center.
And then again, in the words of the sermon for today, we believe God has blessed Grace Church to be a blessing to this community. And through these special gifts of Grace you will “Release the Future”. You will help us to expand our ministries. As you walk through the Children’s Wing this morning, that Children’s Wing will house all of our current ministries including our Scout groups, Eastside Preschool and all of our church-related ministries. But we’ve got about three times as much space as what we’ve had before. Let me share with you a couple of things that we are thinking about that we believe are badly needed within this community because our phone rings often with calls asking this question, “We are having a difficult time finding a place for a two-parent, both have to work family. We can’t find an affordable place for care for infants through two-year olds.” And we believe some of those rooms that you walk through today are going to be used for that purpose. Right in our backyard is Web and Needham Elementary Schools. But again in this day and age in which so many families both parents need to work to make ends meet, kindergarten is only half a day. The school corporation only provides transportation one way. We believe that God may want us to use a couple of those rooms to provide ministries the other half of the day for kindergarten kids that go to Needham and Web School.
I want to read with you some words from the Book of Joshua, Chapter 4, Verses 20-21. The Israelites had already crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. These words were spoken a little later. It says, “And Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones that he had taken out of the bottom of the Jordan River. And he said to the Israelites, ‘In the future, when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground’.” Over and over again in the Old Testament, you see the Israelites making altars. And most of the time they were not beautiful, ornate altars like adorns the front of our sanctuary. They were simply piles of rocks. But those rocks were piled up at a sacred place so that when the generations that followed came across them, they would remember the providence of God. Remember God’s faithfulness.
How many of you remember several months ago there being a big basketful of rocks out there? How many of you wrote your names on one of those rocks? Let me see your hands. Lots of you! Do you know where the rocks are today? As you go through the new building around all of the edges are the flutters that form the foundation. Kelly Mills, our construction site manager (I want you to pray for her. She’s recovering from back surgery in the hospital.) Kelly carefully placed all of your rocks face up all the way around the perimeter of that building before the cement foundation was poured on top of it. So those of you who signed a rock, you are out there. You are part of that foundation. Now please do not come to me and ask, “Where is my rock?” I know where mine is, but that is all.
But, as we begin this emphasis, it is important that we take time to remember what Joshua did with erecting these stones. The first thing we need to remember is the generations that have gone before us—40, 50, 80, 100 years ago. For friends, although God is doing a wonderful thing in our midst, we wouldn’t be able to be doing what we are doing if it weren’t for the generations of faith that preceded us, that took a bold step to move from a beautiful downtown church out to a kind of swampy area on the east side of town because they thought God had more of a future for Grace Church then we could achieve at Home Avenue downtown. And we need to remember the vision that launched our Imagine Grace campaign last spring. We are so guilty in the church; we put countless hours into planning for something and then we do it and then we forget it because we are busy doing the next thing. So I want to take you back to April 13, 2003. There were about 650 of us that gathered in Franklin High School Auditorium for our special event celebration as a part of our Imagine Grace campaign. And I want us to watch a part of that video. And as you watch, I want you to remember, I want you to dream, and I want you to give thanks to God. Focus your attention to the screen.
Imagine Grace Campaign Video:
And as we come to our time of commitment, let’s be reminded that this campaign is ultimately about people. It’s about persons we perhaps have never met, persons whose love for God founded Grace Methodist Church in the 19th century. It’s about persons whose vision for the future prompted them to leave behind a beautiful downtown church to relocate in a space where there would be greater opportunities to share Grace with others. Imagine Grace is about carrying on in the footsteps of dear friends who have gone home to be with the Lord but through their gifts and sacrifice, left behind a living legacy in the future. It’s about a constant stream of newcomers who are finding help, hope, and home at Grace Church. It’s about joining together and worshiping God because we just can’t help it! It’s about celebrating life’s holiest moments and the knowledge that God is with us. It’s about persons of all ages discovering God’s plan for their lives. It’s about reaching out to persons going through difficult times with our prayers, encouragement, love and support. And it’s about hundreds of persons who haven’t yet walked through the doors of Grace Church but who need to know Christ and the blessing of being a part of a family of faith.
The Imagine Grace campaign is about vision. It’s always easier to turn inward, to just want to tend what we have, to enjoy being comfortable, and to think only of ourselves. But Jesus said He had come to seek and to save those who were lost. He told His disciples to open their eyes to see the fields all around them because they were ripe, and to harvest. God invites Grace Church at the beginning of the 21st Century to look around us, to realize the blessings of land, location, and human resources to which we have been entrusted, and to catch a vision of the future God has for us. The visionary leadership of the Franklin United Methodist Community has given us a wonderful example to follow. Since its founding in the 1950’s, it has always been looking ahead. It has strived for excellence; it has anticipated future needs; it has continued to expand its facilities in a spirit of vision and faith, love for God, and concern for the needs of others. Christ United Methodist Church in Greenwood gives us an example of what can happen when a church catches a vision for the future. Since its beginning in 1965, Christ United Methodist Church has gone through three building programs built on a foundation of long term pastoral leadership, an emphasis on spiritual growth, and the ministry of the laity. There average attendance in 1985 was 300; today Christ Church averages over 800 in attendance at four weekly worship services with comprehensive ministry to youth, singles, young families, and older adults in their community. What kind of future does God see for Grace Church? Our church has always been strong in the areas of worship and missions, but for many years the number of children and youth here at Grace was quite small. Many persons dream for the day in which elaborate ministries for children and youth will also be a part of the life of Grace Church. That dream is rapidly becoming a reality. Hundreds of children are ministered to each week at Grace United Methodist Church—Children’s Day In, Eastside Preschool, Sunday School classes, our Mid-Week Kids Club, Vacation Bible School, summer camps, Scout troops, our Children’s Musical. All of these are ways in which Christ’s church reaches out to poor children to find them God through great Christian values and to make our future world a better place.
The Imagine Grace campaign is ultimately about our willingness to trust God’s Word, which tells us, “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Our current youth building is perhaps a testimony to what can happen when God’s people step out in faith. Two years ago members of our church staff and lay leaders realized we simply could not afford to wait to find some means of making additional space available for our youth ministries. The Finance Committee was challenged to borrow $60,000 to purchase a temporary modular building so that our youth ministries could grow. They responded in faith. There were 25 students involved in our youth ministry two years ago. Today our youth group has grown to over 60. Five years ago, six youth made the first summer mission trip to Jackson, Michigan. This summer, 35 youth will travel to Denver for a week of ministry to home repair projects. Our youth are growing in their love for others and their love for God. In many ways our youth are showing us what faith in God is all about.
If you drove into the city of Franklin from the east in the 1950’s, you would have seen an empty field where Grace Church is now located. Who would have imagined what the next four decades would bring? Those open spaces have been replaced with housing developments, schools, and shopping areas. This growth promises to continue for decades to come. God has planted Grace Church in the middle of that growth with a responsibility to reach out to persons who need to know our Lord. As the community of Franklin grew outward in dependence on God, the faith and vision of the people of Grace United Methodist Church grew also. Time stands still for no one. In a very real sense, the baton of faith has been passed into our hands. We stand once again at a crossroads of decision. Without expanding our facilities, we cannot embrace the future God has for us. What will be our response? With God as our provider and guide, we invite you, in faith, to “Imagine Grace”.
As you leave worship today, you’ll be given one of these booklets. You will also have a chance to tour through the new building. I urge you to take time to avail yourself of the opportunity in the pages of this book. There is a place for every single one of you to be involved, including our children, to release the exciting future God has for Grace Church. Let me tell you a couple of quick stories. Jay Goad, who works for Cummins Power Products in Indianapolis, his boss is a strong Christian, sets aside a part of the company’s profits for philanthropic work. Jay handed him this week this finished book and the President of the company looked through it and later in the day I got an email saying a check for $10,000 is on its way to you. I want to name a room in honor of someone. He doesn’t even go to our church but he caught the vision! Helen Ruth Settles was here at the service last night. Jon Winteregg’s phone rang when he got home and Helen Ruth saying, “I want to buy one of those decorative lanterns.” And here’s what tickled John and me. She also said, looking at page 12, “But could I also buy one of those children’s bibles?” And John said, “Well, you are a little over 12 but since you have given a lantern we’ll let you buy a Bible too.” And last night in the worship service was a lady with six children here for the very first time. The oldest child is 17; youngest child, Grace, is about three months old. Her husband leaves in January for Iraq for a year. She was here looking for help, hope, and a place to call home.
There are going to be persons who make a gift of $300 that will be every bit as sacrificial as a person who is able to make a five or six figure gift. Let us never forget that. It is not equal gifts but equal sacrifice. But acknowledging that, I want to challenge some of you who God has blessed with significant financial resources to make the largest single gift you’ve ever made to Grace Church. The biblical mandate for that invitation is in the Scriptures that I read earlier. They are also contained in a little book (the best book in my library; best ones are the little ones.) If you would like to have a copy of this, they are available at the doors today; I want you to pick one up. It’s Randy Alcorn’s book, The Treasure Principle. And when I read it, it changed my whole perspective and helped me to discover the joy of giving. In a nutshell, here are the principles he fleshes out in this book. Number one, he says you can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. I have yet to drive to a cemetery and see a hearse pulling a U-Haul. You can’t take it with you but you can seen it on ahead. Secondly, God owns everything. I’m just a money manager. Thirdly, my heart always goes where I put God’s money. Again, not my money, God’s money! Fourthly, heaven not earth is my true home. Remember when we did “40 Days of Purpose”? Rick Warren started us out by reminding us of that. Fifthly, I should live not merely for the moment, but for eternity. And then, friends, the next principle, the most ravaging disease present in American society today is not cancer as terrible as that disease is. The most ravaging disease affecting our society is the disease of materialism. And there is only one antidote for that disease. It’s the antidote of giving. And then, finally, this book in its closing chapter teaches that God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, (and again there is nothing wrong with material things), but God prospers me ultimately to raise my standard of giving.
And I simply ask you if you are living out those treasure principles. At this time, Jay Goad, who is a relatively new member of Grace Church, along with Jon Winteregg, are going to come and spell out some of the detail of the campaign.
Jay Goad
Good morning! Since we are talking about our Youth Center we have here today, it reminds me of my favorite part of school. Today is show and tell. Today we hope to give you a good flavor of what’s been going on through the various committees in the church over the last couple of years combined with the talents of our architects and our construction people. And Rev. Mike said, you will receive a book as you walk out of the sanctuary today. It’s a pretty illustrated book. We ask that we have one per family. Right now we are a little tight on supplies; we’ll get some more later. If for any reason you need additional copies for friends or family, just call Sandy at the office. She’ll be able to get those to you. In the book it’s very illustrated. We have pictures as much as we can. There are item numbers. They tell you the unit price of the giving item and the quantity of the giving items as well. And they will also be corresponded with the tour that we are about to take as well. After the service we would like for you to proceed to Price Hall. We have refreshments there. We are very fortunate to have Joyce Elliot’s talents there today. She’s going to play some music for us. Then we will be gathering tour guides that will be prepared to take you through the new building. Jon and I were very surprised. We thought several months ago that when we started doing this, planning for this day, that we would have to do it from Price Hall. Two months ago we got a call from Steve Alexander who just said, “Hey, guys, you can use the new building.” Which was just wonderful; we were really happy that we were able to show everybody the new building. About a month ago he even said, “You know, guys, I don’t see any reason why we can’t go upstairs. Even though it’s unfinished, you’ll get to see, hopefully, the possibilities that are up there.” Steve will also be here on hand in Price Hall. He’s got some really great computer mockups of what they are attempting to do upstairs. For those of you that are members from the Methodist Community, normally your bus leaves at 10:15 a.m. It will do that today as well but we also have an additional bus at 11:15 a.m. so it you would like to stay around and see the tour as well we’ve accommodated that. The one thing that I do want to emphasize today is this building is still under construction. So it’s a little dusty; there are some wires here and there. We think that we have everything put off to the side. There are a few rooms that we have barricaded off—painters supplies and things like that. And we feel as long as you kind of stay with your tour group there is nothing to really worry about. But we still would like for you just to keep your eyes open for things like that. Again, please watch your children. We want them to go through the building, but again just to be aware of the construction site. At each station inside the building, we also have some placards. The tour guides will explain what some of these gifts are so you visually get to see the areas of them. And with that, Jon Winteregg, who is our gift coordinator, would like to talk to you. We thank you and look forward to seeing you at the tour.
Jon Winteregg
Good morning! I come before you as a member of the Finance Committee. I have been given the privilege, the assignment of being Special Gifts Coordinator. You know, I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t tell you when someone stands up in the pulpit and suggests that I give, there’s a kind of feelings that go through my mind and heart sometimes like I’m being asked to open up my savings account and my checkbook. So I don’t know if anyone else feels that way this morning, but I guess maybe that’s a normal, natural feeling. But I’m so then quickly reminded that Imagine Grace, Special Gifts of Grace, the new educational wing never has been about us giving our money to build a building. I’ll digress for a minute. I’ve been a financial advisor for 20 years and I’m around money all day. And it’s not often, I must admit, and I’m not privileged to what everyone’s feeling and thinking all the time, but it’s not often that people live an entire lifetime and during their life time come to an understanding that we don’t own it. Our names are on everything—our cars, our homes, our bank accounts—but we do leave it all behind. But this isn’t about the building; it’s not about us opening up our bank accounts. But I’ll tell you, it is about taking a portion of what God has deposited in accounts with our names on them and directing it into his ministry so that a structure can be built so that people who haven’t even come in to the building yet, people that might be in this building, maybe people who haven’t been born yet, have a place to come to hear the Word of God and the Good News about Christ! That their lives and our lives might be transformed! This is about taking what God has given us and entrusted to each and every one of us which for every one of us is a different amount. I cannot tell you, this is my 19th year. I guess almost 20 years in the church and I don’t know what I’ve been involved with in the church in which I’ve found more joy. Experience the joy; it’s so true! What God has done in putting this together with just a lot of people has been incredible. I will take no credit for this. And what it has done since it has come out is unbelievable. I can tell you that hearts that have been touched and people who have been obedient to the Holy Spirit working in their life and have made decisions. I can tell you since this book has come out lives have been changed. And it will never be the same because God’s assets have been released. And I’ve just been given the privilege of being the Special Gifts Coordinator. It’s going to be a difficult job. I’m going to record every gift and make sure every gift is properly placed in the area that you’ve given it. But I also get to be a part of experiencing the joy from the donor. And I feel very privileged to that. And there’s been tears of joy; and I’ve not experienced tears of joy in giving very often. But that’s what/s happening. As you go on this tour today and as you read through the book in the privacy of your own home, you may decide to take your own personal next step forward with special gifts to Grace.
And let me just share with you some really critical elements that the Finance Committee felt was important that you know. In the middle of your catalog there is going to be a Giving Form. Just simply complete that form. Every gift must be accompanied by this form for record keeping. Make the check payable to Special Gifts for Grace and either drop them by the church office or in the envelope that is provided in the middle of the book. If you want to make a gift in memory or honor of a loved one, you can do so by noting on the back of the form. Actual plaques will be available only for gifts that are made of $10,000 and more. Pooling of funds in encouraged—a family, a group, a circle might be able to make a larger gift than you can make individually. All gifts are going to be recorded and made record in a special Giving Book. No amounts will be listed. Let us know on the back of the form there is a place where you can note if you want your name in print or you can check “no” where you would just like for it to be an anonymous gift. It’s important you understand, all gifts are on a first come, first serve basis and some gifts are limited in quantity. I can tell you that the response has been so incredible that there are already gifts that you are going to see in your book that are taken. They are no longer available. Therefore it is important that, if your hearts touched and should you desire to make a gift, that you do so in a timely manner to assure that, to increase your opportunity to get the gift that’s touched your heart. I’ll be available today in Price Hall to accept gifts and answer any questions. Gifts will be considered given when we have actual receipt of the funds. And all gifts will be given in a lump sum basis unless special arrangements are made. Sandy in the church office, as well as myself, will have a master catalogue and it’s going to be update, probably daily, to reflect gifts that are still available. So if you want to call in to the church office or call the Grace Hotline, they’ll be able to tell you which gifts are still available. It’s important that we receive all the money that was pledged to Imagine Grace so we can pay the bills for the building that’s currently being constructed. So please don’t use any money that you’ve pledged to Imagine Grace and allocate it as a special gift. (Some of transcript lost due to tape change.) I was getting my hair done one day about three weeks ago and got talking about the catalog. I know very little about my hairdresser, I just picked her up recently and knew her from having her cut my hair. And she says, “Do I get one? Do I get a catalog?” And that was just a surprise. So there are going to be extra books back in front of the church office if you wanted to pick one up for friends. Some people have picked some up for their family, even out of state. Possibly a waiting room, places where you think you’d like to have one. Please pick one up. Experience the joy in taking this next step forward. Thank you.
Thank you Jon. I don’t think I’ve ever had happen what happened to me yesterday. There was a couple that I showed through the building and last night Jon’s phone rang twice and my phone rang twice. They wanted to make sure they didn’t get left out on being able to name one of those rooms for $10,000. I don’t think I’ve ever have people standing in line to make a gift of $10,000. But I close this morning asking you to look at that picture on the screen. And I just invite you to answer this question, “Is the sun rising or setting?” We don’t really know do we? It depends upon your attitude in faith and obedience. And people determine that outcome. Jay Goad grew up in Worthington, Indiana. A vibrant church when he was a boy but this summer closed its doors for good because there were no longer children and youth in that church. For some of you, in terms of your earthly life, the sun is starting to set. But I want you to realize that as you share some of God’s assets as Special Gifts of Grace, you can cause God’s Son to shine brightly on Grace Church until the Lord comes again. We’ve read a number of names this morning. May our response be such that we will hear the words of our Lord say to us someday, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Let’s stand, join hands, and sing our benediction together.
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