Matthew 14:22–33 Good News Bad News Great News

Good News! Today we are receiving new members. It is interesting to hear why people decide to join CtK. One said, “This is the friendliest congregation I have ever been involved with.” Another talked about their excitement about the Sunday School and Children’s Ministry programs. Someone else is thrilled with Pastor Deb’s women’s Bible study. Another said they liked the sermons – I like that person best! All of them are enthused about joining Christ the King and we are excited to welcome them.

I always tell people what a wonderful congregation this is. Christ the King has a vital and vibrant ministry. CtK is a “Can Do” congregation. John Ortberg wrote a book entitled, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. You have gotten out of the boat. You have put your faith into action. You must be really proud of all the ways you make it possible for CtK to be involved in service, mission and ministry. Fifteen of our people are on a mission trip to Tanzania. Thirty people participate in a mission trip to Appalachia each year. Dozens of people help build a Habitat House. About 50 kids sing in the Youth Musical. We have a phenomenal music program with one of largest and best church choirs around. We have exciting Bible studies. We’ve got 200 kids in Sunday School and more than 150 involved in confirmation. The list goes on and on. Christ the King is touching the lives of countless people and together we are making a difference in the world. This church has a rich history of meeting challenges.

Your last building project was $3.3 million and you built it.

You wanted a pipe organ and you raised the funds.

You wanted to air condition the sanctuary and it was paid for before some people could even get out their checkbook.

You wanted a full time Minister of Music and you stepped up providing the money to add that position.

You give generously to the ELCA, to the St. Paul Area Synod, to global missions and local mission partners and a host of other benevolent organizations.

You don’t walk on water like Jesus did, but you certainly put your faith into action.

With God’s help you have overcome obstacles and engaged in meaningful ministry. I believe with God’s help we can meet any challenge set before us.

Bad news. We ended 2007 with a $30,000 deficit. Worse news. By carrying over that $30,000 deficit we project a total shortfall of $100,000 for 2008. Committees and teams have struggled to maintain ministry while holding down spending. We made significant cuts in every area of the budget. Staff salaries are frozen. The 2008 budget is $25,000 less than our 2007 budget. Still, we are $100,000 short. A myriad of factors have created this situation. Higher gas prices, increased grocery costs, the housing crisis, a volatile stock market have put a strain on people’s personal finances and have some people scared. Expenses are up at the church. We have no staff vacancies, which is good, but it means we spend more on payroll. Christ the King is paying higher energy costs. Our snowplowing bill for December alone was $1800. This $100,000 shortfall is bad news.

Good News! A number of Christ the King households are growing in their giving. Some are growing dramatically. One young family has grown in their giving by $1200 each of the last two years. Another family increased their annual gift from $900 to over $5000. People are getting out of the boat - they are discovering the joy of giving - they are learning that giving generously is a mark of discipleship.

Bad News. A number of CtK members who have long known the joy of giving have moved away. Their gift no longer helps fund our ministry. Many CtK members contribute little or nothing. Some don’t have the money. Others have sufficient funds, but choose not to share it. Maybe they don’t understand that it costs money to provide heat, lights, staff and programming or maybe they just let others pay those costs for them.

A pastor told his congregation, “I have some bad news, some good news and some more bad news. The bad news is that our roof repairs will cost $200,000. The good news is we have the money to pay for it. The bad news is that money is still in your pockets!”

Good New! Despite the stresses on the economy, we have money in this congregation to cover the deficit in our budget. Of course there are people who are struggling financially. And yes, some of you are already making great sacrifices to give your gift to CtK, but there is plenty of economic power among our membership to support all that we hope to do in ministry. The money is there. It is just still in some of our pockets.

New News! Today we launch our Extra Mile giving campaign. Pledge cards have been mailed to every household and are in your bulletin. We are inviting all members to prayerfully consider pledging a gift over and above what they had planned to give in 2008. Cash up front would be great, but we are really asking for pledges that over the course of the year members will contribute enough money to overcome our projected deficit. Raising $100,000 is not enough. That will just take care of 2008 and we will be back in the same spot this time next year. The goal is to raise $200,000. $100,000 will be used to offset the projected shortfall for 2008. $100,000 will be placed in a fund to supplement the cost of our ministry in 2009 and 2010. This buys us some time to grow in size and in giving so that contributions are sufficient to fund our ministry and we don’t face this same challenge again next year.

Esther and I are currently giving 12% of our household income to Christ the King. We have decided to make an Extra Mile pledge that will increase that to 13%. We rejoice in being able to do that. We love this church and we are grateful to God for all the blessings we have been given. We are thankful that we can support God’s work and the work of this congregation with our gifts.

Please prayerfully consider joining us and making a pledge to this Extra Mile campaign. If every household contributed an extra 1% of their income we would easily reach our $200,000 goal. Granted, not everyone is in a position to do that. Some people are in a position to make a significantly larger gift than that and I pray that they will. Others simply don’t have the money. If that is your situation, don’t feel guilty about it. God calls us to give in proportion to what we have. St. Paul urges the Corinthians to give according to their means, saying, “The gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” (II Cor. 8:12)

Most of us could find some creative way of making a gift. Esther and I have committed to give 25% of our estate to Christ the King. If you have included Christ the King in your estate planning, consider reducing the size of that end of life gift and contribute a gift now when you can see the difference it makes.

Maybe it is something as simple as sacrificing that Latte or fancy coffee drink – use your calculator, $3 a pop, 5 days a week adds up to almost $800. Maybe you brown bag it instead of eating in a restaurant and contribute the savings to Christ the King. Maybe you become more diligent about planning your driving trips so that you save on gas and give that money. You are capable and creative people. I have every confidence that you can find ways to make a gift. I know we can do this. With God’s help we can overcome this challenge.

The alternative is to reduce staff and/or benevolence. Some have suggested that we cut staff and replace them with volunteers. That’s not so easy to do. Anyone have 40 hours a week they would like to give to the church? How about two people willing to give 20 hours per week? How about 4 people who would give an extra 10 hours per week? If you break it down too far the program becomes pretty disjointed. The truth is, many people find it harder to give of their time than of their money.

Reducing staff means reduced ministry. Reducing benevolence means the work of the whole church and of other worthwhile organizations is diminished. If we are doing less then we are making less of a difference in the world. That makes us less attractive to new members. Our church doesn’t grow. It also may disappoint current members and cause them to go elsewhere. Ministry is what the church is all about. It is what we are called to do. God is calling us to do more in the world. God is calling us to serve more people and make a difference. If we do less, we are failing to answer God’s call.

Bad news. We have this large deficit. Good news. We have the money to cover it. Bad news. The money is still in some of our pockets. Great news! Extraordinary news! Life changing news! We have a God who loves us and promises to provide us with the strength we need. I know God will empower us to meet this challenge. We simply need to trust in God’s promises. In Malachi 3:10 God says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” St. Paul reminds us in II Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” In Luke 6: 38 Jesus says, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” God promises to provide for us. God simply asks us to trust him enough to give generously, to give in proportion to what we have received.

Dan’s aunt Violet told him that her diamond ring was his when he was prepared to marry. Dan couldn't believe she was willing to give something so precious away. She and Uncle Frank were a wonderful couple and Frank’s death was a tragedy for the whole family. When Dan was going to propose to Lynn he went to Aunt Violet and asked if she did, indeed, want him to have that ring. When she gave it to him she cried ... not because she was losing something, but because she loved Dan and she knew that something that signaled her love for her husband would live on in the love Dan had for Lynn.

God loves us and gave for us something far more valuable than any diamond ring. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, he has given us the gift of eternal life. What is more, because of that wonderful gift of love and forgiveness we can live in a new way right now. We can live as those who trust that God will provide for our every need. We can live out our faith in our every day lives by living and giving like Jesus did. We can dare to get out of the boat and live out our faith.

John Ortberg says, “If you want to walk on water you’ve got to get out of the boat.” The challenge before us doesn’t require something as miraculous as walking on water. But it does require faith.

The refrain of the song entitled “Walk on Water” says:

It’s the path you take, it’s the steps you make

that make you who you are.

It’s the life you live, the gifts you give

The love that’s in your heart.

Just try to do the best you can to be a better man.

You don’t have to walk on water

It’s how you walk on land.

Jesus calls us to follow him. While he is powerful enough to enable us to walk on water, he calls us to walk on land like he did: living abundantly, giving freely and loving unconditionally. Jesus knows our faults and failings, our fears and apprehensions. He knows we are tempted to fear the future and to hang on to what we have. He knows all of that, and yet, he loves us anyway. Jesus promises to be with us, to strengthen us and to help us face whatever challenges come in life. He loves us enough to change us and inspire us and empower us to live in a new way.

We don’t have to walk on water. But if we trust in God’s promises we can change our bad news into good news any day of the week. We can live in a new way. We can walk on land and go the extra mile with our Lord beside us every step of the way. Amen.

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING