About a year ago I wrote about the financial situation of St. Mark’s. For some time we had been spending more money than was being provided by our offerings. I said that if nothing changed, we would arrive at a point where the general fund would reach zero. We have arrived and are and we are beyond that point.

St. Mark’s has more than one account. The general fund account is the account that pays for our regular operating expenses. The power bill, the insurance bill, the salaries of the St. Mark’s employees and the amounts that we pay to support our ministry partners are all paid from that account.

We also have a designated account. People who give to that account want their money used in a particular way. For example someone might give an offering for the building fund. That goes into the designated account and should not be used for regular operating expenses.

We have now borrowed money from the designated accounts to pay for our operating expenses. Our general account is in the hole by about $3,000. If current trends continue, the general account will continue to go into the hole until all the money in the designated accounts is used up. We don’t have an unlimited amount of other accounts to raid to pay our normal operating expenses. We must increase offerings or make significant cuts.

If we take money that was given for a specific purpose and use it for our general operating expenses, and don’t pay it back, then we have betrayed the trust placed in us by the person who gave us that gift. If we betray someone’s trust, the day will come when we will be held responsible for what we have done.

Consider the words of the Apostle Paul in the first four verses of the forth chapter of First Corinthians: “1. Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. 2. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” (NRSV)

Of course, the Lord is the judge of everything we do. The Lord is not simply the judge of whether or not we are trustworthy stewards of the gifts that people have placed into our care.

The other half of the question is should we be having financial struggles at St. Mark’s? I believe we would not have this problem if more people faithfully attended worship and if more people were faithful about their stewardship. Just as I am not the ultimate judge of whether or not people are trustworthy, I am also not the judge of your worship attendance or your stewardship. I can only urge you to do what you believe would be pleasing to God.

That is what the Apostle Paul did when he urged the people of Corinth to take up a collection to help their fellow followers of Christ in Jerusalem. Listen to what he says in Second Corinthians chapter nine: “1. Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, 2. for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; 4. otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated--to say nothing of you--in this undertaking. 5. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion. 6. The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8. And 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. 9. As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12. for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13. Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14. while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (NRSV)

As Paul said to the people in Corinth, so I say to you. “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” I also believe as Paul did that “God is able to provide you with every blessing”.

I feel that the Biblical mandate is to give ten percent. That is what I do. I give ten percent to St. Mark’s, but I also give to other charitable organizations and I give additional offerings to some of the special things that come up at St. Mark’s.

Each of you must make up your own mind. I hope that we can pull together and return St. Mark's to a stable financial position.

I have one request. I would like to hear from someone who has experience placing items for sale on ebay. I have a tandem bicycle that I am going to sell. I want to list it on ebay and use the proceeds to repay some of the money from the designated accounts. Maybe someone in the congregation has experience doing this. Maybe others in the congregation have a no longer needed item that could also be placed on ebay or sold in some other fashion. Please contact me if you have experience in these types of sales, or if you have an item that you would like to donate to St. Mark’s to help replace designated account funds.

Thanks for listening. May God bless you and yours abundantly.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk