Dear Friends,

We are glad to report that our giving has been stronger this year than last year at this time, yet we are also running behind on what is necessary in order to meet our budget.  This is certainly not cause for panic—God is able to erase this deficit and then some—but it is a matter worthy of our collective attention. 

By God’s grace our giving has been strong over the years, giving us a strategic backup fund, yet our hope is to have this surplus ready and growing for other opportunities--a building, a mission opportunity or an unanticipated need within our body.  

Our giving appears worse than it is because we are now starting our fiscal year in April rather than January, the time of year when we have the most surplus. It is also common for giving to dip during the summer.  Furthermore, we have also had loved ones move, and others out of work in a strained economy.

All this being the case, we wish to underscore the responsibility and the blessing of giving rhythmically and sacrificially.  We have been careful not to stress finances at CTK, as this may be off-putting to those already cynical of such emphasis in churches.  Such care can grow careless, however, if it keeps us from setting forth the mind of our King with regard to our resources.  Our Lord was not reticent but bold in speaking about money, possessions, and giving, and the essential tie they have to the disposition of our hearts. Liberality with our resources is an essential sign of our “getting” the Gospel. 

As a church we need to be conversant with the whole counsel of Scripture regarding our resources, to the end that we use them for God’s glory and the purposes of his Kingdom. Some of us may be unclear concerning Kingdom giving, and all of us could benefit from a reminder. We hope to address this matter more thoroughly in the coming months, but for now, we encourage you to pray about your part in helping to sustain the life and ministry our church. We have found, over and over, that we simply have to set forth a need here at CTK, and there is a collective, eager movement to meet that need or mend the shortfall. More often than not, we simply need to be reminded.  Forgive us for being remiss in this matter. 

With much love, 

The Elders at CTK

p.s. For those who may not know, we have what we call the “tithe box,” which we use to collect offerings each week, which can be found at the information table as you walk into the church. Also, for those interested, we have a mechanism whereby you can give directly online.

 “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collection will have to be made.”

(I Corinthians 16: 2)

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

(II Corinthians 8:9)

“Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

(Luke 6:38)

Dear Friends,

This is to encourage you with regard to two great opportunities this week.

The first is the opportunity to pray together at the Saniewski’s home tomorrow evening. The work of the Gospel is predicated on our acknowledged need and our Lord’s extravagant provision, which makes prayer the most sensible activity we can share. The fact that prayer can be hard, and at times even tedious, is all the more reason for us to keep at it--our Lord is gracious to us when we bring everything—especially our weakness—to Him (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We need to pray together, more than we know. As each person walks through the door, my heart echoes the line from Dante: “Look! Here comes another to augment our affections!”

The second opportunity is to enjoy a meal and fellowship at your local 242 group this Sunday afternoon.* There is much to be said for simply “showing up,” but I urge you, along with myself, to do so with prayerful expectation, eager to see the unfolding of God’s grace.  Go with your eyes and ears and heart wide open. Go to bless others for the sake of Christ.  Go to savor every scrap of grace available.

On the other side of commitment—and often smack in the middle of it—is much joy. “Make the most of every opportunity” this spring!  (Ephesians 5:16)

  * If you are not currently in a small group, call the church office or one of the pastors to alter this.  The name “242” comes from Acts 2:42: “The devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

The following are the two quotes from Andy Crouch’s wise and useful book Culture Making  (published by IVP Books in 2008), which I read during last Sunday’s sermon.  Hearing Andy speak recently, and play the piano, has given me an even deeper appreciation for the mind and heart that God has given him. 

May our Lord, the Divine Husbandman, the one who graciously makes good things grow, give us grace to cultivate a community that show forth his truth, goodness, and beauty. May the Spirit be pleased to hover over us, bringing increased order out of our native chaos and darkness.

Kingdom culture flourishes in the corners of our lives. May everything we do, every task, every project, every recreation, be done with glad dependence on our Lord, all for his glory.

“The way to genuine cultural creativity starts with the recognition that we woke up this morning in our right mind, with the use and activity of our limbs—and that every other creative capacity we have has likewise arrived as a gift we did not earn and to which we are not entitled. And once we are awake and thankful, our most important cultural contribution will very likely come from doing whatever keeps us in the center of delight and surprise.” (Andy Crouch, Culture Making, 252)

“As a writer I can take the difficulty of sitting down before a blank page as an opportunity to acknowledge my complete dependence on God, not just for the fruit but for the seed as well…Perhaps on most days we will face the empty page with fear, or we procrastinate so we don’t have to face it at all; we will breeze through perfunctory and substandard imitations of the rudiments of our instrument; we will avoid the hard phone call and postpone the tedious work of cultivation. Even then the disciplines can school us in just how wayward our hearts tend to be, humbling us further by exposing the fear and pride that make us so easily distracted and of so little lasting use. There may be no greater value to the disciplines than to regularly bring us to these moments of disillusionment with ourselves. Grace is for the poor in spirit, and the disciplines bring us, no matter our ascribed power or actual wealth, to keen awareness of our fundamental poverty.” (Culture Making, 257-58)