Band of Gideons

As you may have seen in the bulletin insert on Sunday, the Spiritual Formation Committee is looking for people to join the Band of Gideons to encourage daily prayer for the capital campaign. I had the chance to ask George McFarland about his vision for the group and below is his response. I hope that some of you who read this are motivated to join the group!

My real vision for the Band of Gideon is that we would capture the excitement to "pray without ceasing" for God's good spiritual purposes in our lives during the time of the campaign. I like the idea of intentionally committing ourselves to prayer each day for the needs of the campaign. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availith much." Our "fathers" in the faith prayed this way and we should to. I honestly believe that we "have not because we ask not" and what better time in the strategic life of our church than now to make our appeal to our heavenly father to see what he desires for us. The Spiritual Formation Committee has been meeting regularly each Sunday morning JUST TO PRAY. It has been a very rich experience for all of us to "make known our requests" to our Lord. The Lord has given us a sense of unity through prayer, but as well, a confidence that he hears us and is working out good plans for Tenth through the campaign.

The following is the text from Sunday’s bulletin insert. If you are interested in joining the group and did not fill out the form available in the bulletin, you can contact George McFarland at gmcfarland@dccs.org.

When God chose to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Midianites, he chose to use Gideon and a small band of men (“With the 300 men . . . I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands”—Judges 7:7–8). God could have chosen to supply many men for the work; instead, he chose to use a small number to demonstrate that the real victory comes from him.

Like Israel of old, Tenth is at a critical juncture in its history. When the Session approved the plan for a capital campaign, the elders determined that the campaign would be foremost a time for seeking the Lord’s direction and to grow in faith and obedience. Thus, prayer is the most important activity in which we engage.

The Spiritual Formation Committee of the Capital Campaign would like to invite people of all ages to consider being a part of the “Band of Gideon.” This group will commit to pray daily for the campaign from February 15–April 20. E-mails, along with praise/prayer items listed in the church bulletin, will be available to assist you through this process. If, after carefully considering this commitment before the Lord, you wish to participate, please fill in your name and email address below. Through weekly emails, you will receive updates, matters to pray for and encouragements to pray.

Music to Our Ears

As you may have heard at Tenth last Sunday, Dr. C. Everett Koop committed to the campaign funds to purchase a new 4-manual, 90-rank equivalent Walker digital organ. In a forthcoming e-newsletter, you will have the opportunity to read more about Dr. Koop and what motivated him to make this commitment to Tenth.

To whet your appetite, below is a picture of an organ similar to the one that will soon be gracing the choir loft. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I think it’s safe to say a song will be worth a million—just wait until we get to hear the new instrument!

Capital Campaign Gets Crafty

This weekend, a few Tenth girls undertook the creation of a treasure chest to be used in conjunction with the Children’s Capital Campaign Project. They took ownership of the project from start to finish and planned, painted and decorated it. Word has it they used the hot glue gun to its full advantage! This coming Sunday if you venture down to the Catacombs during the 9 a.m. service you can see the chest in person and hear more about how it ties into the program.

Pictured from left to right are Moriah, Priscilla and Mayim

The Children of Tenth

This Sunday during the 9 am children’s program Dori Baggs will share details of how the children of Tenth can be involved in the capital campaign. As her testimony below demonstrates, Dori has thoughtfully considered why these programs are integral to the campaign. So, before you hear about what is in the works, be sure to read Dori’s piece and consider why it is so important for the children of Tenth to be engaged in the campaign.

As many of you were, I too was motivated by Dr. Cassidy’s sermon during the Global Outreach Conference in November. [To link to the MP3 of this sermon, click here.] The quote he used from Martin Luther… “There are only two days…today and that day…” what a thought! What fresh energy for the task before us. In my own reading in scripture I too have been challenged recently by a passage in Psalms that Dr. Cassidy referred to in his TenthPress article. The article was a charge from Psalm 71 for those of us in the “second half of life.” Verse 17-18 reads, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”

This verse has also given me a deeper desire…by God’s grace I want this to be the verse our children are quoting 30-40 years from now! How does that happen? By being a living word now in front of them…living out the gospel in our families, in our ministries…in our communities. Carefully teaching them from the Word during the few short years they are in our midst before they graduate from high school. Many people discount the impact children can bring to a campaign like this. I’ve been dismayed by comments I’ve heard from people who find the idea of “shaking up little kids for a few pennies” laughable, saying it really won’t do anything! If some adults think this is true, how many children will believe so too?

My goal in this committee is to teach the children from scripture that children are important to God! That God has used children (and continues to do so), to teach important spiritual lessons. God has asked children in the Bible to make sacrifices…not just the adults around them. This is a concept many parents avoid. We may suffer, but we want to insulate our children from it. We all know the very familiar verse in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Teaching our children the spiritual discipline of stewardship and sacrifice is part of that training. How can we expect our children to sacrifice as adults if we’ve shielded them from it all their lives. We need to teach counter-culturally to our children who hear from the world around them, that the very best life is the accumulation of “stuff and things.” We need to teach them from the Word, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:34

I look at the biblical example of the child Samuel in 1 Samuel 1. We tend to look at Hannah’s sacrifice, what she gave up…but I want the children to see that Samuel sacrificed too. He sacrificed growing up in his parent’s home in order to serve the Lord. You have to believe, even though its not spelled out in scripture, that Hannah spent those early years with Samuel before he was weaned, telling him over and over again about the goodness of God and the joy of obeying him and serving him. Now…I do a good bit of babysitting and I can tell you that most young children cry when their parents leave…for a few hours! Do you marvel like I do that Samuel did not pitch a fit when his mother left him with Eli? Why not? He knew literally from his mother’s knee, that God was good, that His plan was perfect.

Look also at the biblical example of the boy with five loaves and two fishes in Matthew 14. We look at the miracle of how Jesus multiplied the meager meal into a feast for 5,000, but I want the children to see the sacrifice the little boy made. I mean…here he is…the only one in that vast crowd who thought of packing his lunch! Next thing you know these men, the disciples, are sniffing around for food and find him! Can you imagine how he may have felt initially? “You want my what?!” But, when the disciples told him it was for Jesus the boy willingly gave it to him, not knowing the miracle that was to come. Why did he do that? Do you wonder if he heard his own mother and father talking about Jesus at home…was he learning from them to love him, to trust him…trust him enough to give him his food?

I want to teach the children to give joyfully, as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Contrast this mindset to the fictional character Charles Dickens portrays in “Bleak House” in Mrs. Pardiggle. She showcases her five sons to Esther, proclaiming their overwhelming generosity in giving to the poor and to various charities…however, as she recounts what they have “sacrificed” the boys all make angry, irritated and insolent faces. You can see from their body language that the “sacrifice” was made for them…not by them willingly.

God can use our children to teach us about faith…real faith, believing that he will do that which he has promised. I want to encourage each of you, along with myself, to commit ourselves in spending the “the last half of our life,” as Michael Cassidy puts it, by obeying the directive in Psalm 78:4, “…to teach the next generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

Now What?

Nancy Siegel, a member of the communications committee for the capital campaign, provides us with a glimpse of what we can expect in the coming months. So, buckle your seatbelts, we’re just getting started on this ride!

Last Sunday, nearly 480 members attending the Congregation meeting gave almost unanimous approval to undertake the $4.4 million Capital Campaign. We praise God for His leading and look forward to continued spiritual growth as we embark on this journey of faith.

April 20, 2007 is Commitment Sunday when we will formally collect the commitments from the Congregation. Leading up to that event, there will be a number of activities that are planned to inform the members and friends of Tenth so that we can prayerfully determine what God would have us pledge toward the Capital Campaign.

We want to provide information in a number of ways. On Tenth’s website, you can find a wealth of Capital Campaign information including copies of the previous bulletin inserts, the strategic planning committee report and a detailed list of the capital campaign projects. We also anticipate a number of luncheons, geared toward newer members, in which Dr. Ryken will share his vision; campaign praying tours; dessert meetings focused around specific campaign projects; and a seminar on planned giving, tentatively scheduled for March 1.

An important goal of this campaign is spiritual growth, both individually and corporately. With that goal in mind, we will be providing a devotional guide which will aid in prayer for God’s guidance as you consider your level of participation.

Our children – Tenth’s next generation of leaders – are also part of the Capital Campaign. During the Bible School hour, the elementary children will learn what Scripture says about children’s contribution to the body of believers. They will be challenged to participate themselves in this important mission of the church.

This is an exciting time in the life of Tenth Church. Join with us in rejoicing in God’s rich blessings and ask that God will increase our faith as we begin this journey together.

Welcome!

Welcome! Whether you were directed to this blog by someone at Tenth or just happened to stumble across it, I'm glad you found us. I can joyfully report that Tenth's members approved the capital campaign motions at the January 27, 2008 congregational meeting. As Tenth's capital campaign is now officially underway, there will be a lot of information dispersed to the congregation in many different forms. This information is valuable and vital to understanding the purposes of the campaign and to assist you in deciding what your commitment should be. This blog is designed as a supplement to those communications to show some of the ways God has used Tenth Presbyterian Church to work in the lives of its members and others associated with the church. It will also showcase aspects of different projects that the campaign will support. It is our hope that reading these personal testimonies and hearing about the projects in a more informal way will excite and inspire you. Furthermore, hopefully seeing a glimpse into some of the lives of Tenth's members and friends will serve as a catalyst for actually meeting these people and hearing more about their stories.

While we hope to share the stories of many, I will be the primary host of the blog. My name is Sarah McInnes and I am a member of Tenth. My husband and I are former members of Parish 1 and now reside in Parish 6. I will do my best to provide you with regular posts and I hope that you will check in frequently. (You can also receive the posts via email by signing up at the "subscribe via email" link at the right.) As you can see, I have added the bulletin inserts as background, along with some links for more information about the projects we will support.

Please feel free to email me with suggestions or questions at thispeople2008@gmail.com and I will make sure to share your email with someone that can answer your question. Also, as you may have seen in the bulletin you can also contact the following members of the Capital Campaign committee: Marion Clark mclark@tenth.org, Brian Esterly brian.esterly@rcn.com, Philip Ryken pryken@tenth.org, Elmer Snethen esnethen@cantol.com.

We are embarking on an exciting journey together as a congregation and I am honored to be able to assist in highlighting just a few of the ways that God has been working in the lives of His people at Tenth. Be sure to check back soon!

The picture above is of me and my husband Andy. Please introduce yourself to us at Tenth!

Capital Campaign, Part 8

Key Question: “How can I give?”

To some, $4.4 million may seem an insurmountable goal. Yet we believe this is the capital campaign God has called us to undertake—a prudent investment in kingdom work that by the grace of God is also a reachable goal for Tenth Church. In contemplating your role in the capital campaign, consider the following:

1. Everyone plays a role. It should come as no surprise that the congregation’s tithes to cover our annual expenses are unequally distributed. However, every contribution is necessary for us to fulfill our ministry commitments. The same will be true in this campaign. Everyone’s commitment, regardless of the size, will be necessary for us to meet our goals. A successful campaign does not require equal gifts from all, but it does require equal sacrifice.

2. This is a spiritual journey. The campaign is first and foremost a spiritual process. We know from Scripture that Jesus honors sacrificial and cheerful giving. We believe that giving to this capital campaign will result in spiritual growth and maturity. Investing in the future with our gifts today allows us to seek God’s work in our lives both individually and corporately as a church community.

3. Committing to the capital campaign should not replace our regular offerings. By definition, a capital campaign is a season of extraordinary financial giving in which—in addition to making regular tithes and offerings from their income—the people of God make a corporate, cheerful, and prayerful financial commitment to advance the gospel mission of the church.

There are many ways to give, such as designating Tenth in your will, donating stocks, bonds or mutual funds, or giving through charitable annuities. We will be providing more specific information about noncheckbook giving as the capital campaign approaches. Regardless of how we give, we should remember that everything we possess is the Lord’s and that we are only returning a portion of the resources of which God has made us stewards.

Prayerfully consider ways in which you might make a commitment that includes giving from monies regularly spent on non-necessities. Do you really need the latest electronic gadget? Can you forgo your purchase of the $4.00 gourmet coffee twice a week? How about “bagging” your lunch or cooking a meal rather than ordering take-out? Is there an outing or vacation that your family would be willing to sacrifice? Can you increase your tithe to 10%, 15%, or even 20%? When we honestly examine our spending habits, we can appreciate the wealth of disposable income with which the Lord has blessed us.

Campaign Timeline

January 27, 2008: Congregational Meeting to seek approval for the Capital Campaign (an information packet was mailed to every member this past week and a Congregational Forum will be held on January 20).

Assuming the campaign is approved by the congregation, the following additional activities are planned:

• January–March: Provide information through events and communications so that members can learn more about the campaign and prayerfully determine their level of participation.
• March 30–April 20: Personal and public preparation for the campaign, including biblical messages and a devotional study guide
• April 20: Commitment Sunday—Congregation makes financial commitments to the campaign
• May 18: Celebration Sunday—Communicate to the congregation what the Lord has done through his people in enabling us to achieve our God-given mission
• May 2008–May 2010: Provide ongoing followup so that members can track their commitments and be informed about status of projects