Since we are in a series where we are talking about surrender to God so that He can fill us with His Spirit let me share a great quote related to “servanthood.” It is from Matthew Henry.
Taking [a] "servant" attitude of thankfulness in all of life's circumstances will help you react as old Matthew Henry did when he was mugged. He wrote in his diary, "Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."
I just thought that was a fun approach in attitude. Whatever I have is God’s anyway, whether we are talking about my money, my body, my life, my talents, or anything else. I surrender it to God to care for, to use, to protect, or to take. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
We have received the final reports for our church finances for 2006. It was a very good report! Our church generated well over a million dollars of tithe. For those of you who are newer to the church, please understand that our tithe all goes to the Northern California Conference to support the ministry of the entire conference. A portion of it also goes on to the General Conference to support the administrative portion of the church and other parts of the world field that do not generate enough funds to support ministry. None of the tithe stays here in Napa although the salaries of the pastoral staff are paid out of it. Our salaries remain the same regardless of the amount of tithe we return, but our tithe is a big part of the staffing formula that determines how many pastors we get to have here. The bottom line is that the tithe is vitally important to the work of the church around the world and locally, but it does not help cover the expenses and ministries we engage in here at home. For our local needs we contributed $252,618.59. We are able to add to that another $33,700 from rental income and interest income. However, we had expenses last year of $296,366, so you can see that we missed it by $10,000. Of course, the roof played a big part in our local expenses. Our budget of $264,000, plus rental and interest income of $29,000 just meets our projected expenses. It doesn’t allow for much in the way of creative ministries, outreach, and evangelism. I share all of this with you to commend you for your faithfulness, to encourage you to continue to be faithful with your tithe, and to remind you to remember the local church in your regular giving, special projects, and particularly in your special giving related to property sales and estates. The conference has highly qualified individuals to help you with these special areas. Ted Calkins, one of our local elders, is always ready to guide and help you understand your options as he is a representative of the Trust Department for the Northern California Conference. Thank you for what you have done to further the work of the gospel around the world and right here in Napa.
I am also happy to report that our roof fund is now down just below the $10,000 level. I am hoping that we can cover the rest of this soon so that we can move ahead to the other projects that are so evident.
The Church Board met last Monday night and we found that we need to replace another heating and air conditioning unit for the upstairs above the foyer. We have one more unit that is old and will need to be replaced soon. Our church is well over 50 years old and you know how we get once we hit 50!
We have been encountering a growing problem with various forms of vandalism on and around our property. Pr. Sherilyn had a window broken out of their car when it was parked in front of the church one night last week. The police informed her that there have been more than 80 such incidents in our area since the first of the year. We have also had graffiti painted on one of the walls facing the parking lot and have contacted the police graffiti squad. These are frustrating and sad incidents and there is not a great deal we can do about it. I would ask that each one of you, as you have opportunity, drive by the church in the evening hours. Drive through the parking lot. If you see anything that looks suspicious do not engage any individual, but call the police. Also note license plate numbers if you see any vehicles involved. This church belongs to all of us and it always pains me to see it disrespected.
I know this is listed in the bulletin as well, but I want to make sure that all of you have the new address for Manny Lopez. Most of you do not know Manny. I baptized his wife, Kim, several weeks ago. Manny made a few bad choices a little over a year ago and this has resulted in him being required to spend seven years in prison. He, hopefully, will only have to serve half of that. He is truly a wonderful young man and he needs our love and encouragement. I know him well, and I am convinced that he is a tool that God is going to use. Please drop him a note or a card and let him know that we remember him and pray for him. Do not send anything other than the correspondence.
