Giving

wanda and i made a decision years ago (over 30 of them babies…) that we would live off of a salary that was provided by the money that people put in the offering plate each sunday.  i’m not incapable of earning a living doing something else.  i’m sure we wouldn’t have starved.  i have a highly marketable degree in recreation (a fancy word for play) from san diego state university, for crying out loud.  go aztecs!

but living by the plate was our chosen course.

i feel like i put in a good days work just like the next guy.  i have goals and expectations and a job description.  sometimes i work overtime.  i take days off periodically, though sundays are work days!  i study, i write, i lead, i counsel, i preach, i teach, i manage programs, i oversee teams, i train leaders, i marry, i do funerals, i unplug toilets, i change light bulbs, and chase down an occasional dead rat smell.  like i said, i’m just another working guy…doing my best to earn my paycheck.

doesn’t sound very spiritual, does it?  

honestly, there’s not a week that goes by that i am not humbly reminded that i get to do what god has called me to do…simply out of the gracious generosity of good people.  every week when the plates are passed around our church family, i am drawn deep into the realization that it is sacrifice that has made my life possible all these years.

there are loving people who do without so i might have my share.  

i’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now…

#ministry #money #offering