“THREE POCKETS”
Stewardship Sermon
© Rev. Thomas B. Cundiff, Pastor
The Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church
Matthew 25: 14-30 PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
I. Introduction
Nobody wants to read this scripture literally.
“The rich get richer and the poor who have nothing are worthless slaves thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Sadly, too many preachers take this text out of context. Any serious student of Jesus’ parables will see these stories are written as allegory with much deeper meaning than what is seen, literally, on the surface. My thoughts after some reflecting and study on the meaning of this scripture:
God has given everyone of us an abundance of gifts and talents. We have our family and our homes. We have our work and school and hobbies and for many—retirement. We have this church. We have our minds and hearts and passions and health. The most important gift God has given us: LIFE !
We can also know from this text that God has blessed us with an abundance of gifts and talents, resources and abilities to be used over time. God wants us to use our God-given gifts and talents—not to hide or bury them but rather, to use what God has given us for one and only one purpose–THE KINGDOM AND GLORY OF GOD.
The harsh words of judgment at the end of this parable come when we choose to hide our gifts; when we choose to not pay homage to our creator; when we choose to bury our talents in deference to God’s will; or when we deny God’s presence in our lives. This parable calls us in gratitude and reverence to be totally transparent with the use of our talents/resources acknowledging all we really have in life already belongs to God!
This being said, we are bringing our stewardship campaign to a close. We are still awaiting a dozen pledges that to be turned in. Grateful for your generosity, we know from the pledges we have already received that your commitments run deep and wide. We know for some of you the decisions you have made with this year’s pledge have been difficult. Your love for God and commitment to this church are reflected by the very fact that you give us a pledge in support of the ministries of this church.
Thank you for your pledges in support of this
Christ’s Church!
But now I must go back to the parable and ask: Are there hidden or buried talents or treasures you have failed to recognize, see or use?
II. Three Pockets….
To answer this question let’s imagine we all have three pockets. These pockets as defined by stewardship consultant J. Clif Christopher:[1]
1. POCKET OF RESOURCES NUMBER ONE : THE EARNED INCOME POCKET. This is the money we get from salaries or retirement accounts—the money we use to live on. This is the pocket most of us reach into when paying our church pledge. THE EARNED INCOME POCKET.
2. POCKET NUMBER TWO: THE CAPITAL POCKET…..the pocket where we keep our accumulated resources. Stocks and bonds, property, insurance policies, savings accounts, CD’s, various retirement accounts & funds we hold onto and try to grow to be used for a host of different things. THE CAPITAL POCKET. Even if we don’t have any capital, this is the pocket we hope to some day have!
3. POCKET NUMBER THREE: THE ESTATE POCKET….the pocket of resources we leave for those who come after us once we leave this earth. This is the pocket for all that remains to pass on to others when we die.
Knowing that most of us are already quite familiar with the first pocket, THE EARNED INCOME POCKET, I want to think with you for a few moments about pockets two and three.
The first thing that comes to mind in thinking about our CAPITAL RESOURCES: What are some of our capital needs? College? One time major projects like the purchase of a home or cottage or second vehicle. For many the CAPITAL POCKET is reserved for rainy day emergencies, emergency health issues, dental issues, the need for a new furnace or roof. Maybe you need a new hip or knee and need to dip into savings for copayments?
For many in this church on fixed incomes, because of the rotten economy, this CAPITAL POCKET OF BLESSINGS are also being used for day-to-day expenses including taxes and utility bills. For many in this unstable economy – the CAPITAL POCKET of resources are fast being depleted.
So what about the CAPITAL NEEDS OF THE CHURCH? We occasionally have capital fund raising campaigns. We usually only ask you to dip into your capital funds pocket when we feel we have no other choice. In the past your over-and-beyond the normal pledge has helped to pay for: Carpeting. Boiler repairs. Roof repairs. Organ Repairs. Window Repairs.
Something to think about: We are always planning for capital needs of the church. The Facilities team is looking for ways to repair these windows along this NW side of the building…..major work is needed to replace the sills on these windows. Because we just asked you for monies to help with organ repairs, we are going to try to fix these windows without asking for a special donation.
As a church, what are some of our capital needs or dreams for things that need to be done? A new roof? A new public address system? Every once in a while I hear of the need for air conditioning? What about an elevator? Someone recently suggested, with so many members unable to drive, that we consider selling the bus to purchase a small van.
SECOND POCKET GIVING – THE CAPITAL POCKET. And again I have to say thank you. We have been able to get through some rough patches because of your sacrificial giving….knowing that some of the capital needs of the church are also YOUR CAPITAL NEEDS. For many taking care of our spiritual health through the maintenance of this church is just as important as getting that root canal or hip replacement….knowing we also need to help you get back into this church after you have had that knee replaced! J
Another specific example: the installation of railings on each such this chancel is one such project that has been on the dream list for a couple of years. A church member has come forward to help fund this special project. Within a few months you will be seeing two new railings. This money from this donor is coming from this CAPITAL FUND POCKET.
Honestly: I know some of you may now be asking: Capital needs? Isn’t this why we have an endowment fund? I would normally say yes—except for two compelling reasons:
First, with the recession and hit on the markets we don’t have all that much money in the endowment fund—and it isn’t growing very much or very fast.
Second, what we have in the endowment is carefully (and let me stress the word carefully) used to help pay for annual operations of the church. In many practical ways the endowment fund is the first pocket when it comes to paying for annual church operations. Roughly ½ of our annual budget comes from principle and interest from the church endowment fund.
To be completely transparent with the figures: Anticipated pledges and gifts from the congregation in the budget this year is around $84,000. It will take an additional $73,000 from the endowment fund to finish out this year. Next year, with the loss of some important pledges, our dependence on the use of principle in the endowment fund grows. That is why is so important for us to encourage, if possible, your helping us out with an increase in your pledge. There isn’t a lot of extra wiggle room in our budget or the endowment fund when it comes to funding special projects.
Maybe think of it this way: We are a 100 member church with roughly 40-50 members in worship. The gifts we get from the endowment represent another 40-50 members ….so we can function in this large building, with all our programs and full time staff….as though we were a 150 member church. The endowment fund helps us do more with less.
And yes, while we can use the endowment fund for emergencies, we have to be careful in our stewardship of these funds because our ability to be a church is dependent on your support….and the support we get from this endowment. It is safe to say that without the endowment you wouldn’t be able to take care of this building…or have a full-time pastor – and things like newsletters and paid organists and plowed parking lots --Sunday security wouldn’t be possible.
Which leads to this invitation and challenge for some of you: Are you in a position to dig in to that second pocket, the CAPITAL POCKET to help us in building our church endowment fund? I am talking about gifts you may be able to give above and beyond what you have already pledged….perhaps a special year-end gift?
IV. THE ESTATE POCKET
Which leave one more pocket. THE ESTATE POCKET. When we die, we want to make sure we leave something for our families. Our children and grandchildren. For many I know that you have made plans to leave some of your estate to this church. Our endowment fund wouldn’t be helping us at all without these estate gifts….I counted 32 special gifts have come in since this endowment fund was created in the 1970’s. We did a calculation a few years ago….literally 3 and ½ to 4 million dollars have been used from this endowment fund since the 1970’s. The sad news is that without more estate gifts, this fund will not be able to grow to be more than about half of what it originally had in 1972 – and that was roughly one million dollars.
A couple more thoughts in thinking about this third pocket, the ESTATE POCKET.
1. Just because we die doesn’t mean the needs of the church are all of sudden going to become the responsibility of somebody else…just like the needs of our children don’t just disappear when we die. Those who make ESTATE GIFTS recognize they can continue to contribute to the church beyond the grave.
2. A second thought, and this comes from two conversations I have had with members of this church in the past few weeks…. Why wait until you die to give part of your estate to the church? If you know roughly what you are going to want to give to the church, we can invest and start using those funds…..now.
Why bury our talents (treasures) or put off using our talents (treasures) when they are needed for God’s work – NOW ?
V. Conclusion
A simple and short conclusion: With scripture in hand and speaking theologically: Like the burying of money in the parable of the talents, do we bury some of our resources when we know they could be used now?
Is there more we can give and invest in and through this church beyond our regular tithes and offerings? What portion or tithe of our capital or estate resources are we planning on giving to the church?
It’s all about full disclosure….in the use of all that God has entrusted our care: Time, talents, money – all things we value including life itself…..we are called to be stewards of all God has given us…..including life itself.
Again, thank you for your generosity.
