It's who you know

We went to a "boot camp" last May to learn about all things related to church planting and part of that education was, not surprisingly, about money. That's usually one of the first questions people ask if they're curious about what we're doing. Sometimes they're a little hesitant about asking because they don't want to offend, but it's a good question. How exactly is this whole thing funded?

About half of it over the next three years is being funded from our denomination (or, for you United Methodists out there, our annual conference), but the other half is coming from donations from friends, family, and acquaintances and (we hope) people who commit to being a part of this new church. We sent out a letter to our family and friends a few weeks ago asking not so subtly for them to support us financially. And this was a learning for me: The person leading the boot camp said, essentially, that those family and friends won't necessarily be giving out of altruistic purposes or they feel led by God to give. All that may be true, but the main reason they're giving is because they trust and believe in me.

It's easy to feel a little awkward about that, but when I think about my own giving, it's true. I wouldn't give to the Washington County Hospice if it sent me a letter, but I supported it because my Aunt Cathy was doing a walk to support it. Same with numerous other charities that we support. We give because of the relationships.

Our intern at Urban Village Church, Anne Williamson, preached at another church last Sunday night and she said a really helpful thing. She was using Luke 1:26-38 and noted that Mary said yes to the angel not because she knew what exactly would happen in her future or because all of her questions would be answered. Mary said yes because she knew who was making the request. It was God. Mary trusted God, loved God, and may have thought that this request was absurd, but she said yes because of trust and love.

I have prayed this week that my trust and faith God can continue to deepen so that I can continue to say yes to whatever it is that God is asking.