Balancing our lives to support the church

When anyone joins a congregation of The United Methodist Church, that person responds to various questions about faith (faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, belief in the faith contained in the Scriptures, to mention a couple). Then new members take a vow to support their congregation through faithfully participation in its ministries by their "prayers, presence, gifts and service." That is quite an affirmation to make! What does it mean?

Prayers - means that we promise to pray for one another, to pray for the church and its leaders and to pray for God's will to be done. United Methodists promise to be people of prayer.
Presence - means that we promise to be present in our church, to attend public worship and study opportunities, to be available to help, to be present rather than absent with our faith.
Gifts - means that we promise to give our money to support the ministries of our church, but it also means that we promise to make use of our talents and gifts to help those ministries happen.
Service - means that we promise to serve in and through the church in order to make a difference for Christ in the world.

Those commitments, those promises and those membership vows are meant to be taken very seriously by all the people who call themselves United Methodists.

It also seems to me that the "balance" of those promises will ebb and flow over the years of our faithful participation as United Methodists. There may be times in our lives when our ability to give our monetary gifts is limited, and so we balance that by giving more of our time and talents. There may be seasons in our lives when giving our time is not easy, but we can be more generous with our gifts - especially our gifts of money. And there are years in our lives, when being faithful in prayer, is our best way to support our church. We never can avoid any one of these four vows, but the balance among those vows may change over time.

For example, I remember one very generous member in a church that I served in North Indiana who explained his financial generosity to our church by saying, "I am very poor in available time to volunteer right now because of the demands of my job, so I try to make up for that by being rich in my monetary giving." I heard from that same man a few weeks ago, and he told me that now in retirement he is less able to give financially but that he is enjoying donating many hours of his time to do volunteer work for his church. He always has been faithful with all four of his vows (prayers, presence, gifts, service), but the "balance" among those vows has changed over the years.

I know young adults whose income is consumed with raising a family, but who offer their presence and service with great enthusiasm. Oh yes, they give financially to their churches, but they given even more of their time and their energy. That is the best "balance" for this stage of their lives.

Likewise, I know many elderly members who are financially strapped and whose physical condition prevents them from being very actively involved in their church through "presence, gifts, and service." Many of these members carry on an incredible prayer ministry which has become their best way of giving to their churches. Yes, they still fulfill all four of their vows, but their "balance" has shifted toward a major emphasis upon prayer.

I ask you to consider what is the "balance" to your fulfillment of your membership vows as a United Methodist? How are you finding ways to fulfill all four of your vows to balance them in a way that best fits your current life situation?

Notice that the word is "balance" - not avoidance. Our own spiritual growth requires us to make an effort in our four areas: prayers, presence, gifts and service. Sometimes the one area that we try to avoid is the one area that needs to be the "growing edge" of our spiritual growth. No, it is not a matter of picking and choosing which one of the four vows we will uphold, it is a matter of balancing all four as our life moves through its various seasons.

Are you keeping your promises? Are you keeping your faith in balance?

And so I pray:

Lord, help us to find the right balance in our lives. Guide us, like a loving Dance Partner as You help us to keep in balance and in rhythm through all the changes and seasons of our lives. We pray in the name of Christ, whose life evidenced a perfect balance. Amen.

Bishop Michael J. Coyner
Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference . in Indiana and around the world!

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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