It's Not About Money

‎Logan and I have talked a lot this past month about the nature of raising support. We have explored the biblical basis we have for seeking out individuals to partner with us, we have shared in the anxiety of asking, and we have discovered so many different ways that this time of raising support is preparing us for ministry. 

Here are some of my thoughts on this process:

Evangelism and Support Raising are a lot alike. On the way home from training Logan quoted Spurgeon who said, "If every member of the elect had a mark on their back there would be a lot less preaching of the Gospel and a lot more shirt raising".

For many people, sharing their faith with someone feels about the same as asking that person for money. We have the same anxieties for both. We're afraid sharing will hurt our friendship - they won't look at us the same way, or think we are less cool. It will be awkward, we don't want to intrude. Yet God see fit to have His kingdom expand through our sharing: "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17.) We must overcome our discomfort about a sticky subject, otherwise how will people hear the good news of the Gospel?

God has similarly called us to ministry and appointed raising support as the means by which He will send us. Yet when it comes to support raising, I only want to call the people I know are going to be encouraging and give. I avoid the people I'm unsure of or people I think won't give. But God does not tell us who He has chosen to save, He only tells us it is finished, He has done it. He tells us to live out and speak the Gospel to all we come into contact with, and watch as He transforms people's hearts.

In the same way, God has appointed people to support the work He has called Logan and I to do at UMD. He tells us that all things will work for our good. Yet He does not give us a list of who will support us. If He did, I would only call those people and do nothing more!

But I've been reminded time and time again this month that this process of support raising isn't about money. God wants us to minister to people through this process. And we are called to share with as many people as we can, and to bless them even if they are not going to give. My campus minister at Belmont, Kevin Twit, told us that he first heard about RUF from someone who asked him for support. At the time he couldn't give but wanted to hear more about what RUF does, and that was a major part of what led him to attend seminary and become a campus minister himself.

Our support raising is about so much more than money. We are called to minister to people, to share more of God's kingdom and invite them to be a part of raising up future generations of believers. God is using this time in our lives for great purposes! All we can do is be faithful to trust that God is indeed providing and step out in faith. 

This is very difficult to do. I wake up every morning with an insurmountable task, and every night I go to sleep knowing I haven't done enough. But as one of my favorite hymns says, "'Tis mine to obey, and His to provide". My anxiety often comes from the fact that I am trying to provide for myself. Yet it is God who provides, my job is simply to obey His call. This is simple, but difficult. It is even more difficult when I don't trust God to uphold His promise to provide. I don't want to be obedient to call and meet with people because I can't guarantee that it will go as I plan. But thanks be to God that He upholds His promises whether I believe them or not. He has not left me, though I often leave Him. He uses broken people to accomplish His will, and is healing me in the process.

I am thankful for this difficult summer. I am thankful for such obvious applications of the Gospel in my life.