“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8).
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.” (Luke 14:28-13).
October has arrived; and with its arrival, it starts to feel like fall has also officially arrived even though it has been technically fall for a little while now. I personally love the fall…leaves changing colors, temperatures getting cooler, I get to break out my awesome sweater collection, and I get to do two of my favorite things: watch football and drink pumpkin spice lattes! October is such a fun time of the year; and that includes here at Franklin Presbyterian Church as October marks the beginning of our annual Stewardship Campaign! So, in light of that, I wanted to talk to you a bit about planning.
In the passage from Proverbs, Solomon points us to the lowly ant as an example. He says that the ant has no commander, overseer, or ruler who is watching over it and telling it what to do; yet, it still understands that it needs to work during the harvest, and save up during the summer, so that it will have food during the lean times when there is no food available. The point of this passage is to encourage us to plan ahead, to work diligently, and prepare ourselves for what is coming down the road. God doesn’t want us to go through life unprepared for what’s coming, but to always plan and prepare so that we will be prosperous and be able to fully enjoy, and make good use of, the blessings He bestows upon us.
In the passage from Luke, Jesus is teaching specifically about considering the cost of discipleship before you take up your cross and follow Him. He says that a person would not begin to build a tower without first sitting down and making a budget for how much the construction would cost. Nor would a king foolishly go to war with another king without making sure he had the means and the men to achieve victory. The point Jesus is making is that, before we undertake something (specifically, before we commit to being His disciples), we need to first plan and prepare to make sure we are able to complete the task and complete it well. And, this is certainly applicable not only to being faithful disciples, but to all of life, as well; we shouldn’t do anything without first counting the cost, planning, and preparing.
And these Old and New Testament teachings on planning apply directly to the life of the church and to our annual Stewardship Campaign, as well. One of the major purposes of our Stewardship Campaign is that it is our way, as a church, to help our covenant partners faithfully put in place a plan for how they want to give back to God and to the church in the coming year. But, the other major purpose is so that our Finance Committee, and our Session, will have a baseline figure to use as a guide as they budget our money for 2026. For us to be able to effectively undertake the missions and ministries of this church each year, we must sit down and account for how much it will all cost and how much money has been pledged to us in order to make it all happen. By accounting the cost for next year and approximately how much we can expect through offerings, we are much more equipped to strategically plan for the year to be as effective in our ministry as possible without putting the church in a bad place financially. It is through the planning and preparation of the Stewardship Campaign that we are able to ensure that we are utilizing God’s blessings in the best, and most effective way.
I pray that each one of us takes, with the utmost seriousness, this awesome responsibility to give back to God what He has blessed us with; but also to take this responsibility with joy in our hearts as we contribute to God’s work in our church and our community. Solomon encourages us to plan and Jesus teaches us to plan; so let’s work together to plan for a successful and rewarding 2026 at Franklin Presbyterian Church!
May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you,
Pastor Keith
