We’ve invited our church to get in the game with pledging this year.  It has been such an odd year financially for the nation and for the Columbia area that I wasn’t sure what to expect.  At the end of Sunday, we had pledged $150,000 more than we had pledged at the same time last year, and last year we had a great pledge campaign.

             This can only happen when God’s people dig down deep and get into the faith dimension before they ever start thinking about what they’re going to pledge in the financial dimension.  I’m grateful for the dollars you will give.  Make no mistake, we can’t run this church on air.  However, if it only becomes a matter of affordability or financial wisdom, then we lose touch with the great lessons stewardship has to offer us – that primary lesson being faith. 

             I see a lot of faith in what all of you did.  It demonstrates you love the Lord.  It demonstrates you have a commitment to reaching out to the world in season and out.  I look forward to us finishing the year strong, our giving being great, and our bringing honor to God in demonstrating to the world that we love God more than we love ourselves.  Thank you for being a great church and thank you for sharing the rewards of faith with each other and with the world.

Coming back from the sushi counter at the grocery store, I walked into my hotel lobby and the woman who was at the registration desk when I checked in said, “Hello Mr. Lincoln. Welcome back.”  I couldn’t believe it.  I said, “Thank you.  How did you remember my name?  Have you taken a memory course?”  “No,” she said. “That’s my job.  We want our guests to feel special.”  I did.  She really succeeded.

             Years ago as I was leaving Singapore I stopped a Singapore Airlines flight attendant to ask if my seat was a bulkhead aisle seat so I could change it if it was not.  She said, “Yes, exactly.”  Two hours later I boarded the plane.  Standing by my seat was this attendant who said, “53-B Mr. Lincoln.  Have a nice flight.”  Again, I was deeply impressed.  I don’t expect anyone to know my name in this big, impersonal world, and I’m not the least bit bothered by being just a face in the crowd when I travel.  But when somebody does know my name it really impresses me. 

 True or not our church feels big and is assumed to be impersonal by a lot of people who visit us.  If it turns out to be so because no one reaches out to them when they come, they may be a little disappointed but they are not surprised.  What an opportunity that gives us.  What if, for the next year, nobody could get into our out of our church building without being welcomed warmly, introduced to at least one other church member, and thanked for coming.  Let’s be the most surprisingly friendly church in Columbia starting today.