So we're in our second week of looking at what the New Testament says about giving.

Last week, we recognized that the bible clearly says that we don't own anything. Everything is God's, and for us who choose to follow God, we're to use everything we have as God intends. We looked at some of the many passages in the bible that talk about giving financially to help the poor and the needy, and we looked at some practical ways to do that.

Today, we're looking at the other major reason for giving in the New Testament: giving to support people in ministry, both here and around the world.

I mean, how self-serving could I possibly get?

Let's look at ALL the places in the bible that talk about giving in a way to support people like me, pastors...freeing me to do what God is calling me to do.

It's one of those catch-22's. It really is something that's in the bible, it really is something that the church ought to teach, but to be the one to talk about it when I'm also one of the ones to benefit from it is a little awkward.

What's interesting is it seems like Paul feels a little bit awkward when he talks about it, too. In the Corinthians passage we read together earlier, as well as in his letter to the Philippians, Paul seems like he wants to strongly affirm the principle that pastors ought to be supported financially, while at the same time bending over backwards to say he doesn't need it for himself.

That's probably the easiest place to be; to talk about the need and responsibility to support people financially who give full time to ministry, but to not take advantage of it yourself.

I'm not in that place, but I recently read a really neat story about somebody who is.

Rick Warren is a famous pastor from Southern California, who has written the best selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life." This book has sold millions and millions of copies, and it's made Warren a rich man. He and his wife have made some really neat, public choices. They haven't changed their lifestyle. They are choosing to live on 10% of their income and give away 90%.

They even figured out all the money he took as salary from the church he started over 20 years ago, added it up, and gave it all back to the church. He's working for free! What a great example, and a great place to be.

So, being the creative person that I am, I thought, "Hey! Wouldn't it be great to do that, too?"

So I wrote a book too; and my hope is to sell enough copies to be able to pastor here at Newberg Friends for free, too. My book is called, "The Porpoise Driven Life."

Yes. What I've done is taken life lessons, spiritual applications, from the lives of porpoises. "Stay in School," "Don't blow your spout when you're underwater," stuff like that. I think it'll be huge!

Now, I may not sell millions, like Warren has. But my idea is to get over the hump a little bit more quickly. So, I have 100 of these to sell, and you can have your very own copy for $9,999. I promise to give up my salary if we can get this first run sold, and if I can sell another couple hundred of them, I'll pay back all of what I've earned in years past.

Ok, back to reality here.

Rick Warren is simply following Paul's example. Paul supported himself through most of his ministry, making tents and selling them to support himself as he traveled around the known world.

In the passage we read together earlier, taken from 1 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul gets very direct and even confrontive: he helped the Corinthians know about Jesus, and if anyone deserves their financial support, it's Paul.

Paul makes it crystal clear: "Just as farm workers who plow fields and thresh the grain expect a share of the harvest, Christian workers should be paid by those they serve." (1 Cor. 9:10)

In example after example, from life and from the Old Testament, Paul says "...the Lord gave orders that those who preach the Good news should be supported by those who benefit from it." (1 Cor. 9:14)

"I deserve it, Christian workers deserve it...but there's no way in the world I'm going to take it!"

Paul and the Corinthians have a little bit of a fighting relationship, and it shows here. The principle of giving to support people in ministry is clearly taught, but Paul is proud he doesn't have to take advantage of it.

When Paul writes to the Philippians, it's easy to see that his relationship with them is much different. He thanks them for supporting him with a financial gift.

He wants the Philippians, and us, to understand the benefits and joys of giving. This time, he's not teaching the responsibility of giving, but the joy of giving. Listen to Philippians 4: 10-19, from the New Living translation. [READ]

Two churches, two types of relationships, two different emphases on giving to those in ministry.

One is about the responsibility to give support, one is about the joys and the rewards of it. It's a responsibility to give, and it is also a great joy to participate in what God is doing here and around the world.

When I hear my daughter talk about Girls Camp, and the way people there ministered to her in wonderful ways, I know that our giving as a family and as a church made that possible. When we visited Bolivia and Peru in May of 2000, and talked with young men and women who dreamed of starting churches all over the world, I know that our giving as a family and as a church made that possible.

It's amazing to realize that when we give, we help others change lives, and we join what God is doing around the world.

When a church gets to be the size of Newberg Friends, it is sometimes difficult to see how our giving supports ministry.

It's sometimes easy to feel removed and not see the benefits or the needs for giving here.

I want to draw attention to the ways that the money in our budget DOES support ministry, and the ways we are being faithful as a church to be good stewards of what you faithfully give.

There are many different ways to look at our budget as a church, and my hope today is to help us see it in the best way possible.

One might look at the back of our worship folder and think, "Who are all these people? What do they do? Are we just supporting a huge bureaucracy?"

Or, one might look at the same list of people and think, "Well, they certainly must not need MY help financially. Looks like everything's going great!"

Neither one of those views is accurate, but they speak to the difficulty of giving when a church grows beyond a couple hundred people. We can't know everyone, or everything, that is going on. We don't always know what a pastor does, or why we need him or her. We can't always see the needs for giving and ministry as easily as we can when it's a smaller group of people.

Over 60% of our budget goes to salaries of people.

That's a very good thing! The money we give largely supports people. And I can tell you that each person on our staff, in all of the various jobs they do, are people who do what they do with a heart for ministry.

On top of that 60%, another 15% is sent to support the ministry of our Yearly Meeting. Those are the other Friends Churches in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and again, most of that money is supporting people in ministry, people who work with our youth and with missions and our camps.

Less than 15% of our budget goes to our buildings; keeping the lights on, the water running, and the rooms warm, and paying back our very low level of debt.

Out of the 10% or so that's left, we give to the poor and needy in town, support Matt Chandler with Christian Peacemaker teams, and of course, pay the costs of the ministry of our church.

Our budget is largely supporting people, people who do ministry.

Alpha happens because Jo Helsabeck works with more than 20 people who pray, who lead groups, who make food, who open their homes so ministry happens.

We'll talk and eat and laugh at the potluck today because Nita Duncan supports Erinn Horttor and others to make it happen; and Nita also supports the people who lead Women's Bible Fellowship and people who visit shut-ins and MOPS and our ushers and all kinds of behind the scenes ministries.

Our youth have Bible Quizzing coaches and small group leaders and mentors because we release Josh Reid and Scott Cornwall to equip and train people to lead those ministries.

Small groups and Adult Sunday School classes and For Men Only groups and Listening Life groups happen because we release Steve Fawver to find and support the leaders.

150 kids will have people to love and teach them this morning because we support Lecia Retter. The brass and the bells and various other people lead us in ministry on Sundays because Mauri practices with them or oversees other leaders who do it.

You get the picture.

The money you give to Newberg Friends supports ministry. And that goes for the people you might not think about, too. Arnie Mitchell, our buildings manager, supports a team of people who make sure the places where ministry happens are looking good and in good repair.

Sherry and Denise in our office not only do their "tasks" of publications and bookkeeping and running an office, they also are the first people contact, the "face" and the "voice" of our church to many people.

I often am asked what exactly a particular person on staff does with their time. I can promise one thing: each person on our staff is hard working, and is gifted and called to what they are doing. Not all of the names on the back of your worship folder are full time, but all of them do their work well, and all of us have dreams and visions for further ministry that we don't have the time or resources to develop.

If you want more detailed information about what our pastors do, each quarter for our business meeting we do a written or video report that gives a picture of what we do. The latest video report is on our church website, and our next written report will be available at the welcome center on Dec. 11. We want you to know about the ministries you support.

If you want more detailed information about our budget, each month a financial statement is placed on the bulletin board in the library.

The fact that more than a thousand people call Newberg Friends their church home makes a bigger staff possible...and it also makes the needs for ministry greater as well.

We as a church have big dreams. Last January, in the open meetings we had to discover God's direction for our church, we heard each other's dreams. We want to be a vital part of the community we live in. We want to do more than just make ourselves comfortable, we want to reach out and serve our community, and we want to help more people recognize how much Jesus loves them and choose to join the family of God.

This afternoon, our elders will be talking about the next 5 years at Newberg Friends. We'll pray and talk about the ministries, the staff, and the facilities we will need to accomplish the dreams God has placed in our hearts and minds as a church.

Then, our elders will meet with the stewards, and we'll work on planning for our 2006 budget.

Like most years, the ministry we feel God is calling us to do is more than the money we expect to receive in tithes and offerings.

That's a good thing! Our ministry calling should be greater than our bank account!

Our hope as a pastoral team and as elders and stewards is to clearly communicate what God is doing at Newberg Friends. We'll live within our means, and we also want to be faithful to follow God's call.

We dream about new ministries of recovery, like the one Ron Smith talked about earlier in the service that changed his life. We dream about space on a Sunday morning to gather informally and talk and know each other better. We dream about releasing people to start small groups and maybe house churches and who knows what else to bring new people into God's family!

These are the ministries that we get to support together with our gifts and offerings.

It's our responsibility and our privilege. Your giving to Newberg Friends DOES support ministry, and the truth is, a relatively small percentage of our budget goes to the "overhead of the institution."

I love our church! I love the privilege of pastoring here, and I am so grateful that I get to do this because of your faithful giving.

I love what we can do as we pool our resources together for ministry, and it's in that spirit that I can ask you to join what we do together by giving regularly to the ministries of Newberg Friends.

Would you ask God to set a goal for your giving, and ask God for the courage to risk doing it?

Maybe it's a dollar amount you'll give at the beginning of the month, $50 or $100 or $200 dollars.

Maybe it's a percentage of your income. The 10% tithe isn't mentioned in the New Testament, but that Old Testament percentage may prove to be a really good starting point. Maybe you'll stretch to 15% or 20%, or maybe you just need to make a start with 2%.

Find some starting point, and ask God for the courage to risk giving it, and to risk growing it. It's our responsibility, and a joy!