Redux: Planting Roots

by Mike Harman
I’ve been around “the church” for a long time; I began trusting in Jesus over 40 years ago. I started tithing (giving 10% of my income) very early on in my new life as a Christian.  Over the years, the commitment to live this way grew simultaneously with my trust in, and love for, Jesus. A joy of living generously emerged toward God, the church, non-profits, and other people. Don’t think I have it all dialed in; I still struggle with money, material desires, a want for comfort, and an appetite for self-gratification, but through these many years, God has taught and enabled me to faithfully share what He has shared with me.
 
I’ve been through a number of building campaigns, so when Planting Roots was first being discussed, I honestly dreaded another one. I’d given before and made commitments based on what I thought was the leading of God, only to question later why I was doing this extra giving. After the years of seeing churches struggle, staff members be underpaid, ministry be underfunded, and an emphasis on buildings, I’d grown jaded. I was tired of hearing talk of, and requests for, money. I judged what I’d believed were misuses (and misappropriations) of funds for the sake of structures. My feeling became that of: if everyone would tithe and live generously toward God, the church would have enough money to support facility, ministry, and staff. It just makes logical sense to me (as if what I think or come up with as logical means anything). The icing on my cake of cynicism was a several years ago during another church’s campaign to purchase a new organ, which seemed laced with guilt and coercion. Statements were made to the effect of, “If we are going to worship God rightly, we need this new organ.” Special offerings and pledges were taken, and my heart and mind began to close. My giving beyond tithing shifted to the many worthy causes, ministries, missions, and people outside the “church.”
 
I did not warmly receive the idea of Planting Roots when we first started. You could even say I had some dread and dismay, but as one of the elders, I figured I’d better get behind it and come up with some commitment to give. Deb, my wife, and I began a process of figuring out what we could do, what we could make affordable. Through the Planting Roots journey, Sermon on the Mount preaching series, devotional, and Gospel Community participation, our hearts were softened. Our enthusiasm for the ministry of the Gospel through Element, the awareness of lives needing rescue and transformation, and our sense that God was up to something all began to capture our hearts. Our conversations went from, “We can afford this” to, “Can we afford to do this?” to, “How about this much? Wouldn’t it be fun to do this?” to, “I’d sure like to be able to do this…wouldn’t that be amazing?” And so the journey began, the course was set, and now here we are…three months in.
 
Already, I have found myself wondering, “What have I done?” when writing that check. (Maybe you’ve had similar moments.) When I think about the total commitment we made, and the 33 months of commitment remaining, I can find myself feeling stupid or over-extended, lacking in joy, gratitude, and expectation. I then remember what Element is to us, and what it is to so many we see and talk to. Element is not a better church than others, but like others, a church God is uniquely using to reach certain people with the saving grace of the Gospel…and with that reminder, my hand steadies as I sign the check, my heart smiles at the goodness and faithfulness of my God, my worries shrink in light of His generosity, and I am overwhelmed by the scandal of God—that He would choose to not only rescue me, but to redeem me (set me free), and continue His work of restoration in my life.
 
My prayer today is that we would see the next 33 months as time we are allowed to grow in, and more fully understand, the generosity and graciousness of our God. As we continue to experience His love and trust Him more deeply, may we be able to more accurately represent His extravagance by the way we live in this community and in this life.