All In
All In
As I write this, I just attended the installation service for our new bishop, Bishop Tracy Smith Malone. We had a few other members from our congregation there as well, and Bob Myers had a part in the service, presenting her with a gavel, symbolic of presiding in the Annual Conference, appointing deacons and elders (clergy) to their ministries, and guiding us in our common mission of love, justice, witness, and service.
Bishop Malone also preached a powerful sermon on being “All In.” And she elaborated that she was “all in” and on the move, multiplying love, cultivating joy, and inspiring hope. She then challenged every congregation in the Conference and every United Methodist in Indiana to be similarly “all in” and on the move: multiplying love, cultivating joy, and inspiring hope.
I encourage you to watch her sermon for yourself, here: rb.gy/9i4pax . You can also access her biography here: rb.gy/1fitw0 .
We stand at the beginning of our stewardship campaign. We’ve discussed many times that stewardship is not simply a matter of money; it’s part of our discipleship. It’s part of our membership vows as United Methodists. It’s part of being “all in” as disciples of Jesus Christ. Stewardship isn’t a once-a-year thing: it’s an all-year thing. We’re stewards of the gifts – of everything – that God has given to us. We’re called to use them wisely, generously, and graciously, for the good of God’s creation. All gifts: our time, our talent, and our treasure (or as our vows state it: our prayers, presence, gifts, witness, and service) come from God and belong to God.
This is part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Part of accepting the call. Part of learning to grow and imagining a new reality. Part of seeking the face of God, and being the face of God for others. It’s a journey that continues throughout our lives. Are you ready? Excited? Are you “all in”? This is part of how we can show we’re all in: on the move, multiplying love, cultivating joy, and inspiring hope – here in our own faith community, in Muncie, in the Indiana Conference, and throughout Indiana. Let’s all be “all in!”