Joe's Journal
October 10, 2008

At Session this past Tuesday night, our church’s leaders were reminded of the powerful story of Gideon, told in Judges 6-8. Israel faced troubled times. Midianite raids of Israel’s harvests placed great strain on their economy. Their worship of false gods was the real root of the problem. In their suffering they cried out to the Lord. The Lord responded by calling Gideon, the least member of the weakest tribe in Manasseh to deliver the Israelites. Gideon is known for testing God, most famously by laying out a fleece of wool to test his call, not once but twice. 

(cont.) Once God’s call was confirmed, Gideon raised an army of 22,000 soldiers. The Lord told him there was a problem—there were too many to fight the Midianites who numbered hundreds of thousands.  So Gideon said to his army, “If you’re afraid, go home.” 12,000 left, leaving him with only 10,000. That was still too many for God, so Gideon was instructed to take those remaining down to the lake for a drink of water. Those who drank with their hands would be his army. Only 300 did. The odds were certainly against him. Yet with 300 men, Gideon prevailed against the Midianites without lifting a sword. They ended up fleeing in panic because Gideon’s 300 made quite a racket with jars and fire and trumpets, scaring the Midianites into running away. When it was all said and done, no one could say the triumph was achieved because of Gideon, or the bravery of those 300 soldiers, but rather all would know that the Lord brought the victory. 

Today the world faces an economic crisis. We picked a heck of a time to launch a capital campaign. To be honest, it’s a little crazy for a church our size to even be dreaming of a project of this magnitude. As a congregation of 1,600, we have no business even dreaming about a $15 million project. Most of the consultants we talked to last year, when the Dow was at 13,000, told us it would take two, or maybe three campaigns to raise the kind of money we need. Add to that the current economic reality, and we must be crazy. It’s like Gideon and those 300 faithful taking on the Midianites. Worldly wisdom would tell us, “Fold up the tents and head for home.” But perhaps in God’s eyes, with the Dow Jones Industrial down to about 8,000, it just may be the perfect time to be heading into Commitment Sunday.  

Over the past five years, this congregation has been discerning God’s call. We’ve laid out our fleeces again and again, and this vision for our church has been confirmed. On October 26, we’re going to step forward in faith and see what happens. There is little doubt the level of our commitments will be affected by the current economic climate. But God’s people never define success solely on the basis of numbers. The courage represented by commitments made as we are able, the faith to stand fast in the face of our culture’s fears, the affirmation that life is measured not by what has been lost but by the abundance of blessing we have—these realities will redefine the success of our efforts. 

When it is all said and done, with Gideon and the Israelites, we can be sure God will provide us with whatever we need. What a victory that will be in the face of so much loss. What a word of faith to offer to our world so gripped by fear. What a blessing it is to be part of this great church. 

Grace and peace,
Joe