Forty for Forty Campaign

"Joash was seven years old when he began to reign and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem....And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” “All the money.... which a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord,...let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered." (2 Chr. 24.1-2, 2Kings 12.4-5) RSV

Unless one is an Old Testament scholar, I could probably get good odds that you do not remember who Joash was! And even if you do remember a Joash, you probably cannot account for the seven people in the Bible who are named Joash! The Joash to whom I refer is one of the five kings of Israel who were judged to have been good kings.

Joash was king in the last half of the 9th century BCE. Two hundred years earlier, David and Solomon had built Israel into a great community. But the faith had dwindled by the time of Joash. Some sought the new Baal worship. Yet the call of Joash for a special offering during his 40 years led Israel to a great restoration.

The number forty is of significance in Scripture. It is used some 93 times in a variety of ways. It is a measurement of distance and time. It is a count of how many did something and also the age at which a number of people made distinct differences in the faith community. It is the maximum number of times that someone can be appropriately beaten with a lash according to Deuteronomy. It is even the number of years the land is to be given a sabbath at one point.

The flood was reported to have come in forty days and forty nights of rain. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and nights wrestling with temptation after his baptism. Biblical scholars suggest that the number forty can be taken as a literal number or as a number meaning many, used the way we often use hundreds (or millions if you are talking about government budgets).

On October 15,1967, I received my first call to preach. I served for two years at the Concord Christian Church in Saline City, MO while I was in College. My first sermon was entitled “Faith in the Power of Prayer.” October 21, 2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of my first call and professional sermon. Having served for almost five year as your Regional Minister, one of the realities of which I am painfully aware is that we are understaffed. Both Dr. Hobgood and I have served over the last almost twenty years without a second full time professional staff person. That has limited the ways in which we have been able to serve you. It is a reality of life. It reduces how effective the Region can be.

Make no mistake about it, this Region has many generous congregations who give better than many Regions in the Disciples of Christ. Like Joash, however, we are 200 years after Stone and the Campbells began to move us as movers in the quest for unity and the wholeness of the Church. The culture has again become hostile to the Church. We are again looking for ways the Region can help congregations thrive in this era and not just survive!

Among our African American congregations there is a great tradition of celebrating the pastor’s anniversary. I am asking for you to join me in an adventure. I would like to challenge the Region to celebrate my fortieth year in ministry by making offerings, offerings that “your heart prompts” to build up our endowment fund for the Regional Minister position. A significant increase will enable us to return to two full time staff. Dave Caldwell, our new editor for the Capital Area Christian, has labeled this “$40 for 40 Years from 400 Friends” in this newsletter!

I will actually be asking over the next year for us to make a serious impact on the Regional budget so that by the end of my fortieth year, we will have made a serious difference. The endowment is set up to yield 5% of its value every year. It is invested in growth stocks. This year we received $1,445.32. I am also approaching some of my friends in the Region to put together a challenge for us to meet over this next year.

I want us to be realistic. Some can do $40 this year. Some can do $400. A few can do $4,000. Others can do $5. Every dollar contributed yields five cents for the budget – EVERY YEAR FROM NOW ON! I also want to be very clear, we will be doing a three year capital campaign starting sometime next year to continue improvements at our two camp facilities. I do not want to take funds away from that effort.

Would you do me the honor of helping me make the Region be what it needs to be to serve our congregations, to do mission together, to train leaders and prepare ministers? Will you pray about what God would ask you to do to make us all more effective and then bring them to the Lord’s house so that we might repair our Region? I pray that God says, “We did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Forty has Gone Fast,
Lari