By David H. Morgan

I have been reflecting on the meaning of stewardship and its impact on our daily lives. As members of the church, the body of Christ, we are admonished to believe and embrace that our pledges truly emanate from the heart and the soul, and very rightfully so. However, I would be remiss to also have us embrace that sometimes, our gifts may incubate and emanate from the head, our mind. How so, you may be asking.

Specifically, there are some wonderful beneficial tax advantages that can be accrued with some of our offerings. While this is really not the venue nor space to expound, I believe it is incumbent upon me, as a professional immersed in this entire field daily, weekly, And monthly, to merely bring it to the attention of our readers here. In sum, for those of you who own tax qualified funds—IRA’s, 401k’s, 403b’s, et. al—there are some tremendous tax benefits available to those who opt to gift to a charity and/or the church. Again, while I do not believe the (more secular) perspective of expounding upon the tax benefits of such strategies here, I also believe part of my calling to all of you now is to at least remind our congregation that sometimes, our gifts to others produce benefits and advantages that we are unaware of or may not even have known about. Hence, this kind reminder to merely pray and consider another framework when pondering your contribution.

In closing, I share the insights of Dr. Deborah Rexrode, Associate for Stewardship of the James in the Presbyterian Church:

“As stewards of all that God has given to us, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of the promises we make. God promises to love and forgive us, to be faithful and just, to never leave us nor forsake us, and we know God will be faithful and just to never leave us nor forsake us, and we know God will be faithful. We are called to love, hope, believe, ask, confess, and fulfill our calling. As stewards of these promises, we are called to faithful. Let us be people of promises and good stewards of the promises.”

And, I would add that such giving will further bolster and renew us…for “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weak; they will walk and not faint.”

Let us all take flight!

David H. Morgan

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