Special Blessing: The basic expenses of our weekly news letter are being paid for by BUCKEYE Community Health Plan; Christopher Beers, Lead Marketing Representative     SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS thru                               TOTAL LIVING CENTER MINISTRIES Volume I    Issue #48  Pastor Don Bartow, Founder/Director                               July 22, 2008   Special Blessing: The basic expenses of our weekly news letter are being paid for by BUCKEYE Community Health Plan; Christopher Beers, Lead Marketing Representative          PRESENTING     A FIVE ACT TRUE LIFE DRAMA  FEEDING THE POOR MORE ECONOMICALLY & EFFICIENTLY                                                                                                                  Act One:  telephone call between Pastor Bartow & Dan Flowers, Director of the Akron/Canton Food Bank           “Dan, I want to ask you a very important question?” “OK. Let’s hear it,” was his courteous response.       “Alright, here goes. I need your guidance, I have been given two gifts. I want to give one of them to the Akron/Canton Food Bank, and I want you to choose which one it will be.”  “Sounds exciting to me. What choice do I have,“ was Dan’s reply. “Well, first I have $500.00 worth of groceries. There are a wide variety of items which were purchased at one of our local super markets. Second, I have a $500.00 check. Which do you want? The decision is up to you.”           “Our ability to leverage financial donations into truckloads of food always yields more meals for people in need.  We can acquire approximately 10,000 pounds of groceries with that $500.00. Of course, we would be grateful for the already purchased groceries, but certainly the most cost effective thing a person can do to help the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is to give money. We very much need all gifts and thank every giver for making whatever donation they choose to make.  Our commitment is to help as many people in need of emergency food as we can.  The most efficient and effective way to fulfill this commitment is through cash donations.  Please, send us the check.”     Act Two: The study of a Pastor in the Greater Canton Area. The conversation is summarized & name withheld.           My opening greeting was, “Thank you, Pastor, for contacting me about your church’s desire to help the TLC help the poor with meals and groceries.” He replied, “We are looking forward to doing so and want to do it the best way that we can.  Tell me what you need and how we can involve our members and friends.” I took his words as an opportunity to really teach the best way to contribute groceries for the poor. “Pastor, I have been directly helping the poor now for nearly 17 years. I don’t know all about such a ministry, but I sure know a lot more then I did years ago. I want you to know we appreciate every can of food donated, every doughnut, every box of cereal, etc. However, there is a ‘more excellent way.’ His response was, “Tell me about that way. I really want to hear how our congregation can best get involved with the TLC.” Now the door was open wider for me to share the honest truth with him, and this I did. “Pastor, we never say no to any food donation. But really if you want to get the biggest bang for the buck from your members support for the poor have them donate money. I know, your mind will begin to click off the thought that I’m only after money. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I am trying to help more poor people. If you have a hard time believing what I say I encourage you to contact Dan Flowers at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. He will tell you the same as I am trying to tell you. Please, be patient with me as I try to make sense out of this approach. First, we acquire most of our food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. We often get it for a fraction of what you would pay in a Super Market. For instance, not long ago we obtained over 3,000 pounds of ice cream for $121.34. Now how much would that have cost if you had gone to the Super Market and purchased it? Second, if the Foodbank does not have what we need and we have to buy elsewhere we buy wholesale and in bulk. When congregations buy all kinds of items and give them to us there are never enough of one thing to serve a meal or to pack hundreds of bags of give away groceries. It is far more economical and convenient to purchase in bulk. I can safely say if a congregation purchased a $100.00 worth of groceries for the month and gave them to us they would be appreciated. However, if that same congregation gave us a $10.00 monetary contribution we would probably be able to leverage more groceries than they gave us by using the Foodbank. It is as simple as that.”           He looked puzzled as he said, “Now, I think I’m beginning to get it. I tell you what. I’ll pray about it and get back to you with in a week. OK.”  My response was, “Sure, that’s fine. May I leave my book, “Yes, Virginia, God’s Chosen Fast Is For Today.” In it I explain this approach at greater depth. Also, I mention in it what I would do regarding ministry to the poor, if I were again serving a local congregation. Thanks for  your time and I look forward to hearing from you within the week.”    Act Two - Scene Two - Pastor Bartow’s phone conversation with the area Pastor.           “Hello, Pastor. This is Don Bartow. It has been over three weeks since we visited together and I am calling now to see if you have made a decision concerning helping us help the poor at the TLC.  He rather hesitantly responded, “I am so glad you phoned me, Pastor Bartow. I have been so busy I haven’t had time to get back to you. I have really prayed about it and I feel our people should buy the food themselves at the Super Market. We will suggest items each month and have them purchase them to be given away. Oh, and by the way, we have decided not to give to the TLC, but another group that gives groceries to the poor.. I hope you understand.” I said I did, and thanked him for his time, and that we would be in prayer for him and his congregation that God would continue to bless abundantly.   Act Three - Pastor Bartow’s study at the TLC.           “I want to say to Pastors and lay persons the essence of both of the above acts are true accounts of two actual experiences of mine. Why did I include one that ended differently than I would have desired. I did this to actually show how it is almost impossible to get Pastors and lay persons to understand how to practice the best stewardship when helping the poor. It is very difficult to change the traditional way of buying produce and giving it instead of money. I could be wrong, but I feel most of them feel we are just after money. This is not true of the TLC, nor is it true of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. We both are 24/7 where the rubber meets the road as far as the poor is concerned. Believe me, both Dan Flowers and myself know what we are talking about. What a blessing it would be if churches would encourage, and permit, their members to give monetary donations for the poor each week, or at least occasionally. It may not be much each week, but whatever it is we will buy far more groceries than the same amount spent at a Super Market. And at a time when gas prices and grocery prices are rapidly increasing I feel all of us should want to do what will be most helpful in meeting the increased demands to help the poor.”   Act Four - Pastor Bartow in a home, or at a committee meeting,  or at an official Board Meeting, or prayer Group, and/or worship service.           I am so grateful to be your guest. The scripture basis for my talk is  I Corinthians 16:1-3 “When you collect money for God’s people, I want you to do exactly what I told the churches in Galatia to do. 2) That is, each Sunday each of you must put aside part of what you have earned. If you do this, you won’t have to take up a collection when I come. 3) Choose some followers to take the money to Jerusalem. I will send them on with the money and with letters which show that you approve of them.”           The money collected weekly was for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Paul assured the leaders of the Church he would never forget the poor. He relates this fact in his letter to the Galatians. “They only asked us to remember the poor, and that was something I had always been eager to do.” (Galatians 2:10) There are a couple of points I want to make. The first is that Paul urges everyone attending weekly worship to give some money for the poor. Second, their contributions were to help individuals outside of that local congregation. Corinth was a long ways from Jerusalem.            I want to say to each of you that truly the most efficient, effective, and biblical way of giving to help the poor is to give a monetary gift frequently and faithfully. Every Christian has this biblical challenge. It is a simple message, but a very pointed, practical, and essential one. Thank you for your love and support of our efforts at the Total Living Center.            I have a lot more I could say, but I believe the article from the Akron/Canton Food Bank has very well presented the point I have been trying to make. I will provide each of you a copy for you to prayerfully and carefully read. I trust you will find it helpful as you decide how you will give to help the poor.   Act Five - Prayer time of those who have read the message contained in this letter.           “Father, I truly desire to help the poor. I seek Your guidance as to how I should give. Show me the best way and then help me to follow through as I should.           “Lord, I need your direction as to how much I should give to help feed the poor and how often. I quiet myself in Your Presence to receive Your guidance concerning this amount.           “And Father, I need to know to what ministry my gifts should be given. If it be the Total Living Center speak your peace to my heart that this is the place. If it be elsewhere, give Your guidance as to where and when.           “Thank You, Father, for I know you bless those who bless others. And I love to be blessed. The Words of your Son ring in my spirit that it is more blessed to give than to receive. So give I will. And bless I am sure you will.           “Thank You for loving and caring for me so that I can love and care for others. I look to You in prayer in the Name of Your Son and my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.”   GENERAL COMMENTS:           The Total Living Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit faith ministry. We receive no direct government or United Way Funding. We are supported by the gifts of those who believe in our ministry of helping the sick and the poor. Make checks payable and mail or bring to: Total Living Center   2221 Ninth St. SW   P.O. Box 6477  Canton, Ohio 44706.       AKRON-CANTON REGIONAL FOODBANK                        Daniel R. Flowers, President and CEO 350 Opportunity Parkway      Akron, Ohio 44307                330-535-6900   Danf@akroncantonfoodbank.org               www.akroncantonfoodbank.org   .BUT PEOPLE LIKE TO GIVE CANS.!   This is very true. And we appreciate every can we receive. However, have you ever thought  their might be a better way? Please, read on!               Let’s assume your church is in a community of 3,500 people where there is the average national poverty rate of about 11% . The “Waste Not - Want Not” research projects an annual food assistance need of just over 90,000 pounds. Now, you want to meet this need. How will you do it?               Let’s consider the traditional method first.            Individuals bring to your church cans of food. For illustration purposes let’s assume they bring an average of 300 16oz cans per week, amounting to a year’s total of 15,600 pounds. Estimating the cost to average 69-cents per can these individuals have spent $10,764.00. Here is the  startling truth. You have only met 17.3% of the need. You need 74,400 more pounds of groceries, if your church is to meet the 90,000 pounds projected goal. This means a whopping additional $51,336.00 will have to be spent for a Grand Annual Total of $62,100.00. You’ll never make it! And it is such a huge project you probably won’t even start. By the way the chances are no one will take any tax deduction for all grocery purchases. The deductible amount would be approximately $12,000.00, if you did it all. So your church members have paid out $1,000.00 more per month then they would if they gave money to a non-profit organization.             Now, let’s consider the give money method.           Your church decides to have its members give money each week, and to use their gifts to purchase food from the Akron-Canton Foodbank. Now, lets get real. Some people, because of the change, may be turned off and not give anything. Others may not contribute as much as they were spending on groceries. But hold on. Don’t stop reading just yet. Review the above paragraph and notice it will take $62,100.00 to meet the total need of 90,000 pounds of groceries, using the traditional method. Cooperating with our Foodbank you could met the need 100% for approximately $9,000.00 per year. But wait! There is more! Since the donations to purchase this food are to the church they are fully tax-deductible. Now your members are down to a net outlay of only, yes, only $7,200.00 per year. The chances are your church could handle that. But they sure couldn’t handle an outlay of $62,100.00.  Wouldn’t you agree that saving $54,900.00 per year is worth forsaking a traditional way of giving? And wouldn’t you agree that your Church and the Akron-Canton Foodbank should blend our efforts and together really minister to the poor?