Spreading $3,000 in cash across the altar, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jasper was sure to get the congregation’s attention during a sermon on “The Parable of the Talents” a few Sundays ago.
The Rev. Jimmy Lewis then asked church members to come and get it, with a catch straight from the New Testament - it needed to be paid back with a profit earned from the talents of those who accepted the money.
From Matthew 25: 14-30, "The Parable of the Talents" is about a man on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.
In Jesus’ time, a talent was equal to about $1,000. The man who received the five talents put his money to work and gained five more. The man given two talents gained two more. But the man who received but one talent dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
When the master returned, the two servants who used their talents to gain more were rewarded with kind words and put in charge of many things. The master scolded the man who hid his talent in the ground and ordered the talent taken from him and given to the one who had ten. The Bible states, "For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Using this parable as a guide, Dr. Lewis challenged parishioners to use their talents for the good of others - with remarkable results.
"This is unbelievable. I'm just astonished at people's creativity," said Lewis of the myriad of projects that have started from the challenge. "Folks have been energized by this call. It's been surprising to listen to folks talk and see how they can use the money."
From walking dogs and baking pound cakes, to selling ice cream and hosting a family movie night for 200 people, church members have taken up the call to help.
Long-time members of the First Baptist Church, Joan and Bradley Rutledge and their two children have been using their "talents" to bake pound cakes, which they've sold to raise money.
"The idea came about with us sitting around the table talking about what we could do," said Mr. Rutledge. "Brooke and Brad came up with the idea, and it was something that the whole family could get involved with."
Rutledge said his family has baked and sold some 30 cakes and credited the success to the story behind the project.
"Telling people the story about the talents has caused some of the demand I think," he said. "It's been a neat thing to do with the kids. Making it a family thing really drives home the point about the fact that we've all been given something. Sometimes it's money. Sometimes it's time. And you need to use what you've been given to help others."
Lewis stressed that the project is not a fundraiser for the church but that the money generated will go toward local, state and global missions.
“In the spirit of generosity we came up with the idea to divide the money among our mission partners,” he said.
Locally those include Good Samaritan, Habitat for Humanity, the Appalachian Children’s Emergency Shelter, and CARES, among others. Proceeds will also go to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and HIS Nets, a program which provides mosquito nets to people in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It’s kind of neat seeing all of that going to a lot of different places,” Lewis said.
For his part, Lewis and his wife Sandra hosted a tomato sandwich party last Saturday. Folks from Mrs. Lewis’ Sunday school class visited their home, gave $5 and were treated to tomato sandwiches.
“We ate out in the back yard and had a good time,” Lewis said. “The main thing is people are thinking about what their gift is and what they’re supposed to be doing. All these different projects speaks to the wide variety of interests and gifts that our people have.”
Some people are pooling their talents to bring people together in the spirit of Christian generosity.
A trio of friends, Jennifer Bryant and her sister Merrimeth Phillips along with Robyn Pitkins, took up the pastor’s challenge and decided to host a family movie night, inviting around 200 friends to participate.
“When we got together and thought about what our gift was that we had in common, we decided we had the gift of gab and to socialize, and we loved to get people together, especially for a common cause,” Bryant said. “What better way to do it than with a movie under the stars for the whole family?”
Merrimeth agreed with her sister saying, “We don’t carve bowls or paint beautiful pictures, but we do love having friends and family come together in celebration for a common cause.”
The sisters said the community’s support has been wonderful.
“Without asking, people have come forward to donate items and support the project,” Bryant said.
In addition to the movie, the event will feature hot dogs and popcorn along with other baked goods “for sale”. Bryant said everyone who comes will get a ticket, and the group has gathered prizes for a raffle they plan at intermission.
“Giving is not mandatory,” Bryant said. “We want to have a Christian fellowship, and if you feel like giving then give. For me it’s kind of a pay it forward thing.”
For some, deciding on one talent over another proved difficult, with the final decision resting on which project had the potential to help the most people.
Dennis and Nancy Woodard will be sharing their ice-cream making talent this weekend with fellow church members as they open “Woodard’s Ice Cream Parlor” for an hour on Saturday.
“Making ice cream was not what I had in mind when I accepted the challenge,” Mr. Woodard said. “I actually wanted to make a very special wood craft. I think one of my talents is woodworking. I actually spent many hours making a wooden box, held together with dovetail notches. The box is made from walnut that was once a barn in North Georgia. It fits together with precision and I think it’s unique and beautiful, but there was not enough potential return on my investment of time. I switched to the ice cream project, because I could see a better potential gain than a single wooden box.”
Woodard, a former Baskins-Robbins employee, said the ice cream project would also incorporate his wife’s talent for organization.
“Everybody loves homemade ice cream, so I know this will be a success,” he said.
Woodard said he felt compelled to participate in the challenge because he wanted to use his talents to help.
“I have a favorite saying: ‘You can’t be good at everything’,” he said. “The way I see it, people don’t do things they can do because they fear what they can’t do. I believe we can all contribute, even if we aren’t the best at something. Although you can’t be good at everything, we all have at least one or two God-given skills that can be used to help others.
“It doesn’t matter how long you live or how much you gain here on earth. What matters is what you do with what you have ––even if you don’t have a lot.”
For those of you who may be interested in a very special walnut box, please contact Woodard at Woodardz@tds.net
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| PHOTO BY DAMON HOWELL |
| Mike Westbrook sits on a bench similar to the one he and his family made for Jasper First Baptist Church's $3,000 challenge |
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