John Lantz
A Delight and a Privilege
I originally learned of Trinity’s existence at a retreat in 1989 and two years later became personally acquainted with the School when I enrolled in “Christian Spirituality,” taught by Bishop Frey and Mary Hays. I attended the class in an endeavor to discern whether God was calling me to vocational ministry and was blessed beyond measure by the experience. My initial, and enduring, impressions of Trinity were: utter astonishment at the honesty of the faculty; their passion for the Lord and his Gospel; and the emphasis that the Gospel is relevant to everyday life. Throughout the semester I got the abiding sense that Trinity is truly committed to equipping men and women to serve God in all walks of life.
I came to Trinity with the understanding that many seminaries in the United States are better described as cemeteries because God is dead or dying at them. Accordingly, it was profoundly delightful to sense God’s presence in the classroom and to learn that Trinity is committed to honoring Him and pursuing His agenda. My classroom experiences allowed me to observe a genuine passion for making the whole of Scripture relevant to daily living without compromising its integrity. The Trinity community’s willingness to be actively engaged in this world without surrendering to its ephemeral values is a primary reason for my regular support of the seminary. Notwithstanding my modest but regular contributions, Trinity makes me feel like a partner in the work that God is doing at, and through, the school. I also give to Trinity because it lives by faith from year to year. It is gratifying to know that Trinity relies on the support of numerous smaller, frequent contributors in addition to the generous support of wealthier folks rather than depending on an endowment. This fact convinces me that God can, in fact, magnify whatever we give to advance the work of His Kingdom.
My support of Trinity is based on a broader, fundamental requirement to be obedient to God with all of my resources, including my money. When God initially called me to tithe, I stubbornly resisted until I read the chapter “Single Minded Obedience” in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic The Cost of Discipleship. God let me see that tithing is not basically a money issue – rather, it is a faith issue. The issue is this: will I trust God with everything or not? In the midst of my resistance, God confronted me with the glorious fact that everything I have – everything – comes from Him. A desire to give and give freely as I first received from Him flowed from the recognition of how munificent He is in bestowing wealth for this life (e.g. health, friends, family employment, education) and eternal wealth (faith and security in Whose we are). Then he showed me His promise in Malachi 3:10 that if we are faithful to Him, He will literally open the floodgates of Heaven and infuse our lives with blessing beyond measure.
In addition to my regular contributions, I have included Trinity in my estate planning. Specifically, I plan to give Trinity 50% of my retirement plan assets upon my demise, primarily because it is one way that I can practice the lesson Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents: we have a charge to magnify what God has given us for His glory, irrespective of how much or how little we think we have been given. Donating retirement assets to Trinity maximizes the value of your gift, because Trinity gets every dollar that you bequeath to it. Distributions to individuals are subject to estate and income taxes that may consume up to 70 cents of every dollar that could otherwise go to Trinity.
Once I learned that is impossible to outgive God, no matter how generous He is, giving has become a delight and a privilege. It is an opportunity to invest in the everlasting work of God.
