CCC Blog

“Thoughts on Charities and the New Tax Law”

Two months ago Congress passed a bill greatly affecting income taxes and the President signed it into law.  One month ago I attended a conference of Disciples of Christ clergy on stewardship where this new law was discussed.  Though it is designed to make it easier for people to file their taxes, it’s the ease in filing your tax return that has charities (like Central) concerned.  One major change in the law pertains to doubling the standard deduction from $12,000 to $24,000 for a joint return.  This has the effect of encouraging more people not to itemize deductions.  With the deductibility of state and local taxes capped at $5,000 a year, a couple would have to donate more than $19,000 to charities in a tax year to benefit from itemizing.  While some donors may exceed this amount, most are likely far below.  There is some concern among charities and churches that donations will decrease due to these changes.  

I have to believe that most donors will continue to support their church or  charity because they know the value of its mission.  This is certainly how I perceive our donors at Central.  You/we do not donate simply for the tax benefit.  Still having faith that you will continue to support Central, I want to offer a few suggestions that I’ve learned about how you can achieve greater savings on your tax return.

 1) If you are over 70 ½ and taking required minimum distributions (RMD) from your IRA or 401(k), you can instruct the investment broker that you wish to have the RMD sent directly to Central.  In doing so you are not required to report the income on your tax return nor are you allowed to claim the charitable contribution, unless the deductibility exceeds the $24,000 threshold.

2) A second way of saving on your income taxes is by “bunching” your contributions.  This is combining two years of contributions into the same tax year.  Then in the following year you wouldn’t make any contributions.  A number of Central’s members already do this.  They give their normal donations throughout the year and then make a large donation in December prepaying the next year’s pledge.  In following this concept bigger donors can easily surpass the $24,000 standard deduction and get a tax savings in the year when bunching.

3) A third way of saving taxes is by donating assets (i.e. stock) to the church that you have held for more than one year and which have gone up in value.  In doing so you are able to claim the full value of the appreciated asset as an itemized deduction while avoiding having to report the    transaction for capital gains tax purposes.  Selling the asset and giving the cash to the church would require tax to be paid on the capital gain.

Of course, I am not a tax professional.  You should definitely discuss theseconcepts with your tax advisor if you are interested in following any of these strategies.  And if you choose, there is someone in our financial office here at the church who is likewise willing to discuss these with you in more detail. Central has been very blessed over the years of having many generous donors.  And I don’t believe a change in the tax law will result in a reduction to our individual or collective generosity.

Blessings – Michael

“The Faces of Lent”

Face.  F-A-C-E.  A four letter word with at least that many meanings and connotations.  As a noun, the word “face” represents our identifying mark.  Like snowflakes or stripes on a zebra, no two faces are alike.  Your face is uniquely and singularly you!  Now, there may be things about your face that we don’t like and wish we could change or cover up.  But our face bears the imprint of God, who created each of us with a loving touch and delights in our individuality. 

As a plural noun – as in faces – we are meant to think of crowds.  Faces in the crowd.  Faces make up the crowd.  Faces shows that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.  Each of us being one part of many, sharing a common humanity with all the others.  Faces in the crowd can sometimes get lost in the crowd, like a stadium full of spectators at a sporting event.  The sea of humanity is so large that it becomes easy to lose the individuality of any one, particular face.

As a verb, “face” refers to our posture; how and in which direction we are standing.  It means to look at; to see; to gaze upon – as when we face the mirror and see our reflection in it.  But the verb “face” can also mean to confront; to call things for what they are; not to deny the truth but to admit and accept it, no matter how difficult that might be.

The season of Lent is about the word “face.”  It’s about facing the cross – seeing and gazing upon the sacrifice of Christ; his death and resurrection.  It’s about confronting our own sin – for which Jesus died to save us.  Sin is about “missing the mark” of perfection; failing to adequately live by God’s Word and will.  The vast majority of sins are committed not because we mean to, but rather in spite of the fact that we don’t.  We certainly don’t try to miss the mark, but even in spite of our best efforts, we fall short of the glory of God.

Lent is about confronting that reality; accepting that we are part of a crowd – a common humanity, whose nature it is to do the very thing we shouldn’t do and to fail to do the very thing we should.  Lent is about not hiding our face in the crowd and hoping we don’t have to admit this truth.  Rather it is about accepting the responsibility that we all have – as unique individuals – to examine ourselves and admit our need for Christ; his forgiveness; his grace.  No one can do that work for us, but us.  And Lent is God’s invitation to accept this important and saving work. 

Which is why we wear ashes on our faces on Ash Wednesday, which signals the beginning of Lent.  To remind us of our brokenness; our need for Christ; and our willingness to keep facing the cross throughout our life of faith.  For it is “In the cross, in the cross, that our individual souls will find their ultimate rest.”      

Blessings – Michael

“Faces at the Cross – Small Group Opportunity”

There were many faces in the crowd that witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus.  Many of them are well known.  Of course, there was Judas (who betrayed),  Peter (who denied) and Pilate (who washed his hands).  But there were many others as well.  Lesser known, perhaps, and more likely to be “lost in the crowd.”  As we journey through the season of Lent at Central, toward the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter Sunday, we will look at some of these faces and be invited to see ourselves in each.  And throughout, we will be reminded that through each of those faces – as through our own – the face of God shines.

Feb 18 Introduction – The Face of God

Feb 25 The Crowds (who exalted Jesus one day and cheered for his

Crucifixion the next)

Mar 4 Simon of Cyrene (who carried Jesus’ cross with him)

Mar 11 Roman Centurion (who confessed Jesus as he died)

Mar 18 Two Thieves (who were crucified alongside Jesus)

Mar 25 Many women (who stayed near Jesus as he died)

Each of the Faces at the Cross of Jesus’ crucifixion represents a story.  A story so important, each was chosen to be part of the story of salvation as it was written through the life, death and  resurrection of Jesus. During our Lenten sermon series, we will be exploring those stories in greater detail.  

In that same spirit of storytelling, we are inviting you to be part of a Storytelling Small Group experience.  Each week, three (3) small groups will be led by different leaders but all will be covering the same material.  Participants will be a given a “storytelling prompt” ahead of time, based on the story we’ll be emphasizing in worship that week, and in the small group will share a story from their own life.  We believe that stories are sacred, for God dwells in the stories that define us.  And we believe there is transforming power in stories, both to unite us and change us.  Moreover, we believe that there are more stories within us than we probably realize and the goal of this small group experience is to put us in touch with those stories. 

Sunday, February 25 4:00 p.m.

All small group participants are asked to attend an opening orientation session

Tuesdays    1:00 p.m. Rm 240    Don Martin           (2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27)

Tuesdays    4:00 p.m. Café    Scott Woolridge   (2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 3/27)

Thursdays  5:30 p.m. Café    Tina Miller       (3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 3/29)

At the opening orientation session, we will hand out the storytelling prompts for each week.  But here’s a sample of what a prompt looks like: 

Week 1 – Theme: the Crowds who welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday and turned on him 5 days later

Minister’s Article Continued on Page 3….

Describe a time in your life when you “turned on a dime…”

Tell us about a time in your life when you “followed the crowd…”

Hope you can be part of this Lenten experience. Sign up in the Welcome Center for the small group of your choosing!!! 

Blessings – Michael

“In the Last Five Years…”

A lot has happened in my life in the last five years.  Since January 2013, in my immediate family alone, we have laid to rest two grandparents; witnessed my mother experience a health setback; moved homes within Decatur and changed high schools for one of our children.  Five years ago, I was blissfully running and exercising without complications with two years of continual back pain still two years off in the future.  And yoga, currently a twice a week discipline, was         another two years off in the future beyond that.   In the last five years, we have sold one car and purchased another one.  I started wearing glasses and had knee surgery as well.  Five years ago, our daughter had not yet begun to play soccer or volleyball.  Our youngest son had not started playing the piano and cello.  And our oldest son was six inches shorter than I (and not six inches taller)!!

Perhaps the changes in each of your lives over that same time span mirrors those in my own.  There may be ups and downs in your past when you look back over the last half-decade; additions and subtractions; changes of all kinds.  If so, they also mirror the changes in our church.  In the last five years we have undergone a significant renovation to our Friendship Center and West Entrance.  We’ve remodeled the Flewelling Chapel. We changed the times of our traditional worship services and started a contemporary one.  In January 2013, I had been in my position less than one year and none of the following people – Tina, Ashely, Yvonne, David, Vernon, Andrew, Lora, and Melissa – were on staff yet.  In the last five years we have baptized over 25 people and dedicated over 12 infants and children.  Yet we have also laid to rest over 50 members and  witnessed a dozen more moving away to warmer climates.

I share this exercise with you for two reasons.  First, as we said in worship on Sunday (basing our message on Psalm 48), the love of God is steadfast amid all of the changes of life.  Even though the conditions of our lives may change over time, the ever-present love of God never will.

Moreover, did you know that it has been five years since we last had a pictorial directory of our church compiled?  A lot has changed in our church family since then, as we noted above, as has the technology of church pictorial directories.  One goal we have for 2018 is to create an updated one. 

To that end, Kevin Miller (of the Public Relations department), Mike Munos (congregational president) and myself are looking to put together a team of people willing to work on this project with us.  Bear in mind, those on the team will not do all the work on this pictorial directory.  There will likely be many    other volunteers we’ll bring in along the way for very specific roles.  But for the time being, we’d like to find out who’s interested.  Over the next two weeks we will be putting the team together.  If you are interested in serving in this regard, please feel free to: 1) call the church office (428-4336); or 2) email  ; or 3) email me directly ( ) and let us know of your interest.  We’d love to have you help us on this important project. 

Blessings – Michael