BROWN ON GREEN

We Can't Carry Your Burden, But We Can Help Carry You!

I’m a Tennessee Titans fan and a big Derrick Henry fan. This past football season, Henry (a running back) and his offensive line had a remarkable, memorable play. It was a typical Titans' game. They were ahead by a single score late in the fourth quarter, and all they needed to do was hand the ball to Henry to run out the clock. As everyone in the stadium expected (including the opposing team), the Titans did give Henry the ball, and after only a short gain, he was tackled. He was on his way to the ground when, amazingly, the entire offensive line got behind him and pushed him an additional eight yards for the first down.

The amazing play reminded me of a scene from the film The Lord of The Rings: Return of the King. The primary characters, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, are nearing the end of their quest to destroy the evil ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Exhausted from the long journey and the mental anguish of carrying the ring, Frodo tells Samwise he can’t continue. Samwise reminds him why the quest to destroy the ring is so important, and then he shares the following memorable line: “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

This is what we are hoping Free Will Baptist Foundation can do for our ministries in the future. We pray the Foundation will continue to grow. As we do, we intend to expand the grant program but also provide additional funding to support the infrastructure of the denomination. Our board has begun discussions to define the areas we believe are vital to infrastructure.

Here are a few areas we have considered so far:

• Alleviate the pastor shortage by providing programs to support the pastors we already have.
  

• Encourage more young men to pursue the ministry through scholarships.
  

• Provide funding for church planters and international missionaries to reach the field faster.
  

• Support and stabilize financially struggling ministries.
  

• Look to the future by providing funding to the Together Way endowment that will, when fully funded, provide meaningful support for all national ministries.
  

No, we don’t educate students like Welch, Randall, or Southeastern. We don’t send missionaries like IM and North American Ministries. We aren’t directly involved in the work of the Executive Office. We don’t publish Sunday School materials or books, nor do we plan conferences such as Vertical Three or D6 like Randall House. We are not responsible for developing a retirement program. We are not qualified to lead WNAC. We are not directly involved in every local church ministry.

However, through grants, distributions of income, estate planning to produce future gifts, and planned gifts, we are helping carry each of these ministries financially.

No, we can’t carry your burden, but we can help carry you.

About the Columnist: David Brown is director of Free Will Baptist Foundation. To learn more about the grants program, visit www.fwbgifts.org.