A woman named Monica Belmonte is anti-car. She doesn't own one, doesn't want one.

But that doesn't mean she never drives. She has found that there are some everyday errands that simply cannot be performed using busses, subways, taxis, or her hip metal shopping cart.

In those situations, she uses a Flexcar.

Picture this scene: It's a Saturday at 8 a.m. Belmonte walks into a garage in Washington, DC, and slips into Flexcar 791 -- an immaculate Honda Civic. This Flexcar is shared by a couple of dozen people for a $25 lifetime fee and a monthly charge, such as five hours for $35. Belmonte has booked it for two hours.

She adjusts her seat, and punches a code into a black lockbox to get the ignition key. Firing up the engine, she's off: First to a nearby drop-box for used clothing, then to the grocery store. She returns to the car with bags of food, loads them in, and then zips off to another store for olive oil and wine. Then it's home to unload, and back to the Flexcar lot, racing against the clock.

She makes it, five minutes before her time is up. Wouldn't want the car to turn into a pumpkin.

Burt Ulrich arrives a bit after 10, and repeats this ritual. According to The Washington Post, he takes the car and makes his way downtown to drop off two photographs for a competition, then continues on to the grocery store, and finally to a party store to pick up smiley-face balloons for his son's first birthday party. And so it goes throughout the day. (Carolyn Kleiner, "Go Cars," The Washington Post Magazine, September 15, 2002, 7)

Flexcar. You can pick one up in Washington, or even at the Fairfax-Vienna Metro. For many people today, this sharing of an automobile is the perfect way to keep their abundance and their needs in balance.

Are we doing half this well as a Christian community?

In today's Scripture lesson, the apostle Paul challenges the church in Corinth to "excel in everything" -- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in utmost eagerness (2 Corinthians 8:7). But at this particular point in time, he wants them to excel in one additional way, in what he describes as a "generous undertaking": A collection for the Christians of Jerusalem.

The city of Corinth at this time is a booming economic center, prosperous and highly competitive, and the Christian church contains a cross-section of the city's economy, with laborers and slaves sitting side-by-side with people of leisure, wealth, and social influence. Paul makes an appeal to this community, asking them to contribute to a collection for "the poor among the saints at Jerusalem" (Romans 15:26). He believes that need and abundance should always be kept in equilibrium within the larger Christian community, and that those who have wealth are obligated to assist those who are in need.

This is not about welfare policy, however -- it's about balance. Paul takes a surprising and unexpected stand when he suggests that the rich Corinthian Christians are indebted to the poor Jerusalem Christians -- yes, that's right, the RICH are indebted to the POOR -- since the Jerusalem believers preceded the Corinthians in the faith (Romans 15:27). Because the Jerusalem crowd has sent spiritual wealth to the Corinthians, Paul believes that it's only fair for the Corinthians to respond with a gift of material wealth.

Call it FlexChurch: The free and flexible sharing of spiritual and material resources. It's the perfect way to keep a community's abundance and its needs in balance.

This is not to say that the Corinthians are anxious to dig deep and put their hard-earned cash in the collection plate. In today's Scripture lesson, it appears that they responded enthusiastically to Paul's appeal at first, but then they began to hit the brakes, and so the apostle has to apply some pressure to the accelerator by saying, "now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your needs" (v. 11).

In other words, the church needs you to honor your pledge ... all through the year! Even during the summer slump! This is as true in the 21st century as it was in the 1st.

But talk of money aside, Paul challenges us to strive for balance. He wants us to be as fair and free and flexible as a Flexcar program, making sure that there are always resources and support available for members of the Christian community. It is a question of "a fair balance," says Paul, "a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance" (vv. 13-14).

Fair balance is the engine that drives a FlexChurch.

In day-to-day life, this means simply sharing what you have. "For example, you have five apples, so you give away three," suggests Victoria Sirota, vicar of the Church of the Holy Nativity in Baltimore. And why not? "They were going to go bad before you ate them anyway."

Once you begin to behave in this way, you discover that the first step in ministry is simply sharing what you have in abundance. It may be apples, or computers -- or even Apple computers. It may be carpentry skills or childcare abilities or an interest in teaching English as a Second Language. This kind of work turns into ministry when you begin to see that it is a way of achieving balance -- balance between your own personal abundance and the world's pressing needs.

In time, predicts Victoria Sirota, you may start to care about other people above yourself. "In this case, you find yourself buying five apples [and then] giving them away because you know that there is a family in need and they really need fresh fruit." Your focus shifts from acquiring apples for yourself to sharing apples with others, so that both you and the people around you gain all the nourishment that is needed for a healthy life. (Kevin Axe, "Finding a ministry that's right for you," Faithlinks, February 4, 2002, www.faithlinks.org/viewarticle.asp?ID=131)

This seems so simple ... and it is. So why is it easier said than done?

Part of the problem is that we like to consume. Whether we are talking apples or automobiles, we enjoy the process of going out and buying the shiniest model and then taking it home and putting it to use. It doesn't matter whether it is a Red Delicious Apple or a red Audi sport sedan. Either way, we want it for ourselves. All this talk of sharing -- which is really what Christian stewardship is all about -- runs counter to our consumer-driven culture.

We also like to control our possessions. If we buy an immaculate Honda Civic and lock it in our garage, then we know that it is going to stand a chance of remaining immaculate. But if we rent such a vehicle through Flexcar, then we lose control of its cleanliness and its overall condition. We don't know what kind of mess the previous driver will leave behind, or what kind of accident the next driver will get into.

Worst of all, jumping into a Flexcar or a FlexChurch requires a tremendous amount of faith. Faith that the Flexcar will be waiting for us when we arrive at the garage to drive it. Faith that the car will remain in decent working order. Faith that a FlexChurch will meet our needs, as well as the needs of others. Faith that our gifts of food to the hungry will be put to proper use. Faith that our contributions of time and effort will bear good fruit in the community. Faith that our monetary offerings to the church will truly support God's work in the world.

And toughest of all: Faith that what we give away will not diminish us, but will give us greater balance and peace and purpose in life.

Being a FlexChurch is all about balance. It's not going to put more apples in our fruit bowls or autos in our driveways, but it is going to give us the deep satisfaction of using our abundant gifts to meet the most pressing needs of people around us. Participating in a FlexChurch means sharing spiritual and material resources so that TOGETHER we can do God's will, and be a creative and committed community in an individualistic world. It means honoring our pledges to the church … supporting Jen Thalman's mission to Guatemala … contributing toward Carl Sparacino's labyrinth project … giving to the "love gift" being assembled for Mary Ann Harwell.

Taking this approach is going to shift us closer to the example set by Jesus, the one who found peace and purpose in a life of selfless service. "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ," says Paul, "that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (v. 9).

Rich. Poor. Spiritual gifts. Material gifts. Gifts of time and talent and treasure. Keeping all these things in a fair and free and flexible balance is what defines a faithful FlexChurch, and it's what gives each one of us a life that is worth living.

" Join our club and we'll give you a car," says an ad for Flexcar. The Christian community today is challenged to make an even more attractive offer:

" Join our church and we'll give you a life." Amen.

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