Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz— the one in which Toto pulls hack the curtain that conceals the control panel operated by the “Wizard”? Let’s face it, the Wizard’s luster dimmed in that moment.

Isn’t that the way it is when we see how things really work? There’s a risk in attempting to explain the functioning behind a grand spectacle, and even ex plaining the work of one simple organization can he difficult. Somehow it al ways seems to get more confusing be fore it becomes more clear, and perhaps that’s why we sometimes avoid it altogether. Even so, I’d like to invite you to take a closer look at how one part of our church functions “behind the curtain.”

RPM&M, for those who don’t know (and not too long ago I was one of you), means Reformed Presbyterian Mission and Ministry. That first M includes Foreign Missions (or all the missions and outreach programs sponsored by our church in countries outside the US and Canada) and Home Missions (all the new works within every presbytery of our church in the U.S. and Canada). The second M is for Ministries such as the Woman’s Association as it supports the RP Home and the Board to Address Disability Concerns, and the Board of Education & Publication (those folks that publish this magazine and other works that forward Reformed theology). Some funds go to our denomination’s institutions—the Reformed Presbyterian Theo logical Seminary and Geneva College— and some to the Pension Board. It is the task of the Trustees of Synod to recommend an allocation of funds to RPM&M based on the (hopefully large) contributions received and resources available. Then it’s the task of Synod’s Finance Committee to consider those recommendations, as well as others, before presenting the proposed budget to Synod each year for acceptance.

So that’s what we support when we support RPM&M, and that’s the way it works. Still, it can he difficult for a congregation to send a portion of its funds to an entity “back in Pittsburgh” without having a clear picture of just how important these contributions are to the church as a whole. ft is perhaps even more difficult to consider increasing the amount we pledge to RPM&M and some times easier for us to ignore RPM&M for a few years—when our own church needs a roof or the offerings are down from last year. Maybe were saving for a church van or in the midst of a fundraising drive for a new building. It is easy to lose sight of the importance of supporting RPM&M. But I wonder, Isn’t it our responsibility as individuals and congregations to prevent that from happening? Doesn’t it fall to us to educate ourselves, to look a little closer—to he like Toto and tug that curtain aside?

Ignorant as this may sound, I sat on my congregation’s deacon hoard for years wondering just why we sent money to “all those Boards in Beaver Falls” until it finally dawned on me that it was “those Boards” who administered the funds to support the mission that God calls each of us to do—that of spreading the gospel, caring for God’s people, and serving those who cannot care for themselves. It was not, as I had thought, a pack of men on a church retreat in Western Pennsylvania endlessly discussing budgets and plans. Rather, it was people giving their time to the denomination and earnestly trying to put the gospel into action in ways that an individual or congregation could not do in isolation. Before I at tended my first Synod, I imagined it would he like a boring, obligatory vacation spent at the home of aging uncles who liked to debate each other using mostly sports analogies. OK, there is some truth to that one, hut what I observed day after day were people sincerely attempting to make decisions that supported the very missions and minis tries that RPM&M encompasses. The missions and ministries labeled RPM&M” were an obvious priority to the delegates of Synod, because they are an obvious example of God’s priority.

Go hack clown that yellow brick road for a moment, when Toto did finally expose the real “Wizard of Oz.” One mystery was surely dispelled, yet a greater mystery revealed. Behind the curtain sat one pudgy guy attempting to bring to people their hearts desires. Doesn’t some thing similar occur when we take a closer look behind RPM&M (or any other aspect of our church)? We don’t find a pudgy guy, hut people striving through the resources given them to bring about God’s desire for the world. In the end, turning away from understanding RPM&M may cause us to be turning away from our responsibility to support the most important function of the church. In fact, by turning away we may just be missing an opportunity to answer God’s call.