Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar
Sunday, October 5, 2025
As All Souls launches its 2026 Stewardship Campaign, Rev. Marlin invites us to reimagine what it means to be builders of the dream—to live generously, to give with intention, and to sustain the freedom that defines our community of faith.
Watch the video or read the full message below. You can also follow us on Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Every person has a dream—a vision of the life they want, the family they love, and the world they hope to help create.
But the real question isn’t whether we dream. It’s how we build those dreams—and who we build them for.
Writer Biet Simkin once lived in chaos and addiction before turning her life around. Reflecting on her past, she realized that her old approach to life—scheming and striving to get what she wanted—always left her empty.
She called it the Law of Self-Will: the belief that fulfillment comes from holding on tightly to what we desire. In truth, she discovered, joy comes not from getting but from giving.
To reach fulfillment, we need to 'get to give.' When I used my gifts to serve others, everything changed. My work had meaning. My passion deepened. And yes - I even found greater success.
This idea turns conventional thinking about money and purpose on its head. True wealth, she learned, comes from generosity.
Many churches preach a transactional theology: give to God, and God will give back. If you’re struggling, it’s because you haven’t given enough.
But that’s not what we teach at All Souls. There is no quid pro quo with the divine. Generosity is not a bargain—it’s a way of being.
When we use our gifts to serve others, we find deeper satisfaction. The joy of accomplishment multiplies when it’s shared.
In my role as a minister, I’ve met people from every financial background. Some have plenty; others barely get by. Yet, all experience the same truth: when they share what they have—time, resources, compassion—they feel more alive.
Some clergy are surprised that All Souls doesn’t require members to tithe ten percent of their income. We don’t have to.
When scripture was written, the church was the only charity. Today, there are countless ways to help others. That’s why I tell newcomers: we don’t expect 10% to the church—but we do encourage giving 10% of your income to make the world better, however that looks for you.
And I ask you to consider All Souls as part of that equation.
If you give 5% of your income here, you are doing your part—and if everyone did that, we could do extraordinary things together.
What if our goals weren’t only about personal success, but about how achieving them could bless others?
Simkin challenges us to ask, “How can I use what I already have to create happiness, joy, or opportunity for others?”
When we build our dreams alongside others, we become part of something bigger. We transform personal ambition into shared purpose. We become dream builders.
Individually, we can do a lot. But collectively, All Souls holds something extraordinary: the free pulpit.
This pulpit is one of the boldest affirmations of freedom in American religious life. Here, no one is bound by doctrine or creed. Ministers are free to speak the truth as conscience leads—to challenge assumptions, question power, and ignite moral imagination.
What sheer extravagance of the human spirit! What more explicit exercise of religious freedom?
By entrusting us with this freedom, you give us permission to speak to the conscience of our culture—loudly, clearly, and compassionately.
And we need that freedom now more than ever.
We live in a time of rising authoritarianism and resurgent Christian nationalism. Women’s rights are being rolled back. Trans rights are under attack. Books are banned. Speech is silenced. Children grow up in fear of gunfire.
And yet—we have a pulpit that is free.
If this congregation stays faithful to its calling, then this pulpit remains the freest three square feet in Tulsa. Maybe even the freest in America.
That freedom is your gift. You keep it alive by supporting it. You may not agree with everything said from this stage, but you defend the right for it to be said.
That’s what it means to belong to a Unitarian Universalist church—to keep the flame of truth, reason, and love burning in dark times.
All Souls is not just a congregation; it’s a movement. We are called to be a beacon of justice, a sanctuary of love, and a platform for moral courage in our city and beyond.
What we do here matters. What we give here echoes.
The only truly revolutionary idea in human history is freedom. And we have it - as long as we can keep it.
Andrew Klavan
Freedom, like love or generosity, is only meaningful when we share it.
When we use what we have to build the kind of world we want to live in—then we are builders of the dream.
Keep dreaming.
Be generous.
Create the world you want to live in.
Never give up.
I love you.
Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar
