Restore the Joy

Scott Rodin has written a short novel called, The Third Conversion.  It is a quick easy read based on the move from being transactional to transformational in giving.  He shows how this shift in the life of the giver impacts the needed shift in the life of the fund raiser.

The book is an enjoyable story reflecting the principles of Transformational Giving.  It is a helpful example of how you may be able to change your conversations with those who give.  He shows both good and bad encounters.

Following a bad encounter, Rodin has one of the characters of the story dissect what went wrong.  He observes that the reason the encounter went wrong was opportunity was missed.  Not the opportunity for the gift but an opportunity for ministry.  Here is what he says, “We had the opportunity to help them recover the real joy of giving in a God-pleasing way, to develop hearts that are rich toward God and blessed in their giving.”

What I love about this quote, is the focus on the “joy of giving”.  Do you believe God’s Word when He says it is more blessed to give than receive?  Every Christian worker I work with says yes to this question. Do you believe there is joy in giving? Again the room says yes. However, a good number of those who need to raise support back off the money question when talking to champions.  So if you back off the money issue, but you believe it is more blessed to give, then is it fair to say you may be in a position of robbing the champion of a blessing by not addressing the opportunity to give.

Maybe we do this because we do not see giving as a joyful event.  Perhaps we have approached giving as a “tax” not as a gift.  It is April and it is tax time.  Those who owe wait until April 15 to send in their forms.  I have been in churches who approach the offering time like a tax payer approaches April 15.  Let’s stop this attitude.  Giving is a joy. 

Two things can happen to change this way of thinking. 

• First, start with yourself.  You become the cheerful giver.  Experience the joy of giving personally.

• Second, pass the joy on to others. (You cannot pass on what you do not possess.)  Teach others about the joy in giving.  Help them recover the joy of giving in a God-pleasing way.

Don't Get Boxed In

Have you heard of the ‘4 rights’ in fund raising…the right solicitor, the right amount, the right project, and the right timing?

Well be careful because to make four right turns ends up making a square. Before you know it you are back where you started.  Do you ever feel that working in fund raising is always back to square one?  By that I mean, after the donor has given a gift you feel like you must start all over again to get a second gift.  Prayerfully, Transformational Giving can keep us from getting boxed in.

In TG the right solicitor is you with the Holy Spirit. So no one has to be excluded in seeking resources for God’s work.  TG is a God-thing.  Never do it alone.  Doing it with the help of God makes you the right solicitor.

In TG the right amount is not up to us!  The amount is a matter of obedience for the champion in relation to God.  Let God talk.   Challenge the champions to ask God for the right amount to give.  Let them see how giving is a spiritual discipline and like all spiritual disciplines, it is most effective when guided by the Spirit.  Seeing that the amount to give is up to God helps move giving beyond the budget and to the heart.

In TG the right project is defined by God.  Every believer has a role in the Great Commission.  Giving reflects the participation of the champion in the Great Commission.  I do recognize within the Great Commission there are causes; for example, helping orphans in China, or a clinic in South America.  God gives us all burdens and not all are the same.  So you may be talking to a champion that is not burdened to give to your call.  That’s ok.  As believers you and the champion share a burden for the Great Commission.  Celebrate that and assist them in growing this burden even if it not your cause.  Ask yourself, “Does my time with the champion discussing their cause advance the Kingdom of God?”  If the answer is yes, then allow God to bless their cause.  He will bless yours as well.

In TG the right time is now.  With giving being a matter of faith and obedience, the time is always now.  This attitude can help replace desperation with urgency.  We are not desperate for funds if we believe in the abundance of God.  However, the spreading of the Great Commission is an urgent matter.  There is a big difference between being desperate and working with urgency.  Desperation says, “I need the money now. So you better give.”  Urgency says, “They need the Gospel now. So let’s obey and work together.”

Faith vs. Stewardship

Faith versus stewardship?? Seems like a misguided battle.  You may be thinking these two principles are so closely linked that I have created an imaginary battle by even stating it.  Maybe. Let’s see.

My current role in fund raising is from the perspective of a missionary agency.  So let me speak to what missionaries are currently seeing in the realm of giving.

In the month of May I have had the same conversation, via email or office visit, with three different missionaries.  The conversation is based on the fact that churches have stopped giving offerings.  A few years ago when a missionary shared at a church, the congregation usually gave a love offering to the missionary to at least cover the cost of coming.  Now it is all too common for a missionary to speak and receive no gift for their time, travel, or ministry.  One missionary said in his last 15 services he received two offerings.

I must admit that as a pastor myself, I am embarrassed when missionaries tell me churches do not give an offering to at least cover the travel to get to the church, or to pay for the time they shared with the church.  After all, the Bible does teach us to pay a worker his wages.

But what has driven the church to not take an offering to cover the ‘wage’ of a speaker? Or what has driven the members of the Body of Christ to stop giving. Many have even stopped giving to the local church itself.

Several individuals have told me their lack of giving is them being good stewards of what God has provided.  I completely understand adjustments in giving when jobs are lost, or income is down.  However to stop giving in the name of stewardship is not biblical and it pits stewardship against faith. 

Stewardship is needed and a must as a follower of Christ.  But the Christian's stewardship is in place to maximize his/her giving to God not to minimize it.  The believer purchases clothes and cars based on what he can afford.  Stewardship is the tool to guide the spending habits of the believer.  The Christian principle of stewardship teaches us to count the cost and not spend more that we can afford.  But remember spending and giving are not the same!!

Faith goes beyond figuring if I can afford an item or not.  Faith says that in giving, the question is not “What can I afford to give?”  Rather the question is, “What is God telling me to give?”  Many have stopped giving in the name of being good stewards.  This is actually bad stewardship.
To stop giving is more a testimony about a person’s faith, not his/her stewardship.  Remember Transformational Giving Principle 1: Every act of giving is first and foremost a statement about the faithfulness of God

Even though it does not appear that faith and stewardship are opposites, misguided applications of these principles has too often pitted them against each other.  God’s desire is for our stewardship to be guided by our faith.  They are to work together.  God may regularly tell you to give more than you can afford, but it is not more than he can provide.  Therefore giving is a matter of faith.  Faith then guides our stewardship.  I would go so far to challenge you that stewardship without faith risks turning into stinginess.

God Has Enough

In today’s world of budget cuts, high gas prices, national debt, etc, etc, etc. Each of us knows that our resources are limited. We know the principles of not spending more than we make. We see the dangers of deficits whether in our nation, church or agency. These dangers and these principles are real but if we are not careful they can also trump our faith.

Many mission agencies, churches, and individuals have a pie chart for budget talks. Each department or ministry hopes they get their ‘share’ of the pie. But the truth of the matter is, God does not have pie charts.

The widow of Zarephath had a budget. It was empty. She was on her last scoop of flour and when it is gone she was done. So her resources were all used up and there would be no more. Then God got involved and the flour never ran out.

God does not have pie charts but he does have bread slices. And from what I see He never runs out. Whether the widow at Zarephath or the boy who gave Christ his lunch. Both had what they needed and no one was left out.

If giving is to transform, then faith must trump budgets. I know many churches who ask the congregations for faith promise giving. You know…Pledge to give what you do not see and trust God to meet the pledge. Then the church or agency leadership has a tendency leave the faith promise concept at the door when they approve budgets. Transformational giving does not advocate poor stewardship, but it does promote faith. No reason for faith promise not to make into the board room. After all God does not run out of flour.

So before we can look at practical steps to implement for transformational giving, we must agree that God has enough.