Benefits

The benefits of giving are seen by Christians every day.  But biblical truths are not just beneficial for the believer.   “Do not kill” is a biblical truth. You do not even have to know who God is for this truth to be meaningful in your life. God’s truth benefits believers and non-believers alike every day.  So His truth about giving are for the believer and non-believer.

As this blog is written for the purpose of Transformational Fund-raising and Transformational Giving here is an article passed on to me by one of our missionaries.  Why Fund-Raising Is Fun.

In this article the author mentions the benefits of being a charitable person.  So since being charitable is beneficial, then helping people be charitable is fun, because you know you are being a benefit to them if you help them become charitable.   

Here is a quote from Mr. Brooks  that caught me.  

 I have found that the real magic of fund-raising goes even deeper than temporary happiness or extra income. It creates meaning. Donors possess two disconnected commodities: material wealth and sincere convictions. Alone, these commodities are difficult to combine. But fund-raisers facilitate an alchemy of virtue: They empower those with financial resources to convert the dross of their money into the gold of a better society.

 Of course, not everyone shares the principles that motivate my institution’s scholars and supporters. But with millions of 501(c)(3)s and houses of worship nationwide, no one needs to wait on the sidelines and hope that politicians will marshal government power in service of their priorities. By investing their own time, talent and treasure, every American can bring his or her core principles to life. That can mean promoting literacy, conserving nature, saving souls or something else entirely. None of this is exactly revolutionary; after all, Jesus himself taught his followers, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

 What struck me is the reality that when our convictions are based on God’s Word, then combining His truth with the resources, or wealth, He has given to us, puts the donor on the front line of seeing God’s truth change the world.  By giving you can get off the sidelines.

Now that is beneficial.  

Fear Factor

In C. S. Lewis’ classic, Mere Christianity, Lewis makes this observation about giving, or the lack there of:

"For many of us the great obstacle to charity (giving) lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in out fear – fear of insecurity."

This is true for many believers. It is not grand dreams of being rich or owning the best of everything that keeps many from giving.  Most times the lack of giving is much more subtle and perhaps more dangerous than an unhealthy desire to be the ‘fat cat’.  Most times the lack of giving is tied to a lack of trust.  It may be a lack of trust in God to be the one who takes care of us.  Or sometimes it is a lack of trust in God to supply our needs even when we do not feel we have anything to give.

Both as a person who gives and a person who raises funds, you need to first model and then teach the truth of TG principles #1 and #2.

Principle 1: Every act of giving is first and foremost a statement about the faithfulness of God.

Principle 2: Transformational giving is based on the abundance and trustworthiness of God, not a theology of scarcity.
 

Living and believing what God word says about His ability to supply is the key factor in living without the fear Lewis addresses.  Our security must not be in things but in Him.

Transformational LIVING

As I travel and teach Transformational Giving, either in the US or internationally, I continue to see the common theme in this teaching that rings true for every believer.  That theme is based on the activity that comes in living for Jesus when He has transformed the heart. When Christ has transformed the heart, the believer gets active.  This activity comes in a variety of ways based on the touch of the Spirit in the believer’s heart, but none the less, activity happens.

This is why Transformational Giving is about so much more than dollars.  Giving the dollars is a small part of living a life that reflects the transformational work done by Jesus in the heart of a person.  What God gives is the power to live a transformed life that becomes active for His Kingdom.  Giving of dollars is critical to God’s work, but it is only part of the story.

I recently read something in Andy Stanley’s’ new book Deep & Wide that helps clarify that ‘doing something’ is key to our spiritual walk.  He says,

“Jesus taught for a response. He taught for a life change.”

Life change…is this not another way to say Jesus taught for us to be TRANSFORMED.

Stanley goes on to say,

“He (Jesus) didn’t come to simply dispense information….Jesus was after active, living, do-the-right-thing faith.”

Jesus was after change in living not just change in thinking.  Jesus renews our mind, but if the renewing of the mind does not change the actions of the follower, has the mind really been renewed?

You can learn that God is a giving God.  You can learn that to give reflects Jesus.  But if you never become a giver yourself, how has this knowledge you’ve gained changed your heart?

I am not a fund-raiser.  But I called to assist others by helping them live transformed lives for Jesus Christ.  And I love seeing people reflect Christ.  Giving is a KEY part of reflecting Christ, so I am more than comfortable with teaching about giving.  This is far different from fund-raising. 

Basic fund-raising is about the dollars.  Too often it is about the dispensing of information and not about seeing change.  Transformational Giving is about the donor not the dollar.  It is about teaching activity, about teaching the “active, living, do-the-right-thing faith.”  So when all is said and done, TG is only a part of teaching others about Transformational Living.  If you want to call this fund-raising, I am fine with that. Because when lives are transformed TG happens, and this is the kind of ‘fund-raising ‘I can get behind.

Community

In Henri Nouwen’s short book, The Spirituality of Fund-Raising, he raises the idea that giving creates communion.  I don’t know about you, but growing up protestant, the first thing I think of when I hear the word ‘communion’ is Holy Communion at church.  You know the Eucharist.

Webster defines communion as ‘an act of instant sharing’.  This is a good way to describe the sacrament. It is also a good way to describe giving.  It indeed is an act of instant sharing.  Nouwen says,

“When we ask people for money to expand the work of the Kingdom, we are also inviting them into a new spiritual communion.” 
 

Giving is an act of sharing and participating in community.  Something about sharing grows a community.

Ever been in a local gas station and noticed a jar on the counter with a homemade photo of a sick child from the community who needs help?  Usually some member of the community is in need of help and neighbors and friends distribute these jars to collect money to help the family afford a lifesaving surgery. This small act of setting out a jar does far more than help a needy family; it builds the community.  The community helps the family know they are not alone in their struggle.  That jar not only raises a few dollars; it moves people together for a common vision.

We all need communion.  We need it with God and with each other.  Giving helps build community.  Sometimes it is giving a hand to a new neighbor by unloading the moving van, sometimes it is supporting the Little League fund drive, or making a meal for a sick friend.  All these acts require giving and each builds community.

The invitation to give is also an invitation to join a community. The gift brings the giver into a community of common vision and a sense of communion with those who share the vision.  This communion and shared vision is part of transformational giving. Transformational giving opens us up to community.  Bringing people into community is a gift the organization or church has for the giver.  But this never happens if we only see the gift and not the giver.  People make community, not dollars.  So we serve the one who gives by opening our community and welcoming them into the vision. We then share the vision and the fruit of the vision with the community. This can be part the power of giving.

Set Free to Be Stronger

Do you ever feel that fund raising is draining?  Stupid question, right?   Maybe the better question is: Is it possible to do fund-raising without it draining the life out of me?  The answer: YES!

The next few posts are draw from a great article you can download for free by Henri Nouwen called The Spirituality of Fund-Raising.

The foundation of his teaching is in the love of God.  In the love of God we find what we need, and what we can give to those in need.  The nature of love is to give. Nouwen shows the common ground for the one who receives gifts and the one who gives gifts is God’s love.

Early in the article he addresses the idea of asking without fear.  This can be done because of the common ground is God’s love.  We can ask without fear is rooted in the fact that giving is a God-thing, not a people-thing.  People only give to others as a result of the image of God in them.  Without the image of God we would all be selfish (more selfish than we already are). But as His creation, made in His image, we love because of Him and giving comes from loving.  So, ask without fear!

Nouwen goes on to say,

“When we have gained the freedom to ask without fear, to love fund-raising as a form of ministry, then fund-raising will be good for our spiritual life.”
 

Wow, there is a lot to unpack from that statement.

• One: We can gain a freedom from Christ to ask without fear.  How liberating!!
• Two: Did he really say LOVE fund-raising??  He did!  We must see it as ministry.  If I love to be included in the ministry of God, then I can love fund-raising as part of His ministry.
• Three: It will be good for me!  The ‘good for me’ part is not because I get funds, but because my own spirituality needs it.  He said, “good for our spiritual life.”  My spirit grows in Christ as I minister for Christ.  Fund-raising is ministry. Therefore, I can do it in freedom, knowing it is ministry to Christ and to others. This liberating outreach then makes me stronger in Christ.

You do not have to be drained by fund-raising!!  Due to the common ground of God’s love being a giving love, you and your champion can be stronger at the end of the funding because when God is at the heart of our ministry all involved get TRANSFORMED.

Looking up

An old hymn celebrates that when we turn our eyes upon Jesus the things of this world grow ‘strangely dim’.  I often think of this line in times of trouble.  But reality is: this truth needs to be lived regularly not just in hard times.  Think how life on a daily basis changes for the believer when the day is spent looking up to Christ.

There is a small book on giving called Plastic Donuts.  Jeff Anderson is the author and he tells of the joy he and his toddler had one day when she gave him the plastic donuts from her play kitchen. Watching the joy she had as she looked in his face as she gave him these toys donuts changed his view on giving to God.  One quote from his book says,

“After the plastic donut encounter I had with my daughter, my views on giving changed. I saw more clearly why the joys of giving seem so elusive. It is hard to experience it without looking up to the Father. Often instead of looking up with my gift I was looking down.”

That’s when the word to the old hymn hit me.  Turn my eyes upon Jesus in all I do, and the things of this earth will dim. In other words LOOK UP into the Father’s face.

Teaching TG and living it can help people look up to whom they give, not down to what they give from.  Look up to Christ not down at the check book.

Maybe look at it this way…in finances we always look at the bottom line.  That’s ok we need to see the bottom line (I am a bottom line kind of thinker myself). But to see the bottom you always have to look down, that’s why it is called the bottom.  May God help our giving to be turned upside down and we look up first before we look down at the bottom line. 

You know Jesus already taught us to turn our thinking upside down in the Sermon on the Mount.  Let’s do some upside down thinking in giving as well.  Rather than the bottom line determining our giving, allow God to determine our giving.  Look up first! Instead of a bottom line giver become a topline giver. Turning our eyes to Jesus will dim the things of earth, even the bottom line.  So when you give, look up.

Growing

Transformational Giving can pop up anywhere.  In the last post I mentioned Paul Borthwick’s book, Western Christians in Global Missions. As I read this book I see Transformational Giving principles popping up all the time.  But this is only because Transformational Giving has far more to do with our spiritual walk than just giving our money.  As believers we are to live transformational lives (some call it The WholeLife Offering).  So TG is one key component of Transformational Living.

 

Borthwick reflects this truth in a chapter of his book called “Sacrifice-Not Just Generosity”.  He touches on the old truth that is “it is often easier to be financially generous than personally sacrifice.” (page 143. Western Christians in Global Missions). This truth is a big reason I am an advocate of our giving being transformational and not simply a transaction between parties. 

 

Borthwick goes on to say that issues facing the world today are not solved by generous checks.  They are solved by long-term work and sometimes sacrifice for the endeavor God has laid on our hearts. To illustrate this teaching Borthwick uses examples that are straight out of a ‘Participate-Engage-Owner’ type thinking.  Let me give you a few quotes he gives as examples in his book.

In our world long-term sacrifice grows as we get involved.  It can progress

·        From dedicating thirty minutes a day to pray for the nations of the world, to building cross-cultural friendships, to going to serve in a multicultural organization

·        From going on a short-term mission trip to reach children in a poor barrio, to supporting a child for forty dollars a month, to becoming a social worker dedicated to serving children.

 

You can see how these examples reflect the teachings that TG gives in regards to moving our champions from participants, to a level of engagement, to being owners of the cause.

 

A key word for our spiritual journey and in TG that Borthwick uses above is GROW.  Growth is a long-term venture.  One-time shots at it do not make it happen.  I do not plant new grass seed and expect to mow my lawn the next morning.  Our activity in God’s work must grow.  And what is planted today does not bloom by morning.  However, with work, progress and maybe even sacrifice we see fruit in the long-term.  So don’t bail out early.  Stick with your champions and be the example for them that long-term activity in their cause is where the growth is.  Help them Own it.

More About Stories?

It seems every time I turn a page in regards to funding these days there is something written about telling stories.  That’s ok, Jesus was a story teller.  We know we need to tell true and good stories.  I think the reason we see so many articles written about story telling is because so few do it well.

 

Nothing new has been written about telling stories that the generations before us did not write, but as with the any good truth, it needs taught repeatedly.  I came across yet another good piece on the role of stories in giving.  It mirrored teaching in the principles of TG so let me share it on this blog since the purpose is to advance the teachings of TG.

 

The article comes from ECFA.  It is by Bill Frisby and Dave Rippey.  They give 5 broad categories in helping people tell stories. One guideline they give is particularly in sync with TG.  It is this, “(A good story) places the giver into the ministry as an active participant.”  Great TG teaching.  The story is not just about you or your ministry, it is about the champion and his/her role.  The champion as a giver is part of the story.

 

Another well-defined need of what should go into your story is also highlighted in this article.  The authors show us that without Christ there is no story!  So the story must include the fact that nothing can be accomplished without God being a part of the story.  The end result is not the ministry, not you, not the champion…the end result is What Is God Doing!!!   Then we are responsible for following God and to be found doing what God is doing.

 

If you get caught doing what God is up to, guess what??...you will be transformed! God’s stories are the ones to tell to see people changed in their walk and in their giving.

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.

Why bother?

Ever wonder why God bothers with us being givers when “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills”? I mean really, if God had the desire to dump a billion dollars in your ministry’s bank account He could. But He doesn’t. Instead, pastors teach on giving, we take up offerings, relief agencies send direct mail and missionaries travel the countryside raising funds. Why all the bother?

Because it is not about the money. Giving is about relationships. But not just about the relationship you’re thinking. It is taught in ‘fund raising 101’ giving is about relationships “Giving comes through relationships with people.” Some even call it “Friend Raising” not fund raising. Honestly, if the only reason you want to be my friend is to support your ministry no thanks. My friendship is not for sale.

Giving is about relationships: mainly our relationship to God. Do I trust His character as the Provider? Do I believe His Word enough to know that He has all the resources I need? I can give away what He has given me because it is about my walk with Him not my bank account or your ministry budget.

If fund raising is approached with people’s relationship with God in mind then we should build our plan around the first principle of TG.

Principle 1: Every act of giving is first and foremost a statement about the faithfulness of God.

Giving is our statement about what we think of God and our relationship with Him. And, if our fund raising plan helps the giver see this is true for them as well, then we all have opportunity for our testimony to be reflected in our donations. Helping people give is part of disciple making and even (dare I say) an evangelistic move. Think for a moment, helping a person give has potential to lead him/her to faith in God.

Giving is indeed a testimony about what we think about God. So passing the offering plate can play as big a role in disciple making as the sermon just preached. However TG must become more than money but that is for another post.