Too Much Information?

“I know something you don’t know.” This familiar playground chant really is just the beginning. We all learned early that information is power. We may not say it in the same way as adults, but as we grow older the truth of information being power never goes away.

This is not to say it is bad. It is just true. How people use the power of information is what makes it good or bad.

In today’s world, power is accessible by more people than ever because the information is out there. With the web and blogs and whatever the next generation invents, we all know that being informed is not longer an issue. (Some champions in your ministry may have more info about what is happening than you.)

No longer are the ministry professionals the ones who have a ‘corner on the market’ of information. So when we do our web sites and brochures if all we are doing is spitting out info, we are not telling them much they do not already know. In an information age, our champions have information overload. If all we do is give more information we risk not moving anyone forward in their discipleship journey.

What is the role of the ministry in light of all the information out there? We have the opportunity to provide context for all the information the champion already has.

Let me give you an example:

John Doe lives in EveryTown, USA. EveryTown has the population of about 300,000 people. His mom, Momma Doe, lives in SmallVille, USA; population 5000. Momma Doe hears on the news about a shooting in EveryTown. She reads about it in the newspaper and sees it on the Internet. (Don’t kid yourself, Momma Doe does have Internet, I can prove it by all the forwards of cute little kittens she floods my inbox with every Monday.)

Momma Doe is worried her son John is not safe living in the ‘big’ city. So she calls to ask him to come home. Momma Doe has the information, and it sounds awful, but she does not have the context of the information. So John’s job is to put the information in context. He tells his mom that the shooting was not anywhere near where he lives and works. The shooting was in the drug district, it was the result of a drug deal gone bad, and it happened at 3:00 AM in an all night bar. So John will stay safe so long as he does not frequent the all night bar at 3:00 AM in the drug district and avoids getting involved in a drug deal gone bad.

John put the information in proper context.

Providing context is a great way to help your information sharing now move the champion forward. Once the info is placed in context we can begin to engage the audience at an equipping level that helps them know what to do with all their info. Most everyone has info, not everyone knows what to do with it.

So as you are moving someone forward in Transformational Giving and they say, “Why are you serving in that region, the information I read is that they all are evangelized?” You now have the opportunity to provide the context for the information.

The information a champion knows is not a threat to us, but an asset. First it shows they care enough to be informed, so jump on that and go on the journey with them to give context. Then help them act on what they know.

A Positive Shift

In the latest book from Steve DeNeff along with David Drury, SoulShift, there is a chapter on shifting from being a “Consumer” to being a “Steward”. Good stuff in this chapter relating to the end result of what this blog calls Transformational Giving. So whether you call it ‘shifting from being a consumer to steward’ or ‘moving into a life of TG’, it is the same principles.

Parts of this chapter hit on key principles of TG. Allow me to quote some of Steve’s insights.

“Consumer to steward is a shift in ownership from acquiring things for ourselves
to offering what we have to God and others.”

In the parable of the talents, “Stewards see the master as generous. However, to consumers, the master is stingy.”

“The steward’s most coveted thing is never the master’s possessions but the master’s happiness.” I love this quote!!!

“Consumers always want to be on the receiving end of the blessing.
But stewards want to bless others.”

Think about these quotes from two different perspectives.

One, is how can you as a fund raiser communicate these truths to the listener? TG needs to be taught to the Body to overcome several misconceptions about the role of giving in the Church. The steward's giving is part of the spiritual journey and is a joy in serving God. This needs taught!

Two, think how these quotes above should change the way you ask the champion to give. They help us see we are dealing with heart issues not bank account issues. Therefore, the discipleship factor in TG is critical. So not only do we need to teach TG but we reflect these truths in our asking.

Chicken or the Egg

Oh the classic duel of which came first.

The other day I was reading a post by my ‘teacher’ and good friend Eric Foley, about a huge gift for the homeless in Florida. You can check this out on his blog.

The article addresses a huge offering. (Sounds like they hit the lottery. Don’t get me started on ‘lottery giving’ I’ll save that for another time.) In Eric’s post he focuses on training before giving. Not training in how to give but training in how to serve.

This made me think… which comes first, serving or giving? The answer…both.

As a pastor and now a mission director I have seen a growing common denominator in giving. We give to causes we have experienced. Yes there are many who give first, and then want to service the project they have contributed toward. But ‘the going first and giving second’ group is growing, so this is why the answer is both.

The Billy Graham Crusade rolled to town while I pastored. The congregation I served got behind this crusade in a big way. It changed our church. The giving toward outreach also changed greatly after we got involved in outreach.

We see this in the mission community as well. Short-term missions have increased the number of givers to missions. Many, who never regularly gave to missions, have come home from short-term missions and become regular givers.

Giving then is an extension of their service. When giving is seen holistically and not just a part of the Christian walk, but rather a principle of life, then giving gets bigger than dollars and it transforms. Offering training in ways to serve needs to include training in giving, while stewardship seminars need to include service training. If we keep them linked then the Body is healthier.