Stay Committed

“If your organization requires success before commitment, it will never have either.”

This quote is from Seth Godin’s book Tribes.

 

Christmas from the view point of the eye witness observers may not have looked very successful.  After all, how many kings are born in mangers.  Between the manger and the cross, the plan to change the world is not looking too successful.

Commitment comes before success!

Praise God for being committed to us.  And thank the Lord that the success is revealed in the empty tomb.  The victory has been won and for the followers of Christ we know the final victory is coming.  So we stay committed.

For those working for the Cause of Christ, stay the course.  People are not changed by our funds, our activities or by us.  They are changed by Jesus.  Successful fund-raising does not mean successful ministry.  We must continue to mobilize people for the cause not the dollar.

Dollars come and go as quickly as success.  Commitment changes the hearts of people.  Work to assist people in their level commitment not their level of giving.

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.

Nobody wants to be irrelevant

A common thread in reading about the coming generation is their desire to be relevant.  You read this in more than one book regarding the coming generation.  But the thought struck me, “Who does not want to relevant?” I am sure my grandparents never set out to be irrelevant.

 As I read, relevance seems to be related to activity. But I am sure there has yet to be a generation who sees themselves as inactive.  I find it fascinating that today’s generation sees the Boomer’s as irrelevant or inactive.  I am a Buster and I do not have the nerve to tell the Boomer’s they were inactive.  (Have you seen news-clips from the late 60’s?)

 Could it be that perhaps we see others as irrelevant or inactive because their involvement is not about issues that concern me?  So if they are not active on the issues I care about I see them as irrelevant?   

 But too often perception is reality. So why is a large part of today’s North American Christianity viewed as irrelevant?  Is it because the activity is not producing change? And why is Todd talking about this in a transformation giving blog? All good questions.

 If the North American Church does not appear to be making a difference in our culture and if a coming generation sees it as irrelevant, then no wonder giving is slowing. So let’s be honest about our outreach and ask these hard questions.

• Is the outreach or cause that I am funding still needed? i.e. Still relevant
• Is the outreach or cause that I am funding making a difference?
• Is the outreach or cause that I am funding inclusive or exclusive?  Here is what I mean by this.  Is your ministry one that wants the activity of partners and you strongly desire for others to serve with you, i.e inclusive.  Or is it a ministry that you just want the funds so you can go to the work because others may not be able to help, i.e. exclusive. 

 If the outreach you fund is still needed, and it is making a difference and it is open to the activities of other, then go for it!!!  But no matter how much your ministry may be needed, if you have to convince others it is making a difference even though you do it without their involvement then you have an uphill battle for the giving to happen.  Find a way for the donor to be active in more than just check writing.  (That goes for any generation.)

 If all your ministry needs are checks, then perhaps checking your relevance is in order.

Who Moved My Culture?

We know culture is a moving target.  Some shifts we see, others are not so noticeable.  One shift that has happened subtly is a result of the manufacturing shift of the U.S.  To get my thought across you have to endure a small history lesson.  (I love history, but for those who do not….sorry.)

Since the industrial revolution until recently, the U.S. was primarily a manufacturing nation.  Factories and assembly lines ran the country and our culture. We were a nation of manufacturers.  One of the many impacts of this environment was a culture dominated by left-brain work habits.  The work was logical, sequential and it looked at the parts more than the whole. Assembly lines tend to be just that, lines.  Work was linear and that impacted our thinking.  During the peak of the industrial revolution the linear way of thinking shaped western culture. 

Many corporations and organizations in turn created structures very ‘left-brain’ oriented.  Even the U.S. church set itself up this way.  Sunday school curriculum, board meetings and etc. were mainly set up the same way.  Funding was even all done by and large the same way.  In order for these systems to work well they needed to be interchangeable, so similarity in function was key.  US automakers perfected this. Once something succeeded we mass produced it.  The US church even tried this by attempting to mass produce church growth strategies.

Then things changed.  In the past several years we have seen the shift from the US being a manufacturing country to a service based country.  We sell and fix items manufactured in other regions. This shift has subtly changed the work environment from the sequential and linear focus on parts to a more synthesizing and cyclical view of the whole. In other words, we have experienced a shift from a left-brain culture to what is becoming a right-brain culture. One is not better than the other, but they are different.  We need to see the difference and not be naïve to the impact it has.

Transformational Giving has principles based in age old truths that transcend culture.  However, the strategies of implantation may vary based on culture. So what about TG can be maximized in the upcoming right-brain culture? 

• TG emphasizes the role of the champion over the role of the organization.  This links well with synthesized thinking versus sequential thinking.

• TG emphasizes the role of the champion as a part of the whole.  This links well with the right-brain desire to be holistic and not simply think that when my part is done the project is finished for me.

• TG emphasizes the role of the champion to influence others for the cause.  This links well with cyclical thinking as opposed to linear thinking.

• TG emphasizes the responsibility of the champion to use their gifts.  This links well in the move from assembly line and cookie cutter thinking to being creative and using personal giftedness for the cause.

There are several more ways TG can be maximized in this cultural shift.  What are some you can think of? Are some of our communication and fund-raising styles no longer suited to the current culture?

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.

Why is asking so hard?

In the last post we pulled some lessons from Nouwen’s TheSpirituality of Fund-Raising.  We are going to continue looking at this short book in this post as well.

Nouwen touches on possible reasons talking about money in our culture are so taboo.  He notices that we often talk about religion and sex more freely than we do money matters.  Speaking about debt issues feels as secret as talking about one’s sex life.  Nouwen investigates why taking about money is so taboo, especially when it comes to asking for it. 

Working for a missionary organization I travel to several different cultures around the world.  Many of these cultures have no hesitation to ask for funds.  I am not talking about the beggars, but church and university executives regularly seek funds.  Many from the U.S. who travel to these ministries feel awkward and sometimes offended when asked.  Some look down on these cultures because they ask “so often.”

Let me ask this question…How come those who have resources feel so uneasy when those who do not have resources ask them to share?  Is it because the ‘haves’ see the ‘have nots’ as lazy?  Perhaps they see them as uneducated or unprepared to use resources effectively? 

This is not a post regarding if you should give to every request and thus create unhealthy dependency, which is a real and legitimate concern but best saved for another time. For this post I want to investigate if our cultural view of being dependent influences our dislike for raising funds.  As Americans we fear dependency. We want to be independent nationally and financially. We train each other for financial independence. Nothing wrong with this.  However have we taken the idea of financial independence too far by making it a measuring stick of moral character?  Thus subconsciously making us feel that fund-raising is beneath us because we do not want to be seen as a ‘have-not’.

There is a level of security in being on the side of the ‘haves’. So if we have what we need and do not have to ask others for help we feel more secure.  Nouwen says, “We fear being dependent on others because of the idea that dependence is a threat to our security.” This is true. So we need to ask if this way of thinking is supported by the Bible.  No!  Our security is not in the things we have, but Who we have. And because of who we are, we are always dependent.  Every living thing is dependent not only on God but others. 

Perhaps our struggle in asking for money is because we have a misguided relationship with money.  We see money as the measuring stick for independence and security.  Perhaps maybe even subconsciously we see it as a measuring stick for character?  Go back to the lesson at Zarephath, the issue of Elijah asking the widow for a meal was based on security and character; the security and character of GOD not the widow or the prophet.  The request was not based on the what, but on the Who.

Read the chapter titled, OUR SECURITY BASE in The Spirituality of Fund-Raising.

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.