« Donor Power Blog (@jeffbrooks) comments on post about offering envelopes | Main | Don't Stop Believin' »
September 11, 2009
Watch "Fat Thinking" by @jim_sheppard from #thenines
If you don't know who Jim Sheppard is, you should. He is one of the leading voices on money and ministry today. He leads this really innovative organization called Generis. I have a great deal of respect for Jim. When he speaks, I listen. That's why I wanted you to see his 8 minutes and 16 second presentation called "Fat Thinking."
Close your office door. Take your phone off the hook. Put your cell phone on "off" mode. Turn up your speakers. And take notes. You'll be glad you did.
Transcript:
Hello. My name is Jim Sheppard. I am from Atlanta and I work with the consulting firm, Generis.
It's late afternoon here in my office. Everyone has gone, so I thought I'd get out the Flip and talk about what's on my mind.
My passion is generosity. Specifically, generosity among believers that funds the God-given vision of a ministry. Connected to that, I have a passion for seeing ministry resources utilized effectively.
With that in mind, I'd like to talk about the current reality, financially speaking.
Think back with me to a time about 2 years ago. The DJIA was almost 14,000. And for almost 20 years before that the stock market, with only a couple of brief pauses, had been on an incredible roll starting at around 2,000. Times were good. Money was plenty. For many young church leaders, it would have been hard to remember a time when money was not plentiful.
- The result: Churches roll out all kinds of projects and get them funded
- Did not have to be as discerning
I call that "fat thinking". Just a way of referring to the free wheeling attitudes that seem to prevail when money is plentiful.
Fast forward. The past 12 months in particular have been different. Beginning in September 2008, the economy went on a downhill slide the likes of which many of us have never seen. Most of us were taught that our nest egg would be in two places: our retirement account and our home. In past times of economic chaos, one or the other might have been affected. In this cycle, both have been affected.
The result has been a real paradigm shift for a lot of people, especially our church members.
With this in mind, the tendency is to think there is not any money available for our projects. Not the case. In almost all cases, the money is there, we just have to be more diligent in finding it.
In the fat thinking era, a church could roll out almost any project or initiative and get it funded. In the leaner current environment, our thinking must be much clearer and we must be more discerning if we are to find the funding.
Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google said this in his 2008 Founders Letter: "Nonetheless, I am optimistic about the future, because I believe scarcity breeds clarity: it focuses minds, forcing people to think creatively and rise to the challenge." It's the reason Toyota tries to carry zero inventory - when you're operating without a safety net, you better operate correctly.
You see, here's what happens. Many times, it is hard to say "No" to a seemingly virtuous ministry project or initiative, even when it fits the ministry vision.
But here's what scarcity does for us. It clarifies everything --- our thinking, priorities and identity. In an way that almost nothing else can, it brings us a focus that we would not have as long as we are engaged in fat thinking. Think of it another way. This may be a time of challenge, but more importantly, it is a time of clarification. It can be a good thing for us.
The time will come again when money is plentiful. The ministries that thrive in the lean economic environment will be incredibly well positioned to leverage that time for great success.
Susan Cramm, writing in the Harvard Business Review on April 30 this year said it another way: With the cash crunch, focus is coming back in style. A lot of people are hoping for a future -- both professionally and personally -- that will be, "pared down, more natural, more stable, less full of enervating overstimulation, of what Walker Percy calls the "trivial magic" of modern times." There are many who believe that these "bad times" will bring a kind of satisfying scarcity. That companies (and families) will start focusing on what's most important by stripping the "nice but not necessary" out of their daily existence.
One leader shared recently that he is hoping to use financial constraints to act as a surrogate for strategy to force decisions about what should -- and should not -- be done.
Another leader expressed relief that tight funding had resulted in canceling initiatives that were the "right projects being done in the wrong way."
So here's an important lesson. Use this time of challenge as an opportunity to clarify what is really important about your ministry. Let there be a time of focus that will open up for you and your leaders a new Holy Spirit driven perspective that would cause you to perhaps discontinue some things you are doing in order that you might focus more resources on something that is really important.
Think of it in these terms. In the current environment, to assure full funding of the important things, consider these factors:
- Urgent
Needs to be done ASAP
Significant penalty to momentum if we wait
- Compelling
The case gets your attention.
Wow! We really need that.
- Properly ALIGNED to everything else
Vibrantly connected to the vision & mission of the church
Lastly, consider the cost. Luke 14:28. Luke 14:28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?"
Planning and strategy are not mutually exclusive of your faith and the voice of God in directing your ministry. They walk hand in hand.
I hope this is helpful for you.
Go rock your world and make a difference --- for Christ's sake.
God bless you!
Posted by bstroup at September 11, 2009 9:33 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blogs.lifeway.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3849