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November 25, 2009
Pushing the limits of church funding: Change the conversation
It's time to change the conversation of church funding.
STOP ASKING "What do we have to cut to survive?"
START ASKING "What does God want us to do next?"
If we believe...
...that the church is the only institution ordained by God on the day of Pentecost to carry forward the earthly ministry of Christ until His return...
...that the church should embody the hope the world needs to see in difficult times (anyone can be full of hope in good times)...
...that the God we serve today is the same God who provided bread and water for his people in the desert...used a small boy to slay a giant...allowed and old couple to become parents of "many nations"...and that God entered the world as a human, conceived by the Holy Spirit to come and set all people free from their sin forever...
THEN WHY...W-H-Y...
do we walk around as if we believe in a small God.
Sometimes (not always) I think church leaders...don't dream enough...profess in a BIG GOD and practice as if He is small...and far too often miss the opportunity to lead their congregations to a generous lifestyle in the name of...
efficiency...expense management...and practicing "as good as it gets" theology.
People want to be apart of organizations that represent something larger than themselves.
People want to fund causes that are larger than life and embody their core values.
People want to believe that the church is God's plan to build the Kingdom but are too often disappointed by small thinking.
Before the greatest leaders of our faith became GREAT LEADERS OF FAITH...they had to take a deep breath and make a critical decision to change the conversation from what they think they could accomplish to what they BELIEVED God could accomplish through them.
Every one of them took a second to pause (probably more than once) and yet they still chose to follow through.
Even Jesus paused in the Garden and asked if there was another way.
BUT after the question was asked...the decision made...there was no backing down. All the world (and our faith) depended upon it.
The same is still true for Church leaders and all Christians TODAY!
We must change our posture and practice the Gospel we profess. Otherwise we will forfeit our opportunity to share the Good News we have received with a world yet to believe.
Change the conversation. Ask God what's next for your church? Then believe that what God has called you to do, He has already provided everything you'll need to bring that vision into reality.
The CATCH is we must cultivate the gifts of time, talent, and treasure of the people he has given us to accomplish HIS vision.
(Did you really think He was going to give it to you on a sliver platter?)
Read Matthew 9:36-38. Only think about it through the lens of stewardship.
Church leaders...MUST...inspire every community member to change the conversation in their own lives and acknowledge all we have been given, are, and will ever be as God's assets entrusted to us to invest and build the Kingdom.
Only then...can we change the "meta-conversation" and bring into reality the vision He has given to His church.
The CHOICE to operate in survival mode is a decision to G-I-V-E U-P.
Bottom line...survival mode is NOT an option.
What are you doing to change the conversation, inspire generosity among those entrusted to you, and direct all available divine assets toward Kingdom investments?
Posted by bstroup at November 25, 2009 8:43 AM
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