November 20, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Break the Silence
Read this:
"Money has demonically usurped the role in modern society which the Holy Spirit is to have in the Church" - Thomas Merton
Wow! Wonder how that happened?
When the church is silent on the subject of money and funding, the Christian has no alternative lens to compare what others are saying.
(Yes, the church is responsible to talk about money. Period. There is nothing to argue about.)
Start TALKING. Get LOUD.
If we remain silent, the end result is this:
Money God intended to fund the work of the Kingdom...
will find its way to other organizations...doing good things...lead by good people.
BUT it won't go to fund the work of the Church. Don't believe me? Just ask a few people you know if they split their tithe between the church and other organizations.
You'll be surprised at their response. And they see nothing wrong with it.
Why? (Really, why should we be surprised?) Because we've been SILENT.
H-E-L-L-O. Problem. Major Problem.
What will you say...this weekend...at your next gathering...to break the silence about money, stewardship, and generosity?
Posted by bstroup at 8:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 19, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Survival Mode Off
Survival Mode...now that is a great strategy for funding. NOT!
Here is the problem with survival mode. In the NPO world (that includes churches) we place a high degree of value on efficiency which means we do as much as we can on as little as possible.
There is NOTHING inherently wrong with that. It's always important to ensure our expenses are in line with our revenue.
What IS inherently built into that mode is a LACK OF investing. Investing involes risk. Risk sometimes leads to REWARD...
and sometimes it leads to the "F" word...F-A-I-L-U-R-E.
For-profit companies believe in RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT. They know that have to build in a system of failing if they are ever going to SUCCEED.
When churches decide to slip into survival mode...they STOP innovating...being creative...looking for new opportunities...new ventures. And they simply exist.
Wonder why you're having trouble finding leaders who are passionate about what your church is doing? (Are you passionate about what your church is doing?)
Maybe you've flipped the switch (even unintentionally) to survival mode.
Let me give you a hint: TURN IT OFF. Right now...And after you've turned it off...
BREAK IT OFF so you never have that option again.
There is nothing that will kill a church's ability to fund its ministry than operating in survival mode.
Rule #1...(It doesn't really matter what Rule number it is.)...People don't want to fund an organization that is only interested in self-preservation.
Better...people WON'T fund self-preservation.
Posted by bstroup at 8:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 18, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Get beyond small thinking
After spending nearly a MONTH in the field talking to pastors in various part of the country talking about church funding, I'm convinced that FAR TOO MANY are thinking...
small....
instead of T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G B-I-G!
We say we are people of THE WORD. Our Bible is full of the impossible:
Abraham and Sarah are too old to have a son.
David is too small to fight Goliath. (Later, he's too young and ordinary to be King.)
Paul is an unlikely champion of the faith.
(There's more. I promise. Read it for yourself.)
Yet these stories fade when we are asked to believe the impossible. When we are asked to believe that God can fully fund (and over fund) our ministry budgets WITHOUT REGARDS for the American or World economy.
So what do we do? We SEAL OUR FATE by professing a big God and live as if He is small. We...
Worry. Fret. Pace. Sweat. Wonder. (All over the WRONG STUFF!!)
Where will the money come from? And when that happens we take our focus off of vision...direction...purpose...context...(the core necessities of funding)
AND we allow ourselves to be trapped by what we can see. We fight over how we will split the dollar instead of believing that God has intended MORE for us.
We can only DO MORE MINISTRY when we practice our profession in a BIG GOD.
NEWS FLASH...NOT EVERY CHURCH IS STRUGGLING.
Some churches are posting ridiculous gains in overall giving...and investing in more ministry than they ever have. I heard from one pastor recently who is nearly $100k over in receipts to date!
Get beyond small thinking. And you'll find a VERY B-I-G G-O-D who is able to help YOU...
DO MORE MINISTRY!
Posted by bstroup at 8:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 2, 2009
3 steps to increasing your church's giving capacity
We spend a great deal of time pointing to the faithful giving of the few and trying to convince those who will never give to "think about" giving. Neither one of those objectives is off base. In fact, they are necessary. What does get overlooked is the largest population among the people in our pews who ARE NOT giving at their maximum capacity.
Why not?
1. One segment is in so much debt they can't see straight.
2. One segment is out of debt but doesn't have a habit of giving.
3. One segment has a habit of giving but not tithing.
4. One segment is faithfully tithing but has never been challenged to be generous.
We need to spend more time unlocking the giving potential of the people already present in our pews. So what are three steps to increasing your church's giving capacity:
1. Know your giving data.
Sorry. There is no way around this one. You are going to have to look at numbers and segment your population and quantify the giving habits of your membership. The information that lies in the numbers will tell you more than can imagine. Pay close attention to one, three, and five year trends. You have to establish a baseline before you can begin to measure progress.
2. Implement a plan.
There is nothing new about this step. Define what steps you will take as church leaders to cultivate encourage the practice of stewardship and cultivate a culture of generosity in your church. No plan = More of the same. (And if you're satisfied with where you and your church are today, you should save your church the trouble and fire yourself!) Those churches who consistently realize fully funded ministry budgets are also insanely specific about how they teach and encourage faithful giving.
3. Measure the results.
You will need to establish a few metrics to use as a measuring stick to determine whether or not your plan is having a sustained impact on the giving habits of your church membership. Metrics are different for every church and should be tied to the overall vision and focus of the church. Measuring progress (quantitatively) is so important because you can't manage what you don't measure.
Bottom line, increasing the giving capacity is a year-round effort, doesn't "just happen," and is vitally important to your church's ability to fulfill the unique vision and purpose God intended.
Get to work! We have a Kingdom to fund and build!
Posted by bstroup at 8:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 28, 2009
When will giving recover?
I wish I knew the answer. I think Giving USAs findings are fascinating (and worth the cost of the report) but maybe because I'm a nerd (easy!) and love reading about statistics and research related to philanthropic giving. No doubt, this is the question on everyone's mind.
Here are five things that I hope DON'T change once giving is back to 2007 (or pre-recession levels):
1. The rise in strategic behavior surrounding how we fund our churches.
2. The challenge that if the Church were to practice generosity, we could ELIMINATE the tragedy of poverty, hunger, orphans, etc.
3. The shift in focus among churches from program-driven to missional in orientation.
4. A growing curiosity in the subjects of stewardship and generosity.
5. The drive to converge the profession of Christ follower with the practice of following Christ, especially related to the subject of money.
One last thought:
(Note: The purpose of Giving USAs research is to answer a very specific question, so I understand that the following thoughts exceed the scope of the research.)
I can't help but pause in concern over the fact that we are measuring back to 2007 levels. As someone who wrestles with a "holy discontent" about many things, I hope we are never satisfied with a benchmark established in the past. Rather, I hope we use that as a way (when reached) to celebrate God's faithfulness in difficult times and pause to consider the endless possibilities of what He has planned for us next. May we never stop striving to do more ministry.
Posted by bstroup at 8:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2009
The difference between "stewardship" and "generosity"
The Church rightfully owns the word "stewardship," and the Church rightfully owns the word "generosity." BUT I think many Christians (a.k.a people who should know better) have little understanding of the difference between the two.
Let me give you a hint: THEY DON'T MEAN THE SAME THING!
(I guess this reaction is what my English teacher was talking about when she used to get frustrated and say, "just because it sounds right to the ear doesn't mean it IS right grammatically.)
Stewardship is a Lordship issue. It has been stolen from the Christian's vocabulary and practice by just about everyone else. Passing the Plate calls the average American Christian's posture to church giving "discretionary obligation" (i.e. "I'll decide how much of God's money to give Him.) Further, The Bible (Jesus had "a few" things to say on the subject), money, and the Horatio Alger American myth presents a point of tension that the Church has yet to deal with strategically.
We, as Americans, pride ourselves in our ability to make something of ourselves. And when we do, we take all the glory. This is inherently inconsistent with a Biblical worldview of money and success, yet it is woven into the fabric of American Christianity.
Therefore:
1. We must address stewardship before we can even begin the conversation of generosity.
2. We must practice the Gospel we profess - that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of our lives - before we can begin to think about being generous.
Those who misunderstand stewardship will also misunderstand generosity. We must practice stewardship BEFORE we can be generous. We must exhibit a rule of life that says all that we have, are, and will ever become is God's and has been given to us in the form of assets to be managed for the Kingdom. Only then can we begin the conversation of generosity.
The trend and conversation that believes "generosity" is the new, improved, and "cooler" version of the "old" word stewardship is flawed.
Perhaps the strongest evidence of our lack of stewardship understanding and practice is our inability to be self-sustaining as individuals and churches in the midst of uncertain (really any) economic times.
Posted by bstroup at 8:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 23, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity Revolution Project
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October 22, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity - pass it on
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October 21, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity
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October 20, 2009
A week of Videos: Doing Life Generously
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October 19, 2009
A Week of Videos: My Generosity Story
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