I was a lead pastor for forty-two years. For much of that time, I was active in missions, Christian education, and other ministry ventures. My observations have often led to the same musings. I'll briefly share a few thoughts. I hope they will further a conversation.
I'll begin by sharing what I hope to avoid in this conversation. On several occasions, I have run across a bitter-spirit on the part of otherwise solid servants of Christ. I don't want to go there. Please don't let anything I say below lead you into that ugly state and please pray that I don't go there.
A Theological truth is foundational in this discussion, yet it is one that is often overlooked. God is in control. I reason from that reality to a conclusion. If God is sovereign, and if the work I am involved in is honoring to Him, then the fact that the ministry I'm involved in has fewer resources than it looks like we need is probably a reality that I should learn from. "Lord, what do you want me (us) to learn from this?" Over the years I have counseled many married couples with financial problems. Often it didn't take long to discover that the money was only a symptom of bigger issues. I don't think churches, mission-endeavors, Christian schools are immune to that syndrome. "Lord, help me to look deeper."
The Church has plenty of money, but God's people, too often, are, like the unfaithful servant, burying it in the ground, instead of investing it to God's glory. Too many look upon their wealth as a means to play the "mine's bigger, nicer, prettier, or more-impressive" game with their neighbors who worship the god of consumption--conspicuous and otherwise. What would happen if Christians drove their perfectly good cars a year longer than they usually do and invested a year's worth of car-payments in the Lord's work? Make up your own paradigm for food, clothing, entertainment, etc. It may sound like I'm contradicting myself at this point. Is God in control or are individual Christians in control of their pocketbooks? The answer is, "Both." It is an antinomy that goes beyond this brief post. I appeal to the Apostle Paul as my precedent. He told the Philippians that "God would supply all their needs (Phil. 4:19), yet he took an offering from them to meet the needs of the saints in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:1-4). Was God not looking out for the Jewish brethren? It may not be a completely adequate explanation, but God chooses to use means to meet His ends. In the same way that people won't hear the Good News unless someone goes, no one will go if no one gives. (Rom. 10:15, Phil. 4:13-18)
Giving is a practice to be taught and promoted. People have said, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well, I'm a proverbial old dog, yet I am learning some new tricks. For all of my career, I have been dependent on the gifts of God's people. In my new role, though, it is more-so. One of the tasks that make up my new role as President of Pacific Islands University is fundraising. A part of me approaches this responsibility in the same way a ten-year-old boy looks at taking a bath and putting on his Sunday clothes. "Do I have to?"
Yes, I do have to.
I'm learning, though to see this part of my job as more of a, "Wow, I get to!"
I've been reading a book written by an executive in a huge Christian organization.
God can fund His kingdom without our help. However, He chooses to make ordinary people His partners through giving. As we give our treasures, our hearts are drawn toward eternal things, and the bond of materialism is broken. As Matthew 6:21 reminds us: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Fundraising is not a necessary evil. You are a holy intermediary, a matchmaker, to connect the intentions of God with the resources of the people of God. Giving is an honor. Inviting people to give is also an honor. Calling it a necessary evil is blasphemous. (Morton, Scott. Blindspots: Leading Your Team & Ministry to Full Funding . CMM Press. Kindle Edition.)A friend of mine has a ministry of leading churches that have been established in the modern missions era, to go from being just receivers of the generosity of other churches, to become sacrificial givers to support the great commission task which is yet to be completed. As I look in the pages of the New Testament I don't see that God's work was supplied by token giving, like many in the West practice, nor by bake sales and other gimmicks to try to get money from the people of the world to reach the world. The widow with her two small copper coins is the model, not the rich folk who gave from their pocket-change (Luke 21:1-4). We expect sacrifice, and rightly so, from those who step into positions of service for the cause of Christ. Should the support of such service be without sacrifice? Again referring the Apostle Paul, he praised the people of Macedonia for their sacrificial giving.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. (2 Corinthians 8:3–5, ESV)Far too many Christians, both in the majority world and in the affluent West have yet to learn the joy of giving. Those of us in leadership should not flinch from modeling and teaching this spiritual discipline. "God loves a cheerful giver." (1 Cor. 9:7-8) Let's spread the cheer.
Lord, it is not a class in which we want to enroll, but we acknowledge that you are in charge of our curriculum. When those of us who have been given leadership responsibilities find that the ministries we lead don't have enough resources to do what we think we ought to be doing, help us to learn. Bring us face-to-face with the realities, even if they are inconvenient truths. Teach us, all, the privilege of giving. May our, "How much do I have to give to relieve my guilt?" be replaced with, "How much can I give to maximize the impact that I, as your steward, can have, and in the process bring greater joy to me, as your Child, and to those with whom I am privileged to partner, and to bring glory to You? AMEN"
No comments:
Post a Comment