http://stewardshipdirect.com/ en David@stewardshipdirect.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-09T03:06:13+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/moving_beyond_knowledge_to_delivery_points/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/moving_beyond_knowledge_to_delivery_points/#When:02:06:13Z Dr. Ray Rust, former executive director and treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, posed a question to me during my interview process for a position on the convention staff. He asked, “Do you have plans to pursue any other degrees?” I remember answering his question in the following way. “No, I don’t have any desire to pursue any further degrees but will remain a lifetime learner!” Evidently, I answered correctly, as the position was offered and my decision to accept the position changed my direction in life. (I already had three graduate degrees beyond my college education.)  James A. Perkins once stated, “The acquisition of knowledge is the mission of research, the transmission of knowledge is the mission of teaching and the application of knowledge is the mission of public service.” Most of us have known a significant number of persons who have failed to engage in real life in their continual pursuit of more knowledge. Learning how move beyond the acquisition of knowledge to the transmission and application of knowledge is addressed in the following three questions.   Will you spend your whole life only acquiring knowledge? The question that was posed to me by Dr. Rust was really getting at this point. He was challenging me to move beyond acquiring knowledge to engage in real life and ministry. Many people know what knowledge has to offer on the subject of stewardship. Christ offers tremendous opportunity for one to gain knowledge by becoming familiar with His parables.   Will you invest your life by teaching others what you have learned as a steward? I recall back in 1990 when a friend shared that he recommended me for a stewardship development position with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. My immediate thought was, what possible expertise did I have to offer on the subject? Then, I began to think back over my years as a pastor. I was never hesitant to preach or teach on the subject of stewardship and often created such resources for congregations where I served. No, I didn’t have a formal degree on the subject but I could clearly see how God had prepared me to teach others stewardship truths. For over twenty years, I have been actively teaching stewardship and creating stewardship resources so others could teach biblical stewardship truths in their respective settings. This is the transmission of knowledge.   Will you have the opportunity to see the benefit of your service touching the lives of others? By serving as a transitional or interim pastor for congregations going through significant conflict over the past twenty years, I have been able to see the benefit of developing stewards. I love to see these congregations move forward with healthy platforms for their new senior pastors to launch from. This application of knowledge results in the fulfillment of mission when faithful stewards move beyond the individual, local congregation as a world of “delivery points” who then have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel message.   “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 2012-05-09T02:06:13+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/critical_steps_in_communication/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/critical_steps_in_communication/#When:03:27:24Z   Often you have to go through a number of bad ideas before some good ones emerge. Many of us have participated in some all-day “think tank times” to come up with only one good idea! Sometimes, we manage to kill off ideas before they even emerge by shutting down conversation with negativity or by asking the wrong questions. General George Patton more than once stated, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” Here are a few suggestions to get you started in taking some critical steps toward creating a healthier climate for communicating stewardship through the Church. As you allow room for ingenuity to emerge among your leaders and members, you too will be surprised by their ingenuity on how to do this! Step 1: Provide a platform for church leaders to emerge as spokespersons regarding biblical stewardship. Step 2: Create an avenue for members to see changed lives and worldwide impact as a result of their generosity. Step 3: Teach biblical truths as an on-going curriculum to new believers. 2012-04-08T03:27:24+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/4_approaches_for_developing_stewardship_hearts/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/4_approaches_for_developing_stewardship_hearts/#When:02:48:05Z An insightful statement was once made: “There are three ways you can get to the top of a tree: 1) sit on an acorn, 2) make friends with a bird, 3) climb it” (Anonymous). Let’s take a closer look at these three options in relation to developing stewardship among your members.  The Sit-on-it Approach. Far too often, stewardship hearts are never touched by leaders due to an unwillingness to actually do something to bring about change. Such leaders seem more interested in maintaining their position than in actually seeing stewardship life develop in their members. As a result, the leader role and impact becomes forfeited. The Make Friends with a Bird Approach. With such an approach, leaders seem more interested in making friendswith others rather than actually engaging as leaders to initiate change in stewardship responses. Again, such leaders fail to get on with changing the hearts of people. The Climb It Approach. There’s a different perspective for anyone that manages to climb to the top of a tree. When it comes to developing stewardship hearts, it would help to gain a long-view perspective, similar to what you get when you climb a tree. In church life, the change in perspective comes when you see lives changed in the stewardship responses of members. Allow me to offer one additional alternative: The Cut It Down Approach! This approach looks upon the trees that often block us from greater growth. . Far too many allow the obstacles that must be addressed in developing stewards to prevent them from doing the hard work of growing stewards! Take time and cut down the obstacles and give rise to the generosity of your members. The next wave of generous givers will not come from leaders who sit and wait for stewardship to grow out of the ground or who hope friendship will simply influence and encourage giving. Stewardship leaders must take the time to gain perspective and push through obstacles if they are to develop faithful stewards! “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14 2012-03-13T02:48:05+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/develop_your_stewardship_strategy/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/develop_your_stewardship_strategy/#When:08:43:00Z People enter every situation with preconceived notions. This is an educational fact. Sometimes our preconceived notions are completely off base. There are other times when when we know exactly what to expect.   Skeptical people have their guns loaded and are looking for reasons to become more skeptical. When it comes to church, unengaged people expect to be made to feel guilty about not giving. We often play right into their hands by turning a sermon about Noah’s Ark into a challenge to give more. Our financial pleas are often forced and unnatural. We come across looking more like a poorly produced telethon than a church. And the skeptical grow more skeptical, perhaps even cynical.   Newsflash… it's not working because they aren’t giving.   If we understand the preconceived notions people hold, we can be more strategic about countering those notions. Without a predetermined strategy, we will inadvertently reinforce all of the reasons people have for being resistant to giving to church. Herein lies the problem in many churches: People don’t give because we haven’t countered their resistance.   So, how do we counter people’s resistance to giving? By showing them how their participation makes a difference. We must tell the stories of life change. When we do, those who are uninvolved will begin to see involvement as desirable. Their staunch resistance will weaken. Their attitudes will soften, and they will begin to give. Maybe they will give a little to start, but eventually, their giving will increase. Over time, their preconceived notions will change and they will become vocal supporters of the church and its ministries. Isn’t this what we want to see happen?   What’s your strategy to champion stewardship in your church?  2011-07-28T08:43:00+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/stewardship_is_an_indicator_of_spiritual_health/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/stewardship_is_an_indicator_of_spiritual_health/#When:08:41:50Z I’ve never met anyone in the context of the church who says that he or she doesn’t want to grow spiritually. But when asked what it means to be spiritually healthy, the responses vary. It’s obvious that most everyone wants to be spiritually healthy; we just can’t agree on what healthy looks like.    Spiritual health is an ambiguous term. It often is described in relationship to a previous spiritual condition. In other words, we determine our current health based on how healthy we have been in the past. The problem with that approach is that we become the standard by which spiritual health is judged. That’s not biblical. It’s not even healthy.    Spiritual health is determined in response to God’s standards as revealed in His Word. Because we are in a right relationship with Him, we will do the things He expects us to do. One of those expectations is that we be good stewards or managers of everything He entrusts to us.    Some church leaders have abandoned conversation about stewardship because it’s uncomfortable for the marginally religious people in the crowd. We have replaced conversation about stewardship with conversations about other things. As a result, we have created a generation of church-goers that doesn’t really know anything about what it means to manage God’s resources according to God’s plan.    Maybe it’s time for us to begin talking about those things the Bible says are important. One of the most important things we can do is distinguish between ownership and stewardship. When we try to persuade people to give from what is theirs, we reinforce the belief that it all belongs to them. When we help people see their roles as managers of God’s resources, they will begin to embrace the idea of stewardship.    How does your church teach stewardship? Is it part of your overall discipleship strategy?   2011-07-25T08:41:50+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/increased_attendance_doesnt_translate_into_increased_giving/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/increased_attendance_doesnt_translate_into_increased_giving/#When:08:35:36Z You’ve probably seen this diagram used in conjunction with a variety of ministry conversations. I’d love to give credit to its originator, but it has been so widely circulated that I’m not sure who that person is. I can do little other than acknowledge the fact that I borrowed it.    The challenge for most churches is moving people from the outer circles to the inner circles of this diagram. This is true when it comes to involvement, and it’s also true in the area of giving.    We understand that most of the resources in your church come from the two inner circles—the core and the committed. These also are the people who are most engaged in ministry in and through your church. The problem many churches have is that they continue to hammer away at the congregation, crowd, and community encouraging them to give more. Yet, those same churches lack a strategy for moving people toward becoming a part of the committed or the core.   Should we expect people to outperform their level of spiritual maturity?    If you don’t believe this is true, go back and check your church’s receipts from Easter weekend. Though your attendance increased dramatically, what happened to your budget receipts? Unless yours is a unique situation, giving probably remained consistent from the previous week. What’s the point? More people in the building doesn’t positively affect giving.    If you focus on building the crowd, your resources will remain the same. However, if you focus on developing the committed and the core, your financial picture will set itself on a new trajectory.   Are you trying to attract more attenders or develop more disciples? There is a difference between the two...in function and value. 2011-07-21T08:35:36+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/asking_why_in_church...especially_about_giving/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/asking_why_in_church...especially_about_giving/#When:08:33:05Z You might have been raised in a family where asking why wasn’t allowed. You could have been raised in a family where asking why was a part of the routine. The fact is that asking why is a part of our culture. We ask that question all the time to a variety of organizations, causes, and leaders.    One of the few places we are reluctant to ask why is church. We seem to have some kind of aversion to questioning things of God or anything connected to things of God. I’m not sure where that idea originated, but it is causing problems for the postmodern church.    Today’s empowered donor doesn’t mind asking why and when they ask, they expect a logical response. Yet, many churches have been doing the same things for a long, long time. There probably isn’t anyone at the church who remembers the why. So, why do we keep doing things for which there is no explanation? Why do we keep funneling resources toward ministries that died two generations ago?    If the church is going to gain a vote of confidence from a skeptical society, it is going to have to take a hard look at the things it does for which there is no explanation. The church can’t continue to carry on as if it’s still 1960.    So, why don’t churches ask why? Because tradition carries more weight than effectiveness. We’d rather keep doing what we’ve always done than look for ways to be more effective at reaching the world. Why should people give to an organization that has lost touch with reality? When was the last time you examined your approach to doing church and asked why?   Are you and your church staff prepared to ask and answer the ultimate question: why?  2011-07-18T08:33:05+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/maximize_your_budget_dollars_for_ministry/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/maximize_your_budget_dollars_for_ministry/#When:08:32:24Z USA Today reports that the number of households in the United States who will no longer receive phone book deliveries will increase to more than 50 percent . That’s not surprising. Many people rely solely on online information making the phone book obsolete. In my opinion, there are a few things around our churches that should go the way of the phone book. Almost every piece of paper represents an expense that could be eliminated.    Balancing the church budget is a lot like balancing any other budget. There are two sides of the equation—income and expenses. Most churches focus primarily on the income side and go to great lengths to get more people to give and the people who give to give more.    Are there ways, however, for the church to eliminate unnecessary expenses? What needs to join the phone book on the list of “the way we used to do things”? Let’s consider two ideas: The church newsletter. The information in most church newsletters is representative of the information on the church Web site. It takes time for someone to lay out and proof  the newsletter. Then it must be printed, folded, labeled, sorted, taken to the post office, and delivered (hopefully). Why not eliminate all of these costs and just use the Web site? People are going to Web for everything else, why not church information? Sunday bulletins. Why do we go to such great lengths to print something that we end up having to pick up once church is over? Why not print them and go scatter them all over the worship center before people arrive? It would save time! Seriously, most church bulletins end up in the trash. Why not trim expenses by eliminating the bulletin? People will get used to it… someday! We could go on and on. There are lots of things we print that are unnecessary. Maybe you can’t dump the newsletter or bulletin yet. But there are a few things you can eliminate today.    What are you currently spending money on that could be redirected to other areas of your church’s ministry budget?  Hint: The people in your pews are already asking this question. 2011-07-14T08:32:24+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/the_stewardship_of_consumer_confidence/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/the_stewardship_of_consumer_confidence/#When:08:29:33Z We often hear news reports about the status of consumer confidence. Basically, this is a report about the willingness of people to spend money. The more confidence people have in the economy, the more willing people are to spend or invest.   If people based their giving to your church on your ability to manage resources and maximize Kingdom impact, how likely are they to give to your church? In other words, what is their level of confidence in your church? Do they trust that your church is being efficient, conservative, and responsible? These are big questions for the postmodern church.   Let's be real honest... most church leaders have little background in organizational management. Yet they are charged with managing complex budgets that sometimes exceed those of even large companies. This can lead to organizational inefficiencies which often results in resources being poorly managed. If businesses operated the same way most churches did, many would go out of business very quickly.   Many large churches operate with principles that date back to their early days as a much smaller congregation. As the church grew and changed, they kept their old ways of doing things while their budgets grew exponentially. It's not uncommon for church budgets to be in the millions of dollars. Is your church prepared to manage such large sums of money?   Today's church attenders want to know they are investing in something that is well-managed. As a church leader, you must look for ways to cut costs and improve processes so that people have confidence in your leadership. Frivolous spending and extravagance send a message to the congregation that their money isn't needed. Is that the message you want to send?   What steps are you taking to build trust and confidence with the people in your congregation? When it comes time for them to decide who and what to give to whom, will people choose to fund your church?   2011-07-11T08:29:33+00:00 http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/overcoming_the_summer_giving_slump/ http://www.stewardshipdirect.com/blog/overcoming_the_summer_giving_slump/#When:08:14:24Z Most churches anticipate a decrease in attendance and, subsequently, giving during the summer months. This is a relatively new phenomenon. It suggests a few things about today’s givers.   First, most giving is from discretionary funds. This makes sense because givers hold back when vacation time comes. They also hold back when they have to pay for childcare rather than sending their kids to school. It’s almost as if they want to give and will give as long as there is money left over. The problem is that there isn’t much money left over during the summer months.    Second, giving parallels attendance, so when people don’t attend, they don’t give. The summer “shutdown” in many churches has an unintended negative effect—people are encouraged not to come because the church has told them there isn’t much going on. Churches have tried self-addressed, postage-paid envelops, online giving, and automatic giving but still see their operating budgets strained during the summer. People who really want to give probably are those people who remain faithful in their attendance regardless of what’s on the schedule. Sadly, this is a shrinking portion of most congregations.    Third, giving follows hype, therefore, when there isn’t a big deal happening at the church, many people don’t see the need to give. We could conclude that giving is emotional. When the emotion subsides, the giving subsides.    Maybe it’s time for churches to stop advertising the summer slump. If we quit giving people excuses for not attending, they might come. And, if they come, there’s a better chance they’ll give.     What’s your plan to overcome the summer giving slump? 2011-07-07T08:14:24+00:00