Pastoral Answers About Giving

Photo credit: penywise from morguefile.com

Giving to the church and God's work around the world has always been a passion of mine. I was raised in a family who values giving and I was taught this from a young age. I also believe it's biblical. But now that we are on the receiving end of financial giving, it is a whole new adventure, one that is constantly challenging, humbling, and clothed in prayer to the One who is the Ultimate Giver!

I recently stumbled upon an excellent article written by Kevin Miller, priest at Church of the Resurrection in Glen Ellyn, IL. The church is in the midst of a giving campaign to raise funds for a new building (their first building, actually), and Kevin has been approached by church members and attenders with many questions about giving. In the blog article, He does an excellent job of addressing common questions about giving money to the church, questions that I think everyone asks or wonders about.

• How do I decide how much to give?
• I want to be stretched in giving, but I have lots of debt to pay off. What do I do?
• What if I want to give more but my spouse wants to give less?

I would strongly encourage you to read the article, especially if you are thinking and praying about How God is leading you to donate your funds. Kevin's responses to these questions is biblical and thoughtful.


Here are some quotes that stood out to me from Kevin's thoughts on giving...

"[Giving is] not sparing but generous: 'Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously' (2 Corinthians 9:6)"

"You should be able to say of your gift: 'I chose this. I wanted this. I wasn’t manipulated or guilt-ed into it.'”

"I do not advise waiting until your debts are fully paid off before giving to God. You need to give for your spiritual health, for your connection to the church, and for your own dignity."

"It’s in this kind of decision where married people learn how to do what Paul said: 'submit to one another' and to 'bear with the failings of the weak.' What I’ve seen is that when couples bring this spirit to 'how much should we give?' they end up closer to each other."


How is God challenging you to be stretched, but also prudent in how you use your funds?

Fund-raising as Ministry?

I recently sat down and read an essay by Henri Nouwen entitled "The Spirituality of Fund-raising".  I had picked up the essay last November when we were attending training at WorldVenture headquarters, but it had sat in my book pile ever since. And I am so glad I finally picked it up.

I have been praying that God would help me approach "partner development" (or raising support or fund-raising) with a healthy mentality about its purpose and God's provision. But reading Nouwen's essay identified some new lessons about fund-raising that hadn't considered - gaps in my perspective.

Nouwen challenged me to consider that...

• to ask others to partner financially in our ministry, I first need to confront my own relationship with money
• I should allow fund-raising to teach me how to depend on others...which is against my independent, prideful, sinful nature
• I must love people and minister to them first...and trust God to provide the money second
• My security is in Christ and should never be tied up in the response of others towards our ministry
• Prayer and gratitude allow my attitude towards fund raising to be transformed
• Fund-raising allows me to develop closer relationships with those who partner with us, which leads to ministry opportunities and deeper Christian community

So whether you are raising funds for your first short term mission trip or a 5K race, or raising fund to go to the missions field long term, or being approached for financial support by others, I hope these quotes from Nouwen will be an encouragement to you on your journey.

"Gratitude allows us to approach a fund-raising meeting without grasping neediness and to leave it without resentment or dejection. Coming and going, we can remain secure in God's love with our hearts set joyfully on the kingdom."

"Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission."


"The question is not how we get money. Rather, the question is about our relationship with money."


"We fear being dependent on others because of the idea that dependence is a threat to our security."


"We do not need to worry about the money. Rather, we need to worry about whether, through the invitation we offer them and the relationship we develop with them, they will come closer to God."


"Asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom. To raise funds is to offer people the chance to invest what they have in the work of God."

Spending Less...Impacting More

As the holidays are approaching, this time of year typically means being bombarded with advertising campaigns and the pressure to spend, spend, spend. And to a certain extent, I'll bet that 2009 will not be too much different than years past. However, I have been pleasantly surprised that a different message has broken through the clutter of communication - the message to spend less this Christmas.

In the last few days, I have come across a few different pieces of communication that are striving to get out a different message this Christmas, one that encourages Americans in particular to go against the norm and spend less this year. A video and compaign that I was especially impressed with and convicted by is the Advent Conspiracy (see the video!). Our church, Parkview Community, is promoting and participating in this campaign. Today, I read a great blog entry by our Executive Pastor on a related subject...read his thoughts here.

Reading and watching and hearing this new message has been encouraging to me, but it is also raising a lot of questions in my mind. It leads me to go back to the fundamental question of whether or not we should give gifts are Christmas. Is giving gifts to loved one a good way of showing love to them? If so, when are we going overboard? How much is too much? Coming from a family who loves giving gifts and being a person who really loves to give and receive gifts, it would be hard for me to cut this out of the holiday as a way of celebrating. This year, I hope I will be an especially wise steward of our finances...spending some money on gifts for family and friends, being creative in how I spend those funds and giving a lot of time/energy/money away to those who need it more than we do.

What do you think about giving gifts at Christmas? Share your thoughts!