CHANGE YOUR FOCUS!

 

          I don’t know about you, but my eyesight has changed over time. I used to be able to read anything, no matter how small, and I could read something written on a sign across the road. Now…I can still read stuff, but sometimes it’s a struggle…so I have reading glasses. Now…I can still read signs, but by the time I’m able to focus on it, the time has passed for that sign to be at all helpful. So glasses it is. I don’t wear them all the time; my eye doctor actually felt that my eyesight was good enough (even though I’m of an age) that I didn’t really need glasses. But I knew that my eyes get tired faster, and it takes me longer to focus on stuff that I used to be able to read.

·        In my case, focus is the issue. I have to really make a point to focus, and focus differently on what I’m trying to read or see.

·        We have to focus differently in our churches as well!

          How many of your finance committee meetings, or stewardship conversations start with what the church needs: more members, more tithers, more money, a new roof, a youth director. The list can go on and on, and, while all of or some of it may be true, this list and these conversations are focused on what the church needs. And that leads to asking, or begging, folks for money to be able to allow the church to… 

·        These discussions focus on what we don’t have, giving a sense of scarcity.

·        These discussions ignore the ways God has blessed us, making us blind to God’s abundance.

          We have to be careful that this focus on scarcity instead of abundance doesn’t spread throughout the entire congregation. Focus has to change from scarcity to abundance and the importance of generosity must be shared boldly. To do this, our mission may need to be clarified in a way that gets people excited about giving. We should be brave and challenge ourselves to make the Christ we profess in our words the priority in our finances.

          Our focus on stewardship must shift from a model that is Church-Centered and Budget-Driven to one that is Donor-Centered and Mission-Driven.

          Check your eyesight; what are you focusing on? Are your glasses only showing the scarcity and not the abundance? Is your stewardship Church-Centered or Donor-Centered? Is your stewardship Budget-Driven or Mission-Driven? While there isn’t an eye chart like at the eye doctor, there are ways to test your focus. Do it now!