GIVING IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP

 

            In my reading, I’ve been working through Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Live by Mark Allan Powell. In the very first chapter, he talks about giving being an act of worship.

            I know that, originally, giving in churches wasn’t a monetary gift because churches were supported by the government. But as that changed, then the offering time became a time to offer monetary gifts.

            The author talks about how, in the Bible, when people made their offerings or sacrifices (grain, birds, animal, food, etc.), those gifts were actually burned at the altar. Can you image if on Sunday morning, after the ushers went around and collected the offering, that the plates were carried forward to the altar, and the pastor dropped them all in a little burn barrel and lit them on fire? Wow! How do you think the congregation would react?

            Most of us figure that the reason we have the offering during the service is because the church needs to pay its bills and to allow the church to do good things with the money. Of course, both of those things are true, but it’s not WHY we have an offering during the service.

            The offering is an act of worship. We are invited to give up something that we value—our money—as a sacrifice to God. The author has this to say (which I loved). “It is the high point of the liturgy. We come to church to worship God and at no other point in the service are we provided with so pure an opportunity for worship as this.”[1]

            So is this is such an important part of the worship liturgy, why do we act embarrassed when the time to receive an offering comes?

            I know I’ve been part of stewardship programs that talk about the needs of the church, how much the bills are, and even what the mission and ministries are that the church is doing. But that actually misses the whole point of giving. We give because we want and need to give it. We give because we can do nothing else when we decide to follow Jesus and become a disciple.

            Think about it. Why are we giving? Are we giving to the church? Or to God?

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[1]Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life, by Mark Allan Powell (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), page 11

 

                            CHOOSING GRATITUDE

 

            I am continuing my reading of A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion from Horizons Stewardship, where it has a bit of scripture for each day, as well as a story.

            The title of one of the days was Choosing Gratitude. The scripture for the day was from 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18: Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

            This struck me, because I had just been thinking, as I drove to the store, that people just don’t know how to drive! I wished a police car were nearby and would stop them! I was just so frustrated. I’d like to think that it’s not just me. But what if, instead of hoping for punishment or someone to put them in their place, I thought:

            Maybe they’re having a bad day.

            Maybe their child is sick and they’re rushing to the doctor

            Maybe I should pray for them instead of hoping for a punishment

            What does it mean to not repay a wrong with a wrong, and express gratitude instead of fear? How do we embrace a lifestyle that includes an attitude of kindness and generosity even in the face of unfairness?

            We have to align our words and actions so that we can say (AND mean) living a Christian life. We are told to love our neighbor, and that means the people that cut us off on the highway; those that are rude in the store, and even those we disagree with in church meetings.

            The author, Aimee A Cole-Laramore said this: “how different would our world be if we reflected on the intentionality of scripture to remind us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all situations? In a complex world where bullying, meanness, selfishness, and greed exist, we must choose to respond from a place of gratitude and actively pursue good for everyone.”

            Think about how to express gratitude in your current circumstances!

           

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                                         SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE

 

            In my last blog, I quoted a little bit from an article by the Lewis Cetner for church Leadership. One of the things it talked about was stewardship being an instrument of God’s abundance.

            I’ve been focused on stewardship, as it is that time of the year after all! Many churches are in that time when they focus on their financial campaigns, and, hopefully, stewardship. I’ve been spending some time reading A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion from Horizons Stewardship. It has a bit of scripture for each day, as well as a story.

            One of the recent days I was reading talking about scarcity and abundance. I have talked about this when I’ve taught or spoken or preached about changing our viewpoint. The devotion talked about buying a bag of candy for their child and adding a few extra pieces that they (the parent) could have. Unfortunately, when they put out their hand for a piece, the child closed up the bag and pulled it away.

            It sounds terrible, but don’t we do that a lot to. We focus on our scarcity. We don’t want to give any away because we might need it. And it’s not just money, but time, ideas and energy as well. I think we live in a mindset, in a life, of scarcity.

            Do you go to bed at night, worried about what you didn’t get done?

            Do you wake up in the morning, lamenting that you didn’t get enough sleep?

            And how many times in between do you think: “if only I had more…..?”

            The devotion quote author Lynne Twist when she said that the opposite of scarcity isn’t abundance! What? That’s what I’ve always said. She says it’s the striving for abundance that keeps us focused on scarcity. To the author, the opposite of scarcity is Sufficiency. God gives us enough…enough money….enough time…enough talent…enough manna…enough grace…enough blessings…enough of everything so we can share the abundance.

            It’s when we forget that God provides enough of everything that we get stuck in the scarcity mindset. And that’s hurtful. To those who should be receiving, but also to us. Take a moment and clench one of your fists tight. Just hold that fist. If you hold it tight enough, long enough, it will start to hurt, doesn’t it? Opening our fists into an open hand releases that pain.

            Opening our scarcity, realizing that God has provided us with more than enough, then we’re sharing everything that God gave us with others.

            Think about how to get out of the mindset of scarcity!

           

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                           CAN CHURCH FINANCES BE SPIRITUAL?

 

            You may or may not know, but I am a Certified Public Accountant, and when I’m wearing that hat, I think things should balance, we should be budgeting and doing things practically. And I spent a lot of years in church Finance meetings thinking exactly that way. How about you?

            Well, as my faith grew, and I started feeling a call to dedicate what I “did” to God, I started thinking a little differently. Maybe church finances isn’t just practical, but it’s also spiritual.

            An article I read recently from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership opened this way: “when it comes to money matters or budgeting, does your church split into two camps? On one side are “the green eye shades” who believe the church should think and act like a business. On the other side are “the holier-than-thous” who decry any money talk as akin to money changes in the temple and believe God will provide if the church just has enough faith. These two camps often talk past each other, preventing meaningful dialogue and decision making.”[1]

            It really resonated with me because I’ve been both, and sometimes at the same time! It took me a while to understand that thinking spiritually about money doesn’t throw out the practical perspective. What if we approached money from a spiritual perspective. Jesus talks about money a lot in the Bible, more than anything else, in fact.  Some of this is coming back to hit me as I’m currently leading a small group of clergy in working on their financial wellness by participating in a study based on Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Well-Being put out by Wespath.

            We talk about budgets and spending plan, reducing debt, increasing income, but it’s all from a spiritual perspective. Many of the worksheets and discussions have been held before in other secular budgeting and getting out of debt classes, but the approach here is so completely different that it’s made be think twice about things.

            We have to put money in the proper perspective. Money isn’t inherently evil, but because living properly in relation to money is matter of spiritual importance. We are to use the resources entrusted to us by God in a way that demonstrates our faith and growth in discipleship.

            Stewardship is an instrument of God’s abundance. We have faith in God, of course, but that faith doesn’t excuse us from being responsible stewards. If we believe God lovingly provides for our needs, we have to align ourselves with God’s purpose—both in caring for our own financial needs but also the financial needs of our church community.

 

            Think about this!

           

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

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[1] “Can Your Approach to Church Finances be both Spiritual and Practical”, by Ann A. Michel, Lewis Center for Church Leadership (October 1, 2024)

 

             PLANNED GIVING – COMMUNICATION AND BRAINSTORM

            In continuing our talk on planned giving, I want to elaborate on the topic of communication.

            I’ve spoken about the importance of planned giving, and that makes sense. If someone believes that the church’s work is important enough to support while living, of course they’d want to support it after as well.

            Talk about planned giving

            Prepare a tri-fold

            Maybe even do a workshop to help people understand about different ways to give

            But is that enough? Now, I have to be fair; that’s how I started and how I acted when planned giving was “assigned” to me in a local church.

            But there’s a couple steps that I missed.

            We have to communicate better. A tri-fold is great; but are you ready for some real conversations? We need to talk about why planned giving is important, but we also need to talk about how those gifts will be used.

            If someone were to come up to you in the local church and ask “I have $100,000, or half a million, or a million, or just several thousand that I want to give the church; what are you going to do with it?” How would you answer that question? You HAVE to have an answer. I can almost guarantee that a nonprofit that is asked that question, has an answer, or several answers. So this leads us to the fun part of our conversation. Gather a team together (not a committee). This team should be comprised of a pastor, a lay leader, member of trustees, member of finance, and some other members of the church who LOVE the church and LOVE what God is doing through that church. Brainstorm. If money were no object, what are those things that would help the church?

           

            Some will be capital improvements (new roof, landscaping, new doors or windows)

            Others may be capital changes – new wing on the church, purchase of property

            Others may be programmatic – programs and ministries that you haven’t been able to do because there just is never enough

            Others may be staffing – new staff membership, training of current staff, etc.

            There are so many things you could consider. Don’t worry about whether they are good ideas, or the best ideas, just start brainstorming and writing them down.

            Then take some time and celebrate what you are doing and what you’ve accomplished!

            Then, go through those brainstormed ideas and sort them. Some may be ideas that aren’t every going to be feasible or possible, but don’t throw them out. Put them to the side; things could change.

            Then, with what’s left, sort by what are some real needs and how could monetary gifts help achieve them.

            When you have a good handle on all these ideas, now comes some work:

            Who are a few people (maybe from this team, maybe not) that could be the point people for planned giving and gifts? Who could people talk to if they are interested in making a gift? Have these people who have been chosen practice their responses.

            Communicate some of these ideas. They may motivate people to name the church in their wills, or make some special gifts now.

            Don’t just create and put out a tri-fold and hope for the best. Have someone who has named the church in their will or in a trust, or who has given a special “planned” gift talk about it.

            Talk about it regularly; be available for conversation and questions.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                    PLANNED GIVING – HOW DO YOU HANDLE GIFTS?

 

            In continuing our talk on planned giving, I want to elaborate a couple of topics from last week.

            Investing and managing funds – This is an important conversation to have. There may be someone in the church who is an investment manager who could help you. But I want to make something really clear. There’s a difference between investing assets to reap large amounts of income and being fiscally conservative. The monies that the church has do not belong to any one individually. These are funds that have either (1) been accrued over time by the leadership of the church from funds given and donated to the church; or (2) been given to the church to fund the needs and work of the church or to generate income to be used. As a church, we also have to be careful to not only not invest as we may invest our own monies, but also to protect the monies and to invest in those companies and ideas that support the Scripturally-based requirements.

            Recording and retaining wishes of donors – Donors give to organizations because they believe in what that organization is doing. It’s the same thing when a donor gives to the church. They may give for a particular purpose or project that the church is spearheading, or they may give to the church because they love the church and have supported it financially for many years. The question is: how are the funds given and how/are they restricted?

            Sometimes monies are given in a way that is not a typical check or cash gift. It may be as a beneficiary of a trust or investment. It could be a bequest through a will. It could be giving non-cash items. Each of these need to be accounted for differently. I will spend some time next week talking about this.

            Sometimes monies are given for a particular purpose. This is called (in accounting-language) a donor-restricted gift. If the church accepts a gift from someone who has defined how that gift is to be used, then you should abide by that. If a gift is given and the donor or the will says it must be used for educational purposes, then you need to use it for camperships, or scholarships or other educational reasons. Sometimes gifts are given with the understanding that the principal will not be touched and be allowed to grow so that the income can be used to support the church. These donor-restricted gifts need to be abided by. A non-donor restricted fund would be monies that are given to the church without any guidelines, and the church, through its Church Council or Charge Conference has defined what the monies have to be used for. These kinds of restrictions can be released by the church as well.  There are then unrestricted funds. These are funds that can be used for the church as it determines.

            Determining this information is important, but communicating it is equally important. You want donors and future donors to believe that monies or other items that they give to the church will be used appropriately and no squandered or used inappropriately. There are many ways to communicate this.

            In next week’s blog, I’ll also talk about the best ways to do this.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                   PLANNED GIVING – CAN YOU HANDLE A LARGE GIFT?

 

            Last week I talked about planned giving. This week, I want to talk about why some people aren’t willing to give large gifts to churches: they may believe that their church couldn’t handle a very large gift. Why?

            Sometimes their impression is that the church functions in a way that a person may function when they are living paycheck to paycheck. It may seem to the potential giver that the church is always struggling to pay its bills, and wouldn’t know what to do if they suddenly had a larger amount of money.

            There’s a perception, warranted or not, that there is no one with investment expertise nor is there anything set up to handle large sums of cash. The potential giver sees “regular” members of the church in the meetings and no outside specialists.

            With members of committees changing regularly, and pastor changes, they see priorities of the church changing. The potential giver may be worried that there will be no control or oversight after they’re gone.

            Whether these beliefs are right or wrong, the church needs to face them head on.

            First, acknowledge the issues.

            Put an investment policy in place for large gifts.

            Set up an infrastructure to ensure that donor’s wishes are honored.

            Have the leadership sit down together and answer the question: if someone came up to us tomorrow and say they have a $250,000 gift and ask what we do with it, what’s our answer? Prepare a “wish list” of things that the church could invest in or spend on that would further the work of God in the community.

            Discuss how you would invest and manage the funds.

            How do you record and retain the wishes of the donor.

            Then communicate this information and your plans so prospective donors understand.

            Over the next couple of blogs, I’ll talk about some of these concerns in more detail.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                                              PLANNED GIVING

 

            Many churches don’t talk about planned giving, and this can hurt the church and its future, as well as the spiritual needs of its people.

            Planned giving is defined as the giving that is out-of-the-ordinary, or end-of-life giving or bequests, etc. If your folks believe that the ministry of your church is important enough to support when they are alive, wouldn’t they want to find a way to support the church after they’re gone?

            There are multiple ways to “do” planned giving:

            Making a living gift – this is a gift made by someone while they are still alive. It’s a way to give appreciated assts without paying taxes on the appreciated value, make a deductible gift, easily direct a gift during life, reduce taxable estates and estate taxes

            Charitable Gift annuity - this is a way to make a donation that will provide income to the giver for life and donating part to the church

            Making a bequest – this can be done through a will or a trust, giving a specific dollar amount or a percentage

In addition to different ways to make a planned gift, there are also different things you can give:

            Stocks and bonds

            Real estate

            Collectibles

            Life insurance

            Annuities

            Bequest through will

            Bequest through trust

            While I believe that planned giving is an important concept that the church should talk about and talk to their people about, there are some problems that can arise if the church isn’t properly prepared for planned giving. That is why members should be educated, we need to communicate ways the church would use and manage donations and we need to build a strategy for long-term investment.

            Over the next couple of blogs, I’ll talks about different ways to prepare for planned giving.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                       WHAT ARE OTHER IDEAS FOR A STEWARDSHIP PLAN?

 

            We’ve been discussing having a stewardship plan, which included having an Annual Goal, a Budget a/k/s Spending Plan, Ministry Spotlights, Programs and Events, Outreach opportunities, Targeted Sermon Topics, Testimonials, Creating a Team to Explore Stewardship Opportunities, having a Marketing and Media Team, Incorporating Church Management Tools, Branding, Live Streaming and New Membership Training. Finishing up our discussion, we have:

            Completing Surveys – This can be a difficult one. Some people complain about completing surveys, some don’t complete them, of course, and sometimes we find out information we don’t like. There are outside groups, SurveyMonkey, and other ways to do surveys. The best idea is to keep it simple.

            Investing in Community Partnerships – This is an idea that some churches do very well, and some do not. Look around at other churches, non-profits and even profit companies around you. Are there things they are doing to help people that you could help with? Or are you doing something that they could help with. There’s no need to reinvest the wheel and there are more ideas and experience that you could ever have on your own.

            Utilizing Sermon Series – A series is different from a topic. A series is a multi-part series that spans several weeks. Each week builds on the one before it and can give a good in-depth view of scripture or an idea. One idea that I recently read about is to have a single Scripture and have guest speakers create a sermon on that Scripture. This could happen at an anniversary of the church or a pastor or some other idea. If this is something you haven’t tried before, there are sources that give you ideas for series with Scripture choices, titles, etc. It’s a nice way to “try it out.”

            There are many ways to create a plan to move forward into the future.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.