SOCIAL PRINCIPLES #1 – THE NATURAL WORLD

            I thought I’d spend some time in my weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. The first section deals with The Natural World, with sub-sections of:

• ·         Water, Air, Soil, Minerals, Plants
• ·         Energy Resources Utilization
• ·         Animal Life
• ·         Global Climate Stewardship
• ·         Space
• ·         Science & Technology
• ·         Food Safety
• ·         Food Justice

            It may seem unusual to discuss Social Principles in a stewardship blog, but I believe it’s not unusual at all! When I’ve presented workshops on stewardship and talk about scripture, I frequently say that it’s my belief that the first stewardship scripture in the bible is Genesis 1:1. If that is true, then the entire first chapter, titled “In the Beginning” of Genesis, encapsulates this section of the Social Principles. I have copied some of that first chapter here, dealing with the natural world.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds...” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

            If we truly are Christians, believing that God created everything, then this first section of the Social Principles on our Natural World is important to review and understand. Are we stewards of our natural world?

 

                            PANDEMIC CAMPAIGNS

          How many of you (like me) figured by the fall of 2021, stewardship campaigns would be easier, if that is defined as “back to normal?” Yet here we are, still in the middle of the pandemic, and not very much back to normal.

 

          We need to continue our stewardship work, just like we need to continue our discipleship work, our pastoral care work and our service work. Remember, the words “the church is closed” has never been true! The building may be closed in some cases; worship and discipleship may look different, but just as God has never forsaken us, the church isn’t closed and hasn’t been. That is an important distinction to remember when we are considering how to “do stewardship” in 2021. Ken Sloane from UMC Discipleship Ministries has said “don’t skip the campaign because you can’t ‘do it like before’.”

          A good stewardship campaign; in fact, good stewardship and discipleship overall, includes telling “the” story. This year, as last year, the stories shared probably shouldn’t be limited to the church’s story, but the other stories out there.

• ·        Tell the story of how your church’s missions have continued.
• ·        Tell the story of how worship has fed souls.
• ·        Tell the story of how disciples have been “made” and nourished.
• ·        Listen to the stories of needs in the community.
• ·        Listen to the stories of how people have felt and are feeling during this time.
• ·        Listen to stories of how people are feeling connected or disconnected.

          Of course, there are economic “realities” that exist as a result of the pandemic. Some people are suffering financially, while others are actually doing better financially. But, every year, there is most likely someone in your congregation that is suffering financially.

          Adapt what you’ve done before. If you’ve done pledge/commitment cards, convert them to pdf forms that can be emailed to folks. All letters should be able to be shared electronically. Facebook or other social media is a great way to share the devotions that come with a good stewardship campaign.

• ·        Start
• ·        Be bold
• ·        Listen
• ·        Invite
• ·        Express gratitude

Thank people for “tuning in” every week, thank people for giving in different ways, thank people for their good words, and for participating in Zoom and on Facebook Live, thank people for wearing a mask and staying safe, and as Ken Sloane said: thank them “for believing that even if our building is closed, we are the church and we are open for the business of love, compassion and hope.”

 

 

     SHOULD GIVING FEEL GOOD OR SHOULD IT HURT?

          In some of the workshops I’ve been facilitating, we’ve talked about generosity; and one of the examples I’ve used is about an older woman that I remember from when I was younger, and how, while I knew she wasn’t well off, she was committed to regular weekly giving, and giving over and above when a need arose. I had always been impressed, suspecting that when she was giving to God’s work through that church, she was probably giving up something for herself at the same time.

          When I’ve told that story, and when I’ve worked on a money autobiography, I’ve found that the person or persons who I identified as the most generous weren’t those who drove the best cars or put the most money in the offering plate, but was instead this woman whose gifts, in dollars, was small compared with other larger gifts, in dollars.

          I’ve viewed this story as a positive one, showing how a person is generous out of what they have, “abundant” or not. But then I encountered an article published through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, written by Rev. Xavier L. Johnson, titled The Problem with Giving ‘Til It Hurts. His viewpoint of the story of The Widow’s Mite in the gospel of Mark (which I equate with the story I tell of the woman in my church, was that it implies that if people, particularly poor people, give until it hurts, they’ll earn a gold star from God. The author talks about the context of the story originally, being set during a time when the Roman’s oppressive rulership of the day left many Jews destitute.

          I don’t think that inviting people to give implies pain. I believe that inviting people to give is inviting them to be generous. Some gifts may require a sacrifice, certainly, but it shouldn’t be painful. Generosity needs to be more than a practice, but must be foundational and part of our lifestyle. Asking people to give and be generous is only part of the picture. If we’re one of those persons doing “the ask”, then we also have to bear responsibility for using those gifts in the way Jesus would ask us to; and be transparent and not manipulative.  It’s a two-sided covenant, just as our covenant with God is two-sided. If we’re asking for gifts, then we have to be responsible in the way we utilize those gifts and how we ask.

          In other words, giving should feel good and joyous. And that joy translates to the use of those gifts for God’s work in the world.

 

          FINANCES IN POST PANDEMIC CHURCH #2

          This blog will continue from last week’s blog, including the remaining financial lessons from the “Leading Ideas” blog offered through churchleadership.com. I am continuing to cite that blog, but am paraphrasing much of what I learned.

1.   Reassess expenses. This is something that should be done regularly. However, with over a year of the pandemic, and things starting to change because of it, now is the time to look at what changed and what didn’t, what needs to remain and what doesn’t. Are there changes that should be permanent? Once you’ve answered these questions and reviewed the changes, look at the expenses, building use, staffing patterns. What are the changes that should be considered?

2.   Have a realistic budget. How many times have we set a budget that either doesn’t balance, or has an income line called “short fall” or “faith line”? If you ask me that question, I would be embarrassed by my answer. Too many to count, perhaps? Obviously, we hope for the best: (a) that more people will start coming to church; (b) that people will start giving more; (c ) that there will be fundraisers that will come in the next year. I absolutely believe that money will follow ministry, but just setting an unrealistic budget and “hoping for the best” without making any realistic changes or predictions, simply sets you up for failure.

3.   Maintain (or set up) a reserve fund. A reserve fund isn’t an endowment fund, nor is it simply using the “left over funds” from the prior year. A reserve fund is the result of a deliberate and conscious decision. You sometimes hear it called an emergency fund. Families should have an emergency fund set aside. Professionals think an emergency fund should be enough to cover expenses for three months. Churches should do the same. Of course, there is nothing you can do that will make you disaster-proof. Who could have anticipated a pandemic, for heavens’ sake? But there are boilers that won’t start, roofs that leak, and other issues that affect income by reducing it or affect expenses by increasing them. Set up a reserve fund. Budget for it. It will help keep you from going “over the edge” when something unanticipated happens.

4.   Know where you stand. Don’t be caught off guard when something happens. If you keep an eye on where you stand, keeping track of trends, ratios, key indicators, you will be better able to respond to something going on. If you simply wonder why revenue is decreasing, you will lose the chance to respond to it. Look at your giving trends: are there fewer people, are people giving less, are less people giving, etc. etc. Look at your staffing and expenses: do they keep increasing without an increase in ministry, are there positions that aren’t appropriate for current ministry, etc. etc. Establish systems that will help you keep track of what is going on and respond before it’s too late.

          Something I’ve said when asked, if that the majority of the problems that we are facing as churches during and post-pandemic were not caused by the pandemic. They existed before any of this happened. The pandemic forced us to confront the issues and not continue to ignore them. There was nothing to fall back on. Manage what you have wisely, engage your givers, and look at new approaches to your financial picture and policies.

 

             FINANCES IN POST PANDEMIC CHURCH #1

          I know this isn’t a surprise to you, but there has been (and continues to be) a pandemic. And while the pandemic has affected most, if not all, areas of our lives, it has affected churches as well.  Many church buildings had to close down, many services couldn’t be held in person, although we got really good at services outside and virtual ones. Finances of the church were affected as well. For some churches, there wasn’t an immediate effect, because of PPP loans and/or the generosity of many. For others, the financial effect was immediate and harsh.  A speaker at a workshop that I took during the pandemic said “some churches have suffered because of the pandemic and some have not---yet.”

          Because of this effect, whether it’s immediate or future, whether it’s short-term or long-term, there are some financial lessons that we should remember. I subscribe to a blog called “Leading Ideas” offered through churchleadership.com, and one of their recent blogs had eight financial lessons we should learn. I think some of them are common-sense and are important, pandemic or not. I am citing that blog, but am paraphrasing much of what I learned. This week’s blog will include four of those “lessons”.

1.   Know your folks. Not everyone was affected the same way. Some people lost jobs, some people were declared essential, some actually had reduced expenses. You can’t assume everyone suffered financially during the pandemic in the same way.

 

2.   Keep asking people to give. Some churches have stopped asking because it was a challenging time. If you stop asking, some people stop giving, and the financial issues of the church become worse. Think of it this way: no matter when, there are always going to be people in the church who are “on hard times”. There are illnesses, job losses and other challenges. If people stop giving because they are unable to give, they are still valued. This is why knowing your folks helps in determining what is going on in their lives. Not because finances are their lives, but finances are usually a symptom of a change. A reason why knowing what folks give is an important pastoral concern.

3.   Adjust generosity efforts beyond the “norm”. Our traditions of asking for and receiving money have stopped working. And it has nothing to do with the pandemic. They had stopped working before, but we could ignore the issue until the pandemic forced us to face it head on. Fewer people attend regularly, so if you consider the church a pond, there are fewer fish to fish for. The good thing about the pandemic is that electronic giving became necessary. But simply spending a minute during a virtual service inviting people to click their phone on the QR code on the screen or send a check isn’t going to do it. Be creative about soliciting those electronic gifts!

4.   Develop other streams of income. It is becoming obvious that it’s not possible to support the ministry of the church solely through the offering plates (or electronic giving). If your only stream of income are those offerings, you will only see scarcity, not abundance. God has provided an abundance. We simply have to open our eyes. Look at our assets. Those assets include: money, physical buildings, land, space, partners, people, and others. I encourage you to consider looking at what your assets are—all of them. A book that I found fascinating and very informative on this very topic is The Coming Revolution in Church Economics: Why Tithes and Offerings Are No Longer Enough, and What You Can Do About It by Mark Deymaz with Harry Li (Baker Books, 2019). The author says the purpose of the book was “to share the why, how, and what of funding local churches beyond tithes and offerings. Ultimately, our purpose is to help your church improve its bottom line in consideration of resources, mission advance, and long-term gospel impact.”[1]

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[1] Deymaz, Mark and Harry Li, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics: Why Tithes and Offerings Are No Longer Enough, and What You Can Do About It (Baker Books, 2019).

 

             STEPS IMPORTANT TO YOUR COMMITMENT CAMPAIGN #4

          I’m continuing the blog series I started three weeks ago based on the “Ten Commandments for Commitment Campaigns” found on the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of Michigan website. We’ve talked about not waiting until Labor Day to start; being clear about what the outcome of the campaign should be; recruiting people to assist with the campaign; making the campaign about commitment rather than budget, being as personal as possible; focusing on the campaign only; establishing God’s abundance as focus of campaign and encouraging proportional giving.

          There are two “commandments” left.

          The ninth recommendation is to follow up assertively. The word used by the Michigan foundation is to follow up aggressively. I don’t know, but that seems like a negative work. I get the point, following up is vital. If you don’t follow up, you lose the change to thank the givers and follow up with others that haven’t yet given. But aggressively sounds a little like banging on a door and yelling for admission. Assertively is still strong, but not as negative (to me). See, the thing is, no matter how good your campaign, no matter how many ways you make contact, some people will be missed. Some people will need a little encouragement. Follow up quickly.

          The tenth recommendation is praying for guidance, before, throughout and even after the campaign. It’s not about us, it’s about what God is calling us to be and to do. Stop what you’re doing and pray for God’s guidance in what you’re doing. While it’s important to plan and have good leadership in a commitment campaign, it’s even more important to realize that God needs to direct your efforts and how your folks will respond.

          If your campaign is to fund the ministries that God is calling your church to do in the upcoming year, involving God in that campaign only makes sense!

          That is ten commandments. But I want to make an eleventh:

          Thank people. Thank them for their attention, their prayers, their gifts, their leadership. No matter how well-run our campaigns are, this is the step most of us don’t do well. We’ve planned, we’ve asked, we’ve reaped the benefits. Now we’re able to do budgeting work and “get to work”, but we don’t thank the people whose gifts are making it possible for the ministries of God to be done through your church.

          Be thankful! Thank people! In person, in writing, every way you can.

 

                 STEPS IMPORTANT TO YOUR COMMITMENT CAMPAIGN #3

          I’m continuing the blog series I started a couple weeks ago based on the “Ten  Commandments for Commitment Campaigns” found on the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of Michigan website. We’ve talked about not waiting until Labor Day to start; being clear about what the outcome of the campaign should be; and recruiting people to assist with the campaign; making the campaign about commitment rather than budget, being as personal as possible; and focusing on the campaign only.

          The seventh recommendation is to establish God’s abundance as the focus of the campaign.  Too often we focus on scarcity rather than abundance. We have conversations about how the number of the people in the pews has decreased, how income isn’t enough to cover the bills, etc., etc. We are blessed abundantly by the God of abundance. We need to focus on that, inviting people to be faithful stewards with the gifts that God has given to them. Stewardship depends on that; it doesn’t depend on unemployment rates or low giving patterns.

          The eighth recommendation is to encourage proportional giving. Tithing is a Biblical concept that says the minimum amount of giving is ten percent. For many people, ten percent, or tithing is a scary or seemingly insurmountable goal. Focus on proportional giving. If someone is currently giving what amounts to about one percent of income, encourage them to increase it to two percent and so on. Having that concrete goal helps establish giving for them.

All of this Biblical. Don’t be ashamed!