Another question...
As I mentioned last week, several of you voiced some very constructive criticism during the Crazy Campaign. One of the questions dealt with why I revealed the amount that Laurel and I were giving to the Campaign. Here's another...
2. Do you know what others gave to the Campaign? I received a letter that you signed reminding me that I had yet to fill out my Pledge Card...I thought that our giving records are confidential.
They are. I don't know what anyone give to Crossroads. The 2 people who count the money each week are the only ones who have that information...and they are tight lipped! Actually, I wouldn't want to know what anyone gives. I'm not sure I could handle it. I'm afraid I wouldn't be spiritually mature enough to treat everyone the same regardless of what they gave.
I did write a letter that went out to some in the congregation after the Celebration Event. I wanted everyone who had yet to give know that we still needed them to jump on board. Yes, we reached our 3 million dollar goal, but the project is at least a 9 million dollar project. Our bigger goal in the Campaign was full "buy in" from everyone...100% participation. We're not there yet, but we're closer to that goal than 95% of the churches that go down this road. It goes to show that the people at Crossroads are special. They see a good investment (changed lives) when they see it.
Speaking of "seeing it", I didn't see the names on the envelopes that went out to those who had yet to pledge.
There's great debate in the church world whether or not the pastor should know what people give. Some pastors insist on knowing--giving is a sign of spiritual health and they want to know when someone in the flock isn't healthy. I see the point, but I'm not there.
Blog on...
Pastor Phil
2. Do you know what others gave to the Campaign? I received a letter that you signed reminding me that I had yet to fill out my Pledge Card...I thought that our giving records are confidential.
They are. I don't know what anyone give to Crossroads. The 2 people who count the money each week are the only ones who have that information...and they are tight lipped! Actually, I wouldn't want to know what anyone gives. I'm not sure I could handle it. I'm afraid I wouldn't be spiritually mature enough to treat everyone the same regardless of what they gave.
I did write a letter that went out to some in the congregation after the Celebration Event. I wanted everyone who had yet to give know that we still needed them to jump on board. Yes, we reached our 3 million dollar goal, but the project is at least a 9 million dollar project. Our bigger goal in the Campaign was full "buy in" from everyone...100% participation. We're not there yet, but we're closer to that goal than 95% of the churches that go down this road. It goes to show that the people at Crossroads are special. They see a good investment (changed lives) when they see it.
Speaking of "seeing it", I didn't see the names on the envelopes that went out to those who had yet to pledge.
There's great debate in the church world whether or not the pastor should know what people give. Some pastors insist on knowing--giving is a sign of spiritual health and they want to know when someone in the flock isn't healthy. I see the point, but I'm not there.
Blog on...
Pastor Phil
posted by Pastor Phil Print at 2:00 PM
10 Comments:
A few years back I worked in the Communication Office of a Private University. Like a Church - the University relyed heavily on monetary gifts and donations to operate and grow. If you were one of the thousands of people that gave money to the school - not only would our School President know the amount - so would the entire development office. So would I - and everyone else in the communication office. In fact thousands of people would know. You see every year we published an annual report listing EVERY donor and the gift range of their contributions that year.
Further, I don't receive just a single letter in the event that I have not yet made my annual pledge. I receive several letters and numerous phone calls asking me to consider a pledge to the school. I receive the same publication, gift letters and phone calls from several other schools that I and my wife attended and have had contact with as well.
Now I know that Colleges and Universities (and let's not forget private high schools) are not the same as churches. But really - what's the difference? I should be proud to see my name in the Minnehaha annual report listed in the $250 - $500 range, yet offended that my Pastor 'might' know how much I give to the church? That just doesn't make sense.
Let's keep things in perspective here, folks. Crossroads ran a very open and honest fundraising campaign. This was, no doubt, directly related to the quality of leader that Pastor Phil is. We should be grateful and proud to have such leadership and we should encourage each other to help the Church pursue it's vision.
I, for one, hope we move quickly beyond these types of issues and into more important ones - like getting Pastor Phil BACK into that preacher's robe!!
what about Jesus' warning regarding the recognition of others? He said that the recognition would be "their reward". He went on to say that we should give in secret and that He would then reward us. i guess i would prefer to follow His advice rather than the corporate world's.
I think that a careful reading of Matthew 6 indicates the real issue is where a person's heart is. If the INTENTION of my acts are to receive reward and public recognition then that WILL BE the extent of my reward.
Did Mother Theresa lose her 'rewards in heaven' because the entire world recognized her amazing acts? Of course not. The recognition - although real - was not her motivation.
Further - unless you give only cash gifts and choose not to report those on your taxes - those gifts ARE public record and will be seen by somebody.
I completely agree with your wanting to follow Christ's advice by the way - but he spent exponentially more time imploring us to help others then he did warning us about how we do it.
aren't our hearts deceiteful above all things? can we even know our own heart? when a system of publishing gifts is implemented, couldn't we all be suseptable to wanting recognition? in addition, i'm always amused when institutions, evangelists...etc call on people "to step out in faith & give more than you think you can", all the while they're the one's leaning on the arm of the flesh by devising schemes to get the most out of people. it's usually their faith (or lack of) that comes into question.
Yes - there are folks that give with the intention of recognition. And yes - there are some individuals that raise money in deceitful ways (I actually took a very interesting class in College called Religion and the Media where we studied many of these contraversial strategies.)
The real problem, however, is when we decide it's better to do nothing then to at least try. I don't think you're promoting that message - but it is the next step in the process - to become so cynical that you convince yourself it's better to do nothing then to be taken.
I will gladly - after thoughtful discussion and consideration with my wife - increase my giving to Crossroads beacuse I believe in Crossroads vision and trust Crossroads leadership.
Interesting thought for you - Luke 21 presents another concept of giving -
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=21&version=31
I think that we HAVE fallen vicitm to Westernized thinking. We make our mortgage payment, our car payments, our cell phone/cable/internet, etc payments and after all of our bills we THEN ask ourselves what is a fiscally repsonsible amount to give back to God. Perhaps that is what the Crazy Campaign message really was - to change our worldly vision of Financial Management!
humble dude, this is a blog regarding the topic of posting our contributions. i happen to think a blog is more interesting when bringing up points & counterpoints. if it were only just to say the obvious and to stroke the leadership, i wouldn't bother weighing-in. while i appreciate your instruction, you seem to have assumed that i am anti-giving. i assure you i am not. i am however anti-religious. i've learned some valuable lessons over time & i'm a bit passionate about them. in the past, i have fallen into the same trap that the isrealites did and as it seems the church, for the most part, has. it tends to get centered around itself and produces people that elevate the leadership of local fellowships to be their mediators between God & them. they become fiercely loyal to the well meaning agendas of their local church but consequently take little time developing any relationships, having a vision of their own or contributing to anything outside of their fellowship of believers. i believe i've in recent years learned some balances regarding my personal responsibilities to God, family, the lost, the 'church' universal and the local body of believers. this does include the generous giving of myself, my time & my finances (though i'm a work in progress of course). i can already anticipate your defense of crossroads, how worthy and outreaching it is. of course i would agree to that, as i have a few times already. my arguments aren't about cr, they are about avoiding the snare of falling into the stereotypical 'church-lady' syndrome. we need to have a relationship with God that endures apart from our local fellowship. a big part of that s/b about our touching peoples lives at an individual level, because that's the way they get truly encouraged & come to know God. are we square yet humble pie dude?
No worries Passionate. I'll have to paraphrase Oprah on Letterman 'we were never NOT square.' Actually, my guess is that you and I would agree on most things - it's just the medium of these boards doesn't allow a lot of discussion 'filling in the cracks.'
As mentioned once in all the above topics I find Faith as the most interesting. When ever money comes up as a topic I always find myself contemplating Faith as the solver of mystery. People today find it hard to have a Faith that God calls for. I think it is the biggest single most issue we all face. But sticking with the topic of money, I find people time and time again saying they can't afford to give more. In reality I see (and I find it a struggle for myself not too be judgmental) people can't give more because they don't want to give up pleasantries they have become accustomed to. Also people seem to believe they need to take care of themselves and forget to have Faith in God and Jesus. I feel if we trust God more (which is often hard to do) then we will give more. (And I am not saying those who give more trust God more.) But also these people have fewer issues in their lives and are generally happier. God will take care of us no matter what we do so please just do what you feel he asks without trying to rationalize yourself out of it; act in Faith.
Now this is meant to encourage, not to boast. :) My family gives a fair amount to our church. On more than on occasion when the topic is discussed we have been told that we are crazy to give as much as we do. But the reasoning for our crazy actions always comes down to what we could do with that money. (I don’t find this questioning too bad because it encourages me to give more.) We do struggle by giving as much as we do but God does do a great job taking care of us. We are very happy with what we have. God has always provided for us. When the crazy campaign came along God prompted us to give to CR and also to raise our givings to IVCF, more than we could afford. It is tough at times but our Faith continues to grow. And because of our money situation my wife was prompted to get a job. And again God has provided us with plenty of money to live but also many non-monetary benefits in our lives. (We are becoming much healthier.) Thank you Lord for all you do and provide and please help us all have more Faith in You.
Just my opinion...if pastors and leaders of CrossRoads were to start knowing how much $money people give we would be stepping out on "ye old slippery slope". I don't think it matters how mature our pastors and leaders are...the downward slide would begin with the giving information being made public. The "2 people who count the money" have to be mature and very trusted. Even the ushers who count the offering to some degree every week should be mature and trusted people. CrossRoads is well run...lets "change lives" !!!
thanks mr. pie, i agree & appreciate you!
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