Jewish Philosopher Maimonides’ View of Charity

Posted on March 27, 2010 Written by

This comes from Louis Jacobs’ the Book of Jewish Belief, page 185. One of the most reknown Jewish philosophers, Maimonides, listed eight levels of charitable acts. It is interesting to see how these are borne out by individuals and by churches today.

  1. A man gives, but is glum when he gives. This is the lowest degree of all.
  2. A man gives with a cheerful countenance, but gives less than he should.
  3. A man gives, but only when asked by the poor.
  4. A man gives without having to be asked, but gives directly to the poor who know therefore to whom they are indebted, and he, too, knows whom he has benefited.
  5. A man places his donation in a certain place and then turns his back so that he does not know which of the poor he has benefited, but the poor man knows to whom he is indebted.
  6. A man throws the money into the house of a poor man. The poor man does not know to whom he is indebted, but the donor knows whom he has benefited.
  7. A man contributes anonymously to the charity fund that is then distributed to the poor. Here the poor man does not know to whom he is indebted, neither does the donor know whom he has benefited.
  8. Highest of all is when money is given to prevent another from becoming poor, as by providing him with a job or by lending him money to tide him over a difficult period. There is no charity greater than this becasue it prevents poverty in the first instance.

So, how is your church not just helping the poor, but preventing poverty?

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: generosity Tagged:

Financial Resolutions 2

Posted on January 4, 2010 Written by
The next set of financial resoutions for churches from Brad Leeper of Generis.com
3. Conversations must move beyond stewardship to generosity
With all due respect to the biblical concept of stewardship, the term itself is passive, hard to understand, and boring. In the secret places of the heart, people do not long to be good stewards. They do long to make an impact. To be a difference maker. To be generous to the point of giving up something that is good in exchange for something that is better.
Churches that celebrate generosity become more generous. Churches that are silent about generosity become zealous about cutting expenses. I have lived in that cutting expenses season. Experiencing generosity is much more fun. Try a vocabulary shift in 2009. Replace stewardship with generosity and unpack the stories about how the generosity of your church changed lives. Watch your giving flourish.
4. Churches must speak more intentionally about finances
Economically tough times create intense static in the minds and hearts of your people. Consider that we have been accustomed to a consumer driven lifestyle accompanied by $3 cups of specialized coffee and the internal confusion hits decibel levels too loud for even 18 year old rockers. Where do your people stand in juggling financial realities? According to a USA Today article May 2008:
· 9 out of 10 consumers in their 30s are in debt.
· 45% of respondents in one survey said they had too much debt to think about saving. Do we think the answer is any different about their generosity?
· 20% of adult in their 30s are still paying college loans.
Another source reports that Americans now save, on average, less than 1% of their income. How can we expect people to give generously when their margin is already so razor thin? Be daring in your coaching. Teach people how to get out of debt. Teach them how to save. Inspire them to live above the roar of our consumer-driven machine.
When I perform a giving analysis for a client, it is very typical to receive a list of regular attending households (OK, relax. I do not ask for names) with over 50% of those households having giving nothing in the last year. I have had pastors tear up when they realize that they are the number 2 top donor in the church. Your people are not as up to speed about finances as you think they are. The church that preaches and teaches about sound, biblical financial practices will create a long-term culture that gives abundantly to match its compelling vision.
 

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances, generosity, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , , ,

Financial Resolutions 5

Posted on January 4, 2010 Written by

The next set of financial resolutions for churches from Brad Leeper at Generis.com

7. Potential larger gift donors need pinpoint coaching and encouragements

As leaders, we hear an outstanding vocalist and we encourage them to move into the music ministry. We find a young leader gifted as a communicator and we prompt them into ministry options. Yet, we find a person with financial capacity to give large sums and we go into silent mode. Churches that coach and elevate the gift of giving contribute vast resources for Kingdom work. Rather than showing the rich man favor, we actually raise the bar of discipleship for them and release enormous sums toward those things that stir the heart of God.

Most potentially larger gift donors are often paralyzed about their giving. They often are ill-equipped to know how to give, where to give, and the mechanics of making wise gifts. Appropriate financial guidance can multiple a gift to your church while legally minimizing tax liabilities. Our government tax code subsidizes our giving.

Although people can earn huge dollars, they are not automatically inclined to know how to give wisely. A wealthy person who understands how much is enough can substitute giving for lifestyle and release untold resources to valuable ministry needs. Churches that disciple high capacity donors multiple vast amounts of resources.

8. Leaders must model sacrificial giving

We cannot lead people where we ourselves are not going. Our people are hungry to view authentic leaders living and giving in the context of faith. Leading by example inspires. How we model and appropriately demonstrate generosity can be tricky. It is done with integrity and humility in generous churches.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: generosity, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Financial Leadership Mistakes Churches Make

Posted on October 26, 2009 Written by
  • Low Expectations of members – Are people living up to our low expectations? How high do churches set the bar or are we just too scared that people will go away? In reality, people are more willing to live up to higher standards if they know what they are.
    o Set the bar as high as God sets the bar. To do less is to undermine God.
  • Low Teaching by leadership of biblical financial principles – Many church leaders are scared to talk about money because they don’t know how to. They don’t know how to talk about money because they’re scared to talk about it. They’ve got to get off the merry-go-round. Find a God-model for your talk on biblical financial principles – “just because the church needs it” or “because tithing is biblical” is not sufficient.
    o Make biblical financial teaching a regular practice. As with all habits, once you do it enough, you’ll get used to it and do it regularly. However, get a God-model to challenge your members.
  • Low Accountability of church leaders (both paid and volunteer) – Who holds church leaders accountable for what they spend and how they spend it? Do those expenses advance the Kingdom or are they just frivolous spending?
    o Can church members get a copy of the church’s monthly financial statements without hassles? If your church’s checkbook were posted online, would you be embarrassed at any expenses? Did they spend church money wisely? I have a saying that church money should work hard twice – once when the donor earns it and again when the church spends that money.
  • Low Transparency of church finances – Do churches have fuzzy numbers? A church’s monthly financial statements should be in a readily accessible place and questions should be answered clearly and completely.
    o Make your financial statement accessible. Answer all financial questions to the satisfaction of the person asking the questions.
  • Low Leadership and Management – Leadership is guiding the church toward a vision that captures most people’s imagination and gets them on board the ship. Management is ensuring that you have the right people in the right places on the ship and rowing in the same direction. Leadership is about positions; management is about people.
    o Every five years do strategic planning so that you know what positions your church needs in order to accomplish its mission and vision.
    o Then, find the right people to put into those positions even if it means letting go of some great staff. If they can’t lead the church in its strategic plan, then help them move on so that your church can move forward.
    o This means that every few years you’re going to kill some neat programs that no longer fit into the church’s mission and vision and you’re going to let go of some fine friends and colleagues. But you’re the leader of the church – decide what is most critical to the future of the church – its mission or keeping people and programs that distract from the main thing.
Lead On!
Steve
Filed Under: church finances, communications, generosity, strategy, young adults Tagged: , , , , ,

Email to a Colleague at my Church

Posted on October 23, 2009 Written by

I thought I’d share an email to a fellow minister. My goal is to get ministers and members to think “outside the financial box” and think if new ways to get money for church needs, especially capital needs.

For a couple months I’ve heard you all getting info about new drop down backboards for the gym. The latest figures I have are costs in the $24K range which is way out of anyone’s budget and designated funds. That got me to thinking about asking the Upwards parents if they would be willing to make a gift or contribution to this project.

In my years as a church administrator, there have been countless times when people wanted to make a gift and asked me what are some pressing needs. My experience is that people want to give back to a ministry or the church that has blessed them or helped them. Unfortunately, the church too often feels that “we can only do it if we pay for it” or “that’s rude to ask people for money.” Both of those concepts are wrong – we shortchange people when we don’t give them the opportunity to give. People want to return the favor, we just need to be open to it, especially to be open to new ways of paying for the church’s needs. Having been in church business for my entire life, I can see a distinct pattern downward in the typical way of funding church – the offering plate is drying up.

I’ve been in multiple conversations with members of the church’s financial leadership team, Ministry Coordination Council members, and the senior pastor on the subject of developing new streams of revenue for the church. The senior pastor asked an MCC member and me to make a presentation to MCC in November on the why and how of new revenue streams. This is a subject that is gaining importance and visibility within our own church.

The Minister of Recreation and I partnered recently on a basketball camp that was a tremendous success and we split the revenue – some for the Rec Ministry and some for the building maintenance (to fix holes in the walls from “stray” basketballs). This is a great model for how we can move forward to fund needs of various ministries and the buildings. I would like to propose that you consider yet another stream of revenue to help meet a need of the Rec Ministry – the backboards.

The idea is that for two of your eight Saturdays during the Upward games, you will distribute a half sheet of paper with the message below. The message is not threatening or guilt-inducing. Instead is makes known a need and gives people the opportunity to respond if they want to. It tells them how they can help a ministry of the church and thanks them for letting us be a part of their life. This is not a solicitation (which our church’s by-laws won’t let you do), it gives people an chance to respond. I truly believe that it is right, ethical, and scriptural to give people the chance to express their gratitude without any form of compulsion. To not give people a chance to give is to limit people and God.

In future years (or even this year), I can easily see the gift request during Upward to be for ministry opportunities in a church in Richmond, or with one of our foreign mission partners, or another recreation oriented need beyond our walls. Perhaps alternating years (between our church and another need) or even doing a split offering in the same year for two separate needs? There are many opportunities and tremendous needs out there – the real question is how can we think creatively to help meet these needs.

Will the Rec Ministry be willing to distribute this message below to its parents? Who knows what God will do through this. Thank you.

New Basketball BackboardsThe Recreation Ministry would like to install four new basketball backboard so that future Upward Basketball seasons can have better equipment. These goals will hang from the ceiling and replace our aging and hard to move floor level goals. Each new backboard costs about $6,000 or $24,000 for the entire project.

Gifts to this project are being accepted by Recreation Ministry if you would like to help. Checks can be made payable to the church and write “basketball backboards” in the memo line and given to a staff member. These tax-deductible donations are not required – it is our joy and privilege to have your child in the Upward program. Thank you for entrusting us with your most precious gift. We hope you and your family have enjoyed it and we hope to see you next year.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, church finances, church staff, generosity, leadership Tagged: , , , ,

Six Generations in Church – part 1

Posted on October 14, 2009 Written by

Due to increased longevity of our populations, churches have six generations alive at the same time and actively involved. Churches must deal with six different attitudes toward architecture, furniture, expectations of staff, worship styles, what to wear to church, giving, going “green” at church, etc. All churches face this logistical nightmare. As this generational shift relates to giving, there is a chasm between the mindsets of younger and older generations. Whereas the oldest generation is known for giving to appeals, Generation Y prefers to give to causes.

  • GI Generation (1901-1924)
    o They are trying not to outlive their money
    o They prefer to give to institutions
    o They have very high trust levels of institutions and organizations
    o They are the Greatest Generation that fought World War II
  • Silent Generation (1925-1945)
    o They are trying not to outlive their money
    o They like to give to institutions
    o They have high trust levels of institutions
    o They grew up in the shadow of World War II and the prosperity of the 1950s
  • Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
    o They are in their peak giving years
    o The like giving to designated funds and causes
    o They trust organizations moderately
    o They grew up during the 1960s and Watergate
  • Baby Busters (1965-1983)
    o They are beginning to be major givers
    o They really like designated giving
    o They have low trust levels of government and organizations
    o They grew up during Iran-Contra, Jim Bakker and PTL, and plenty of other scandals
  • Gen Y or Millennials (1984-2002)
    o They are just beginning to give
    o They prefer to give designated gifts
    o They have low or no trust levels of organizations
    o They grew up with the Web and know they have access to anything and everything
  • Gen Z or iGeneration (2003- )
    o They are too young to have a view on giving right now
    o They will probably give significantly to designated causes
Lead On!
Steve
Filed Under: church finances, future, generosity, strategy Tagged: , , ,
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