CHOOSING TO LIVE Financing the Future of Religious Body Headquarters by J. David Schmidt Christian S

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CHOOSING TO LIVEFinancing the Future of
Religious Body Headquartersby J. David
Schmidt(Christian Stewardship Association,
1996)Reviewed byG. Edward Reid, Stewardship
DirectorNorth American Division
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• In Choosing to Live author J. David Schmidt
  reports on a study underwritten by the Lilly
  Endowment and supported by the National Council
  of Churches, the National Association of
  Evangelicals, and the Christian Stewardship
  Association. Throughout 1994 and 1995 an
  extensive survey questionnaire was sent to more
  than 220 Protestant denominations in the United
  States. Thirty one (31) denominational
  headquarters responded, including the Seventh-day
  Adventist Church. The 31 denominations represent
  about one-third of all U.S. Protestant churches
  and a third of Protestants in the country.

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• According to the Yearbook of American and
  Canadian Churches, denominations represent
  roughly 65 percent of all Protestant churches in
  the United States. About a third of all
  Protestant churches could be classified as
  independent, non-denominational, or not aligned
  with a specific denomination.

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The Bottom Line Big Question

• What choices need to be made now to provide the
  funding needed to perpetuate the appropriate
  functions of denominations into the future?
• In other words, what do denominations need to do
  now to maintain the financial support of their
  pastors and local churches?

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• Choosing to Live gives an unbiased look at
  financial problems confronting denominational
  organizations today. Best of all, they give
  solutions that work from churches who have
  successfully met the challenges.

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A Time of Change

• The author indicates that the most significant
  factor affecting the financial support base is
  the fact that We are in the midst of some
  tectonic changes which nullify old response
  patterns. Accordingly, maintaining a status
  quo, is no longer an option.

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9 Forces of Postmodernism

• The research indicates that there are nine
  eternal forces that are having a serious effect
  on the financial support of denominations by
  people in the pew and the pastorate. They are as
  follows

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• 1. An Anemic Worldview.
• Many church members have a secular worldview
  that is almost identical to our modern culture.
  The words, Does it work? have replaced, Is
  it right? If it works for you, then go right
  ahead.Another question frequently asked is,
  What does God have to do with my money?

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• 2. Privatization.
• People are more concerned about themselves
  than others. Look after number 1. It is Meet
  my needs on my time schedule. There is a loss
  of institutional loyalty. People pick up and go
  where they think they will receive the most
  value. Privatization is seen in the pervasive
  sense that people want to be left alone on the
  weekends. People become more interested in local
  needs such as choir robes, new carpet, paving the
  parking lot, etc. than for the fulfillment of the
  great commission.

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• 3. Pluralism.
• Whatever you are into is o.k. Pluralism is an
  extreme tolerance for multiple worldviews,
  different religions and consequently, multiple
  ways to achieve salvation and eternal life.
  Pluralists are uncomfortable with proselytizing
  or even with people with strongly held views or
  with those who challenge the views of others.
  When this view is held, people fail to see the
  need to evangelize the world or to spend money
  to extend the gospel.

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• 4. Relativism.
• In a realistic world, there are no moral
  absolutes or immutable truth. Whatever a person
  believes is deemed o.k. by others and society at
  large. Tolerance is the politically correct
  position. Tentatively held beliefs are not
  strong enough to hold people together. There is
  no accountability. The narrow way is not part
  of the vocabulary.

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• 5. Loss of Margin.
• The preferred currency today is time not
  money. People seem to have the same lack of time
  as they do money. Living without a margin of
  time or money is part of our lifestyle today.
  People live at the edge of their checkbooks,
  their workweek, their evenings. They even cram
  their weekends. Even their church life is
  frenetic. Such people are no longer concerned
  with building a better world. Instead, they
  simply want to survive another day.

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• 6. Socioeconomic Fermentation.
• There is an increasing split between the
  economic haves and have-nots. Rising divorce
  rates have unbalanced the family. Saving is out.
  Credit cards and debt are in. Job security is a
  memory. Demands for a better lifestyle makes
  responding to the need of the church and others
  nearly impossible.

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• 7. Information Technology Advancement.
• Many people are so connected to their pagers
  and cell phones that they use them in the
  cafeteria line, while walking to their cars or to
  an appointment, or even to interrupt a
  conversation with another person. There is also
  a demand for relevant and savvy information.
  Many people rely on their computer and the
  Internet for much of their information.

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• 8. Rising Value of Oral Communication.
• Television has taken many people away from
  reading and made them dependent on oral
  communication. The value system of the
  entertainment industry is now the value system of
  our culture. Many churches are not set up to
  share the stories of their members.

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• 9. Hyperbole.
• Given all of the above and its compounding
  effects, many of the forces in our lives seem to
  be exaggerated. People have begun to believe
  that these forces are much stronger than they
  actually are. With the resulting higher stress
  levels many people become disillusioned with
  institutions even the church.

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• These nine forces of postmodernism just listed
  are having a measurable impact on church members
  and their church involvement and giving habits.
  Denominational leadership must recognize these
  factors that affect the lives of church members
  and devise methods of dealing with them.

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CHOICE 1 To acknowledge cultures impact on
denominations

• To really make a difference in the financial
  support in churches, the following changes must
  take place
• 1. Younger people would have to practice
  stewardship and get a better understanding of how
  their church works.

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• 2. Pastors and churches would have to teach
  stewardship, biblical financial management
  principles, and tithing.
• 3. Denominational leaders would have to do a
  better job of communicating the needs, purposes,
  vision, and projects of the church. They would
  have to lead, teach, model, and mentor
  stewardship principles. They would have to
  challenge pastors more and give churches more
  choices.

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WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO BOLSTER THE NUMBER OF
YOUNGER SUPPORTERS?

• Leaders already know. Biblical stewardship.
  Stewardship principles resources by the
  denomination, taught by the pastor, and caught
  and practiced by the attendees.
• It is wishful thinking on the part of the
  denominational leaders to think that non-givers
  will somehow magically start giving once their
  kids are raised. If they havent practiced
  giving in the past, they will not, without major
  effort, be transformed into givers.

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CHOICE 2 - To acknowledge the sovereignty of the
pew

• The pew is not always right or mature, and does
  not always have a complete picture. But
  understanding the pew, and appropriately
  responding to it, is critical to future financial
  vitality.
• The survey found that pastors are relied upon
  more than any other channel of communication in
  the denominational cause.

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• The survey found that 60 percent of pastors
  could be considered supporters of the
  denomination. But what was most significant was
  that 40 percent of pastors are considered passive
  or hostile!

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CHOICE 3 To serve your real customer, the
church (and pastor)

• A new level of service from the denomination
  will be required. This service will need to be
  spiritual and exhibit vitality. The denomination
  will need to clearly communicate the vision of
  the church and what is being accomplished by the
  offerings.
• Teaching Biblical values and an ongoing
  stewardship education program is a step in the
  right direction.

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CHOICE 4 To respond to new realities

• Donor attrition must be faced squarely in every
  denomination. There must be intentional steps to
  replace lost donors. The recommended points are
• - sufficient evangelism.
• - stewardship training of all ages which results
  in a new set of givers.
• - provide a range of giving opportunities to
  stimulate new donors.
• - working closely with pastors will pay
  dividends.

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CHOICE 5 To get out of fundraising and
people-raising

• The survey found that denominations that pursue
  parachurch fundraising methods like direct mail
  solicitation will continue to be short of
  necessary funds.
• Direct mail cost would be much better spent on
  stewardship education to develop the number of
  committed stewards.
• The future will belong to those groups which are
  willing to take the long view and develop their
  expertise in raising up people with stewardship
  values.

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STEWARDSHIP IS A FAITH AND WORLD VIEW WITH GOD AT
THE CENTER WHICH SUGGESTS 3 THINGS
1. God has provided ALL our resources.
2. God has given each of us the responsibility
to manage these resources as stewards.
3. God will ultimately hold us accountable for
how we use His resources.
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Of all religious bodies, the denomination is
best positioned to influence and develop
stewardship values in their constituency. Yet
this distinctive is largely underresourced in the
majority of denominations.

• Historically the emphasis on missions preceded
• stewardship emphasis. Missions presented the
• need. Stewardship met the challenge. Through
  the
• years the prosperity of the one has been
  dependent
• on the other. This link between extension of the
  
• gospel and church and stewardship should not be
• dismissed lightly.

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14 POINTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE STEWARDHIP STRATEGY
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• It is rooted in sound Biblical thinking about
  stewardship.
• - Giving is a part of worship. Ps. 11618, 19
• Mal 310
• - All believers need to personally experience
  the truth of Jesus words that it is more
  blessed to give than to receive. Acts 2035
• - All need to have their hearts focused on
  heaven which results from giving here on earth.
  Lk. 1234
• - All need to be the recipients of Gods
  special love which flows to the cheerful giver.
• 2 Cor. 97
• - All need to recognize that God is the owner
  of everything. Ps. 241

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• 2. It is structurally sound.
• Everyone who works for the denominationat all
  levelsshould recognize that stewardship is an
  essential task in every congregation.
• Pastors of local churches must see stewardship
  education as part and parcel of Christian
  discipleship.

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• 3. It is culturally relevant.
• Effective stewardship education today has to
  be I a language people understand. It must tell
  stories people relate to.
• People must understand that a non-tither is
  still an outsider. He is a guest in the home.
  Tithing makes one an insider. One is now part
  of the team, sharing with other gladly and
  unselfishly the responsibility of keeping the
  doors open and spreading the gospel.

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• It focuses on values development.
• Stewardship education helps people become
  aware of the mission of the church and respond
  to it. It helps people prioritize their
  values.

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• It meets people at their point of spiritual need.
• People fundamentally want to have their finances
  under control. Much of the material distributed
  by denominations is still about the program
  what a person can do for the denomination.
• An effective stewardship education program from
  the denominational office must have, as its
  focus, the spiritual vitality (in the area of
  managing life resources- of the people it is
  intended to serve. Any agenda otherwise will
  cause a misfire.

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• It is segmented to meet the spiritual
• needs of people at every life stage.
• An effective stewardship education strategy
  will provide services and resources for all ages
  of church members children, teens, singles,
  parents, retirees which is targeted to the
  maturity level of each group.

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• It is resourced at the proper level of urgency.
• This is the acid test. If the need is truly
  recognized, resources will flow to meet it.
  Every denomination has the funds to strengthen
  its stewardship education. It takes active
  choosing to tap reserves, change policy, sell
  unusable property, and drop no-longer-effective
  programs to free up new resources.

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• It is done with excellence.
• Cant be mediocre. Cant be boring or poorly
  produced. Low budget communicates low priority.
  It must be age, gender, and ethnically balanced.

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• It is sustained.
• Stewardship education is not a triennial
  affair. It must be viewed as an ongoing,
  never-ending process not an occasional event
  which is planned for the future. To be
  effective, churches must be provided with a
  calendar and matching resources which allow the
  church the regular opportunities to utilize.

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• It is mass-customized.
• Pastors should not find it difficult to use in
  their local field.

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• It holds leaders responsible.
• Holding leaders accountable on certain values
  sends the message that those values are
  important. Pastors are notorious for avoiding
  the topic of money even when handed highly
  effective stewardship education resources.
  Annual evaluations conducted by conference
  personnel should include helping pastors be
  accountable for the development of stewardship
  values in their churches.

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• It is multimedia based.
• An effective strategy must utilize multiple
  media today. Each piece must follow the same
  theme/logo and be a part of the marketing plan.
  A professionally developed strategy and tool mix
  is essential. Telling stories in every practical
  media with excellence is vital to your overall
  success.

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• Recognize those who cooperate.
• Pastors and churches which are deeply
  committed to developing stewards should be
  publicly acknowledged for their commitment.

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• It must be a win/win for all involved.
• The pastor must see any stewardship training
  for himself or his people as a win for his
  personal finances, his church, and the
  denominational cause.

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CHOICE 6 To sow seed of stewardship and reap a
harvest of stewards

• Denominational leaders really need to empower
  their professional development office to design,
  implement, and work the strategy. This is a
  major issue and perhaps why so few denominations
  have strategic development plans. Too many top
  leaders only look at the bottom line.
• Shared vision pulls people together. An unclear
  or diverse vision leads to frustration.

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CHOICE 7 To organize for the results you
seek

• 8 Action Steps for Running a More Effective
  Development Department
• 1. Develop an appropriate mission list of
  expected results.
• 2. Invest in matching people to their area of
  giftedness.
• 3. Make ongoing training a part of the job
  requirements.
• 4. Insist on and provide funds for regular
  national research of constituents and pastors.

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• 8 Action Steps continued
• 5. Provide funds for stewardship education,
  development, and distribution.
• 6. Insist on annual written plan.
• 7. Provide play money funds for bold,
  outrageous experimentation.
• 8 Fuel the team with outside resources using
  consultants and qualified pastors.

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Denominational leaders should understand and
be able to articulate what business the
denominational headquarters is really in.

• What do churches get back for
• being legally bound to the
• denomination?

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• One of the major problems that has troubled the
  financial underpinnings has been the tendency of
  some denominations to drift away from their
  founding cause. Restating the original mission
  and an adherence to it will strengthen the
  financial vitality of the organization.
• The denominations mission must be clear.
• The question which every denomination must
  wrestle with, with both courage and intellectual
  honesty, is, What is the relationship between
  our present condition and whatever drift has
  occurred from our original mission and beliefs?

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The return to the denominations basic roots is
key to funding success because

• Money follows authentic ministry.
  
• People will pay for dialogue only so long.
  Eventually authentic ministry must be the basis
  for giving.
• New money must come from new people. And this
  means evangelism! New money can come from only
  two places
• a. Current non-giving younger
  members/attenders who need to catch the
  denominational vision
• b. New people who are currently outside the
  denomination.

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A Bottom Line Problem

• In functional terms, the church has not obeyed
  the Lords commission to make disciples. Because
  of this disobedience, it is suffering. Our
  churches are populated with members who are not
  ready to evangelize others. Many pastors have
  failed to equip their members to carry out the
  task. Many members are superficial consumers who
  love affluence and themselves too much to break
  patterns and reach the lost.

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• Stewardship training has not been part of the
  conservative or evangelical discipleship paradigm
  for decades. As a result a whole generation has
  grown up with little or no Biblical framework for
  making money decisions. In its most basic form,
  evangelicals must discover that how they handle
  paychecks is a reflection of their discipleship.

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There is shared responsibility for teaching
financial faithfulness.

• Whether or not a lay person drops a check (his
  tithe and offerings) in the offering is the
  responsibility of
• - the local pastor, who in turn should be
  held accountable by
• - the local conference leaders, who in turn
  should be held accountable by
• - the union and division leadership, who in
  turn should be held accountable by the General
  Conference Committee.

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The surveys concluded that

• Never, never, never, should anyone be invited to
  be a member of a church board or committee at any
  level who is not already a generous giver.
  Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
  also. Why should a person be a leader in an
  organization if his/her heart is not in it?

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CHOICE 9 To solve problems systemically

• In order to fix the stewardship problems the
  entire denominational system must be involved
• -Seminaries -Communications
• -Laity -Trust Services
• -Pastors -Stewardship
• -Conference Leaders -Administrative Leaders
• -Treasury -Foreign Missions

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• Two thousand years ago, a woman reached out and
  touched the robe of a rabbi named Jesus, who had
  the power to heal her. She chose a course of
  action. And in that moment of faith and
  touching, she found the freedom from her pain.
  Long before the first denomination ever came into
  existence, this same God was at work in the lives
  of men and women, proving Himself faithful to
  anyone who would call on Him. He remains the
  same for us. For it is in choosing Him and His
  ways that we will find new life for ourselves and
  our denominations.

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