Dearest Rachel –
So last night was an assembly for what might be considered the leaders of the church to present their pledges for the upcoming… well, it’s not so much a capital campaign like we’ve held in the past for certain specific projects as it is a commitment for future giving going forward.
There’s a lot to be said for this approach. Sure, it’s galvanizing to be a part of a capital campaign, where your contribution can help the church obtain a new building or renovate an existing one for curb appeal, thereby attracting newcomers. We’ve seen it happen time and time again. But this plan to get people to give on a more regular basis would allow the church to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that arise when they do, as opposed to having to scramble for funds in the moment (or worse, after it, while taking on debt to finance their efforts, especially with interest rates as they are). At the same time, giving ought to be a discipline for believers; since God has given us literally everything, in both this life and the next, we shouldn’t be grudging in returning just a small part of what’s, frankly, already His back to Him, especially if it furthers His kingdom here on earth (and further populates His kingdom in the hereafter).
Additionally, there’s something to be said for having the more high-profile members make commitments ahead of there being an ask made of the congregation at large. While nobody is to be singled out by name (that defeats the whole purpose of giving; those that receive acclaim from their gifts as they give it “have their reward in full” already, as Jesus Himself put it, and gain no further benefit from it), the fact that such progress is made toward the church’s goals should serve as an example and encouragement for them to participate in turn. With this commitment having been made, we can be prepared to keep the lights on where we are, have the wherewithal to expand wherever the Spirit allows us to throughout the metropolitan area, and be able to extend our reach across the world that much better. There’s not the slightest bit about this that I consider to be problematic, and I look forward to seeing what we can raise, and what we can do with it all.
The only thing that concerns me is the underlying challenge to everybody to commit to contribute just a little bit more than they think they can. Not that the Lord won’t provide; you and I certainly have stories of how we’ve blessed for what giving we’ve done – not that there’s any cause-and-effect to giving, nor is it necessarily promised to us in terms of earthly prosperity, but we would acknowledge a correlation existing within our experience. And there are those – indeed, if statistics are any indication, more than half of any given congregation are like this – who don’t give anything at this point, even a little bit would be “more than they think they can,” since they’ve never tried to squeeze it into their budget, let alone adopted a discipline of reserving an amount or percentage right off the top to be given back to the Lord. Imagine what could happen with everyone participating, even to a small extent, let alone the percentages discussed in scripture.
But while people can get caught up in the moment of a kickoff event like this, and maybe make a promise to participate to a certain level or another, the danger lies in whether their may be literally writing checks they can’t (or won’t) cash. Not that they don’t mean to do so as they make the pledge; far from it. But this is meant to be an ongoing commitment – and not just for the next couple of years; this should be something everyone commits to for life as a spiritual discipline. The question is, will everyone be able to keep it up, or will it be much like how so many people make resolutions every New Year, only to give up on them along the way?
I’m not sure why I have this pessimistic streak about me when it comes to these sort of moments. It may be the accountant in me – there is a principle of conservatism associated with it, after all – although I’m not sure if that’s something innate within me, or simply learned over time. And it’s not that I lack faith in God and His ability to provide; it’s more a matter of lacking faith in the humans who serve Him. Will we be able to keep up with what we have promised? Or would it be better to promise less, and deliver more?
Even Jesus describes such a situation; He offered a parable about a man with two sons, both of whom he asked to work in his vineyard on a given day. One son responded in the affirmative, but never showed up to actually do his part. The other rebelled and refused, only to have a change of heart and made his way to the vineyard to work after all. Jesus asked His audience which son had pleased their father more, and to a man, they agreed that the second son, while insolent in his response, had actually done what he had been asked, thereby truly pleasing his father.
To be fair, the analogy He presented is of a binary choice; say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ do or do not. Here, it’s a bit more nuanced; we’re not being asked to promise any set amount or percentage. Presumably, though, we’re to be led by the Spirit within us to come up with those numbers, at which point it rather does turn into that same ‘yes’ or ‘no’ situation. Maybe it’s just me, but it might be better if more people were to under-promise and over-deliver, rather than the other way around. Of course, who am I to say that people promise more than they actually follow through with?
In any event, honey, keep an eye on all of us, and wish us luck. We’re going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 