Do the Word

Today we begin a five-part series designed to dispel the most popular misconceptions that cling to Transformational Giving. We begin with the most common misconception of all, which goes something like this.

Wow! I’m so glad I came to this Transformational Giving seminar! It validates what I’ve always believed, which is that I don’t need to ask people for money.

It’s understandable how that misconception arises. After all, Transformational Giving principle 8 says:

Giving is not the process but rather one vital result of the process of a champion being comprehensively coached to share the cause effectively within his or her sphere of influence.

That almost sounds like, ‘Don’t worry about talking about money. People will give money if you talk about everything else.’ But that notion is dispelled by Transformational Giving principle 9, which says:

Giving is learned, not latent.

So let’s spend a few minutes talking about how and when and why we talk about money in Transformational Giving.

The place to begin is Ephesians 4:7-13, from whence Transformational Giving draws its charter. That passage shows a giving progression that goes as follows:

• God gives leaders to His people
• Those leaders prepare God’s people for works of service
• The Body of Christ, having been built up by these leaders, attains the full maturity and measure of Christ and renders its full harvest to God

This is a complete inversion of traditional/transactional Christian fundraising, which has the arrows running in the opposite direction:

• God gives gifts to His people
• God’s people support leaders by giving those gifts to them
• Leaders render the work unto God

In that latter scenario, the result is completed work. In the former scenario, the result is a completed church. Guess which one God is after? (Note that it’s possible to accomplish the first without the second, but it’s not possible to accomplish the second without also accomplishing the first in the process.)

That’s why TG  9 says that giving is not the process but is the result of the process. Giving–fundraising–is just not a big enough word to describe the process. The process is sanctification–growing in Christian maturity in relation to the cause. Generosity is one of the fruits of that process.

So if generosity is a fruit of the process, won’t it just happen automatically if we work on everything else?

Answer: No.

Reason:

Sanctification is a Holy Spirit process. We can’t make it happen; however, there are a couple of things that we can do and that as Christian leaders we are called to do in support of and collaboration with the Holy Spirit:

• We can help the individual we’re coaching search the Scriptures in order to understand what God has in mind for all Christians (and thus for them) in relation to the cause–the general will of God, or ‘What God has in mind for all Christians in relation to this cause’.
• We can serve as a platform or gymnasium in which the individual carries out that general will of God in relation to the cause.
• We can mentor the person in relation to the cause, encouraging them to imitate us as we carry out our calling related to the cause.
• We can serve as mutual accountability partners in (1) helping each other know and carry out God’s general will for us in relation to the cause; and (2) discerning what God has for us specifically in relation to the cause–our ‘calling’.

So the question remains: Can all of the above be done–can the person be coached to full maturity in Christ in relation to the cause–without talking to the individual about his or her giving to the cause?

I would be absolutely flummoxed if anyone could straight-facedly answer that question in the affirmative.

It would be like saying, ‘I think an individual could grow to fullness in Christ in the cause in the area of prayer without us working through some specific prayer disciplines.’

Or, ‘I think an individual could grow to fullness in Christ in the cause in the area of their actions without us working through some specific projects or involvement opportunities.’

Giving, in other words, has to be an intentional area of growth in which we openly coach each champion. They don’t naturally become more giving people as we work on everything else. Giving isn’t latent inside them. And even though generosity is a fruit of Christian maturity, fruit grows from a seed, and that seed has to have a field where it can be planted.

In other words, the Holy Spirit brings the growth. Prayerfully and scripturally we seek to supply the opportunity and the coaching, not with our own needs at the forefront but with a clear sense of where the champion currently is and what giving opportunities are next steps the Holy Spirit can use.

That’s why talking to a champion about giving is different than simply asking them for money for what we need.

When we talk to them about giving we are helping them to understand the general will of God in relation to the cause and then discern the specific will of God related to their part in it. So we can (and need to) help them understand that they’re called to give in relation to the cause, but we can’t presume to know that they’re called to give to this specific project for which we’re raising funds. We can, however, say, ‘This project seems like a good fit based on the goals we set together. What do you think?’

Sum it up and say:

What drives the giving process in Transformational Giving is not our organization’s need or the champion’s comfort level, but what Scripture calls them to do generally and what the Holy Spirit is calling them to do specifically. As leaders, we’re called to help each champion walk in the works God has prepared for them. That requires open and honest conversation, even–and often especially–in the area of giving.

And, as God would have it, not infrequently an area of need for us turns out to be the perfect giving opportunity to challenge a champion and bring them growth in relation to the cause.

As with all things related to Transformational Giving, trust in God that this will be the case is what enables us to set aside concerns we have about whether He’ll supply. Scarcity concerns should never drive our conversations with champions. Instead, we should be driven by a commitment to help every champion grow to the fullness of Christ in relation to the cause we share. When we’re talking to them in this way, rather than out of self-interest–when we’re talking about God’s call for the champion to give rather than about our need to receive–it’s s amazing how our own need always gets met.

Tomorrow’s misconception: ‘Transformational Giving takes a long time to get results compared to traditional/transaction fundraising.’

Unless we can come to grips with the idea that a monthly giver might be a lapsed champion, we’ll never understand Transformational Giving.

It’s a crazy idea. But as many crazy ideas are, it’s a biblical one. Check out these words of Jesus from Revelation 2:1-5:

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

When do champions lapse? Not only when their activity ceases. And certainly not only when their giving ceases.

Champions lapse first and foremost when they forsake their first love.

In relation to nonprofitministrydom (did I just write that?), that happens when they stop seeking to walk in the works God has prepared for them to walk in in relation to the cause you both share. Those works are not for their salvation. They’re works designed to grow the champion into the full stature of Christ in relation to the cause He’s given you to coach them in (in collaboration with their local church).

When that happens, the good shepherd will do something more than send a letter that begins:

It’s been a year since you sent me a check and, frankly, I’m concerned about you.

OK, actually I’m more concerned about the check that you are not sending and the fact that my ministry’s finances are going down the hopper. I’ve heard the easiest way to remedy that is to send a letter to the folks who got annoyed the most recently and  stopped responding to all this mail I keep sending even though they haven’t asked me to send them anything at all.

Or something like that.

It’s possible to state what a lapsed champion program looks like in just a few bullet points:

1. Ask, ‘What does the Bible call the cause for which God has called me to coach and disciple His people?’ The Bible doesn’t use words like ‘homeless shelter’ or ‘crisis pregnancy’, but it does have an awful lot to say about every cause to which we ministries are called by Him. Once we identify what the Bible calls the cause to which we’ve been called, we can ask:
2. ‘What does the Bible call every Christian to do in relation to this cause?’ It’s not about earning salvation. It’s about being shaped in the image of Christ. That means God is going to take us through certain experiences, many of which we won’t like or feel passionate about. What are those experiences in relation to your cause?
3. We then ask, ‘What are the roadblocks to champions doing what the Scripture calls for in relation to the cause?’ Once we identify those we can ask:
4. ‘What can our organization do with the champion to remove those roadblacks and enable the champion to grow one step a time closer and closer to the fullness of what God has for them to walk in in relation to this cause?’
5. A champion map developed with each champion then enables us to create with a personalized annual plan to break off and tackle different pieces of that challenge every year.
6. Lapsing happens–or, better yet, losing a sheep happens–not only when the champion stops working the plan, but also when they keep working the plan after losing their first love. In other words, it’s just work then. They give…under compulsion or out of habit. They volunteer…out of guilt. They act…because it’s easier than not acting.

How do you measure a condition of the heart?

A good place to start is with the approach pioneered by World Vision’s Atul Tandon. You can read more about it here. If you are truly, deadly, deeply, madly serious about regularly taking the pulse of your champions and noting it individually, not just en masse, you’ll have no problem detecting a flatline.

Sum up the whole week and say:

Lapsing is a condition of the heart.

It takes more than running a transactional query on giving recency to determine who has lapsed. It may be true that a person who once gave regularly but who stopped giving has lapsed. But in Transformational Giving, it’s only trivially true.

Lapsing happens when the champion, having created a specific champion map with you, based on your mutual discernment of what the Bible calls every Christian to do in relation to the cause you share, begins falling away from the cause in his or her heart, even while their activity may be continuing unabated.

When that happens, what do you do?

You heard Jesus, friend. Yank the lampstand and conk them over the head with it. Mutual accountability, remember?

Don’t miss this month’s Mission Increase Foundation workshops on lapsed champions for more info on this topic. Or if you already have, watch for the DVD of me teaching this workshop from earlier this month in Colorado Springs. Should be available in the MIF Store by mid-summer 2009.

Hope you enjoyed the topic this week. Shepherd, go fetch your sheep!

Last night when I and my fellow passengers aboard United Airlines flight 5830 were stuck on the Indianapolis tarmac for two and a half hours in a plane whose air conditioning was broken, WGM’s Tim Rickel texted me:

Start chanting ‘Passenger Bill of Rights. Flight attendants love that!

Passenger bills of rights. The brand new Credit card bill of rights. Even an Arena Football League Fan’s bill of rights. The concept of bills of rights that provide individuals protection from thoughtless and predatory practices by the organizations with which they do business is certainly gaining steam.

There’s even a Donor bill of rights, which, among the dramatic blows for donor liberty that it strikes, asserts that the donor has the right:

V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement [sic] and recognition.

Hm. That’ll change things.

The interesting thing about bills of right is that they are generally drawn up in situations where people recognize the need to protect a group considered less powerful from a group considered more powerful, usually in the context of a transaction. That’s certainly the feel of the donor bill of rights, which boldly and provocatively asserts that the donor has the right:

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

(Sadly, implementing that one would indeed be an improvement for many ministries.)

Very few husbands and wives draft bills of rights. Other than a few wacky websites, there are not many Christians’ bills of rights. And the one and only ‘friend bill of rights’ was posted on the web earlier this week.

(Pretty good piece, really, though the assertion that as her friend she has a right to ask you ‘to give/receive help moving, driving to/from the airport, and always a place to crash when coming from out-of-town’ does give me the briefest of pause for thoughts. But I digress.)

Generally, if a relationship is transformational (marriage, friendship, membership at a church) and it’s entered into voluntarily by parties, bills of rights just don’t cut it. Sure, they protect against grosser transactional abuses. But one tends to (or ought to) have higher hopes when one marries than avoiding grosser transactional abuses.

That’s why not many bills of rights are found in the scriptures. What is found therein, however, are covenants. What’s cool about the word ‘covenant’ (or berit in the Hebrew) is that it bespeaks two entities on the same side. Synonyms for the word include ‘league’ or ‘confederacy’–a far cry from anything gross or transactional.

Transformational Giving principle five says:

A Transformational Giving relationship between a champion and an organization is primarily a peer-level accountability relationship, not merely a friendship or a mutual admiration society.

A peer-level accountability relationship bespeaks a covenantal relationship, a league, a confederacy focused on accomplishing a cause. And that is indeed the nature of the relationship between the champion and the organization/development officer in a Transformational Giving context.

The simplest form of covenant between the champion and the organization is the champion map–the P/E/O (Participation/Engagement/Ownership) annual plan drawn up collaboratively that identifies the areas where, using the Scripture as a guide, the champion and organization discern that God is calling the champion to grow in the coming year. The implied covenant behind the champion map is this: The champion commits to the growth plan. The organization commits to holding the champion accountable to the plan as well as coaching the champion, with the grace of God, to achieve the growth envisioned in the plan.

(For more on creating champion maps, check out the Coach Your Champions website. Heck, you can even buy the book.)

But the concept of the champion/organization covenant goes even deeper.

A champion/organization covenant is not:

• a statement of faith
• a credo
• a mission statement
• an annual plan
• any one of the fifteen other things nonprofits are taught that they’re supposed to have and probably do but no one can find them because they’re never used

Instead, a covenant defines what and how champion and organization are holding each other accountable to in service of achieving the cause they both share.

Check out these two sample covenant-type docs from nonprofit ministries (neither of which, interestingly, refer to these as covenants, despite them being reasonably good examples of the same). Kudos to Mission Increase Foundation/Arizona‘s Jonathan Roe for the tip.

Note the nature of the language. It’s not a ‘Here’s what you’re responsible for; here’s what we’re responsible for’ approach. There’s no we/you split.

Further, unlike the Donor’s bill of rights, there’s more than money being comprehended here. In fact, the primary category is cause, not money. That doesn’t mean money doesn’t fall under the covenant. Far from it. It means that giving through the organization is the result, not the purpose, of the relationship.

Take a look first at this covenant from Son Life Ministries in Wheaton, IL:

1. Christ commanded me to make disciples–it isn’t an option.
2. Christ–through His life–modeled for me the process of fulfilling the Great Commission. Making disciples involves seeking the lost, establishing believers, and equipping workers: An ongoing balance of winning, building, and equipping priorities, programs, and relationships.
3. Dependence upon God–through his Word, prayer, and His Holy Spirit–is essential to fulfill my part in His Great Commission.
4. The Great Commission is my individual responsibility. In its most critical and basic form, the Great Commission is peer-to-peer, friend to friend and expands from me to the ends of the earth.
5. My love for God and for others motivates me to Great Commission living.
6. The church is God’s chosen vehicle to assist and equip me in the fulfillment of this God-given responsibility.

And how about this piece from our friends up the road at Denver Seminary?

1. We are committed to training people for diverse ministries in and alongside local churches.
2. We are committed to upholding teaching as the professors’ primary task.
3. We are committed to promoting the maximum utilization of faculty gifts of leadership and scholarship to serve God’s redemptive purposes.
4. We are committed to providing graduate level education in which scholarship is placed in the service of ministry.
5. We are committed to applying in the classroom adult education principles which wed relevant theory to the practice of ministry.
6. We are committed to employing biblical truth in critiquing and addressing cultures.
7. We are committed to fostering the moral and spiritual formation of students.

So why all the fuss about a covenant? Why add another document to write on top of the mission statement, vision statement, statement of faith, monthly bank statement, and statement to the press?

Because a covenant is your key to determining mutually with champions when they lapse…and how you will respond.

Tomorrow: the grand finale of our series on lapsed donors.