Do the Word

It’s definitely a question that demands to be answered, as I’ve been asked it twice in the last 24 hours! First, my buddy John Lee at World Gospel Mission inquired on behalf of a missionary who’s asking this question after nearly two decades in the field. And then at our Colorado Springs seminar this past Friday, a similarly tenured missionary asked the same question.

In short, the question is this:

I’ve been doing development according to the traditional/transactional principles for the better part of my ministry. In so doing I’ve acquired some tremendous ‘supporters’ who tell me that it doesn’t matter if I’m doing ministry in Timbuktu or Toronto, or whether I’m doing evangelism or crisis pregnancy; they’re going to support me no matter what. They support me because they love me and trust me. So do I go back to them now and say, ‘It’s not enough for you to love me and trust me. It’s time for you to become a champion’?

Short answer:

Yes. Absolutely.

Transformational Giving Principle #5 (click here for the whole list, or click here to register for the seminars this week in San Francisco or LA and I’ll run down the whole list for you myself) says:

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

In traditional/transactional development, there are typically two prime determinants in the relationship between donor and organization. The first is what the donor feels comfortable/passionate/able to do. The second is what the organization/missionary needs. Add a dollop of friendship in there and you have a pretty good donation sandwich.

In Transformational Giving, however, the measurement is different. The parameters of the relationship are not defined by the donor’s passion nor the organization’s need. Instead, they’re defined by the scriptures. We ask:

1. What does the Bible call my ministry? In other words, what are the words and concepts the Bible uses to define what God has called me to do?
2. What does the Bible call all Christians to do in relation to this cause?

A Transformational Giving relationship is thus an accountability relationship, in which the champion and the organization hold each other accountable to grow into the fullness of Christ in relation to the cause they share, as defined by the scriptures.

It can’t be coincidence that I was reading Acts 18 yesterday. In it, Luke gives kudos to Apollos for being learned, well-spoken, and teaching about Jesus accurately…and then he mentions that Priscilla and Aquila pull him aside to ‘explain to him the way of God more adequately’. And then later in the chapter, Paul runs into the same thing in Ephesus: believers who hadn’t quite yet heard the part about the Holy Spirit.

In both cases, the correction that’s brought (by Prescilla/Aquila and Paul) is brought gently but clearly to Christians who were clearly committed and sincere. I think it lays out a great model for us to follow as we share Transformational Giving with our ‘supporters’, who we now realize are called to be ‘champions’.

After all, I doubt that Apollos responded to Prescilla and Aquila’s correction by saying, ‘OK, I’ll try to get it right from now on.’ I imagine his first reaction was to try to find a way to share these new insights with everyone he’d previously taught.

So we should not think, ‘Well, with my best/longest-term/friendliest supporters, I’ll let them continue to be supporters. But I’ll start this champion thing with everyone from now on.’

Instead, we need to go back to our best/longest-term/friendliest folks and share Transformational Giving with them. Heck, send them a link to this blog. Bring ’em to a Mission Increase Foundation training event. Show ’em the Coach Your Champions book (you could even study a chapter a week with a group of them via conference call) or watch the TG video together.

After all, as we’ve been teaching in the Transformational Giving seminars this month, Development isn’t something you do to champions. It’s something you do with them.

So say to your supporters-cum-champions:

For twenty years you’ve supported me. Who could ask for more?

Would you believe: The Bible?

I’ve been reading and studying about how God calls all Christians to be involved in missions. It’s exhilirating. It’s exciting. It terrifies me. It grabs me.

I want to share it with you.

God has more for you–more that He wants to give you, as well as more that’s He’s holding you accountable for–than simply being the best supporter of my ministry that I could ever ask for.

I feel like Apollos in the book of Acts 18. I’ve learned the way of God between a missionary and a supporter more completely. And I’d like to talk about it–and walk in it fully–with you.

Is it the world’s easiest conversation? No.

Is it possible the supporter will misunderstand, and their love will turn to hate, with them cancelling the auto-deposit? Possible, perhaps.

But God never sent us supporters. He sent us champions. We’re the ones who converted them into supporters.

It’s time to convert them back. And God is holding us accountable now that we know.

Just received the latest copy of Fundraising Success magazine in my mailbox today. It’s a publication I always enjoy reading, even though my perspective frequently differs pretty significantly from theirs. Two of my favorite blog writers, Katya Andresen from Network For Good and Jeff Brooks of Donor Power Blog write for the pub, and Margaret Battistelli’s Editor’s Note is always a good read.

But I was absolutely, postively heartbroken by the cover photo.

It shows a cowboy riding a horse, getting ready to toss a lasso.

The caption?

Fundraising 101: Acquisition

Part 2 of our four-part series on fundraising basics focuses on best practices for rounding up new donors via direct mail and online (lasso optional).

Lasso optional?

Nonprofit = cowboy?

Which would mean…

Donor/champion = ???

I felt literal physical pain in my stomach at the idea of thinking of champions as cattle.

Cattle rounded up by nonprofit cowboys, no less.

You can see the cover photo here.

(I disagree with the content as well, of course. In Transformational Giving, we talk about recruiting champions for a cause, not acquiring donors for a donor file. Moreover and more radically, the responsibility for recruiting new P-level champions for the cause belongs to your O-level champions, not your organization. We’re going to be detailing this exciting strategy in the upcoming free Mission Increase Foundation Marketing Your Ministry workshops and labs in August and September. These fill up quickly, so make sure to register early and often.)

I am normally a peace-lovin’ (embarrassingly) conflict-avoidin’ cowboy myself, but in this case I decided to send an email expressing my concerns in a nice and polite way to Margaret, the editor in chief.

She wrote back the very same day with an even nicer and politer reply:

Eric…

Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I appreciate your gracious note and comments about the cover… you make a very good point. Of course, we didn’t mean to imply the whole donor/cattle connection, but obviously the cover was open to interpretation.

If you don’t mind, I would like to run your comment either on the FS homepage, which will soon have a “What You Are Saying” section or in the magazine itself.

Thank you again — both for reading FS and for writing. I always love hearing from readers, and a fresh persepctive on things we’ve done in the magazine is always, always welcome.

All the best!

Margaret

Score one for we cattle!

We get letters! (OK, emails.) Here’s a particularly good one from Jo Lisa Blossom:

We just attended the TG training and were thinking about ‘highlighting a Champion’ in our newsletters and email updates. I was envisioning meeting with them, getting to know them and why they give (or go) to our cause and then writing up an article with a picture, quotes, etc. This seems like it would encourage TG principle # 7- ‘The relationship between champion and champion is as important as the relationship between champion an organization.’ Other champions would be encouraged and so would the one highlighted. I intend to make the focus what the Lord is doing in that person’s life to lead them in the cause but is this lifting someone ‘up’ besides Christ? Is ‘highlighting a champion’ a good idea?

Quick answer, LJB: Absolutely.

The New Testament consistently holds up imitation as a key component of the discipleship process. Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate him in 1 Corinthians 4:16. The author of Hebrews says (in 6:12), ‘We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.’ (Hebrews 13:7 and 3 John 1:11 are two more great imitation verses, by the way.)

In newsletters, one of the key components of success is writing in such a way that the reader can identify with the subject. In too many of our articles, we write about what our staff is doing or what the recipients of our ministry are doing. The problem with that is, the reader can’t seem himself or herself in that picture. S/he may be inspired, heartstring-tugged, or fascinated. But none of these are central to the New Testament process of discipleship.

Imitation is.

So yes, highlight a champion for the purpose of encouraging imitation. And make sure to choose one who is both giving and going, since you want to hold up individuals to imitate who are ‘all in’.

Here are some ways to do it creatively:

1. Along with the interview, put the champions’ P/E/O chart in the article. Explain what the P/E/O chart is, and invite the reader to download a blank one they can complete for themselves (or call the ministry for help, of course).
2. Avoid asking general questions that result in the usual expected answers. Ask questions that are intentionally designed to draw out answers that lead to growth for the reader. For example, avoid asking, ‘So why did you get involved?’ Everyone reading the newsletter is already involved at a basic level (else they wouldn’t be holding the newsletter in their hands), so that question is not likely to lead to much of anything other than prurient interest. Ask questions like: Do you see yourself as a P, an E, or an O? What were the steps that brought you the most growth? Were you ever tempted to give up? How did God grow you through that temptation?
3. Make sure to include a single, specific action step at the end. If you only profile the champion, readers will think to themselves, ‘That’s very nice.’ Instead, make sure to end by saying, ‘Take the champion challenge! [Champion’s name] said that what took him to the next level of understanding, commitment, and passion was writing a letter to the government of China on behalf of a persecuted believer [or whatever the growth step is that the champion identified]. Here’s your opportunity to take that same step. Go to the website and etc etc…’

Thanks again for your question, JLB. Make sure to send us a link when you post your champion’s profile online!