A New Trilogy of Church Giving
"The Lord of the Things"

By Tracy S. Ebarb, Executive Vice President
Dallas

With apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien, I’m convinced there is a “trilogy,” of sorts, facing the contemporary Church when it comes to budgeting, development and fundraising.

A working title like “The Lord of the Things” seems appropriate for the new epic that is being written in the lives of many church-going Americans. It’s not that the average church-member in the 21st Century is not giving, it’s just that they’re not giving to their “home church” on the level of the previous generation.

This is not a story that has just broken. In fact, we’ve seen this coming for several years as we’ve watched the “greatest generation” – the generation of tithers – decrease in numbers. The generations that have replaced them have widely varying interests that guide their charitable giving, and a broad set of criteria they use in determining their level of support for the causes they do choose.

In an effort to get a handle on some of the challenges that churches are facing in the areas of lifestyle stewardship, budgeting, giving and capital fundraising, see if this “trilogy” rings true in your experience:

Part 1 of the Trilogy: The Fellowship of Bling Bling

While we seem to have made it past the era of finding our identity only through our work, the prevailing culture in the average American church is one that prizes success in all its forms. The rise of Christian/spiritual self-help workshops, books, seminars and even diet/exercise programs is astounding. While the goal of better stewardship is often included in some of these programs and books, whether by cause or effect, the average church member is defining spiritual maturity or success in materialistic ways. Consider the outward evidence of this:

There seems to be an unofficial organization – or “Fellowship” – of those of us with the appropriate “things.” You see, we don’t see ourselves as materialistic, and maybe we’re not. We’re just taking advantage of the conveniences of today’s world. This “fellowship” appreciates and properly uses all that this world offers in the way of resources and opportunities, and is quite willing to pay the required fee.

For example, some would argue that providing a cell phone for my 15-year-old son is a bit extravagant. I however, would argue that with my travel schedule it is a necessity to keep in contact, and maintain good communication. Most of us are very careful not to judge others based on how we perceive they spend their money, because we certainly don’t want anyone judging us. We like being a part of this “Fellowship of Bling Bling.” And this is not going to change!

Part 2 of the Trilogy: The Two Powers

In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the title character is assailed verbally and threatened physically by two enemies as he tries to rally the ‘lay people’ to restore, build, and grow. The 21st Century church is challenged by two key “powers,” as well. These “Two Powers” square off in direct competition for the limited dollars that are available for charitable causes. It is notable that overall giving to charitable causes has risen slightly in recent weeks. However, the pie is being cut into more slices and the Church’s slice is not getting larger.

The “Two Powers” are: Convenience Spending and Leisure Spending

Never in the history of the Church has it faced such formidable competition for dollars. Previous generations were very content to take limited vacations and always considered time off work as a luxury. Today’s sentiment is more entitlement-based: “I deserve time off. I am going to enjoy it and I may even splurge a bit!”

Consider the attitude of the near-extinct “loyalty tither:”

“I give whether I’m there or not. Just because I’ve got to be out of town doesn’t mean that the Church’s needs are any less. If I can’t be there, I’ll drop it off or mail it in.”

Contrast that attitude to the attitude of many regular church attendees in 2005:

“When I (my family) need(s) to get away for a weekend, I/we consider that good for our spiritual health. ‘Retreating’ is money well spent. I/we always come back refreshed and more ready to ‘serve’ as a result of going away.”

Please understand that I’m not arguing whether or not that’s true. It doesn’t really matter. The reality is that leisure spending is greater than ever before in our nation’s history – and growing. Not only that, convenience spending is growing exponentially! Time is the currency of the new millennium, and we will gladly pay the price to have more time, or manage it better.

This is not going to change!

It may be that churches need to provide opportunities to capture some of the convenience and leisure dollars.

In today’s church, we don’t give our perfect attendance awards any longer. In fact, very few members are in attendance every Sunday. When they’re not at church on Sunday, guess where they are? They’re out spending MONEY! Most people today have a sort of “pay-as-you-go” mentality. Not only that, the average family in church today will spend twice as much on vacations this year than they will give in offerings to the church!

Part 3 of the Trilogy: The Return of Cha-Ching

You may be saying, “All that is very interesting, but how do we effectively deal with it?”

That is the key question facing church leaders who are grappling with increasing needs and dwindling resources. First, we have to answer some penetrating questions:

1. Whatever happened to “tithing?” Or, asked another way: “Does our Church teach giving as a duty? A “spiritual discipline?” Many churches today have a very difficult time talking about “giving” or money issues. In fact, this has been the case for quite some time. As a result, most youth and children in church are poorly educated in the area of “stewardship.”

We would do well to address this as soon as possible. The reality is: we do reap what we sow. Spiritual principles of giving and receiving are like gravity: They work every time.

2. What really motivates people to give? Today’s average church member is far less likely than previous generations to give financial support out of a sense of loyalty to the Church, or out of a sense of duty. The member is, however, motivated by success: Programs and ministries that have proven effective in the past, or that promise results in the near future. In other words, creative programming that inspires and challenges today’s member to give of their time, talent … and treasure. Accept the challenge to develop Mission and Ministry for your church that do not allow the “time - talent - treasure” to become an either/or, multiple-choice question.

3. How important is “success” in church budgeting? Far too many churches just “pass the budget and hope for the best.” Most ministers are trained professionals who are very capable of designing an annual “business plan” for the church to follow. “New-Millennium Givers” are more prone to support success in church programming than they are to rescue struggling ministries. Budgets should be written to reflect the Ministry Plan of the church leadership and should be evaluated accordingly throughout the year. Years ago as a Youth Minister, I requested an increase of more than 400 percent in my Youth Ministry budget. I accompanied that request with a detailed plan of the ministry events, expected attendance and hoped-for results. Not all of those events went as planned. Some were winners, and some were losers. However, simply because I had a plan, and evaluated that plan every year, I continued to ask for and receive increased support for my youth budget for the duration of my service.

4. Who makes the “giving” decision in the average household? This may bite a little deep, but it is a critical question. In most households, financial support for the church is not important enough to warrant everyone in the household’s input. It is an arbitrary decision made by one family member! That’s fine if you’re single, but otherwise each person should be aware of and involved in the spiritual decision to give.

So What’s the Final Chapter?

In terms of financial support for the church and its ministries, I don’t think the question is one of resources, but of communication and authenticity. We must communicate what we are doing with the gifts we’ve been given, and what we plan to do with the gifts we’re asking for. And, we must model authenticity in our practice of stewardship principles, both as individuals, and as institutions. It might not be so bad if we were all truly “Lord of the Things” in our lives. Let’s just make sure that the “things” don’t become the “Lord” of us.

For more information on how your Church can “Budget for Success,” contact Tracy S. Ebarb at 1-800-222-9233.