The Timothy Group

Are We Having Fun Yet

The Challenge of Teaching Stewardship

In my experience the greatest education of constituents about stewardship, as opposed to focusing on the amount of the gift or request, has been in church campaigns as opposed to para-church contexts. I believe this is because churches have greater opportunities to teach their members/attenders about the spiritual aspect of giving than para-churches do. Churches can communicate weekly with their (attending) constituents using both the senses of sight and hearing for anywhere from a few moments to the entire sermon. Most para-churches use a quarterly newsletter as their best vehicle for communication, where the attention span for one article might be seconds, or a few minutes at best.

When we lead a church through a capital campaign, a process which we call Stewardship Life, we work with church leaders to unfold an educational program that teaches what the Bible has to say about stewardship to members/attenders. Teaching formats can include: multiple worship services, adult education classes, Sunday School lessons, small group presentations, an audio or audio/visual communication from the pastor, and use of a personal Stewardship Growth Inventory. The Inventory asks people to reflect on what they keep for themselves and what they give away with regard to time, talent and treasure.

Giving - An Act of Worship ...A Time of Worship?

Within the past few decades a subtle change has taken place in the manner in which we worship. The influence of a contemporary style is very obvious and appears to fit the preferred lifestyle of many believers and seekers. However, within that influence another, less desirable change appears to have also happened. That change is the atmosphere regarding the offering of gifts.

In every body of believers there are rites that are sacred. Baptism and communion are examples. There was a time when receiving the offering was included as a sacrament of worship. A period within the worship service when individuals brought their gifts and offerings to present to God "as an act of worship."

Today there is still the desire on the part of church leaders that the giving of gifts, the offering, be an act of worship. However, for a variety of reasons we have, for the most part, ceased to make this a "time of worship." Too often, "offering time" is a function, a convenient time to "catch up" on the activities in the worship hour, especially announcements. As a result, the focus is on the announcements or special music.

Tipping God

My bride of almost 30 years had that big birthday a few weeks ago and turned 50. To celebrate our family, a couple of close friends and girl friends celebrated with a very lovely dinner at a very nice restaurant. Hey, it was great and the meal for ten of us with tip was around $400.00. I know that cause I picked up the tab. The server was excellent; she and her crew were on time and on task. The meal presentation was great, food was prepared well, it was a great evening. The customary tip for the McLaughlin crew is 5% for poor service, 10% for good service, 15% for great service and 20% for exceptional service. The service that evening was exceptional, hence a tip of $65.00.

This nice dinner (no alcohol-I know what you were thinking), got me thinking about my own giving and that of many believers in America, Canada, and Great Britain. Last year Americans (and our research also indicates a similar pattern for the other two nations) were tippers when it came to giving, especially to the church. America is a very generous nation, in fact, the most generous on the face of the earth. Frankly, no one is even close, $250+ billion dollars was given philanthropically last year! However, when it came to giving to the church, here are the cold hard facts . . . or ah perhaps the cold hard cash.

The Church and The Center

An Uneasy Marriage

As a former pastor, seminary graduate, short-term overseas missionary, and long-time Church man I believe I understand and appreciate the God-given mission of the church. I am active in a local church that I have attended since 1986. I love my Pastor and appreciate our local, regional, national, and international outreach. I want to make it clear I am deeply committed to the Church. May I also say the principals we are about to discuss really do work, as my church supports our local Pregnancy Resource Center.

I said all that to say this.........when it comes to the outreach of PRC's around the nation, why doesn't the church get it? Why is the marriage such an uneasy one? The missions (church and PRC's) are very compatible and should work together. Many churches in America and Canada where we have been serving for the past 20 years have no interest, understanding, and in some instances, appreciation for the pro-life movement and the ongoing ministries of PRC's. Please allow me to shed some potential light on the situation and see if we can discuss a strategy to initiate change.