Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

In the Mission Increase Foundation world, we see giving as a significant step on a person’s journey.  This person did something specific; he or she heard God’s voice, listened, and gave – in collaboration with God.  And to that spiritual step we should say (paraphrasing Paul in Philippians 4), “Good for you!  I’m excited for what this means for you and your journey!”

So here’s an interesting question:  What if it’s not good for them?  What if the gift isn’t a step in the right direction spiritually for this person?  What if the gift isn’t given in collaboration with God but is given – I don’t know – even as an act of self-promotion?

Then what?  Consider these scenarios.

• An individual comes to you and says, “I want to start giving you the money I would normally give to my church because I don’t like what’s going on there these days.”
• A person comes to you and explains that he is giving money – a significant sum – to your ministry to specifically launch a “new program around here that I think we’ve needed for a long time”, but you don’t sense God calling your ministry in that direction.
• Someone gives money on a regular basis to the “general fund” but, as this person gives, you discover that he or she wants more and more control and influence over what’s going on with the ministry.

In these cases, I can tell you what most Christian non-profits do.  Take the tithe, launch the new program, accept the money and try to keep the person happy.

But what should you do?

What should you do when gifts are given that actually don’t help givers in their growth process?  They aren’t steps in the right direction spiritually for them?  They aren’t given in collaboration with God?  They aren’t given with the right motives so we honestly can’t say, “Good for you.”

Here's my point:  Not every gift should be commended (or even accepted for that matter)!

When you receive a gift, a good question to ask is simply… What is this gift?

• Is it a first step in the direction of the Cause?
• Is it from an individual already involved in your Cause who’s now moving deeper?
• Is it being given with the right heart and with right motives?
• Is it [fill in your own appropriate blank here]?

One of the things your ministry should consider is standing in the G.A.P.  I’m talking about developing a Transformational Gift Acceptance Policy.  A policy that is developed and understood by your leadership team that helps you determine if gifts should be accepted, AND, overall, makes clear your organization’s response to financial gifts.

For starters, maybe part of your G.A.P. sounds something like this:

• Upon receiving your financial gift, our ministry will thank God, recognizing that this gift represents, first and foremost, God’s incredible faithfulness.  We will also commend you, the Champion, who gave the gift, recognizing that you acted in collaboration (partnership) with God.
• Our ministry will receive your financial gift as an invitation to coach you to further involvement in the Cause.
• Our ministry will respond to each financial gift with specifically-prepared opportunities to help you further impact the Cause.
• Our ministry will graciously return any financial gift we know to be more appropriately given elsewhere.

(This G.A.P. example was presented in Mission Increase's May workshop on Thanking & Receipting.  To see upcoming trainings, go to www.MissionIncrease.org.)

I do believe that situations to not accept, or to return, gifts will only come up once in a while.  But they will come up.  Having a policy in place will help you see clearly through those times, and will give you something to lean on when explaining to someone that you need to decline a gift.  But, most importantly, the policy makes clear to your champions what they can expect after they give – your commitment to help them grow and move forward!

Some things to think about…

At Mission Increase Foundation we recently concluded a month of teaching Thanking and Receipting workshops. While that title may sound perfunctory, it proved to be one of our most controversial and game-changing teaching topics.

My colleagues Suzanne Dubois in Colorado and Matt Bates in Los Angeles have provided further guidance on this in their recent posts about receiving well and writing letters that commend instead of thank.

Here’s a little test recently faced by The Mentoring Project (TMP), a Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit ministry to fatherless boys (thanks to friend and fellow TG thinker, Amy Karjala, for the link to the post).

TMP’s marketing director, Justin, received a call saying that a group of young men from Restore International Academy in Uganda wanted to make a donation to help young boys in Portland, Ore.  Many of these boys were former child soldiers whose lives were torn apart by poverty, conflict, and civil unrest.

Turns out, thanks to Restore International, they’d begun planting and tending their own crops and making a profit.  And, they wanted to use a portion of that profit to help fatherless boys in Portland, Ore., most of whom likely still had it far better than these young men.

How would you react?  I imagine most people would initially react like Justin:

"When we heard this news we were shocked, and a little unnerved. What were these young men thinking? Are we seriously going to accept donations from kids in Uganda?"

But, what Justin and The Mentoring Project did next was spot-on-perfect.

“…we realized that accepting the contributions and allowing Ugandan youth the opportunity to give generously is the most empowering thing we can do.”

Simple.  Brilliant.  Justin instinctively knew one of the principles we discussed in the workshop – your acknowledgement of any gift should be focused on God’s work in the giver. He quickly moved from feeling uncomfortable with the gift to rejoicing in and commending the growth the givers were experiencing.

Would you have passed this test?

Hats off to The Mentoring Project for openly sharing this process with the rest of us. We know that giving is something Christians are called to do because it helps them become more like Christ.  So, we shouldn’t deny kids in Uganda or HIV-infected mothers the opportunity to experience that growth. Does that still make you uneasy?  Consider the example in Philippians 4.  Paul’s letter to the Philippians is our best guide for properly orienting our thinking about receiving the financial gifts God blesses us with. The core question we must ask is, “How do I see God at work in this giver’s life and how should that cause me to respond first to God and then to my champion?”

I had one of those "life lesson" moments this past week with my 5-year old daughter that interestingly ties into Mission Increase's May training on "thanking."  It went like this...

My husband had been away on a business trip.  Typically when he comes home he has a little surprise gift for our daughter.  Well, after this particular trip he brought home a t-shirt for her.  After handing it to her, she inspected it, then decided it was not what she wanted, and promptly turned up her nose and walked away.  Oh, and she asked if he got her anything else.  (Again, she's 5-years old so maybe this response is not too surprising!)

Needless to say, we did NOT praise this behavior.  And, after talking with her about how to respond when someone is thoughtful enough to give you a gift (even if it's not a princess-themed t-shirt or a fun toy), I realized something...that we not only have to learn how to GIVE (TG Principle 9), we have to learn how to RECEIVE.  And, frankly, if we can't receive well, we'll surely not thank well.

My question for us in the nonprofit world to consider is this...how well do we receive gifts?

Do we turn up our noses when a gift is not at the level we hoped or expected?  Or do we show a heart of gratitude even if the gift is $5?  Do we respond with indifference when we receive a gift that doesn't come close to comparing to that "larger" gift we received?  Do we recognize (or even care about) the story behind each and every gift and the transformative qualities it had for the giver?

I imagine we're all guilty of what my 5-year old did, although maybe not so blatantly!  It might instead come in the form of sending off an impersonal receipt, or sadly it might be not sending anything at all to acknowledge the gift (I know plenty of organizations that have a policy to NOT send a gift acknoweldgement if it's under a certain dollar amount).  It also might be that you haven't taken the time to call people who give to your organization (unless the gift is big enough of course) in order to discover the story behind the gift, or learn how you might equip them to get further involved.

Let me encourage you to consider how you receive each and every gift.  Are you thanking God that this person is abounding with the grace of giving?  Are you showing gratitude toward the person for their step in faith to give?  Are you taking time to get to know the story behind the gift and then encouraging the person to grow in their understanding and involvement in the cause?  If you said no, or are not sure of the answer to any one of these three questions, it's time for a refresher course in how to receive well!

I’m handing the reins of this post to my good friends at Pacific Lifeline in Upland, California, who put together the following commendation letter.  If you attended one of our MIF “Thanking and Receipting” workshops, you’ll recall we challenged you to thank God and commend your champions.  This letter is a great illustration of just this point.  Well done, Pacific Lifeline!

“Your recent gift of [$received] is evidence of the good work God is doing in you.  I commend you for responding to God’s stirring in your heart to be a part of His work at Pacific Lifeline.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 1:6: “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.”  While sometimes this verse is consoling when I have a day when I just don’t feel like I’ve measured up, more often it is a reminder of God’s promise to each of us.  He is doing a good work within us.  He will be faithful to continue that work.  All we have to do is respond in obedience.

Thank you for obediently responding to God and partnering with Pacific Lifeline in empowering women and children to achieve self sufficiency.  He is faithful in His good works in these families’ lives as well – lives are being transformed through our counseling, case management, parenting classes, life skills classes, and children’s activities. 

The next time you see your reflection, please remember that God is doing a good work in you.  And please also use it as a reminder to pray for the good works that He is doing in the lives of women and children at Pacific Lifeline.

Partnering together,
Kirstin Grubb
Director of Development”

In our most recent workshop on Thanking and Receipting we considered the significant place of contentment in the life of the believer. We did so primarily by looking at the passage in Philippians 4:11 where Paul asserts, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” So, I thought it helpful to share a few observations about contentment that we made during our most recent time together.

It’s learned – Consequently, it’s not latent (which sounds familiar)! We have been enrolled in the school of deep character cultivation during our seasons of need as well as our seasons plenty. And while need is a great teacher, I would propose that Biblical contentment is even more challenging to learn during seasons of plenty. Just consider our common experience. Is it not true that during such times we are tempted to jettison God (see the OT) and misconstrue the success of our recent efforts, concluding (wrongly) that it was our efforts alone that accomplished this great thing?

It’s evident – Our belief about who it is that provides for the needs of our organization will find its way into every single mailing, conversation and fundraising event that we host. At times overtly, most often subtly, but its presence is inevitable.

It’s predicated – Essential to the endeavor on which we find ourselves is our theological understanding! Contentment is necessarily built on a right understanding of the abundance and trustworthiness of God. We must understand God and His purposes rightly if we desire to cultivate a deep and lasting contentment.

It’s inevitable – Many of us are often tempted to make the mistake of assuming that because the resources aren’t flowing as they once have that it’s directly correlated with our efforts and thus personal failure. But perhaps it’s not that easy. And perhaps God has much to teach and show us during these seasons of lean. In fact, I would contend that if we’re willing to see it, these seasons of lean reveal to us a new plenty.

It’s imperative – Paul models it, but more importantly God is calling us to it - so there’s much at stake.

So, how are you cultivating contentment and perhaps more importantly, how are you teaching God’s people to do the same?

Here’s a place to start. Since the summer reading season is upon us I commend to you the following book to add to your summer reading list:

     The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs

Here’s to resting in the sovereign and gracious care of our great God! Happy reading.