Grassroots Trust |
Nov 9, 2009 |
Seems as though the importance of trust is making its way back into mainstream America. Craig Newmark, of Craigslist fame, is quoted in The Agitator as saying “trust is the new black.”
David Morgan from Online Spin is also quoted in The Agitator article as saying, “It is too hard for most people to truly distinguish the complex and too-subtle differences of so many tangible and intangible products and services. Consumers need something else. That something else is trust. Trust is finite. Trust is generally based on experience and time. Trust is quite personal. A person’s trust is something that he or she controls. While it can be won and lost, it cannot be forced or taken or imposed by recipients."
While it’s a shame that this quote sounds like getting people to trust you is only the impetus for making a sale, I do like that they’ve landed on something as foundational as trust as a basic consumer need. It’s a basic human need.
Trust is one of the fundamental principles that our world was built on. Isn’t it at the core of all things good, in business, in relationships, in spirituality? In God we trust, first and foremost, but we must also trust in people, systems, laws, and philanthropy.
Trust is certainly at the core of Transformational Giving. TG is about trusting God for the places and purposes he directs in our giving and trusting the organizations we partner with as champions of those organizations. If your organization does not hold people’s trust, what do you have? You won’t have clients to serve and you certainly won’t have champions standing with you in partnership. Are you worthy of people’s trust? As I quoted above, trust cannot be forced or imposed on anyone. Since you can’t make people trust you, you have to earn that trust. What are you doing and saying to earn and keep the trust of those you serve and those that partner with you in that service?
Paul says in 1 Cor. 4:2, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Certainly, as Christian organizations, called by and operating in the name of Christ, we have been “given a trust” by many. You are representing Christ himself as you serve the poor, heal the sick, share the gospel. Prove yourself faithful to that calling. Let’s get back to the foundation on which this world was founded. Let’s get back to our roots.
