|
|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
Introduction When we recognize the importance of Stewardship as a year-round endeavor -- in fact, as a way of life -- we also realize that most parishes, in our busy lives, have not reached that recognition. Suddenly, when the cool fall breezes begin to blow, they awake and feel the dread of yet another Stewardship campaign. We believe that it does not have to be this way … but we know that, in more cases than not, it is. Keeping that in mind, we offer our help through this Panic Kit. In it you will find short-term and long-term strategies. In a related section of this web site (material samples) you will also find some instant resources (such as pledge cards and letters that you are free to copy, alter, and use as you please.) At the end of the kit you will find a suggested timeline for a Stewardship Committee’s year. First, of course, is that the Stewardship Committee becomes a standing committee that meets year-round, not simply a committee to collect money at the end of the year. The most helpful tools to use are the materials on the different types of campaigns from Morehouse Publishing (800-877-0012.) The materials are listed in the section on “Short-Term Resources.” Also, contact the Stewardship Office at the Episcopal Church Center (800-334-7626) and TENS - The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (800-699-2669.) We begin with some quick “Do’s” and “Don’ts.” Here are the “Don’ts” first (so we can finish on a high note!) Don’t… 1. Don’t ask people to give to the budget. That seems to limit God’s grace. The budget should be a celebration of God’s bounty, not a limitation. Think about the budget as following the campaign. The main thing to remember here is: if in the past you have always trotted out the budget and said, “Hey, let’s hit this,” instead try offering the people a way to give out of thankfulness for all they have been given. Work hard. Trust God. And the budget will come together. 2. Don’t do what you did last year. If you have done the Every Member Canvass, the Pony Express, or the Big Event for as long as you can remember, is it any wonder that people think Stewardship campaigns are boring, and something to be endured rather than enjoyed? Even if something worked last year better than ever, do something different. You can always come back to something from the past. If you need ideas we have them, and you will find some in the short-term bibliography attached. 3. Don’t have your entire focus on the fall “Beg-A-Thon.” If the only time your parish hears about Stewardship is when you talk about money at the annual “Beg-A-Thon,” then is it any wonder that they turn and run at the mention of the word? Stewardship is our way of life as people of faith and especially as Christians. Talk about it often, year-round. 4. Don’t utilize guilt and manipulation. Trust God more than that. Tell people the story of our faith and ask them to think of all for which they are thankful. Do a well-thought out and structured program with real appeals, and then let the Spirit move. Don’t “should” on people. 5. Don’t expect all people to be in the same place spiritually regarding money -- this is a process, not an event. The worst thing that could happen is to expect people to be where they “should” be, or even to resent them because they do not seem to be where they “should” on the whole issue of Stewardship. What you can do as a parish community and as a Stewardship Committee is create an environment where conversion is possible. The rest is up to the Spirit. 6. Don’t succumb to the scarcity mentality which is running rampant in the Church. Examples are donation cups at coffee pots and certain restroom equipment. (The latter was one I learned about when a consultant came to the parish where I was Vicar and pointed out “those toilet paper rollers that only give you one sheet every pull!” When confronted with that, we pulled the pins on the equipment so that you can have as much toilet paper as you want!) Scarcity mentality is also represented by phrases such as “We can’t do that because we don’t have the money,” and “We don’t have enough: people, money, resources, etc., etc.” The truth is -- and it is a hard truth to swallow -- we choose most of the situations we are in. When you honestly think about it, there is more than enough out there in any of our parishes to do what we want. But we all make choices… 7. Don’t appeal to the needs of the church as much as you appeal to the need for persons to give. Appealing to the needs of the church may work short-term, but it will not convert people to the true reason for giving. The reality is doing a bit of both, with the latter being the place where you will see long-term change and increased giving. 8. Don’t only speak of Stewardship as being about money. It is far more than that. Enough said. 9. Don’t confuse people in discussing capital campaign and operational campaign. Both of these are necessary, but be very clear with them. In most cases the operational campaign is the first priority with the capital campaign being above and beyond it. Be up front about that. 10. Don’t get locked into maintenance thinking. We are about mission, which is bold and aspiring. Only maintaining will lead to death; mission will lead to life and growth. Do... Do begin every Stewardship meeting with Bible study and prayer. Why wouldn’t you? The committees we have started say that the Bible study and prayer time is worth coming to if nothing else. It is a must as a foundation for Stewardship work. Click here to open a PDF file for a suggested outline for inductive bible study. 1. Do remember that Stewardship is year-round and, most importantly, a way of life. 2. Do begin year-round education and talk about money, time, talent, and resources. 3. Do name what you are doing and what you are dreaming about. Name all of the ministries, activities, outreach efforts that are being done from your parish community. Make a case for thankfulness and abundance in the life of your parish. 4. Do dream big! Dream dreams people will find unbelievable, dreams most people can’t imagine. 5. Do preach, teach and live abundance mentality. Abundance is seeing, believing, and saying that we have all we need to do everything God is calling us to do. Our faith calls us to rebuke scarcity at every turn. (See “Don’t” #6.) 6. Do use a consultant from outside your congregation whenever possible, and use them early (see timetable.) Consultants are objective and can give you insights that can help your congregation move beyond what has always been. Such persons are likely to be available in your diocese or nearby. Call your diocesan office or call me. 7. Do talk about giving as a response to the gifts we have been given, as motivated by thanksgiving rather than guilt. One way for people to begin to work on this is to calculate what percentage of their income they give to the church. Many people have never done this. It might be too scary! (Click here to open a PDF file of “THREE EASY STEPS to Compute the Amount of Your 20__ Pledge” a useful guide to help people begin to think about proportional giving.) 8. Do advocate that the “firstness” of a gift is more important than the “tenthness.” The first fruits, as Scripture tells us, are the most important part of the gift. We give the first, the very best, of what we have been given, not what is left over. When we think back in history to when we were an agrarian society, we realize that the gifts were produce and animals, and what was given was the best of these, the first, not what was left over. 9. Do tell your own story regarding money, talk about the struggle with Stewardship and with proportional giving, and have others tell their stories, too. We much more afraid to talk about money than sex. And yet an American Express Financial Advisors study revealed that 66% of Americans spend more time thinking about money than they do about sex, health or relationships. In fact, we spend roughly 80% of our time earning, spending, and thinking about money. How could something so prevalent not have an impact on our spirituality? Where can I get some help?? A list of resources follows. They are divided into short-term and long-term categories. If your main concern now is to get a campaign in full swing, we suggest spending your time and money on short-term resources. However, after that we strongly encourage you to explore the long-term resources. Short Term Resources A Manual for Stewardship Development Programs in the Congregation edited by Thomas R. Gossen. This is a Morehouse publication along with the five companion volumes listed immediately below. Much of what the Stewardship Office at the Episcopal Church Center developed has been compiled in these books. All are very practical “nuts and bolts” manuals which include ideas and timelines. They contain suggested outlines for training programs which are designed to gather together representatives of no fewer than 25% of the households in the parish. Provide them for your Stewardship Committee chairperson and Vestry members. The Festive Meal Commitment Program by Thomas R. Gossen and Lonnie Schrieber The Personal Note Commitment Program by Thomas R. Gossen and Lonnie Schrieber The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program by Thomas R. Gossen and Bruce A. Rockwell. The Home to Home Commitment Program by Thomas R. Gossen and Bruce A. Rockwell. The Faithful Member Home Visitation Program by Thomas R. Gossen and Bruce A. Rockwell. TENS - The Episcopal Network for Stewardship is an organization that will be of great help. Led by Mr. Tom Gossen, a long-time Stewardship Consultant, this group offers newsletters, consulting and great seminars, plus a variety of videos and other written resources that can be the catalyst for discussion within your parish. For more information visit http://tens.org or contact TENS at 345 S. Hydraulic, Wichita, Kansas, 67211, 800-699-2669 or e-mail tens@tens.org Stewardship Office of the Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017-4594. Visit www.episcopalchurch.org/stewardship.htm or telephone 800-334-7626. Terry Parsons is the leader of this office and a great resource herself. They have a list of consultants nationwide and many good resources specifically for Episcopal Churches. Generous People by Eugene Grimm, Abingdom Press, part of the “Effective Church Series.” A Lutheran source and quite good. Long Term Resources Alternatives for Simpler Living regularly sends out a catalogue of resources that are quite good. For Advent/Christmas use they have developed Whose Birthday is it Anyway? and Unplugging the Christmas Machine (with Leader’s Guide) which makes an excellent adult Christian education program. I used this last year during Advent, and it has been requested again for this fall! Contact them at P.O. Box 2857, Sioux City, Iowa 51106, 800-821-6153. Behind the Stained Glass Windows by Sylvia and John Ronsvalle. Describes the result of a multi-year, cross-denominational study of giving in the Church. An excellent resource that will help you not to feel alone in what you see is happening in the culture and in your parish. Excellent book. A Dresser of Sycamore Trees by Garrett Keizer. I put this book on the list simply because it is excellent -- one of the best I have ever read and, in my mind, a real story of how Stewardship and Evangelism are a way of life. It is about an Episcopal priest who also works as a high school English teacher in a small rural Vermont town. If you like this one, you will also like Keizer’s other book, No Place but Here, also about his life in that town but with more emphasis on his work as a teacher. It too is masterful. The Financial Planning Workbook: A Family Budgeting Guide by Larry Burkett (Crown Ministries and/or the Diocese of Atlanta.) Make sure and ask for the Episcopal edition, as the Diocese of Atlanta received the author’s permission to use his material and name but publish an Episcopal version. This is very much what it sounds like, and it is quite useful for working with groups of people who want to get control of their finances. Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster (Harper-Collins.) An excellent book, the “bible” for those in Stewardship and the simplicity movement. I give my Stewardship committee chapter 7 to read and ask them to read the rest of the book. God the Economist: The Doctrine of God and Political Economy by M. Douglas Meeks. Very theological look at the idea of God as economist. Meeks makes a very interesting argument in an attempt to reclaim this part of God in our understanding of God. Grateful and Generous Hearts by The Rev. Dr. John H. Westerhoff (Morehouse.) This is the third in Westerhoff’s series from the St. Luke’s Pastoral Institute and I think it is quite good. It is the shortest book on this list and yet one of the most compact in terms of material. I highly recommend it for Stewardship committees, Vestries and anyone else who wants to know more about Stewardship. Ministry of Money is subtitled “Growth in Discipleship, Compassion for the Poor, Global Stewardship.” They have an excellent newsletter in both print and electronic formats (you can get on their mailing list) and they also present excellent workshops across the country. You can reach them at 2 Professional Drive, Suite 220, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879, 301-670-9606, www.ministryofmoney.org. On the Pilgrim's Way: Christian Stewardship and the Tithe by John Brackett (Morehouse.) An excellent book: if I could have only one suggestion, this would be the one right now. Brackett does a great job with this book which would give your team a lot to think about. When Corporations Rule the World by David C. Korten. An excellent book that has especially made it into academic circles the past several years. Korten, who was part of the Reagan administration, has had a complete conversion on the issue of the disparity in wealth in the world and how corporations are leading this movement. His title is exactly his point: there has been a slow movement by corporations over the last 75 years to rule the world. It is in this volume that you will find the statistic that Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike in one month than all the Indonesians that make the shoes earn in a year. Reclaiming the Great Commission by The Rt. Rev. Claude Payne, Bishop of Texas. Great book on abundance thinking and congregational development. Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (Penguin Books.) Very practical and a great source for revealing to yourself and others how consumerism is a persuasive infection of our way of life. It has profound implications for how we can image ourselves and the people sitting in our pews. The thrust of the book is how to invest wisely, live simply, and retire now (!) so that you can go and do something voluntary with your life. Final Thoughts An outline for a pledge program using mailings and personal witnesses is available on this site. This is an absolute minimum, last-minute, panic program. There is no training program included; it is therefore NOT something to be use more than once, and only in an absolute emergency. Year-Round Timetable
This calendar is just an example. Of course there can be much more. Reading a book together and discussing it at each committee meeting is a worthwhile exercise. Don’t forget to also do Bible Study and prayer each time you gather. Get creative! Make stewardship fun! Make it something that is celebrated all year long. Click Below to go to Related Pledge Program Materials Pledge Program Material Samples
Search the TENS Web Site or the Entire World Wide Web
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
