Encouraging believers to practice generous, Godly stewardship is tough. And most pastors in America don't like talking about giving, much less rebuking disobedience and encouraging more sacrifices on the part of the church members. And yet, that is what God calls us to: generous, cheerful giving.
What many churches don't consider are consulting firms that can help with many aspects of encouraging faithful stewardship. One of those is The Charis Group, headed up by Mark Brooks. Mark has an impressive pedigree, having worked with John Maxwell at his INJOY. Following that, he felt a great burden for helping church leaders realize budgetary goals (both in annual operating expenses and large capital campaigns), and so he founded The Charis Group, which offers "stewardship consulting" for churches looking to increase the charitable giving of their congregations.
In his latest book, The Top Ten Stewardship Mistakes Churches Make (available at Amazon), he outlines ten common errors made by church leaders in promoting stewardship within their respective churches. Concise, yet profoundly impactful, Brooks "hits the nail on the head" and offers practical advice for ministers and administrators to pull themselves out of the death spiral many find themselves in financially.
I've had the privilege of having an online conversation with Mark after reading his book, and the transcript of that interview/conversation appears below. I hope it blesses you!
Jesse Greever:
First of all, let me just
express my gratitude for taking the time to share some of your wisdom regarding
stewardship in the modern body of Christ.
In your book, The Top Ten Stewardship Mistakes Churches Make, you present some compelling
arguments that the recession may not necessarily be the root cause of the
shortfalls in giving. I’ll just jump
right into the thick of it: do you think
that some (but certainly not all) givers in the church are using the recession
as a rationalization for cutting back on tithes and offerings?
Mark Brooks: Frankly, there have not been any studies that I have seen that has tracked this. Most of what we see is surveys which
are based on opinions and emotions, not facts. So, the most we can do is guess at
this. However, I do think giving to God through the local church is the first thing many people cut back on. The basic problem here is one of
spiritual maturity. Spiritually
mature believers understand that the tithe is so important that they would not
fail to give it.
What people also fail to realize
is that we need God’s blessing especially during economically challenging
times. Failing to be
obedient in your giving causes you to miss out on some of the greatest promises
of God’s blessings.
JG: Throughout your book, you refer to most stewardship
methods used in churches as woefully behind the times. This is particularly troubling as a vast
number of churches are having trouble motivating their younger members to give
faithfully. So many churches have been
willing to alter their worship strategies (music, more casual environments) to
cater to younger generations. Why do you
think it is such a huge leap to tailor stewardship programs to people in the
“Under 40” bracket?
MB: Sadly, we in the church lag behind in so many
things. Change is simply difficult for
churches. We tend to think that change
somehow dilutes the Gospel.
However the change I talk about is not theological but practical. It is simply a truth that the world of
commerce is changing whether I like it or not.
How many checks do we write these days?
So, churches must change as society changes.
I firmly believe that we
must continue to preach and teach stewardship to this next generation of
Christians. However, at the same time we
have to realize that this generation does commerce completely different from
their parents and grandparents. Most of
them are never out of reach of their smart phones. They are online and electronic everything they do. As a result, to make it easy
for them to give we need to have giving portals allowing them to give as they
normally spend money, online and with their smart phones. The easier we make it for the younger
generation to give the more likely they will start giving.
JG: In many churches I’ve attended, there is
always this tip-toe dance around the older generation any time new technology
is introduced at the church. In fact, I
remember one particular situation when many of the long-time church members
became upset when a screen was installed in the sanctuary to project song
lyrics and Scriptures (even though they were more than welcome to use a hymnal and open their own Bibles). When you are consulting with a church on
updating their giving methodology, even in light of maintaining the traditional
offering, do you have a strategy for avoiding that feeling of alienation
especially amongst a demographic that is generally strong in faithful
stewardship?
MB: It is funny that you should mention screen
being installed for worship. I am old
enough that I remember when we did that.
You would have thought we ripped a page out of the Bible. However, after time I noticed even the Senior
Adults were looking up reading the words not looking at the hymnal.
I think the main point is
that we should never let any segment of our church determine what we feel a
needed and correct path of action. I do
think however that a key here is to emphasize that we are not doing away with
traditional means of giving. I am, and
will always be, a huge supporter of passing the offering plate. Some will always give that way and there is
no reason to discontinue its use.
I think the key for getting
all members on board is simply to educate them on why you are implementing new technology into the giving process. When
people learn that your overall goal is to increase both the amount of giving and the number of active givers they will
readily support that process even if they themselves do not use it. Frankly, many of those that might oppose new
means of giving utilize this technology in some manner themselves. Again, whether we like it or not our society
is moving towards a much more digital footprint. All of us are adapting just as we adapted to
moving away from the horse and buggy to the car.
JG: You state in your book that one of the effective ways
to motivate people in casting a vision for future projects is to “trumpet your
wins” and past successes when asking church members to participate in any sort
of giving campaign. Most pastors I know
would struggle with this, afraid that touting past accomplishments might sound
a bit boastful. How do you counsel
pastors who might also have the same hesitation?
MB: First, I am not suggesting that we boast about our
own accomplishments but in what God has allowed us to accomplish. All the credit belongs to Him and we should
always remember that we labor in vain unless the Lord builds the house.
What I am saying is that we rarely tend to help our people see the positive return their gifts
accomplish. Helping people see that
their gifts make a difference and that they matter increases my willingness to
give over and above. The tithe I believe
belongs to the Lord and I give out of obedience. Additional gifts are given as I am moved but
frankly I am often moved by compelling stories.
Studies show that people give to causes that they not only believe in
but that they see are accomplishing much.
So, celebrating your wins, in Jesus name, is one way to make giving
easier and in a sense fun.
JG: Very well put.
Shifting gears a bit, if you had to name the single most common mistake
churches make when putting together their annual budgets, what would that be
and why?
MB: I am afraid I could not name one single most
common mistake as several are often made concurrently! However, as I state in my book, I do believe that "the
disconnected pastor" is the biggest pitfall.
Too many pastors do not see stewardship as their responsibility or they
simply do not feel qualified to handle stewardship issues. What results is that churches fail to develop
a plan of action. That leads to other
mistakes. It is similar to lining up dominoes and then pushing the first
over. It stands to reason that all the
other dominoes will fall when the first one falls. A disconnected pastor leads to other
stewardship mistakes and a domino effect.
JG: I’ve often looked at major capital campaigns
that have failed and wondered to myself, “If it failed, was it ordained by
God?” What are your thoughts on this?
MB: I use to say, “I trust God; it is people I wonder
about!” We should never base whether or not something was ordained by God by the response of people. For instance, I might preach an evangelistic
sermon because I felt led by God. If no
one comes forward did I miss God or did the people miss God?
I don’t want to over-simplify your question, but first I think we have to determine what is success
or failure in terms of a capital campaign.
In my book I have a whole chapter on unrealistic expectations. My experience is that many of the “failures”
churches experience are due to unrealistic expectations.
I do believe, though, that
campaigns can fail because of mistakes made by the leadership. Sometimes the mistake is an unresolved issue
in the past, and other times the project fails as a result of poor planning. At even other times the vision is not clear or compelling. Also, sadly, some pastors have simply burned
so many bridges that people refuse to support a capital campaign. It is my experience that church members see
capital campaigns as an optional opportunity to give. Thus, they might continue to tithe to the
church but refuse to give for whatever reason to a campaign.
JG: That’s funny.
Many times I say to my wife, “Church would be perfect if it weren’t for
all the people!”. One of the delicate
issues that you tackle in your book is the idea of segmenting donors. This would include the pastor inviting
high-capacity givers to lunch to discuss campaign details personally. I will admit when I first
read that, my mind immediately went to James Chapter 2, and I was delighted
when you addressed that issue with compelling clarity a few paragraphs
later. That being said, it is not outside
of the realm of possibility that lower-capacity givers might still feel
slighted. What are your suggestions for
making sure that people don’t see donor segmentation
as donor segregation?
MB: This is
perhaps one of the most difficult and delicate matters a connected stewardship
pastor faces. The reality is that the
few give the majority of the dollars.
However, we are to treat all donors equally in terms of the value we put
on their gift. At the same time pastors
need to realize that those with the ability to give significantly have a
different set of questions and concerns that need to be addressed.
The key to handling this
properly is the heart and attitude of the pastor. If he has a pure heart then I find it rarely
is an issue. Frankly most pastors spend
so much time with all their members that it really is not an issue. I don’t track who my pastor eats lunch with
nor do I mind. I don’t feel slighted if
I hear he took someone from my Sunday School class to lunch and not me. Part of my lack of concern there is that when
I am in the presence of my pastor he makes me feel that I have his attention.
I have never met a pastor
yet that will look at a member's giving record before he will visit them in the hospital. My advice to pastors is to not
make a big deal out of meeting with top end donors. Balance it out and meet with more than just
that group. The key, especially in a
capital campaign is to communicate with as many people as possible in a venue
that best helps them catch the vision.
JG: Changing gears yet again. At a certain point in your book, you hit on a
topic that I feel very passionately about.
In describing giving as a necessary spiritual part of discipleship for
all believers, you allude to the fact that many churches are VERY good at evangelism, but poor at
discipleship. And when I look at this
fact, I think of things like Multi-Level Marketing companies, who thrive on the
concept of geometric progression to build an enormous organization of direct
sellers who seek to replicate their own experiences with new recruits. If I can ask you to wax “theosophical” for a
moment, why do you think that the church has a hard time duplicating disciples
and companies like Amway seem to have no trouble with this concept of
duplication?
MB: I am not sure how “theosophical” I can be. I think that discipleship is simply not an
easy thing for many to grasp. Part of
the fault is with churches that simply downplay discipleship. The other part I think is that being a
disciple involves sacrifice and commitment, and that is something that is
difficult for many not only to grasp but to adhere to. For companies like Amway the benefits of duplication
are seen immediately. With Christianity
the “benefits” are often unknown this side of eternity. So, when people cannot immediately see results, they often discount or are not interested in.
JG: That’s an interesting perspective. I think this fleshly desire for immediate
gratification is perhaps getting even worse as our society continues to hurtle
towards a model of everything being “immediate”. So, how do you think church leaders and lay
leaders overcome this lack of discipline when motivating church members to
give, whether it’s general giving (tithes and offerings to the operating
budget) or large capital campaigns?
MB: First,
the Senior Pastor has to get over his fear of talking about money. Many churches spend more time telling
people that they do not have to give than they do challenging them to
give. The Red Cross talks a
lot about money and no one complains because they know the money goes to a good
cause. The church needs to
tell its story of all that we do with the money we get. Then people will more willingly give.
Secondly, we simply need to pass the plate. One fallacy of the Contemporary Church
Movement was to devalue the offering. The
feelings were that taking up an offering would drive people away. That is far from the truth.
I go to Andy Stanley’s church that is one of the largest churches
in America. Week after week they take up an
offering and the church continues to grow at an explosive rate. If you set the stage well for the
offering, even guests will put in money!
JG: Finally, since you are the CEO of The Charis Group, I want to give
you the opportunity to tell our readers what you do and how you can help them
with their stewardship campaigns.
MB: We
state simply that our mission is to help churches raise more money so that they
can do more ministry! Our focus is on
making giving easy and fun. When it
comes to stewardship and the church, we basically do it all. For instance, more and more of our work is
simply coaching pastors and key leaders towards increasing giving in their
church. We have basically become the
Minister of Stewardship for many churches.
We have just launched Charis Giving Solutions that provides apps, Mobile websites and online giving set up for
churches. As always we do capital
campaigns for those churches that need to raise capital dollars for either debt
reduction or new facilities. So,
basically we attempt to provide all the stewardship help a church might
need.
Thanks Jesse for this opportunity not only to share my thoughts on
stewardship but also to share about our company The Charis Group!
As the founding partner and president of The Charis Group, Mark Brooks brings not only a rich background of ministry experience but also years of successfully helping Christian ministries raise funds for capital projects. With creative, outside-the-box thinking Mark has helped scores of ministries achieve maximum financial and spiritual results.
It is also available to Amazon Prime members as a free eBook download as a part of the Kindle Lending Library. Pastors and church administrators can contact me directly at jesse@accidental-author.com to find out about discounts available for churches that wish to use this for teaching and small group curriculum.
