Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 38

What Lottie Taught Me about the Gospel and Social Justice

I heard injustice cry from the trafficked woman who stood beside me at a train station in Asia, her pimp glaring from a few feet away. Everything within me wanted to grab her hand and rescue her. “Just grab her and run,” was all I could think. But our conversation ended abruptly, and I don’t know where she is today.

I heard injustice cry out on the edge of an African village as 10-year-old girls were “circumcised” as part of a village tradition. The village women sang in celebration, and my heart split between anger and compassion. The need for justice and the Gospel weighed heavy on my soul.

“I cannot be silent,” wrote Lottie Moon, the nineteenth-century Southern Baptist missionary who helped inspire the international missions offering that carries her name today. And I feel a similar  urgency myself. Writing as if she were a wartime correspondent, Lottie sent dispatches from the front lines. Her provocative letters asked the church to courageously send reinforcements to advance the Gospel and to compassionately give aid to those dealing with oppression. Her words were a mere whisper of the thunderous life she lived: “The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent.”

This woman who blazed a trail in another century still teaches today.

Be a voice for the voiceless.

Lottie entered China to teach women and school-aged girls. It wasn’t long before she collided with injustice in the Chinese culture, specifically the ancient practice of foot-binding. The custom entailed bending a young girl’s toes downward until her foot doubled and binding them tightly until they broke. The tighter, the better. The agonizing pain resulted in a deformed, three-inch foot believed to attract better marriage prospects and a higher social status. To a groom, “It is much more important for her to have small feet than a pretty face,” Lottie wrote. “As to education, that is neither desired nor expected.”

Lottie spoke out, encouraging parents to unbind their daughter’s feet and allow them to go to school. And for 40 years, Lottie lived among people whose needs altered between poverty, disease, war, persecution, famine, and the results of human atrocities. She met injustice face to face with relentless love and the truth of the Gospel. Her resolve to persist on the frontlines nearly 150 years ago inspires me to tenaciously wrestle with injustice and the Gospel in my world today. 

Here’s what Lottie’s example teaches me about injustice and the Gospel.

We must live in the tension of injustice.

Lottie proclaimed the Gospel while ministering to broken people wrapped in the brutality of injustice. The inner tension she felt was thick. She knew that unbinding the feet of a young girl came with risks. A girl with unbound feet may have become an outcast, rejected by her family.

But with feet bound, girls suffered excruciating pain, were susceptible to infection and death, and would likely become uneducated child brides. As many of us would, Lottie wrestled through her options. “Has the time come, and are we strong enough to make a decided stand on the question of foot-binding?” she asked. “Shall we make it a rule that all who come in (to school) shall unbind their feet?” Injustice binds, the Gospel sets free, and we must relentlessly minister in the tension between the two. Let us not shrink in the face of injustice but courageously fight injustice with a Gospel-informed response.

Righting a wrong of injustice is not redemptive. Christ’s presence and power is.

The Gospel breeds injustice-fighters, but fighting injustice is not necessarily proclaiming the Gospel. We are called to defend against the assault of injustice while introducing God as the one who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalms 147:5). After years of attempting to right the wrong of foot-binding, Lottie wrote of one student who chose to follow Christ but “was forced to marry into a heathen family. They used every effort to induce her to recant.”

But she would not. Her husband destroyed her Bible and demanded she leave her faith. Unrelenting, this woman fervently prayed. Twenty years later her husband chose to follow Christ. Not long after his conversion, she “prayed about the unbinding of her daughters’ feet, and when she spoke of it to her husband, she could scarcely believe her ears that he promptly consented.”

It was Christ in him that changed his perspective of right and wrong. Injustice and brokenness dwell where God’s name and glory does not. But, when His name is present, God has the power to redeem and restore justice.

Injustice dwells where truth does not.

Injustice will continue as long as the truth is suppressed (Romans 1:18). As believers, we don’t just inform people of truth, we introduce them to truth by being a living example of Christ.

When we introduce people to the Word, “many hearts are stirred,” wrote Lottie, “but these newly awakened souls are bound in the chains of old habits…. Now what these people need — next to grace of God in their hearts — is to see the life of Jesus Christ set before them.”

We can’t just do good. We must love people enough to live as a tangible gospel witness among them — yes, live among the impoverished, the diseased, the broken, the displaced, and the dejected. We can declare truth when we dwell among injustice.

Injustice is uprooted when we share the story of reconciliation.

As believers, we understand justice differently because we’ve been justified. Our story has been redeemed by our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ. Injustice is often tethered to a belief — a story — that’s a deeply rooted worldview, passed down through Generations.

Cultures may place their identity in such beliefs, anchored in religion, tradition, or societal expectations. We cannot change the narrative of a culture without giving them a better story to believe. Through Jesus Christ, God reconciled the world to Himself and entrusted us as “messengers of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

We can’t love the Gospel and not have compassion for the broken in need of the Gospel.

Ironically, a year and a half before Lottie died, she was still writing of injustice and oppression as famine claimed the lives of many around her. She wrote of men collapsing on the side of the road, their sacks of grain still beside them as they died of starvation on their way back to their families. She told of mothers sending their children away from home, just hoping someone would feed them.

Lottie fell in love with the Chinese people, and the Chinese people fell in love with her. When she died, her Chinese friends carved in Chinese letters on a plaque, “Lottie Moon.”  And underneath could be found the phrase, “how she loved us.”

__________________________

Check out a new mini-series on At The Table Podcast , where Lori and Jacki discuss some of the pressing questions around women and leadership.

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One of the Most Powerful Ways to Revitalize Your Church that Almost No One Does

Prayer walking can revitalize a church. At Church Answers, we’ve heard some incredible stories of how a church started a prayer walking ministry and experienced revitalization. The problem is not enough churches are emphasizing this spiritual discipline. Those that do are seeing powerful results. 

What is prayer walking?

The concept is simple and can be done with one person or a group of people. You walk a neighborhood with the intent of praying for those who live there. During the prayer walk, you will see people and interact with the neighbors. These encounters are your opportunity to get to know a family and ask if they have specific prayer requests.

Some people in your church may naturally prayer walk on their own. They walk the neighborhood—perhaps for exercise—and pray as they go. For example, I like to run, and I almost always pray while I run. The Holy Spirit works through these prayers, and I believe more churches should intentionally create prayer walking ministries.

Where did prayer walking originate?

The idea of prayer walking as a ministry has existed for a few decades. The origin is unknown. However, one could make an argument that it has existed since the Israelites walked around Jericho. But please don’t pray your neighbors’ walls tumble down.

Jesus’ primary mode of transportation was walking, and prayer was a regular activity. Though the ministry of prayer walking is not specified in Scripture, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Jesus prayed as He walked. The Bible commands us to “never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you can prayer walk.

How does prayer walking help with church revitalization?

The healthiest churches inwardly are the ones most focused outwardly. Prayer walking gets your people moving outward.

Prayer is the fuel for ministry. Prayer is the foundation of ministry. It’s a great way to fuel up! It’s a great way to strengthen the foundation.By moving outward into the community, people physically see the mission field in a new light. You can’t reach your community if you don’t know your community. Prayer walking helps you understand your neighborhood.Change can be controversial in the church, but not many people will find controversy in prayer walking.As you prayer walk, you will likely meet neighbors and get to know them. Then, once a relational bridge is built, you can ask them about prayer needs and invite them to church.The fellowship of prayer walking in small groups can unify all generations. Families can do this ministry together.

The physical movement into the community inevitably changes a person spiritually. Add prayer to this physical movement, and you have a powerful combination.

Is there a resource to help kickstart a prayer walking emphasis?

The Pray & Go outreach program was designed by church leaders to provide opportunities for everyone in your congregation to participate and experience the power of prayer in your community.

Christ’s plan was to provide hope for the nations, and His strategy was to send out His disciples. Pray & Go is an on-demand course that will help members move beyond the walls of the church. Whether your church is downtown, in the suburbs, or in a small-town rural setting, you will see gospel impact in your church and your community.

Start making your spring and summer ministry plans! Prayer walking just might be the path to revitalization in your church. 

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A Dog, a Confession, and a Prayer Request

After almost 32 years of marriage, my wife and I adopted a rescue dog a couple weeks ago. I grew up with dogs, but Pam has never been around a dog for any length of time. Still, though, we took the plunge after hosting/fostering this dog for three weekends so he could get acclimated to people in hopes of getting adopted. 

I asked to host a young, male, active dog—and that’s exactly who we got . . . with emphasis on “active.” He was high energy and non-stop, but I fell in love with him. He and I hung out together for the weekend, and I did little work. On the day we returned him after the first weekend, my wife cried recurrently. She knew she was going to miss him, but she later told me another, more significant reason she was crying—a reason I’ve not been able to shake: “Chuck,” she said, “I’m also crying because I haven’t seen you so happy and relaxed in a long time.” 

She didn’t say it this way, but I suspect she might have also been saying, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you without a phone or a computer attached to you.”

The dog adoption actually didn’t work out after the first week, but I learned a lesson nevertheless. You see, I’m a workaholic. I can get idolatrous about achieving. There’s always more to do, more to accomplish. I don’t relax or rest well. I’ve even written about these issues in the past (see here), but changing this pattern has proven difficult. And, I had grown so accustomed to it that I didn’t even realize it until a dog captured my heart and refused to let me do much but pay attention to him. 

Despite what I’ve realized, I know I’ll continue to wrestle with saying “yes” too quickly and relaxing too infrequently. Still, though, I want to slow down, look around, see God’s work, and pay better attention to the gifts of people He has given me. 

I want to close my computer more regularly. I want to be okay with doing nothing. I want to rest more in God’s grace. 

Would you say a prayer for me today? And, if you face the same issues and want our Church Answers readers to pray for you, let us know by using the “comments” section below. 

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Please Destroy Any of My Recorded Sermons

Most of my recorded sermons are on cassette tapes. I know what you are thinking. I am old.

I served as pastor of four churches and as interim pastor of nine churches. Many of the churches recorded my sermons and distributed them via cassette tapes. There are a lot of my sermons out there. I cringe thinking about someone listening to them today.

I am not, nor was I ever, a good preacher. My words are not those of false humility. They are frank reflections of reality. Here are some of the reasons my past sermons are really bad.

1. I did not deal with the biblical text sufficiently. As I have listened to pastors in recent years, I am grateful for their solid biblical exposition. But my sermons mostly did not dig deeply into the text.

2. My sermons had too many illustrations. One of the reasons I did not deal well with the biblical text was my overdependence on illustrations. I told too many stories instead of dealing with God’s story.

3. I was dependent on emotions too often. I used emotional illustrations often. I added humor too frequently. I was sadly dependent on emotionally moving the hearers rather than leaving the work to the Holy Spirit.

4. Some of my sermons reflected insufficient preparation. In most of my churches, I preached two different sermons, one on Sunday morning and one on Sunday night. In addition, I prepared two Bible studies, one for a small group class I taught and one for Wednesday night services. Instead of doing one sermon well each week, I prepared several sermons poorly.

5. I did not give sermons priority in my ministry. Too often I let the tyranny of the urgent replace a needed focus on my preparation and preaching. My use of time in ministry reflected poor stewardship.

I apologize to those of you who sat under my preaching. It is my prayer that God used my preaching despite me. I could have done better. I should have done better.

Somewhere in my house are several boxes containing hundreds of cassettes. My wife probably does not want them destroyed. She will likely want our three sons to have them. I cringe at the thought of the three of them laughing heartily as they listen to their old man trying to preach. I cringe even more thinking about my grandchildren getting the cassettes.

For those of you who are new in the preaching world, please consider my counsel. Do the opposite of what I did, and you will do well as a preacher.

And if you happen to come across one of my old sermons on a cassette, please destroy it immediately.

The world will be a better place for your diligence.

 

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How To Avoid These Costly Financial Mistakes Your Church Could Be Making

At BELAY, we’ve been helping busy leaders for over a decade, and we’ve learned, no matter what organization you lead, finances are paramount to your success – and church finances aren’t any different.

Poorly managed church finances can hurt a pastor’s ability to lead church members and reach the local community.

After all, very little will wreck the movement of God more than weak financial policies and workflows. 

Thankfully, it’s much easier to make changes now — before your church is in the headlines — than to try to reestablish those relationships after they’ve been torpedoed by a costly financial misstep.

We’ve identified some of the costly financial mistakes we see churches make in our resource, 4 Costly Financial Mistakes for Churches.

Here are some of the highlights:

Fraud

Fraud happens in the church because we let our guard down and place too much trust in a person, process, or system.

Without systems of checks and balances, fraudulent activity goes undetected until a major event in the church, such as a load application or audit.

Consistent fraud can be identified in debit and credit card usage and offering counts.

Some quick fixes include dividing and conquering, eliminating debit cards, creating expense reports, eliminating cash apps, and considering third-party support.

 

Payroll

Church payroll is unique. One that most bookkeeping and accounting firms donʼt truly

understand. Partner with a church finance firm that lives and breathes church finance and

church payroll so you can be confident in how your bookkeeping is handled.

More than half the churches we work with had been handling their payroll incorrectly. And itʼs not because they didnʼt care or they didnʼt try – itʼs because church payroll is an incredibly complex issue that most accountants and financial professionals donʼt understand because they donʼt deal with it regularly.

But – and hereʼs the hard truth – the IRS doesnʼt care that your accountant didnʼt understand church tax code or payroll. Your church can still get hit with massive penalties.

 

Designated Giving

If youʼve asked your givers to donate to a particular fund or campaign, that money can be used for that purpose – only.

Itʼs gone into whatʼs called a “restricted fund” and that word “restricted” is no joke.

Some church leaders think that “restricted” is just a suggestion. 

Weʼve worked with churches whoʼve started a capital campaign, but a year later, theyʼd spent the thousands donated for a new building on other activities. They were robbing Peter to pay Paul – and thought it was totally fine to use that money for another purpose.

Itʼs not.

Again, itʼs not that these churches meant any harm; they just didnʼt know that a restricted fund truly is restricted. But theyʼre still responsible for where those funds have gone, and are now in the position of having to explain to donors in all future campaigns that they actually do know how to handle their money now.

Working with a bookkeeping and finance partner who can help you set up accounts properly and make sure withdrawals are happening for the right reasons will keep these situations from happening.

 

Lack of Rules

Your by-laws lay out who in your church is responsible for financial decisions, how those decisions are reviewed and approved, and where accountability falls when it comes to finances.

If your church is named in a lawsuit, the courts immediately turn to the by-laws to figure out whoʼs responsible for what. If your by-laws arenʼt clear – or worse are non-existent, your staff and board members could land in some major hot water.

Find a church leadership and process expert you can trust to walk your church through your existing by-laws, or who can help you create a set of by-laws of your own. Otherwise, you’re essentially sailing your ministry ship without a compass into some choppy waters.

Worse still, dozens of other scenarios could potentially wreck your churchʼs finances.

To help you figure out where to start and get back to growing your church, 4 Costly Financial Mistakes for Churches, will help you dive deeper into the four biggest things we see wreck churches when it comes to their finances – and what you can do to avoid them.

And if you decide you need to hire someone to take over your accounting and financial woes, BELAY can help you with that.

We’ve helped thousands of churches around the country, and weʼd love for you to be one of them. Getting started will be the easiest thing you do all day.

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Leading a Church When the Wrong People Hold Power

Can you lead a church without proper authority? Yes, but it is more challenging and complex. 

I’m assuming most church leaders would rather not step into a situation where they have the responsibility to shepherd without the corresponding authority. But there are churches with misaligned power structures in desperate need of good pastors. What if you end up in such a situation? Leading without power requires informal authority.

Informal authority is earned through social skills, emotional intelligence, and expertise. Unlike being at the top of a chain of command, those with informal authority do not have coercive power. How might informal authority look in a church? When everyone in the business meeting waits on a nod from the matriarch in the back of the room before voting, that’s informal authority.

While much power comes from formal positions with legitimate authority, a different kind of power is found in leadership roles with informal authority. How is this power exhibited?

Informal authority allows leaders to raise difficult questions. Leaders without titles and positions can vocalize the questions everyone is thinking but will not say out loud. Some questions are so difficult that if top leaders began posing them, people might question the organization’s viability. For instance, imagine the media reaction if our president openly began asking about what’s really going on at Area 51.

Informal authority allows leaders to focus on one issue. Top leaders typically deal with a number of issues within an organization. Such is the nature of positions with formal authority. For example, a CEO must be concerned about human resources, cash flow, marketing, and public relations. An individual with informal authority, however, is free to focus on more nuanced and narrow issues, or even a particular issue. If you are a pastor without formal authority, you are more free to focus on one or two issues while letting others continue to lead.

Informal authority allows leaders to break through formal hierarchies, policies, and protocols. Formal authority, by design, has a hierarchy with an expected protocol. A leader with informal authority, however, is not bound by the structure of a formal authority system. A school superintendent, for example, must follow certain protocols in dealing with problems. An informal leader at the school, however, has more flexibility in breaking through these formalities and can deal with the problem in a way the superintendent cannot.

Informal authority allows leaders the flexibility not to be a figurehead for all people in the organization. Top leaders with formal authority must act on behalf of everyone within an organization. They represent the people. They speak on behalf of the people. Leaders with informal authority do not have to act as figureheads. Unlike formal leaders, informal leaders can offend some and favor others to accomplish a goal.

Ambitious leaders often pursue positions with formal authority. It makes sense. Those who desire to lead want the official capacity to do so. Positions with titles imply a legitimate endorsement to lead. But there are some advantages to leading with informal authority. Informal leaders have no official titles and no authoritative positions, yet they can wield much influence.

Informal authority has its limits, certainly, but also its advantages. And organizations need both informal and formal leaders to balance power and authority.

 

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Seven Things We Didn’t See Coming in Churches at This Point after the Pandemic

Admittedly, it’s a tricky thing to find a precise beginning and ending point to a pandemic. We could accept the declaration from the World Health Organization that COVID-19 began on March 11, 2020. But the virus was rapidly spreading around the world prior to that date. The ending date is even more of a challenge to discern.

For our purposes, we look at post-pandemic as that time when churches started regathering in person. Some churches started a lot sooner than other churches, but most churches are back to in-person services today.

As we look back over this regathering phase, we admit that several developments caught us by surprise. Some are good. Some are not.

1. Digital attendance fell rapidly. We continue to be amazed at the dramatic decline in digital attendance in the churches reporting their data to us. We knew it would not be sustained at the same levels as during the quarantine, but we have certainly been surprised that the drop has been so dramatic.

2. Interest in evangelism is increasing. There are two ways to look at this surprise. First, we give thanks to God because more and more churches are responding in obedience to the Great Commission. But we are also aware that the interest is a bit pragmatic as well. Cultural Christians (an oxymoron, for sure) are not returning to church. If a church wants to reach people, evangelism is a necessity.

3. Church finances held well longer than expected. Billions of dollars of liquidity were injected into the market, which helped individuals and organizations, including churches, for a season. But we are surprised that giving has not declined rapidly with the cessation of government support and the onset of higher inflation.

4. The number of full-time church staff has declined more rapidly than expected. Our information is anecdotal at this point, but we believe that the majority of churches have by both necessity and by design reduced full-time personnel. The pace seems to be increasing.

5. Church revitalization has become an accepted discipline and practice much faster than expected. The discipline was growing both before and after the pandemic. But the rate of acceptance and growth of the discipline is nothing short of amazing.

6. Deferred maintenance crises in churches are hindering church adoption. Simply stated, many potential church adoptions have been delayed or dropped because the adopting church cannot afford to upgrade the facilities of the declining church seeking adoption.

7. Most church search committees still search for pastors like it was 2010. We thought we would see pastor search committees (or similar bodies) more willing to change their processes in light of all of the changes affecting American churches. This intransigent behavior portends poorly for a growing pastor shortage in America.

Of all these surprises, my prayer is that the increased interest in evangelism will grow and become an enduring part of our churches. If that obedience indeed takes place, many of the other challenges will be handled well.

___________________

Church Answers offers many resources for your church to thrive now and into the future. Check out our resource library to learn more.

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Seven Things You Can Do to Become a Better Leader

If it hasn’t happened already, it won’t be long before a new generation of leaders are being tapped on the shoulder to step into service in their church or organization. In November 2022, the Federal Reserve shared an article titled “The Great Retirement Boom,” which details the rise in retirement during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic and what that means for the future labor force. In many industries and across various organizations, including the church, there is a pressing need to elect new leadership.

Meanwhile, a 2019 study from The Barna Group revealed that 82% of young adults between 18 and 35 years old affirmed that “society is facing a crisis of leadership because there are not enough good leaders right now.” With the number of societal changes happening at a rapid rate and a vast uncertainty in the future of many organizations, it is time to look within. How confident are you with your own leadership skills?

Secular thinking would lead one to believe that additional education and on-the-job training would be enough to get one ready for a leadership position. But as Christians, we know there is much more. Jesus Christ is our greatest example of leadership, and our spiritual development will help us become better leaders. Here are seven things you can focus on to become a better Christian leader:

1. Spend Time with God Daily

Log on to social media, and you may easily find multiple influencers preaching about a morning routine and the importance of it. Whether you choose to pray in the morning or practice gratitude in the evenings, making a conscious effort to spend time with the Lord each day will set you up for success. Talking to him, sharing your intentions, and asking him to guide you will make your day go smoother, and you will be able to see more clearly where your areas of improvement are.

2. Read a Bible Translation You Can Understand 

There’s no better place to start looking for leadership inspiration than the Bible. Reading the Bible and understanding God’s story will help you become a better leader because it is full of characters and lessons that can be applied to issues faced in our personal and professional lives. However, if you often find yourself getting frustrated because you can’t pronounce certain words or you can’t make sense of how a sentence is structured, you can easily lose sight of the story’s big picture. Reading a Bible that’s clear and easy to understand, like the New Living Translation, will help you find deeper meaning and purpose in your life as you seek to be a faithful servant of God.

3. Seek Solutions in Scripture

Have you ever had a manager or teacher tell you “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions?” Well, this is your chance to be more intentional with your Bible reading and to gain from the wisdom in its pages! Rather than stumbling into new situations without any guidance, let God lead you through Scripture. Find passages that relate to your daily struggles. Many Bibles today have additional tools to help you. A simple study note or devotion can give you more confidence in your decision-making.

4. Get Serious About Your Bible Study

Get serious about your Bible study by trying a new, robust study Bible like the Student Life Application Study Bible, which contains a wealth of information, and it includes the Filament Bible app. Simply scan any page number with your mobile phone or tablet to connect to a vast library of related content. This visually engaging Bible gives you access to more than 27,000 on-page and in-app notes; over 300 maps, infographics, and illustrations; and over 350 videos, along with audio content and much more. Studying the Bible in this new way, with so many resources included, will help you connect what the Bible says with your life today.

5. Prioritize Your Holistic Health

Good Christian leaders will prioritize their spiritual health because they recognize that God is their anchor. However, to become a better servant of God and of those around you, a sound body, mind, and spirit are needed. Taking a holistic look at your health, including your physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial health, will help improve your life and leadership skills greatly. Setting specific, measurable goals—like walking 10,000 steps a day, getting at least eight hours of sleep, or sticking to a monthly budget—will enable you to see the benefits. You will feel stronger, be in a better mood, and be ready to tackle the hard things that leaders manage daily.

6. Discover New Perspectives

Leaders often serve people who are diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, and political viewpoint, among other differences. When decisions need to be made for a diverse group, having background knowledge on a variety of topics and perspectives is helpful. With much more content available at your fingertips than ever before, go in search of new viewpoints through a blog, podcast, or social media influencer. You don’t have to agree with everyone; think of it as research. You will be amazed at how much this will help you grow your relationships with others because you will be able to understand various perspectives.

7. Spread the Word

You can certainly share with others the Good News about God’s love. But you can also share your experiences. What has worked for you, and what hasn’t? Share what you’ve learned with others so they can improve as well. Share your favorite Bible verse and why it has made an impact in your life. Volunteer. Become a mentor or counsel someone if you feel like you have the capacity. Lift someone in prayer—that can make all the difference in their day. And if you’re ever stuck regarding how to lead others, just remember: What would Jesus do?

Need additional inspiration? Read the Book of Psalms.

Psalm 119:15-16, NLT:

I will study your commandments

and reflect on your ways.

I will delight in your decrees

and not forget your word.

 

Psalm 100:5, NLT:

For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

 

Psalm 40:8, NLT:

I take joy in doing your will, my God,

for your instructions are written on my heart.

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Churches Are Getting Less of Total Charitable Giving—Here’s Why (And What You Can Do About It)

For decades, the church has lost ground with overall charitable giving.

Charitable giving is up—a near record of $485 billion in 2021, despite surging inflation.Giving to churches has dropped even though giving to non-profits is up by 4%.In the early 1980s, churches received over half of all charitable giving.Today, churches receive less than a third of all charitable giving.

Churches are getting less of the total charitable giving. Overall, charitable giving is on the rise in the United States, but churches are receiving a smaller and smaller portion. The bottom line is simple. People who give see the church as merely one option among many places to give.

Why? I believe Barna provides good insight into this question.  

Only 35 percent of Christians “completely trust” Christian churches with their financial support. This is important for churches to recognize because over one-third of Christians (37%) see their donations outside of the church as part of their tithe, and some Christians may decide to redistribute their charitable dollars elsewhere, depending upon their level of trust.

It’s a well-documented trend that charitable giving is up in the United States while the portion churches receive is dropping. Again, a lack of trust is a significant concern.

What can you do to help build trust in your church finances? Small steps can make a big difference.

1. Print regular financial statements for church members. Quarterly is preferred. Make these statements available during your most active times, like Sunday mornings. If there is nothing to hide, then why not distribute financial statements?

2. Explain the financials to your staff. Make sure they have a basic understanding of the budget. For example, part of my weekly report to the staff includes an update on the numbers of the church. Staff must help build this culture. Mistrust among staff will lead to mistrust among congregants.

3. Celebrate ministry successes and remind people their generosity is one of the reasons for the success. Guilt is a terrible motivator. Making people feel guilty about not giving will change behavior for a couple of weeks. Your main worship times are an excellent opportunity to inspire people to give by focusing on how God is working through the church.

4. Make biblical giving an expectation of membership, and explain generosity in the membership class. For many years, I recoiled at the thought of telling new members our expectations of generosity. Now I joyfully teach it. Why the change? I found many new members are eager to give! They are excited about what’s happening in the church. That’s why they’re there!

5. Make biblical giving a requirement for church leadership, especially staff. We do generosity checks on staff and key leadership positions in our church. It’s done discreetly and without sharing any detailed financial information. Our paid staff are required to tithe, and giving patterns are checked annually.

6. Pray through your budget process and call your people to do the same. The budget process should be guided by prayer! I’m all for churches using sound business principles to guide their finances. Issues of liquidity, debt service, and cash flow are critically important to church health. But prayer is even more important! So don’t forget to pray over your budget.

Good stewardship practices build trust, and people are inclined to be more generous with non-profit organizations they trust. It’s time for churches to start regaining this trust and do more for God’s kingdom.

This topic was discussed recently in Church Answers Central (thanks, Josh White!). At Church Answers Central , we answer these kinds of questions every day. Church Answers Central is the world’s largest online community for practical ministry support. Get 24/7 answers to your church questions. Join a vibrant community of nearly 2,000 church leaders in a safe environment. Connect with top church health experts like Thom Rainer, Chuck Lawless, Sam Rainer, and others like you. Become a member today !

The post Churches Are Getting Less of Total Charitable Giving—Here’s Why (And What You Can Do About It) appeared first on Church Answers.

My Greatest Surprise about Churches Seeking Consultations

I’ve done church consulting for decades now. Over the years, I’ve worked with churches of various sizes, multiple denominations, differing polities, and diverse locations. I’ve learned a lot over the years. 

Some patterns are generally the same among these churches, which doesn’t surprise me. Some examples are that most churches are not doing evangelism well, that most do not have a clear discipleship strategy, and that most tend to have a low percentage of members serving in the church. These issues are common enough that I assume we’ll need to address at least some of them in a consult. 

What’s been most surprising to me, on the other hand, may be a surprise to you, too: the number of pastors and church leaders who really don’t know the community they’re called to reach. 

In almost every consultation I’ve done, I’ve asked the leaders to give me their ministry area so we might complete a demographic study of that community. To my surprise, though, many church leaders are surprised by my very request. That’s because they assume all their issues are internal ones, and the consultant’s job is to help them fix those areas. They’re not even thinking  about whether they’re set up to reach their community—which immediately indicates a problem in the church’s focus. 

Then, when I do secure a demographic study for a church, I seldom give the report to the church leaders immediately. Instead, I study it first and then ask leaders questions like these before they ever see the report:

What percentage of people in your community are under age 65? Age 40? Age 18?What’s the fastest growing ethnic group in your community? Is your community projected to be larger or smaller in the next five years? The next ten years? What percentage of your community is single? What’s the average household income in your community? What percentage of the people are not attending church? 

I could add other questions, but you probably already know what I learn. Many church leaders, beginning with pastors, cannot answer these questions with any sense of accuracy. To this day, that still surprises me. Here are my concerns in those situations: 

A generic “burden” for a community that leaders don’t really know is not much of a burden. Unnamed, unidentified burdens may be no burdens at all, actually. A lack of accurate knowledge of a community hinders the church’s outreach efforts. We would expect an overseas missionary to spend significant time getting to know his people group if he wants to reach them; but, for some reason, we don’t see as much need if the people around us already seem like us. That means we’re aiming our outreach (if it exists at all) at assumed—and sometimes inaccurate—targets. Current knowledge of a community should lead to current prayers for that community. Imagine, for example, the pastor who calls his church to pray after learning that more than half of the ministry area are under age 25. Knowledge focuses a burden, and the burden strengthens the prayers. 

How well do you know your community? If you’re not sure (or even if you are sure but haven’t reviewed it for some time), I encourage you to check out Church Answers’ Know Your Community resource. It’s worth the expense.

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