Generous churches are led by generous pastors. I’ve watched churches across America address generosity for many years, and I’ve seen this to be true time and time again. The ones that are making progress on the journey of generosity are led by pastors who are generous themselves.
The main issue, as I see it, is this. Not many pastors are sharing their giving journey.
When a pastor does talk openly about their own giving journey, it frees up the culture of the church to have the conversation about money without it feeling awkward or weird. It normalizes the conversation. The pastor’s journey sets the standard for the congregation, prompting them to contemplate their own level of generosity.
Giving, like many aspects of the Christian life, is a journey. We begin at a particular point and progress over time. Some individuals may advance faster, while others require more time. But we are all on this journey. It’s progressive sanctification—a continuous encounter with God concerning our money and possessions that transforms us. Changing our hearts as it relates to our perspective on money. As the writer of Deteronomy says in 14:23, “…that you may learn to fear (honor) the name of the Lord our God always.”
Pastors Can’t Make Assumptions
Many pastors just assume their people know that they give generously. People do not know. As a pastor, you have to lead them by telling them that you are generous and showing them what it looks like as a Christ follower.
This should include being honest about challenges or struggles. When people hear that it's been a struggle for you, they can relate to that. They'll think, “If my pastor is struggling with it, it makes sense that I'm struggling with it, too.” They will know it’s a real thing and that it’s nothing to hide.
It’s not just your congregation though. Your board and staff also may not know your giving story. Don’t assume that they do either. And not only should senior pastors share, key staff members and board members should also be able to articulate and share their own giving journey. The churches I’ve seen who have embraced this are engaging in really meaningful generosity development.
This is to a conversation that focuses solely on giving money to the church. It doesn’t exclude that but it is not solely focused on that. I'm talking about buying into the idea that giving is a spiritual journey. It's a journey that is increasingly, incrementally, little by little changing us on the inside. We’re asking God to change us in this area of our life. And, as we do, we release more and more of our financial resources for the work of God in the world.
Practical Ways to Share Your Giving Journey
How do you get your staff, your board, and all your people to buy into the idea of not just giving on a regular basis, but the idea of continually developing their giving journey?
Here are a few concrete steps and actions you can take:
Pastors, first and foremost, make sure you have shared your giving journey. You should share with your board, with your staff, and with the congregation. Share periodically, and update the story as needed. Share your experiences openly, normalizing conversations about money in a positive light. Focus on God's work in your heart, not the specific amount of percentage you are giving.
Talk to your board and staff about their giving journeys. Ask about any recent epiphanies they’ve had or about specific things they’ve done in the past that took their giving journey to another level. Bring these types of topics up for discussion regularly.
Encourage your board and staff to share their own giving story. Identify this as a priority, and ask people to work on it and then share among yourselves at a specific time or meeting.
Make sure that giving generosity is identified as one of your marks of discipleship in the culture of your church.
Incorporate your giving journey and the journeys of others into your offering moment on a regular basis. Offering moments at many churches tend to be more transactional, like an announcement. But they should be more about transformation that leads to greater generosity as an act of worship.
When we have a giving journey, and we’re aware of it, it changes our perspective on everything. It helps us see that giving is transformational, not just transactional, that it is worship and not an administrative announcement. Pastors who share their own giving journeys are leading the way in helping people understand this so that they can start realizing what their own journeys look like.
When you share, you’ll be helping them see that as followers of Christ, our journey does not conclude at a specific stage of life. It is ongoing. Every day of our life, until we take our least hearth and we are reunited with Him in eternity. Therefore, our goal should be to keep growing and aspiring to new levels of faith in all areas of our life, including our journey with money and possessions.
The new podcast from Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer of Generis.
Next Sunday, hosted by Frank Bealer and Jim Sheppard, is more than just a podcast - this is your community of forward-thinking church leaders looking to make a meaningful impact not only today but for years to come.
Apple Link -
Spotify Link -
 | A guest post by
|