Fisherman who can't fish

After Jesus's death and resurrection we find an amazing story about fishermen who couldn't fish.

Simon Peter [and six other disciples] were together.  Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you."  They went out and got into the boat...  (John 21:2-3 ESV)

Peter and most of the others with him were fisherman by trade.  Up until three years earlier when they started following Jesus, fishing was how they made their living.  They were experts in fishing.  Their earliest memories were of fishing.  At their family meals and family devotions and family reunions, they probably talked about fishing.  So now that Jesus was gone (and they hadn't yet seen Him resurrected), they went back to doing what they knew so well: fishing!

Thus we should find the next statement to be truly striking:

...but that night they caught nothing.  (John 21:3 ESV)

Wait, what?  Our expert fisherman - seven of them - couldn't catch a single fish?  Isn't that a little... odd?  And more than odd!  It must have been enormously frustrating!

Think of something that you're really good at.  Perhaps it's soccer or cooking or writing or car repair.  Now imagine that you spend an entire day's (or night's) work on this task you're so good at.  But instead of succeeding in your venture, you find that you couldn't score a single goal or that you burned everything or that none of the words flowed or that nothing fit properly.  How would YOU be feeling?

For our fishermen friends, it gets worse.

Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?"  They answered him, "No." (John 21:5 ESV)

Now, usually Jesus showing up - let alone a resurrected Jesus - would be a good thing.  And it will be a few verses later.  But at this point they don't yet know that it's Jesus.  What they DO know is that someone is highlighting their failure.

Thus, these men are fishermen who couldn't fish who were being exposed as fishermen who couldn't fish.

And that's us.

Most of us received some good fundraising training.  Many of us studied Scripture about fundraising, read books on fundraising, prayed about fundraising, went to training sessions and conferences on fundraising, learned from other fundraisers about fundraising and even read a blog about fundraising.  We should be really good at fundraising, right?

But how many times have you said, "I am going fundraising," and then sat down at your desk or got in your car and diligently worked hard... but that night you "caught" nothing?  If you're anything like me, you've had more than a few.

Then a well-meaning friend asks you how fundraising is going.  Or you submit a required update to your sending organization.  Or your family is wondering how much longer you'll be living back at home.  Each of them is asking, "Child, do you have any new funds?"  And you answer them, "No."

Thus, you're a fundraiser who can't raise funds who's being exposed as a fundraiser who can't raise funds.

So what do you do about it?  Let's consider what happened to our failed fisherman friends...

[Jesus] said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some [fish]." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. (John 21:6 ESV)

Are we to think that, throughout the entire night, not one of the seven men had thought to cast the net on the right side of the boat?  Not at all.  It's not that the left side was devoid of fish while the right side had fish in abundance.  Rather, we're to recognize that this time Jesus had planned another outcome.  Why?  Because this time the seven fishermen were very aware of whom was actually bringing in the fish.

Fellow fundraisers, we can learn from this!  Our hearts are prone, when our failure is exposed, to numb the pain in any number of ways.  We overwork to try to cover our failure.  We underwork to try to forget about it.  We read a new book so as to learn a better technique.  We grow bitter toward contacts who don't give.  Or we lose hope and quit altogether.

But the real solution is much simpler and more satisfying than all that: acknowledge your obvious inability, listen to Jesus and then "toss the nets" once more.  No, there's nothing magic about it.  But in doing so you'll discover a heart full of dependence, faith and expectation.

Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast."  Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?"  They knew it was the Lord.  (John 21:12 ESV)

And so will you.

Asking for help

It's been a while since the last Gospel Fundraising post!  No, I didn't die.  Or quit fundraising.  But I did end up getting a new role that requires me to think about fundraising basically every single day.  This means that I simultaneously have much more to write about and less time to do it =)  But I've committed to doing it more regularly again.  May God use these further musings as a blessing to those who make their living from the gospel. -Tom

- - - - - - - - -

My 2-year-old has a fascination with eating icicles.  For the past several weeks, every time he looks outside our bathroom window, he beholds these big, dripping triangles hanging from our roof.  His little voice then calls out: "Daddy, can you help me get one?"

Meanwhile, my 5-year-old has a fascination with Legos.  He still mostly wants to follow the instructions, and so it's fairly common for him to stare in confusion at the picture indicating where to place a particular piece.  His little voice then calls out: "Daddy, can you help me with this?"

Daddy, meanwhile, has a fascination with saving money.  I enjoy doing small-to-medium-sized home projects, but it's fairly common for me to get to a point where the next step is no longer obvious.  The thing simply won't come off or fit in or turn on or whatever else.  In those cases, do you know what I call out?

Usually... nothing.

It's tragic that somewhere along the line I lost the childlike dependence on "Daddy".  Perhaps it's pride.  Or the "self-made man" American mindset.  Or an "orphan mentality".  Regardless, it's hard for me to ask for help from anyone.  And especially from God.

Yet, in areas like fundraising and ministry, it should be way, way, way obvious that I can't do it!  I can ask for support, but God has to lead others to give.  I can lead a Bible study, but God has to change others' hearts.  I've tried doing both those things plenty of times without God and seen the sad results.  And, thankfully, I've also tried doing both with God and seen results well beyond what I could have expected.

Here's how Jesus puts it:

I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you.  (Luke 11:9, ESV)

and

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15:5, ESV)

My two- and five-year-olds know that they need help to get what they need; God-fearing fundraisers would do well to follow their example. Are you short on contacts? Has your support level plateaued for weeks or even months? Has your time in the Scriptures been dry for a season?

Have you asked for your heavenly Daddy's help?  Why not do it right now?

Soon enough, by God's grace, you'll be enjoying your tasty icicle, completed Lego and/or fulfilled support goal.

Writing to supporters when nothing amazing is happening

Whether you send out ministry updates weekly or annually, you probably ask yourself the same question each time: what is worth sharing with my support team? In other words, what has God used me to accomplish recently?

Perhaps you have a story of one, ten or a hundred people coming to Christ. Or maybe you were part of a huge event where there was fantastic teaching, moving worship and engaging discussion. It could be that you had significant conversations with unbelievers who were asking deep questions. Each of those is a no-brainer: put it in your ministry update!

But sometimes, the best answer I can come up with is, "Not much." Yup. That's it. Just not much to say, really.

It's not that God isn't doing anything. It's just that at this particular moment in time, God isn't using me to accomplish anything flashy. God is good, but there's simply not much to write home about.

Now you may object and say that God is always at work doing amazing things. I don't disagree. It's just that not everything you do in ministry is worthy of being retweeted by Tim Keller and Andy Stanley. Assuming you're staying in touch with your support team with at some decent degree of regularity, you'll simply have times where there isn't much to report.

If that bothers you, please listen carefully to this next truth.

Ready?

It's okay.

Let me give you a few Biblical reasons for that:

1. The Bible is chock-full of agricultural analogies. Anyone who knows anything about agriculture knows that it's mostly repetitive, not-particularly-noteworthy work which is occasionally broken up by a flurry of interesting activity. If a farmer were to send you a report of his latest news, he may never even mention the things he's spent most of his day doing. It's not that it isn't valuable; it's just not a big deal.
2. The Bible is chock-full of stories about people. Important people. Doing important things. But sometimes the Bible just says, "When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died." (Genesis 5:6-8) That's just about all we know about Seth. When the author of Genesis penned those lines, he asked himself, "What's important to share about Seth?" That was his answer. But what else happened during those 912 years?? Nothing worth writing about.
3. The Bible is chock-full of stories that point to, are about or look back to Jesus Christ. Yet the last verse in John's gospel says, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25) In other words: there were lots more things Jesus did. Really important things. Many of those things were probably miraculous. But it wasn't written in John's book - and that's okay. John didn't feel the need to apologize. He was simply letting us know.

Now to be clear, I'm not suggesting that you only write to your supporters when you're doing something amazing. I'm just trying to reassure you that a lack of amazing things to share doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you or your ministry.

But instead of skipping an update, why not share your heart? (1 Thess 2:8) Share about something you're learning in God's Word. Share a book or blog recommendation. Share your dreams for the ministry. Tell a story from someone doing similar (or different!) work in another part of the ministry. Or simply ask for prayer. Remember that you're writing an encouragement to your partners in the gospel (3 John 8) - not a defense to a jury waiting to convict you.

So what is worth sharing with your support team? You are - even when nothing amazing is happening.

The missed opportunity

John 4 tells us the story of a life-changing conversation that Jesus has with a Samaritan woman. Perhaps utilizing His divine understanding or perhaps through careful observation (likely both), Jesus asks a few questions, discerns the state of the women's heart and then calls her to Himself through a gentle, seemingly easy conversation. With wonder in her eyes, the woman abandons her simple task of filling her water jar so that she can take on a greater mission: to tell everyone in her hometown that the Christ has come. In that context, Jesus declares every missionary's favorite newsletter quote: "Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." (John 4:35)

Given the familiarity of this story, it's easy to overlook the fact that Jesus wasn't simply trying to give us verses on which to hang our newsletters. Rather, He was giving His disciples an eye-opening rebuke. Let's take another look at this story, this time with the disciples in mind:

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) (John 4:7-8 ESV, emphasis mine)

The disciples rightly identified a problem: they were hungry. Being good servants of their Lord, they went off into the local town to get some food. Perhaps they even thought themselves very brave, since they were buying from the trouble-making Samaritans. Surely Jesus would be pleased by their willing sacrifice!

The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." (John 4:25-35 ESV, emphasis mine)

Upon the disciples' return, however, they found Jesus chatting it up with a local woman. This was shocking for several cultural reasons, but they chose not to ask about it. Instead, they began placing rations in front of Jesus, persistently encouraging Him to eat. It's then that Jesus tells them that they've missed the point.

The disciples were focused on a particular need: getting food. It's not a bad thing to need food - but it's not the point of their journey. Had they rightly understood their mission, they'd have looked up from the goods at the Samaritan marketplace and discovered a whole town full of people who were absolutely primed to hear the good news. It wouldn't have been a hard sell; all it took was a local woman (who was likely of ill repute) to rather inaccurately declare, "Come see a man who told me all that I ever did" and to ask, "Can this be the Christ?" The fields were white - no further work was required but to reap. Yet the disciples missed the opportunity for a spiritual harvest in favor of some morsels that would only leave them hungry again. (cf. John 4:13)

As fundraisers, you and I will be tempted to miss the very same opportunities.

Fundraising is about raising funds. But fundraising for the sake of the gospel is about the gospel first and fundraising second. We would do well to seek the former without neglecting the latter.

If you're meeting with a donor and he's bearing his heart to you, don't worry about going "off the script." Close your notebook, put aside your financial needs and love him. (Phil 2:4)

If you're calling someone to get a support appointment and she begins to weep for lost family members, leave behind your small goal of reaching quotas. Pray with her. Read Scripture to her. Weep with her. (Rom 12:15)

If you focus your efforts on fundraising, you'll surely get funds. If you focus your efforts on the Lord, you'll get Him - and everything else you need.

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matt 6:31-33)

God has already planned it

When Adam and Eve brought onto themselves the curses of sin at Eden, God had already planned that the woman's seed would crush the head of the serpent. (Genesis 3:15)

When Joseph's brothers delivered him into slavery in Egypt, God had already planned that he would save countless lives through the great famine. (Genesis 50:20)

When Israel found themselves trapped by the Egyptians with their back to the Red Sea, God had already planned a miracle He'd refer back to all throughout the Bible. (Exodus 14:13)

When Saul disqualified himself from kingship at Gilgal, God had already planned to anoint a greater king after His own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14)

When Naomi was left without a husband or sons, God had already planned that the Messiah would come through her family. (Ruth 4:17)

When Lazarus grew ill and died, God had already planned that His disciples would believe in Him as a result. (John 11:14)

When Jesus was taken prisoner and sentenced to crucifixion, God had already planned to bring about the salvation of mankind. (Acts 2:23)

When Jesus departed this world and left His frightened disciples behind, He had already planned that the gospel would penetrate to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

When a murderer was on his way to claim the life of more Christians, God had already planned to bring salvation to the Gentiles through him. (Acts 9:15)

When you were still in the grasp of the devil, God had already planned good works for you to accomplish. (Ephesians 2:10)

When all the armies of the earth gather together to finally destroy Christianity, God has already planned to demonstrate His sovereignty with absolute victory. (Revelation 20:9)

Perhaps you are feeling like your fundraising (or life!) isn't going according to your plan right now. If so, don't worry...

God has already planned something glorious to come from it.

Brevity, or: Why you don't need to say everything to everyone in every newsletter

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25 ESV)

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 1:12 ESV)

I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. (3 John 1:13-14 ESV)

Sometimes I agonize over how much to write in a newsletter.

John didn't.

Feel free to write some now and share more later.

The hard work of fundraising

Fundraising is a lot of work. It's hard work, tiresome work and sometimes discouraging work.

But what is the "work" of fundraising? Is it making calls, networking in churches, sending thank yous and asking for special gifts? Yes, but there is a much deeper work of fundraising. John tells us about it here:

Then [the crowds] said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:28-29 ESV)

Jesus isn't talking about fundraising explicitly here, but fundraising is certainly included. He tells us that if we're really working for God, the labor that is required is to believe in Jesus. That's a much more difficult thing to do than sending an appeal letter or asking someone for monthly support!

But what does it mean to believe in Jesus?  

It means transferring trust from ourselves to Christ.

It means boldly sharing our mission with important executives because Christ is more important.

It means expecting God to provide this month even when we don't see how.

It means spending as much time praying as we do marketing.

It means not despairing if a donor stops giving because Christ never does.

It means not needing to revise a newsletter for the sixth time because the gospel is for those who make typos.

It means thinking less of our gifts and more of God's Gift.

It means trusting that God will make the things above true of us when they're currently not.

3 John: Opposition to Fundraising

In the previous post we looked at what the short book of 3 John teaches us about the validity of fundraising from verses 5-8.  But as you've probably noticed during your own fundraising experience, not everyone is excited to send and support missionaries as John had advised Gaius.  John knew this too, so he wrote about a source of opposition to fundraising in verses 9-11.

[9] I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. [10] So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. [11] Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:9-11 ESV)

After John is done encouraging Gaius in how he ought to treat the visiting missionaries, he turns his attention to a troublesome character named Diotrephes.  John gives Gaius his assessment of Diotrephes' character: Diotrephes likes to put himself first (9) and he does not acknowledge apostolic (Biblical) authority (9).  He talks "wicked nonsense" against John and others (10).  Moreover, not only does he refuse to welcome the missionary brothers, but he also stops others from doing so, even excommunicating them (10).  Finally, John observes that even though Diotrephes is a church leader with the power to excommunicate others, he "has not seen God" and is therefore not a Christian at all (10).

This is an important example to us even many years later, for men like Diotrephes still infect many churches.  We would do well to recognize that they exist and not be shaken when we discover them during our fundraising.  Here are some things we can expect based on John's letter to Gaius:

• Some (even leaders) will refuse to welcome us (10)
• They will refuse to do so on unbiblical grounds (9)
• Some will not welcome us based on pressure from leadership, even if they want to (10)
• We should not let these situations harden us against other believers, because those doing these things may not be believers at all (11)!

Now, this is a blog about fundraising, the gospel and Biblical encouragement.  It might seem that we're coming up short on those latter two in this post!  But let us not forget the nature of the gospel and how the Scriptures portray service to Christ - it is often not easy and we are often not welcomed.  Consider these words of Christ from John 15:

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'
'But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning." (John 15:18-27 ESV)

Jesus reminds us that part of being associated with Him, part of doing His work, is being hated by those who hated Him.

And yet - here's the encouragement part - Jesus says He sent us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who has filled us with the power of God Himself.  It is because of Him that we are enabled to do the very work that we are fundraising in order to do.  And - here's the gospel part - remember that we too were once part of that world that so hated Christ.  But by the power of the same Holy Spirit, by the blood of the same Savior, by the faithful work of others who had been brought from death to life, we were rescued.

So, if there's hope for you and me, there is even hope for men like Diotrephes.  But someone's got to reach them.  And that's why you endure this time of fundraising.  That's what God has called you to do.  So go pick up that phone. Go on that trip.  Raise those funds.

The world is waiting for you.