Why I don't need help in fundraising

Fundraising is hard.  It's TOO hard, in fact, and the basic premises of this blog is that no Christian fundraiser can do it without the Lord's purposeful, ongoing intervention.  And so most blog entries are full of reminders about our need for Him.  To learn how that need works, we turn to the Bible.

In the Bible we see many exhortations to confidently trust in Christ's work, to hold fast to the faith, to do good works and, of course, to encourage ourselves when things get rough.  Consider this passage from Hebrews:

Therefore, since I have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for me through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since I have a great priest over the house of God, let me draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with my heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and my body washed with pure water. Let me hold fast the confession of my hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let me consider how to stir myself up to love and good works, encouraging myself, and all the more as I see the Day drawing near.    Hebrews 10:19-25, MSV (Me Standard Version)

We are so desperately in need of God's grace during fundraising, and this passage helps us see our need to remember truth and act on it regularly.

Now, don't misunderstand me.  Just because I said that WE are desperate and that WE see OUR need, I don't want you to assume that WE actually need to interact at all.  WE (that is, you and I, individually) have everything we need in Christ.  Well... and I suppose I need my support team too.  And once in a while, hotels.  And mechanics.  But mostly Jesus.  Cause he died for you!  And me!  Individually!

There are some Christians who claim that God also gave us community to help address our needs.  But you and I (individually) know that's not true!  Community was God's design for church services and the occasional small group Bible study, so long as it doesn't get too personal.  The point of such a Bible study is so that the person in the group who knows the most about Jesus can explain to the rest of us (individually) how we (individually) should understand it.

"Community Christians", as I'll call them, will claim that God's trinitarian nature itself is proof of God's approval of community.  What they fail to realize is that God is DIFFERENT than us!  I mean, you and me, that is.  Like, individually.  And I'm all for relying on each member of the Trinity for my growth in holiness and my raising of funds.  So when I get discouraged, run low on contacts or find myself getting bitter, I just need to force myself to remember what God did for me.  Then things get better!

Well, naturally, things don't get better easily!  Cause my heart is deceitful and I'm often blind to my sin.  But, not TOTALLY blind, of course.  I see most of it.  Or, at least a good bit of it.  Cause I've confessed to plenty of sin and every once in a while I yell at someone.  So I just ask God to help me see it, and every few months I do.  Like when I yell at someone and then remember it next time I pray.  I'm still trying to figure out why I yell here and there, but I'm sure it will come to me as I seek Christ.  I'll just keep "considering how to stir myself up to love and good works" and "encouraging myself" as Hebrews says.  The yelling will eventually go away.  Just like my other sins.

Anyhow, those Community Christians don't really know what they (together!) are talking about.  They read translations written by OTHER Christians.  Did you know that most translations are written by big groups of so-called scholars?  If they were really scholars, they'd each write their OWN translation.  Now, I realize I'm a little hypocritical here, cause I don't ACTUALLY know Hebrew or Greek.  But I'm working on teaching myself.  And then I'll know for sure what the Bible really says.  So I'm not worried.  I already know most of it, and I don't need others telling me what it says.

Okay, so the main point of today's post is that I don't need help in fundraising because Jesus is enough.  Hopefully I've made that point clear to us.  I mean, you.  Clear to you.  Cause I already figured it out.  And now you have too.  So, get back to work, and remember: rely on Jesus and no one else - and keep encouraging yourself in that, doing so all the more as you see the Day drawing near!  What a day that will be for us!

Individually, of course.

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(Aren't you glad that Hebrews isn't quite written that way?  But... do we act like it is?)

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.    Hebrews 10:19-25, ESV

[Update: Since some people have been worried that I was being serious in this post, let me assure you that the Me Standard Version is not something I actually advocate using =)  To get a more straightforward view on what I actually think, check out this post.]

More than you can handle

Not too long ago I was sharing with a Christian friend about a fundraising-related struggle I was having. In an effort to encourage me, he shared, "Don't worry! God doesn't give you more than you can handle."

My friend was trying to be helpful, so I didn't say anything to that at the time. What I thought, however, was this:

Uh, yeah He does.

Like the mythical verse about "God helping those who help themselves", the whole "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" thing is completely made up. Moreover, both those statements are dangerous because the truth is the exact opposite!

God does give you more than you can handle. He does so so that we can look back on the situation and know with certainty that God was the One who did it - not ourselves. This is especially important in the realm of fundraising: if you enter into fundraising thinking you can handle it, you're going to either crash and burn quickly, or worse yet, have a ministry that looks stunningly similar to that of the Pharisees.

I just read the story of David and Goliath to my 3-year old a few nights ago. As he looked at the picture of the young shepherd standing over the body of the giant, he asked, "Daddy, how come that little rock knock down that biiiiig guy?" I was delighted - that's the exact question God intends us to ask! God had very clearly given David (and all Israel) more than he could handle. How could a few rocks take down an enormous, armor-plated warrior? The answer, of course, is that they couldn't. But God could. And He did.

Indeed, one of the greatest truths of the Bible is that God gives us more than we can handle. This causes us to remain humbly dependent on the One on whom we were meant to be humbly dependent. (A parallel truth is that God doesn't help those who help themselves... He helps those who can't help themselves!) The world calls this foolishness or even slavery. Christians know, however, that there is nothing wiser or more freeing than fulfilling our created purpose: to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

Four lies about "disposable income"

"That guy won't be able to give because he doesn't have any disposable income."

That's what I heard a fundraiser say recently about someone he was planning to meet with to ask for support. While I understand what he meant by the statement, I think it reflects a wrong view of fundraising - a wrong view that I also share all too often.

Hidden behind those words is the assumption that fundraisers are asking for the scraps of people's budgets. It's as though we're asking people for the money that they'd otherwise throw away or spend on meaningless things.

There are at least four lies behind that belief:

Lie #1: Christians have disposable income

If I knew any Christian who treated money as though it were disposable, I'd sit down with them quickly and talk to them about stewardship. Jesus has a lot to say about money, including, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:21). What does it say about our hearts if we're throwing away money?

Lie #2: Our ministry is only worth the scraps

What a low view we must have of our ministry (and I dare say, our God) to believe that our ministry is only worth the scraps! If a famous world leader asked you to accomplish a mission for him, would you go about it as though it were unimportant? Would you ask for the scraps of the military or the rejects of the intelligence agency? Certainly not - you would ask the leader for SEAL Team Six and a six or nine figure budget and a story in every major newspaper. If he called you to this mission, he'd better well equip you. And everyone had better know what they can do to help. No one would dare offer you their scraps! 

How much greater is our God than even the mightiest of world leaders?

Lie #3: Our ministry only requires the scraps

Jesus is not offering us scraps to accomplish our mission. He's entrusting us with the hearts and souls of His people, calling us to shepherd the 99 and chase after the 1, forgiving seventy-times-seven times and giving up all our rights in the process. This will require huge, heaping portions of grace every day: spiritual, mental, emotional, relational and certainly financial. Woe to us if we expect to get by on scraps!

Lie #4: Jesus only asks for the scraps

Fundraising is a training ground for what you'll be doing once you've raised your support. At that point, what will you be asking of those you're ministering to? Will you ask people to give Jesus their scraps? Should they spend time with Him as they find opportunity? Should pursuing holiness be prioritized somewhere between trimming your toenails and repainting the den?

Shortly before accepting Christ as my Savior, I said to a Christian, "I've been told that God only asks for an hour of our time each week [at church]." He wisely responded, "God doesn't want an hour. He wants everything." I was offended by that, but for the first time, I understood that God was bigger than me. He wanted more than my scraps.

Here's how Jesus said it Himself: 

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. . . .So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26-27, 33)

I've written strongly on this matter because these lies about "disposable income" can be so devastating to our effectiveness - and it has been to mine from time to time. Don't believe them!

Remember your position as beloved sons and daughters of the Most High God. When you ask others to be part of your Father's work, don't ask for scraps; Ask BIG, and do so with equal measures of grace and boldness. 

Jesus is worthy of nothing less.

You are not alone

Since the beginning, Satan has used a devastating two-prong approach to cripple his enemies.

He begins by putting an arm around your shoulder while seductively whispering, "You are alone." He goes on to tell you that you're not special. God doesn't care. Does God really love you and want what is best for you? Sadly, no. Just look around... is this what a loving, attentive God would do? You poor, sad creature... you are truly, completely alone...

Once that seed of doubt is planted, he goes on to lure you to a false "cure". As the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:1-2), Satan commands the world to welcome you. So the world obediently retracts its fangs, puts on a smile, throws its arms around you and says, "Welcome, friend, to a place where you need never be alone!"

This is a one-two punch that sends me reeling time after time, especially during fundraising. Though I know that I shouldn't listen to the lies, they feel so very true. Perhaps you can relate.

But don't believe it. Not for a second.

You are not alone. You were created by a loving, doting Father who watches you with keen interest day by day, moment by moment. He utterly delights in you, sovereignly setting up every situation so that you'll know His goodness and love for you. (Acts 17:26-27)

You are not alone. Your Creator has existed always in community. Being alone is completely foreign to the nature of the Trinity. You were created in the image of that Trinitarian God (Gen 1:26-27) and baptized into that Trinitarian God. (Matt 28:19)

You are not alone. It was God Himself who said, "it is not good for the man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18a). Then God Himself worked to fix it: "I will make him a helper fit for him." (Genesis 2:18b)

You are not alone. God is with us wherever we go, even in the darkest places (Ps 139:1-18). Jesus is called Immanuel, "God with us." (Matt 1:23). When Jesus commissioned us to missions work, He said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt 28:20). When Jesus returned to the Father, He went even further to assure us that we weren't alone by sending the Holy Spirit: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever." (John 14:16, cf 14:26).

You are not alone. Satan desperately wants you to think that you are, because he hates that you will never be alone, now or in eternity:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10)

Satan hates that. He hates that this future is sealed for you. He hates that you are fundraising so that still more will be added to that multitude. So he will tell you phone call after phone call and appointment after appointment that you are alone.

But don't believe it. Not for a second.

You are not alone.