Our responsibility vs God's responsibility

In Paul David Tripp's best-selling book Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, we're shown a helpful diagram that helps us understand how fundraising (and many other things!) works:

Here we see two concentric circles:

1. The Inner Circle of Responsibility represents our responsibilities: things that God has called us to do.  We ought to faithfully serve in these roles.
2. The Outer Circle of Concern represents God's responsibilities: things that God has NOT called us to do, but rather to trust Him for. 

If we keep these circles in the proper proportions, we're rightly trusting and obeying.  However, our tendency is to inappropriately expand or shrink our Circle of Responsibility.  When we expand our circle of responsibility, we find ourselves worried or angry about things that we can't control; we're not trusting God to do His job.  When we shrink our Circle of Responsibility, we fail to steward well what God has given to us.  We may become lazy, disconnected or spiritually stagnant.

What does this look like in fundraising?  

Your Inner Circle of Responsibility probably involves things like making phone calls, sending emails, practicing and giving presentations, faithfully asking for large financial gifts, asking for referrals, meeting new people at churches and small groups, sending thank you notes, studying Scripture, praying for God to provide, praying for your donor team, planning out your day/week/month, talking with your fundraising coach, reporting on progress to your sending organization, sending newsletters, eating well and going to bed on time.

Your Outer Circle of Concern (aka God's responsibilities) includes things like meeting the right people, contacts answering their phones/emails/etc., contacts having time in their schedule to meet, God stirring hearts to give financially, people giving faithfully over time, God providing income for each donor, your car [not] breaking down on the way to an appointment, your health being sustained and reaching your financial support goal in His perfect timing.

If you inappropriately expand your Circle of Responsibility, you're trying to control things God has not called you to control.  You'll become angry when people don't respond the way you want.  You'll become jealous of other fundraisers who may be finishing quicker.  You'll lay awake worried about where the funds will come from.  You'll seek alternative solutions apart from having to trust God, such as lowering your support goal and/or standard of living.  Ironically, you'll believe that there's nothing more that you can do (emphasis on the you) and so you'll give up for that day/week/month.  Though you'll feel like a victim, you'll actually be struggling with pride.  And through it all, God will be graciously but firmly opposing you (James 4:6).

If you inappropriately shrink your Circle of Responsibility, you'll probably not notice it right away because it looks and sounds very spiritual.  After all, you have faith that God will provide!  How could that be wrong?  In truth, however, you'll miss out on the opportunities God has given to you (emphasis on the you).  Perhaps you're regularly sleeping in until 10am - but you could reach quite a few businessmen if you called at 8:10am.  Perhaps you're not spending time praying for God to provide.  Yes, He is sovereign, but He also hears our prayers and responds.  You may find yourself in the position of the unfaithful servant who fearfully waits for his master to return - and who has even the little that he has taken away from him. (Matthew 25:26-29)

Now, if anything, this blog focuses more on encouraging and challenging those who expand rather than shrink their circles.  That's because, in my experience, most fundraising missionaries and pastors are tempted to expand more than to shrink.  But I've personally been guilty of doing both at different times.  Perhaps I may doing one right now!

Each of us must consider where we're at.  Consider your own tendencies and emotions.  Ask trusted friends for feedback.   Perhaps pick up a copy of Tripp's book!  And ultimately, seek to find the Biblical balance between your responsibility and God's responsibility.  Seek to honestly and humbly say with the Apostle Paul:

"I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." (1 Cor 15:10 ESV)

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(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.]

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.

What icy roads teach us about fundraising

I commute by bicycle even during the winter months, and while I don't mind the cold, ice is another story.

This morning I was on my way to an early meeting downtown, and I was being especially cautious since the roads and bike paths were in bad shape after a recent ice storm.  I kept a close eye on the road in front of me and made slow, gentle turns.  I was doing great for 3/4 of the trip, but just when I was reaching the end of a semi-maintained bike path, I hit some black ice and went down.  Thankfully I wasn't significantly hurt, so I got up, walked the bike the rest of the path, and was fine for the rest of the ride.

After the meeting I bundled up and began heading back.  I remembered well where that patch of black ice was, so I carefully dismounted beforehand and decided to walk the bike until I was back on stable ground.

That's when I noticed something that astounded me.

As I walked the bike over that patch of black ice, I discovered that it wasn't a "patch" at all.  For probably about 50 yards, the bike path was nothing BUT black ice!  In fact, it was so slippery that I could barely walk the bike, let alone ride it!  Yet... somehow, just a little earlier, I had ridden for 49.5 of those 50 yards without slipping a bit!

I think our fundraising is like that.  Usually when things are going well, we attribute it to something we're doing.  It's our charisma!  Or our diligence!  It may be our zeal or speaking ability or incredibly well-thought-through presentation book!  The reason others have failed where we're succeeding is because they just haven't work as hard at these things as we have!  Self-high-five!

But then, inevitably, it stops working.  Our charisma fails to charm.  Our diligence is replaced by binging on Netflix.  Our zeal fades, our words come out wrong and our presentation book confuses people.  What then?  Do we give up?  Do we try harder?

David helps us in the opening lines of this song:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
    He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the LORD.   (Psalm 40:1-3, ESV)

David was in "the pit of destruction" and his steps felt "insecure".  (Ever felt that way in fundraising?)  How did he respond?  Did he give up?  Did he try harder?  No.  What he chose to do was cry to the LORD and then "waited patiently" until God responded.  In response, God delivered him and made his steps secure.  Furthermore, He gave David a song by which to remember who helped him.  This song in turn causes others to follow David's example.  Others like you and me.

This is helpful in considering both fundraising and riding on black ice!  We're far from "stepping securely".  In fact, as I learned this morning, we may be in a much more precarious position than we even realize.  Our attitude, therefore, should be one of profound thankfulness to God.  Not only does He draw us out of pits when we cry out to Him, but He drew us out of the ultimate pit of hell when not one of us was crying to Him.  He sent Jesus Christ to come while we were yet sinners, He set our feet firmly upon the Rock, and He tells us to go make disciples of all nations that they might put their trust in Him.

When I fell on the last few feet of the path, it was easy to think that God was being cruel.  Rather, He was being exceedingly gracious for an exceedingly long period of time.  And when He did finally permit me to fall, it was not for my destruction but rather for my humility.  He lifted my eyes off of myself and my abilities and had me instead sing a song of His grace to others - so that you too might see, fear, and put your trust in the LORD.

As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!   (Psalm 40:17, ESV)

The better yoke

Are you feeling burdened by fundraising? Do you labor day after day toward your goal without seeing progress? Are you longing for rest?

Jesus welcomes you with these words:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

If you're feeling exhausted, discouraged or "heavy laden", you may not be wearing Jesus's yoke. If that's the case, what yoke are you wearing?

Are you wearing a yoke of performance? This yoke drives you hard, requiring more and more of your time and energy - all the while promising that rest will come right after the next task is accomplished... just keep it up a little longer!

Are you wearing a yoke of satisfying others? This yoke promises you respect and praise while threatening you with loneliness if you fail. You just have to make sure people always think well of you. Surely you can handle that small task!

Are you wearing a yoke of fear? You're never sure what's coming next, but it'll probably be bad. Holding onto this yoke allows you to worry about every possible outcome so you're always prepared for the worst.

Are you wearing a yoke of success? So long as you give your whole life over to your work, you'll keep up with or even surpass others your age. Then they can't look down on you for fundraising! You'll show them...

Are you wearing a yoke of distance? This yoke requires you to not put too much trust in anyone or hope in anything. True, you'll never be happy, but at least you won't get hurt again.

Are you wearing a yoke of goodness? Just be good enough! You're so close! Just make sure you read your daily devotions, you always say something spiritual in your Small Group and you tithe 11%. Oh, and make sure you're smiling all the time.

Whether one of those describes you perfectly or it's something else altogether, Jesus is offering you a better yoke. An easy one. It doesn't mean that you'll never experience difficulty, but it does mean that you'll experience His empowering grace and all-encompassing mercy in the midst of it.

Let go of your heavy burden. Put on Jesus's yoke. Find the rest your soul longs for.

The right way to do fundraising

I did fundraising as a single guy for about five years. During this time I learned the following two things:

1. Fundraising as a single guy is hard.
2. I had little clue about the right way to do fundraising.

Then I got married to the girl of my dreams... and we kept on fundraising. This fundraising was especially critical because a couple months before we got married I lost several donors whose total monthly giving was over $1100. See item #2 above. I wasn't exactly sweeping my wife off her feet with my fundraising skills.

So in our pre-kids days we used to do a lot of fundraising together. During this time I learned two more things:

1. Fundraising as a married guy is hard.
2. I still had little clue about the right way to do fundraising.

But here's the odd thing... despite the continually-mounting evidence to the contrary, I continued to act as though I knew the right way to do fundraising!

For example, my method was to share "big picture vision" with donors and potential donors. I told them all about the ministry's mission and core values, where we were heading and then how they could help, etc... you know... the right stuff to share! My wife, however, for reasons I simply could not fathom, would share the detailed day-to-day stuff: where we worked, how many people we ministered to, what their prayer needs were, etc... you know... the other stuff to share! Yeah, I suppose somebody could share that stuff, but, uh, why? (I also wasn't doing so hot at sweeping her off her feet with my stellar listening skills and vast reservoirs of empathy.)

Because of these... differences... going on support appointments together was often difficult.

Writing newsletters was worse.

What was the problem here? Was it that one of us was right and the other wasn't? Consider the words of King Solomon:

The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the LORD,
    and your plans will be established.
The heart of man plans his way,
    but the LORD establishes his steps.
(Proverbs 16:1-3,9 ESV)

Note the repeated emphasis: men's hearts are full of plans and intentions, but God is the one who sovereignly acts. His good purposes are always fulfilled even when my [faulty] purposes are not.

These verses should therefore cause us to learn two more things:

1. From man's perspective, fundraising is always hard. From God's perspective, it's already done.
2. I must choose to believe - to truly believe - that I have little clue how about the right way to do fundraising; only then do I recognize the need to commit my work to the LORD.

In the last few years, I've learned to lean on those truths far more than I used to. This has made fundraising on my own and with my wife far more enjoyable as well as more fruitful. I've learned that it's okay if my wife shares things differently than I do. It's okay if we differ on whether newsletters are one- or two-sided. It's okay if we have ongoing discussions about how to plan fundraising trips. None of those decisions will make or break our fundraising.

It's all okay so long as we commit our plans and our work to the LORD. He is the one who will give the donor's answer.

That's the right way to do fundraising.

Judgmentalism

I'm a judgmental person. I confess this to my great shame. I have brought it before the Lord on many occasions and, by His grace, I've seen growth - but it is a struggle I've had for as long as I can remember and I expect to have it for a long time to come.

This blog entry is therefore written primarily to myself, though it may also benefit others who struggle similarly.

I have judged just about everyone I know for one reason or another, including my wife and my dearest friends. It should thus come as no surprise that I judge my donors as well.

I have judged donors for not being faithful to give as they've said, for not getting back to me as they'd promised and for not calling their friends as they'd committed to. I have judged them for talking too much and for talking too little. I have judged their marriages and their other relationships. I have judged them for how their children have behaved and I have judged  them for how their pets have behaved. I have judged them for what their homes have looked like and how organized their kitchens have been. I have judged donors for their reactions to my presentations, my stories, my financial "ask" and (wretched man that I am!) I have even judged them for how much they have given.

It scares me that, upon reading that last paragraph, I can think of much more to add. If anyone ever asks me why I continue to cling to the cross of Christ daily, perhaps I can simply show them this blog entry.

Why am I writing all this out? Two reasons:

1. That I can be reminded of my desperate need of God's grace.
2. That I can be reminded of the basic truth below that I so easily forget.

The truth: I ought never judge someone until I've walked a mile in their shoes.

Here are practical examples I've seen over the years of that truth in action:

• One couple who didn't give monthly as they'd committed to had failed to pay their electric bill more times than they'd failed to support me.
• One couple who didn't call their friends as they'd committed to told me that the wife had just been diagnosed with cancer. They still called for me the following week.
• One couple whose marriage was falling apart had no solid, Bible-teaching church nearby. (I have a solid, Bible-teaching church five minutes away and I STILL fail to love my wife as I ought.)
• One older donor who talked too much has a husband (also her pastor) that doesn't listen to her. I did.
• One donor who talked too little grew up with parents who rarely said a kind thing to him, so he learned to keep his mouth shut. The fact he spoke at all to me was a huge step of faith for him.
• There are too many examples to list regarding kids. You simply can not know about someone's child-rearing situation - even if you had a dozen kids of your own. Every child and every situation is unique.
• A donor whose house is messy spends two nights a week serving at the local food pantry.
• A donor whose kitchen was unorganized regularly invites homeless people for meals.
• And what can I say about people giving...?

And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:41-44 ESV)

The point is that I've wrongly judged people for all manner of reasons - having never walked a mile in their shoes. The fact is, though, that I could never walk a mile, let alone a step, in someone else's shoes. But Jesus did:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)

And right there is my hope: despite my wickedness - my ongoing wickedness - I can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, and there I will find sweet mercy and rich grace.

If you've read this far, would you check in with me from time to time? I need others to ask me about the judgmentalism in my heart - and I also need others to remind me of the mercy and grace that awaits me when I repent (1 John 1:9)

If you're looking for help in this area too, stick around. My hope is that the lessons I learn will flow out into this blog as well.

Let's grow to love mercy together.

I just want to quit

I've wanted to quit fundraising a bunch of times. Here's a story about the first time.

When I first started fundraising I somehow got the idea in my head that I'd do well at it. I enjoyed meeting new people. I could tell a good story. I rarely worried about money.

That attitude lasted about two months.

Seemingly without warning, I suddenly found myself against a wall. Despite lots of appointments and church speaking opportunities, the support barely came in. People just weren't giving and my list of new contacts shrank down to nearly no one.

So I tried re-reading How to Win Friends and Influence People. I tried contacting everyone I knew about potential referrals. I even tried improving my presentation book and printing it on nicer paper.

I tried just about everything I could think of so as to not need Jesus.

Finally, as I drove home after a particularly discouraging appointment one night, I called out to God in desperation. Through tears I told Him that I couldn't do it anymore. "I just want to quit," I whispered into the dark.

It was at that moment the Holy Spirit convicted me with this question: "Quit what, exactly?"

I thought the answer would be, "I want to quit fundraising!" Instead, I realized that the answer was really, "I want to quit trying to do this myself."

A wave of Scripture washed over me - and with it, a wave of peace. The verse that gave me the most clarity came from James:

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6 ESV)

For months my pride resulted not only in forfeiture of God's rich, limitless grace but also in the sovereign God of the universe purposefully and personally opposing me. No wonder I wasn't making any headway!

To be clear, my fundraising didn't immediately turn around the next day - but my attitude did. And even more importantly, God's attitude toward me did. In His mercy and wisdom He had been withholding blessing, and then in His mercy and wisdom He gave it freely again.

Your story won't be the same as mine, but your Savior already is. So the next time you feel like quitting, turn to Him.

It may be you want to quit the wrong thing.

I got this

Several months ago I was talking with a friend who would soon be entering a period of fundraising. As we talked, I got the sense that he had a number of misconceptions about fundraising (including some of the ones I listed in an earlier post.) What concerned me most was that after I'd tried clearing up those misconceptions and explaining how difficult fundraising can be, he replied:

"Fundraising won't be a problem. I got this."

While I appreciate his zeal, I fear that he lacks knowledge (Pr 19:2). It's a dangerous ignorance, too, for the knowledge he lacks is a lack of knowledge of the gospel.

Consider the words of Jesus:

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31-32 ESV)

These words are wonderful and life-giving to those who recognize themselves as the sick in need of a doctor. Like a good doctor, Jesus offers not only the solution to their sin-induced sickness (His cross) but the means to avoid future sickness (repentance.) That's the gospel! Weak, sick and helpless people are made strong, healthy and helpful through the completely work of Christ.

However, these words also offer a great warning: those who are not sick do not need Jesus. Our theology alarm should go off at that point. Don't the Scriptures say that we're all desperately sick and in need of a Savior (Jer 17:9, Rom 3:10-18)? Yes, and so aren't we all sick and all in need of Jesus? Yes and yes!

Jesus isn't trying to say that there are some righteous people who needn't pay attention to Him; rather, He's saying that there are some people who think themselves righteous and therefore don't go to see the doctor as they should. (These words of Jesus are spoken to a group of Pharisees that have precisely this problem.)

So let's go back to my friend's lack of knowledge. While I wouldn't say that he thinks of Himself as truly righteous, I do believe that he doesn't see his need for a doctor. And if you go long enough without seeing the doctor, you fail to recognize just how sick you really are.

Fundraising is hard. It takes time. It breaks down our self-reliance. It causes us to admit our sickness and run to the great Doctor. In other words, fundraising will be a problem if you think, "I got this."

Thankfully, I don't need to worry about my friend. I tried to graciously share my concerns. I'm also praying for him. But most of all, my hope and expectation is that God will use his upcoming fundraising to graciously and patiently teach him to run to the Doctor. Often.

Let's also be careful not to judge my friend; I'm no stranger to his line of thinking and my guess is that you aren't either. But let's humbly choose to admit our weaknesses and run to Him.

If we don't, we can rest assured that our heavenly Father will lovingly teach us the same valuable lesson:

You don't got this.