Renovated Giving and Receiving

It seems that most Christians are ignoring their call to be conformed to the image of Christ. Their distinctive faith aside, Christians are acting more and more like the rest of culture, and there is little discernible difference between believers and nonbelievers: from the books they read, to the issues they worry about, to how they use their money. The same is generally true in Christians’ giving and asking for resources.

Unfortunately, Wes Wilmer’s criticism of Christians doesn’t surprise many of us. And more disappointing is the fact that those of us who are called to bring about change have simply preferred to adopt the world’s methods of doing things in order to carry-on as usual. As Wilmer insists, individuals, churches, and Christian ministries give and receive just like everybody else.

Several years ago I began offering a message in the churches I visited entitled Transformational Giving referencing Romans 12:2.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

I starting my message by asking the congregation how a transformed life might influence a person’s giving habits. I suggested that the transformation may not affect the gift nearly as much as it would affect the giver. What I didn’t talk much about and yet was equally as relevant to this discussion was how ministries encouraged and accepted gifts. Wilmer writes:

This pattern of conforming to the world around us, evident in our giving, is also characteristic of how Christian organizations ask for resources. Christian organizations, including churches, have increasingly adopted secular models of fundraising.

Digging deeper, I asked how our giving should reflect our transformed lives and I emphasized renewal. I used the idea of renovation for application under the assumption that most of my suburbanite audiences had at some point or another renovated a kitchen or bathroom.

In addition to individual renovation, Wilmer would encourage church and para-churches to do some renovating. He writes:

The best way to start both giving and asking correctly is by understanding the process that leads to generosity. Because our motives for giving have been saturated with ideology and methods from the business world, divorced from biblical principles, we need to reorient ourselves by looking through God’s eyes at the process of becoming generous… Once we understand this process, believers can change both giving and asking practices to align themselves with God’s way, which would lead to a revolultion in generosity.

If you are interested in learning more about the Generous Life and my ministry, please feel free to email me jasonlewis@thefrankgroup.us