Theology money class_session_10

Financing and Fund-Raising
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply .
Hudson Taylor

Scott Rodin
Through Christ, we have been saved from the sin that prohibits joyful giving ; in Christ, we are set free from sinful motivations and desires, allowing us to pour forth generously . Thus, His rule extends over every aspect of our lives. In light of God’s involvement in and sovereignty over any endeavor we undertake

fund-raising should rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to prompt giving , rather than using manipulative techniques that gauge success by results rather than by the relational aspect of the person.
R. Scott Rodin, Stewards in the Kingdom: A Theology of Life in All Its Fullness

Should Needs Be Made Known?
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers , about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia…as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:8

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me . Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need , for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances….

Philippians 4
I know what it is to be in need , and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want . I can do everything through him who gives me strength….

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know , in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only ; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need …. Phil. 4:10-19

Not that I am looking for a gift , but I am looking for what may be credited to your account . I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God . And [in light of your giving lifestyle] my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:10-19

Support Raising: George Müller’s Guidelines
1. No funds should ever be solicited. No facts or figures concerning needs are to be revealed by the workers in the orphanage to anyone, except to God in prayer.
2. No debt should ever be incurred.
3. Money contributed for a specific purpose should never be used for any other purpose.

4. All accounts should be audited annually by professional auditors.
5. No ego-pandering by publication of donors’ names with the amount of their gifts; each donor should be thanked privately.
6. No names of prominent or titled persons should be sought for the board or to advertise the institution.

7. The success of the institution should be measured not by the numbers served or by the amounts of money taken in, but by God’s blessing on the work , which is expected to be in proportion to the time spent in prayer .

Recognition, Gifts and Premiums as Fund-Raising Tools
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men . I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full .
Matthew 6:2

Modern Christian Fund-Raising
Larry Eskridge and Mark A. Noll
In the end, evangelical entrepreneurs, and their constituencies…convince themselves that the successes of the organization are a sign of God’s approval, and that any decline of the organization would mean a setback to God’s work in the world.

So they spend their time and energies building and growing their organizations. Growth requires more money; more money means more ministry.
In the worst cases, means and ends become reversed, and entrepreneurs and administrators do ministry in order to grow.

In the best cases, more ministry means more people who become newly aware of the great gift God has given them, and who then, in gratitude, reach into their own pockets so that others might also know.
Larry Eskridge and Mark A. Noll, ed.,
More Money, More Ministry : Money and Evangelicals in Recent North American History

Richard Stearns
Fundraising Letters: The decisions to use words like urgent to underline key phrases in an appeal letter , or to include a painful photograph of a child in need can have life and death consequences. An appeal that raises an additional $10,000 can feed 100 children for five months or inoculate 500 children against the five deadly

childhood diseases…. These are the true ethical consequences of the debate over fund-raising language and tactics. Critical needs justify urgent appeals as long as those appeals are honest and fully accurate . If a building is on fire, one does not send a subtle memo to alert the occupants; one pulls the fire alarm .
Richard Stearns, President of World Vision U.S.

1. Eternal Perspective Ministries belongs to Jesus Christ. EPM staff are privileged to be his servants (1 Cor. 3:6-7). EPM will exist only as long as God wants it to. If it becomes evident that His purpose for EPM is finished, we will close our doors. The sun does not rise or set on this ministry . It is simply a tool at God’s disposal (2 Tim. 2:21), for Him to use as—and as long as—he chooses.
Original Statement of Purpose

Foundations and Donors
Having money to give away and the power to decide to whom to give it is intoxicating, and foundations can be irritating examples of the “narcissism of the righteous.”… We all need to be aware of some of the darker sides of human views of money and of giving and receiving, if we are to keep from exploiting the power position of the donor or the dependent position of the seeker. Dr. Roy Menninger

A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin .
Proverbs 26:28
He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.
Proverbs 28:23

Instead, speaking the truth in love , we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Ephesians 4:15

Paid Celebrity Endorsements?
*Jesus said…“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, brothers or relatives, or rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid . But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you , you will be repaid at the resur-rection of the righteous.” Lk 14:12-14

Ghostwriting Doctrinal False Advertising by Christian Colleges Exorbitant Fees for Christian Speakers and Musicians

Jim Cymbala
I am dismayed at the contracts required by some contemporary Christian musical groups. To perform a concert at your church, the stated fee will be so much (in either four or five figures) plus round-trip airfare—often in first class, not coach.

Every detail of the accommodations is spelled out, down to “sushi for twenty persons” waiting at the hotel, in one case. All this is done so that the group can stand before an inner-city audience and exhort the people to “just trust the Lord for all your needs.”
Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Questions to Ask Before You Give to Any Organization

2. Are there things about this ministry that make it uniquely worth investing in?
3. Have I not only read the literature from this ministry, but talked with others who know it close up but have no vested interests in it?

6. Do the organization’s workers demonstrate a sense of unity, camaraderie, and mutual respect? (Ask employees, “For what reasons have people left this organization in the last few years?”)

7. Have I talked directly with people at the “lower levels” of this ministry, not just executives and PR people? How do they feel about the ministry?
8. Is this ministry biblically sound and Christ-centered? Do people call upon the Lord Jesus to ask his guidance and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to do their work?

9. What kind of character, integrity, purity, and humility is demonstrated by the ministry leaders?
10. What kind of accountability structures (just using the word accountability isn’t enough) does the organization have?

15. What ethics and what view of God and people are demonstrated in this organization’s fund-raising techniques?
16. How much money does the organization spend on overhead expenses and fund-raising, and how much in actual ministry to people?

17. Does this ministry show a clear understanding of cross-cultural ministry factors and local conditions and how the flow of money may affect them?
18. Does this organization speak well of others and cooperate with them?

Making Money, Owning Possessions, and Choosing a Lifestyle

C. S. Lewis
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare . In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same

income as our own, we are probably giving away too little .
If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
C. S. Lewis

How different our standard is from Christ’s. We ask how much a man gives. Christ asks how much he keeps.
Andrew Murray

God’s Way to Earn Money: Work
A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing (Proverbs 20:4).
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8

For even when we were with you we gave you this rule: “ If a man will not work, he shall not eat .”
2 Thessalonians 3:10
Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good , in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
Titus 3:14

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart , as working for the Lord , not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat .
2 Thessalonians 3:12
Balance: We dare not forget Scripture’s repeated emphasis on carrying for the poor.

Private Ownership of Property
You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:15
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Exodus 20:17

* The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.
Leviticus 25:23

Lifestyles in the Gospels
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him .

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him .
Mark 1:16-20

We have left everything to follow you!
Mark 10:28
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor . Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Luke 12:32-33

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
Mark 5:18
Whose boat?

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home .
John 19:26-27

So the man went away [back to his home] and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Mark 5:20

Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“ Nothing,” they answered.
He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword , sell your cloak and buy one .
Luke 22:35-36

… and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality , washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds .
1 Timothy 5:10
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9

What is assumed in order to practice hospitality?
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:13

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably .
Acts 28:7

Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy , sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works , and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
Romans 16:23

So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians . This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
Acts 8:27

Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news…The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene)…; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3

You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Hebrews 10:34

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
Acts 12:12
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
1 Corinthians 16:19

Guidance for Lifestyle choices
Avoid legalism
Avoid “one size fits all”
Search the Scriptures
Set examples & raise the bar
Ask God for His leading
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you . John 14:26

John Piper
Three billion people today are outside Jesus Christ . Two-thirds of them have no viable Christian witness in their culture. If they are to hear—and Christ commands that they hear—then cross-cultural missionaries will have to be sent and paid for . All the wealth needed to send this new army of good news

ambassadors is already in the church. If we, like Paul, are content with the simple necessities of life, hundreds of millions of dollars in the church would be released to take the gospel to the frontiers . The revolution of joy and freedom it would cause at home would be the best local witness imaginable.
John Piper

Theology money class_session_10

by eternalperspectives on May 14, 2010

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Theology money class_session_10 Presentation Transcript