Reflections on Giving: What motivates Generosity?

I just came across an article by Judy Keen of USA Today on the psychology of giving or generosity.

The writer notes that Notre Dame is undertaking a new study to determine the cause of generosity. The ARTICLE is an interesting read. A quick note from the article:

There are some well-established theories about generosity. More than two decades ago, economist James Andreoni theorized that people who give experience internal satisfaction that he calls the “warm glow.” Other researchers call it “helper’s high” — a physical sensation that increases feelings of self-worth and makes people want to give again.

Smith says some facts about generosity are known:

• There are different kinds of giving. People give for strategic, altruistic, sentimental, impulsive, habitual or ideological reasons.
• People who are religious tend to give more.
• People who have more money don’t necessarily donate more. The opposite is often true.
• Generosity is good for you: Senior citizens who volunteer live longer.
• Holiday giving often is strategic and motivated more by year-end tax deductions than the sentiments of the season.
• People who plan donations give more than those who don’t.
• Guilt isn’t a great motivator.

Those conclusions, based on studies that ask people why they do or don’t give, are the easy part. Understanding what’s going on in people’s brains or their environment that prompts them to act the way they do is more complex.

I have some thoughts on this as well, but would love to hear from you: Why do you give? Is it the tax advantage? The good feeling? Habit or duty? A response of thankfulness for what you have received? A perception of acceptance in the eyes of others?

A pastor friend said several years back…that he thought that removing the tax deductibility of charitable giving to churches…would cause giving to be reduced dramatically. (Obviously he thinks that giving is motivated by guilt or tax advantage…or something similar). Another pastor stated that he thought removing tax advantages would “purify” the gift and make it more of an expression of worship. (Apparently he agreed somewhat with the first guy on motives).

Your thoughts are important to me. I hope you’ll comment on this post and then I will share some more thoughts in a couple of days.

Book Review: Death by Meeting, by Patrick Lencioni

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable about Solving the Most Painful Problems in Business, by Patrick Lencioni (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2004), 259 pages.

This is the first book of 2011 for me (though I actually started it in the last two days of 2010.) I LOVED it!

I should probably disclose that I am a big fan of this author and his series of “leadership fables.” I have learned a lot about business leadership from his writings, even though my current context is slightly removed from an Executive Leadership Team.

In this powerful and easy to read book, Lencioni addresses the subject of a leader’s responsibility to conduct effective meetings; further, he takes time to define what they are. With practical assistance and many examples drawn from the “fable,” Lencioni challenged me personally to examine my preconceptions and responsibilities about the place and purpose of meetings.

Due to wrapping the business principle in a “leadership fable,” the book is difficult to put down. One can almost anticipate the next turn and can certainly identify with some of the “drama” in the story. At the same time, the reader is certain to be surprised and challenged by the author’s observations about “context” and how that affects a meeting.

I walked away…a bit ashamed at my own lack of development in this area. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am alone…since many leaders I know struggle in the same area.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone desiring to become better in this critical area of business.

You can purchase a copy from Amazon HERE.

Book Review: Shepherding Horses: Understanding God’s Plan for Transforming Leaders, by Kent Humphreys

Book Review: Shepherding Horses: Understanding God’s Plan for Transforming Leaders, by Kent Humphreys (Greensboro, NC:Diakonia Publishing, 2008), 51 pages.

This is the last book I read in 2010. It is short…but to the point. I purchased it at the recommendation of a pastor/mentor as a tool to help me better understand how to lead men who are strong leaders. I have a personal passion to hang out with “real men” and enjoy being around other “Type A” personalities (even though it can create some friction at times). As such, I discovered that if I was to be more effective at influencing men like this to be used for the Kingdom of God, I needed to know more.

Humphreys, an unapologetic believer, is not a pastor but a business leader and a leader in his church. He offers some practical advise and counsel to pastors on how to “shepherd” horses (natural leaders in other areas beyond the church). Not only does Humphreys offer practical advise, but he challenges pastors to invest in these men as part of the ministry that God has entrusted to the pastor.

I was challenged, enlightened, and encouraged all at the same time. I don’t know why no one else ever recommended this book to me!

You can purchase a copy at Amazon HERE.

Great post from JD Greear on Christians and Alcohol

Hey guys,

Check out this post from JD Greear’s blog on the subject of alcohol consumption and Christian discipleship.

I found the post to be well thought out and the comments to the post to be revealing.

You can access the post HERE, and then drop back by and share your thoughts with me. Love to hear where you “land” on the subject.

Doing the “Right” Thing: pastoral thoughts on ethics

When I was in college and seminary, one of the more challenging class subjects I ever faced related to ethics. Not because I struggle with being ethical…but because ethics (the application of values to our practical decision making) often puts us face to face with very difficult decisions. I have been working through some issues recently that, as you can imagine, are usually about me (to some degree) and God uses circumstances to spotlight these and lead me through them. So, since you asked, I thought I would share the ongoing byproducts of my journey with you.

The “big idea” is this: It is not good enough to do the right thing; rather, we must do the right thing in the right way to be righteous.

For instance: Having babies is a “right thing,” but having babies outside of marriage is not God’s design; giving gifts is a “right thing,” but giving a police officer a gift to get out of a ticket is really a bribe; and quoting Bible or “telling it like it is” is a “right thing,” but doing so without a redemptive purpose or to wound or to demonstrate your own knowledge is not God’s design. In these examples, the “right thing” becomes the “wrong thing” when we do them in the wrong way

In life, we often find ourselves in situations where we our ethics conflict with our desired actions. What do we do? Do we embrace situational ethics which asserts that there is an operational context to every right or wrong choice? (IOW: we may justify doing the wrong thing in certain situations based on the circumstances, and even declare that the wrong thing is now the “right thing.”) Another way of asking it is: “Is there anything that absolutely wrong or absolutely right regardless of the circumstances?”

Now while every person may choose to answer that question differently, there is a “correct/right” answer from God’s perspective. It is always wrong to place any other god before the Lord our God (Exodus 20). Adultery is always wrong (again, Exodus 20), etc. Settling on the right and wrong early helps us to act appropriately when decisions are difficult.

For example, I have a friend who once wrestled with having an abortion. Well, the taking of innocent life is always wrong (though we might sit around and argue about the definition of “innocent” in any given circumstance.) So, my counsel is “don’t have an abortion.” But, then comes the question, what about in the case of incest, or rape, or health of the mother? [Here it comes…if taking innocent life is wrong…and is always wrong…then it is still wrong in these situations. Further, it is still wrong if it is a family member or someone very close to us.] Wrong is wrong, and right is right.

I have had to apply this line of thought in different areas. What about divorce? How about divorce in the case of physical or mental cruelty? What if it is your daughter wanting a divorce to escape mental cruelty?

See, determining what is right (according to the ultimate standard of right and wrong…which is God’s revelation to us, His Word) is paramount to success. As I shared with someone recently…”the ‘what’ of the Christian life is pretty straight forward. Our difficulty comes in when we consider the ‘how” or are mustering the will to obediently do it.”

Many times people want to do things that are good, but go about them the wrong way. They want to pay for someone’s mission trip…but they charge it on AMEX or take it out of their “tithe” to God. Often times, folks want to go on vacation, but doing so means that they have to shirk another important responsibility. Regularly, folks want to support a friend and do so, even though their friend is not acting according to God’s plan. I have even known people to run off to do “the Lord’s Work” but do it because they were anxious about something, put out with someone, or running from a difficult situation. (In fact, many experts claim that a large percentage of pastors serve because they are trying to make up for some other inadequacy in their lives.  BTW: The apostle Paul agrees.)

This is why God gives us guidelines on what to do and on how to do it. We ought to grow our churches, but we must do it the right way. We ought to exercise church discipline, but we must do it with the motive of restoration. We ought to “confront a brother,” but we must do it in humility and with a desire to reconcile. We ought to avoid conflicts, but do so out of humility not convenience or expediency. We ought to have standards, but not as tests of fellowship; rather, as qualities/marks that identify spiritual maturity. We ought to plant churches, but not out of convenience or because it is trendy; rather, because we are desperately burdened for lost people and because there is no better way to reach them. We ought to value our individuality, but not at the expense of community. [You understand the point].

I suspect…in fact, I know…that I am being challenged by God to make choices in my life and the choices are not easy. I must choose to do right and endure the difficulties, or to avoid “right” so as to gain or maintain popularity/prestige/peace, etc.

In closing, I confessed to a group on Sunday night that I had been guilty of idolatry (of sorts) in recent days because I was working diligently to control a situation clearly outside of my control. I was working to mitigate outcomes, spin information and guard/protect people from hurtful things. Part of that is a job hazard of being a pastor. Most of it…was just an attempt to control a crisis situation. My actions resulted in many sleepless nights, tons of stress and the onset of migraines. One of my new friends from outside the church said to me, “you just care too much.” (He was a little more colorful in his choice of words…but God used his words to bring me back to a place of realizing that I was trying to “fix” a situation that was really God’s to fix.) The resolution was simple: I repented of my sinful actions in trying to control the situation. I then moved back to the place where I would look for what was the right thing to do, the right way to go about doing it, and then perform. The rest…up to a Holy God who loves me and all those involved…more than we could ever imagine. He is ultimately wise and absolutely sovereign. In Him I place my trust and from Him ALONE I choose to seek approval.

So, now that I shared some of this (as a means to clarify some of my thinking and hopefully encourage you if you have ever been in my situation)…perhaps you have thoughts on ethics or choices. Feel free to share. Love to hear your thoughts…

Thoughts on Competition… (part 3)

This is an attempt to answer the 2d question/observation in my article on Competition. You can read part 1 or part 2 by clicking the links.

#2, How does our understanding of purpose/mission affect our context/environment as we present God’s view?

This question has experienced far more controversy in our modern church culture than it should. Most of the controversy is due to preference and change (or the aversion to change). It has very little to do with the missional principle.

Simply stated: when Jesus spoke to farmers…He used agricultural analogies speaking in terms that were familiar to those he desired to communicate with. When speaking to fishermen…likewise. When rebuking Pharisees, He did not speak of Greek literary figures, but used the terms and context that connected with His audience.

Defining the purpose of the church is too broad for this application…so we must look at the components of the church’s activities and address the context of each. For instance, if the vision is that believers join together for Sunday morning worship to be instructed in the Scriptures and encouraged in fellowship with God and one another, then the context will reflect an environment conducive to that end. The end result should be then, that encouraged and instructed believers would then go out into the world to “live out their faith” and bear witness of Christ to all of their friends and neighbors.

Part of the issue though…is that the context of the church today in culture. Many, if not most, in our culture (speaking of the modern, western culture of America) prefer to explore the spirituality question in a context of anonymity. In other words, they prefer to hear and take in the information, experience the community, and then ask their own clarifying questions before making decisions of faith. As such the “Invest and Invite” strategy of evangelism is more attractive than the one-on-one confrontational approach. Stated differently, it is often more comfortable for the witness and the recipient to generate dialogue and then invite someone to experience the “church” as it (the church) answers some particular need in the recipient’s life.

Now, I did not design the culture to work this way. It just does. I can’t change it to be something different. It just is. All I can do, is think like a missionary and contextualize what I do to connect with the culture.

5 practical considerations on how to do this.

• I need to be careful to explain what is going on and why it is happening. In other words, I need to never assume someone is “tracking” with me. I need to assume (if anything) that this is their first time in church and among God’s people.
• I need to avoid or explain clearly “church language.” [Note, this is why I don’t refer to every man in the church as “Brother ____.” It confuses newcomers…and even creeps them out a bit I am told. When it doesn’t, it reinforces to them that they are not “one of us,” but are outsiders…since they don’t know the language.]  This became very clear to me a few weeks back. I was playing golf with three realtor types. They were discussing some changes and using real estate terms. They all tracked with the conversation, but I was more lost than my golf ball in the lake . Occasionally they would clarify for me what they were saying by using “layman” talk. I was thankful…but still a bit confused, since while I knew the words they were using, it was not my context.
• I need to reduce obstacles. Like language, there are a number of things that we (church people) can erect that impede the process for others exploring the “church experience.” My goal is to eliminate all unnecessary obstacles, so they have the maximum opportunity to encounter Jesus. This includes such popular subjects as “how do I know my children are okay in the back,” parking up close, signage, greeting teams, worship folders, screened announcements, etc. One of the most difficult to swallow…I don’t make them step out of anonymity (YET) to ask a question, receive prayer, or make a decision to progress in their spiritual journey.
• I need to aim for attractiveness. I am not attractional (meaning that what we do in itself draws unconnected people like fans to a sporting event) in my approach…but I do know that it is not enough to simply not offend. I must give people a reason to come back. They need to experience a “value add” when they visit. What I communicate should answer a question they are asking…even if I helped generate the question in their minds.
• I need to make their next step easy and obvious. For first time guests, the next step is obviously a second visit. To make that easier, we give them a gift before they leave, promise not to pull a drop-in for Monday night visitation, send a letter, and have a LIFE Group contact them that week to thank them for their visit, offer to answer questions, and invite them to come again.

Now I have only addressed a Sunday AM service (because it is my primary teaching time as pastor. I engage with more people at this time than at any other times in the week.); however, the principle is applied in all contexts. My “discipleship training” (Sunday PM has a different context. LIFE Groups have a different context. Fellowship events and “Family Time” have a different context.) I have to contextualize the environment to reflect my audience and my purpose for each event.

What do you think about this observation? Should we be sensitive to “environments” in planning for our churchwide events…or other contexts?

Thoughts on Competition… (Part 2)

A couple of days ago, I posted an article which is available HERE on defining our competition. While my particular context is church (and I write from that perspective), the applications and principles are far-reaching.

This is part #2 and addresses the first of three implications/questions I want to explore:

#1, How does our understanding of purpose/mission affect those we choose to lead in our ministry?

People pursue their passions. Period. Whatever a person’s passion is…whether he/she wants to or not…he/she will pursue that automatically. Why is this important? This being said, we must choose leaders who passionately live and breathe our purpose…or more accurately, God’s purpose.

If a person has a belief that the purpose of the church is primarily to teach those already inside the walls, he will do so without thinking. Evangelism will burdensome because there is no passion stemming from purpose. If a person thinks that the mission of the church is to reach a lost and dying world…he will default to evangelism in almost every situation. Discipleship is a strain. (Note: by extension…missions and an approach to mission is treated in the same manner.)

This is why it is critical to understand what the PURPOSE of the church (and more specifically) our church is. Once we know…we MUST put leaders in place who are passionately committed to that purpose. You can’t fake it and be successful. You have to really have a burden for it.

Two points of application:

Once we understand God’s purpose and have selected (or discerned God’s selection and affirmed) a leader, we must ensure that he can build a team that shares the passion and vision. If you are not passionate about the leader’s vision…you have to pursue it to become passionate…or leave. I know that sounds harsh…but to be passionate for a competing vision AND to be in a role of leadership that competes with the overall leader…is to create chaos, hurt the organization, and stifle growth. Recognize that if you are not “IN,” then you are “OUT” and you are influencing others to join you. Ultimately, this leads to discouragement.

Second, If you are a leader , you have to know and define the PURPOSE clearly and then require that everyone who leads…embrace it. Not every church has to be a cookie-cutter model of the next one; however, you cannot have multiple vision casters in a church casting competing visions. This sort competition does violence to the purpose and causes everyone to fail. So, as a leader, do the hard thing. Try to bring your leaders to a point of honestly buying into/ owning the vision. If you can’t or they won’t…set them free. Replace them with those who are in sync. This doesn’t mean they are bad leaders or bad people…simply that they are not the right fit for the present organization.

What is crucial is that those in the organization know where it is going. This is best accomplished when all of the voices with influence are affirming the same vision. Each leader sees his area of responsibility through the lens of the overall vision. Every decision in every level must bolster and support the overarching vision for the organization. If one cannot do that, then he should step aside from leading. If he can support the vision outside of leadership, then he should. If not, he should find another organization that shares his vision and go there. Life is too short to do anything else.

What are your thoughts?

Book Review: Killing Cockroaches by Tony Morgan

Book Review: Killing Cockroaches. Tony Morgan, (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2009) 235 pages reviewed.

Killing Cockroaches is the product of Tony Morgan’s work on the subject of leadership and observations of life. Much of his work has appeared in various forms on his blog www.tonymorganlive.com or in some other similar format. Each section is short, direct, and intentionally transparent. Morgan is the Chief Strategic Officer (a strange title for a “church staff guy”) at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC (www.newspring.cc ).

Morgan’s conversation style and quick wit makes the book an easy and entertaining read. His insights serve to cause the reader to pause and consider “cockroaches” in his own life. As a pastor, I enjoyed the book. It reminded me about the tyranny of the urgent and how often I can lose sight of the big picture and get caught up doing something less meaningful.

I recommend the book to any leader, but especially those who lead in the context of church. The questions that Morgan asks will cause you to argue with the book…only to pause, raise a white flag, and look at the issues which were already in front of you.

Bravo Tony!! An incredible resource and well worth the time and money I invested to learn from you.

You can purchase a copy from Amazon HERE.

What I really want as pastor for the church I lead (part 5)

This is the fifth installment of this series of articles on what I really want as a pastor. If you want to read PART 1, PART 2,  PART 3, or PART 4 you can click on the links…or simply scroll to the bottom if this page. This installment…explains the fifth desire I have for my church…

#5, I want to lead a church that lives passionately, gives sacrificially, and loves unconditionally. When the sun sets on the chapter of our lives, we need to know that we held nothing back…we laid it all on the line…we made a difference.

This fifth desire is a constantly evolving one. If you are like me, you recognize that what is sacrificial today, is not necessarily a sacrifice tomorrow. What is considered a passionate response today, may be rote rehearsal tomorrow.

What I know is, the times I have experienced the presence of God greatly in my life, have been the times when I was living on the front edge…at the tip of the spear. I think about the decision to go to NY in the winter to start a church. I knew it was risky…but I wanted to see people there saved…and I knew God had selected me as part of His redemptive plan for the Northeast. Passion drove Jodi and I to sell our stuff, move out of the home we loved, move into an apartment that was half the size of our home and twice the rent…and trust that God would somehow take care of the details. There was no logic involved. I am not advocating a reckless emotional existence; rather, I am challenged to think of living as a radical (by cultural standards) follower of Christ…who is passionate for Jesus over all things.

I wonder if we (as a church) were challenged to sell our facility and believed (by faith) that doing so would please God…would we? What about making a commitment to trim our personal lifestyles to 80% of their current levels and give the 20% as a sacrificial offering to Jesus so that His Name might be made known to an unreached people group. What if we were called to live in a community that is counter to every value we held? For example, according to an article in About.com,

Although most of the year, the conservative Florida panhandle city of Pensacola isn’t one of the friendliest parts of the world for gay and lesbian visitors, in late May, over Memorial Day weekend, it’s one of the world’s true gay meccas. The five-day weekend (it takes place Thursday, May 27, through Monday, May 31, 2010) began more than 20 years ago and has become a cross between a circuit-style gay gathering and a regional Florida panhandle gay pride celebration, drawing some 50,000 revelers to the area over the course of several days.

This describes the antithesis of our personal and corporate values because it is a celebration of a flagrant sin before God. What if, instead of the typical church response of ‘boycotts’ or ‘avoidance’ God called us to be present among and demonstrate unconditional love toward those who intentionally and willfully live “far from God?” Would we?

I believe that we, as a church, will experience God’s grace and power in a whole new way…if we make passion, sacrifice and unconditional love our new “normal.”

So what do you think? Do you want to be part of a church like this?

What I really want as pastor for the church I lead (part 4)

This is the fourth installment of this series of articles on what I really want as a pastor. If you want to read PART 1, PART 2, or PART 3, you can click on the links…or simply scroll to the bottom if this page. This installment…explains the fourth desire I have for my church…

#4: I want to lead a church that values commitment. Loving God takes commitment. Loving others takes commitment. We are a church that is committed to one another and committed to the Great Commission.

One of the more frustrating aspects of ministry is observing how easily people enter into and quit commitments in our culture. Divorces can be obtained for any reason and less than $500 in most places. A person who stays at a job for more than 10 years is a strange “company man.” There are far more college “drop outs” than there are college grads these days…and with a plethora of churches in our community…it is not unusual to find many folks come and go based on a whim.

As I write this, I am processing a “request for letter” for a family who got upset about a personality issue. I have had a conference this week about a family that we ministered to extensively who posted on facebook that they left and finally found a loving church (that one still shocks me). We have far too many meetings trying to trim expenditures to match budgets that folks vote for and then fail to continue their support. In fact, we even have a formula we use to plan based on how many commitments we expect to fall through. REALLY???

Ideally, we should be a people that are at least as committed to one another and to our corporate mission as we are to our employer or our alma mater, or our favorite sports team. I want us to be a church that places the needs of the many above our own. I want us to be a church that prioritizes the corporate goals above our individual ones. The community should be a higher priority than any one of us. To believe otherwise is to believe Jesus was a fool and every missionary/martyr since was greatly misguided. To us has been committed a sacred trust to insure that Kingdom of God is preached to all nations. This takes sacrifice and commitment. If we are ever to achieve significant Kingdom results…it will only be because we sacrificially gave of ourselves far beyond our personal comforts…because we are committed to the end goal at whatever the cost.

So what do you think?