Review of “Not Your Parent’s Offering Plate”

Non-profits know how to ask people to financially support their worthy causes—and to do so unapologetically. Clif Christopher says that pastors and other church leaders need to learn this skill. I was given a Kindle edition of his book, Not Your Parents' Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship. I read it in one sitting and—since I read it near the end of the year—I made a few “New Year’s Resolutions” as a result.

Christopher says that people give to organizations for 3 chief reasons.

First, they believe in the mission. So, it’s important to constantly communicate how the church is successfully accomplishing the task of changing lives

Second, people give to organizations where the leadership has engaged them with the vision, often personally. So, it’s important for the pastor to know who his donors are, and the pastor has to take the lead in asking for financial support for the worthy cause of the church’s gospel mission. This is a new consideration for me, since I’ve operated for 30 years under the policy that I will not know who gives what. I haven’t decided whether to change this policy, but Christopher makes a strong case that pastors should do so. Regardless of what pastors know about donors gifts, however, donors should know a lot about the pastor’s passion for the cause he wants them to support.

Third, people give to organizations they believe are financially sound. “People do not give to sinking ships,” Christopher writes, “They give to ships that are sailing strong and give every indication of reaching their destination.”

Christopher also encourages pastors and other church leaders to pay attention to three “pockets” from which their people should be challenged in good stewardship.

First, there’s the “Earned-Income Pocket.” Many churches are already successful at challenging people to give from their paychecks and retirement checks.

Second, there’s the “Capital Pocket.” In this pocket are “stocks, bonds, pieces of property, insurance policies, savings accounts, and inheritances we may have received and put away.” Typically, people do not think to contribute from this pocket, but Christopher believes every pastor should always have a list of special projects that he would launch should funding from someone’s “Capital Pocket” become available.

Third, there’s the “Estate Pocket.” Christopher writes:

Every one of us will die one day and every church member we are currently serving will also die. Most of us will be richer on that day than we ever were while alive. No longer will we have need of any of the assets in our life, plus we will have added to our barns all that life insurance we have paid premiums on over the years. First the bad news: none of it will be going with us. Now the good news: you aren't going to need it. YOU ARE, HOWEVER, STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR IT. As far as I can figure, God gave you all of those treasures. They were not given to anyone else-just you, and you are responsible as His steward to determine their disposal.

While about 38 percent of charitable giving goes to religious institutions, these institutions only gets 8 percent of all the estate gifts in America. Christopher says pastors should lead their members to put one simple sentence in his or her will that says, "After all my bills are paid, I want 10 percent of my estate (a tithe) to go to ______ Church."

This book is a quick read (I started and completed it today). As a result, here are a few “New Year’s Resolutions” for my work as pastor:

First: More testimonies of changed lives and appreciation for Hillcrest. We do this, but not near as often. Christopher recommends a testimony every week—in the service or at least written in the bulletin.

Second: More thank-you notes. Christopher recommends 10 a week, hand-written. These should go out to anyone for anything who needs a thank-you from the pastor, but especially to those faithful in giving. He even suggests that the pastor ask the financial secretary or treasurer to alert him of any noteworthy contribution so he can immediately reply with a thank-you note.

Third: A list of “plans for the future.” Right now, the great majority of beyond-the-budget giving should be directed to our “Beautiful Thing Campaign” for renovating the auditorium. But Christopher says I should have other things on a “wish list,” too:

Of course you are not supposed to be always building a building. But you are supposed to be always building the kingdom of God. In the right-hand drawer of every pastor's desk there always should be plans for the future that simply need someone to fund them. From time to time these dreams and plans should be shared with the greater church. Like seed to be scattered, they should be spread out occasionally just to see if they might take root. Doing so will cause individuals to think about their capital pocket and what they might like to do with it on a one-time special occasion….In between the building programs at your church, do you really think your members are sitting on these capital assets just waiting for you to need them? No, they are evaluating every year what to do with them, and if you do not speak up you will not be in their plans.

Fourth: Estate Planning. We’ve done a little of this from time to time, but 2012 needs to be a year where we emphasize this again. As we benefit from the sizable estate that a member named Bob Flaherty left us upon his death, we need to challenge other members to follow his lead.

Thanks, Paul Waldo, for the gift of this book! It confirmed some things I’ve been doing, challenged me to kick some of our activities into a higher gear, and convinced me to try some new things.