The Bigger Picture

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The Bigger Picture
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Choosing Frontier Over Fortress
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What business are we in?
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Its all about the mission

• Answers demand a frontier mentality to our
  churchs life
• A church that seeks to reclaim its frontier
  spirit and to move beyond the limitations of its
  building/fortress.(page 92)
• All about how we use the resources that God has
  entrusted to us

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THAT is Stewardship!

• John and Sylvia Ronsvalle In most cases,
  individual congregations do not have what is
  called a commonly acknowledged, overarching
  vision.(Behind the Stained Glass Windows Money
  Dynamics in the Church)
• Without this vision, people are not sure their
  money is needed.
• Without a broad sense of vision, not able to be
  the frontier focus on the fortress

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Where does that vision come from?

• It comes from a focused effort to
• Listen to the what God is calling us to do as a
  community of faith
• What are our strengths/weaknesses
• Ask the tough questions
• How do we nurture our community of faith
• So that, we can go out into the world to be about
  Gods mission

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Role of Stewardship is Three-fold

• Individual understanding of MY role as a steward
  of what God has entrusted to me.
• Community understanding of OUR role as stewards
  of the resources God has entrusted to our church
• Wider church understanding of what it means to be
  part of the community be in relationship to do
  together what one congregation cannot do alone

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Individual Understanding

• If pastors preached the same percentage of
  sermons on stewardship as Jesus told parables
  about money and stewardship, we would hear
  seventeen sermons on stewardship each year.
• If the rest of a persons spiritual life were out
  of step, youd go talk to him or her. Why do we
  shy away from open conversation about money?

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• People often believe that the amount of money
  individuals give should be a big secret. More and
  more church leaders are realizing their
  responsibility to help people grow in their
  giving level.
• The giver must give because giving is part of
  spiritual health and well-being.
• The great spiritual hole people feel in their
  lives-the cry for spiritual development is
  directly connected to the dryness that results in
  greed and consumption.

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Exercise

• Important to understand the force, factors and
  our attitudes about giving and money
• Find a partner. Every 2 minutes change partners
  and get a new question. Make sure each person has
  a chance to answer the question.

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Question 1

• What is your earliest memory of giving and
  volunteering?

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Question 2

• What are some of the practices of faith and
  giving you remember from your childhood?

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Question 3

• How would you describe your personal giving? Is
  it joyous or obligatory? Does it reflect the
  spirit this is something I want to do or this
  is something I have to do?

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Facts About How We Communicate

• In the agrarian society and on the frontier,
  people needed one another to survive.
• In the industrial society, people seemed to need
  one another lesseach can do his or her own task
  independent of others, without concern for the
  whole.
• The Information Revolution suggests connections
  and need, but isolates people even further.
  Workers can do their job at home, dress as they
  please, and choose their own hours.

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How easy was it to talk about money?

• Talking about money gives us an opportunity to
  reflect on our own attitudes and ideas about
  money, about giving, about things
• It also gives us the chance to hear of anothers
  experiences and thoughts

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Loss of Spirituality

• Possessions have a tendency to possess the
  possessors. People become slaves to their wealth.
  
• It is becoming clear that Americans want to work
  at jobs that have meaning and that do some good
  for humankind.
• They want to emphasize personal creativity,
  relationships, harmony with nature, the sacred
  and they want satisfaction that comes with
  exploring the richness of human experience.

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Its our role as church leaders to help people
find those things through their faith journey.
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Our Role

• We HAVE to talk about money.
• In sermons, in Bible Studies, in small groups. We
  talk about money the way we talk about anything
  else that might hinder or help us in our
  spiritual journey.
• Jesus talked about money more than almost any
  other topic 2172 times

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Tithing

• Asking members to make a commitment.
• Helping members follow up on that commitment.
• Preparing a budget in such a way that makes our
  members WANT to be part of the mission.

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If I am hungry it is a material problem. If
someone else is hungry it is a spiritual problem.
Nicholas
Berdyaev
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Community Understanding

• Through the tithes, offerings and volunteering of
  time of our members, God is entrusting the church
  with resources to be used to further Gods
  mission in the world.
• Its a responsibility and obligation to, as a
  community, live out Gods vision.

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Different Generations View of Money

• Probably everyone would agree that there is not a
  church around that would say We have all the
  money we need.
• But, its good to understand how different
  generations differ in their view of money and
  giving.
• No one way is right but not being willing to
  understand each other is wrong.

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GI (Civic) Generation 1901-1924

• Support Institutions like the church because it
  is the right thing to do.
• Trust the will of the community and put their
  trust in authority and government.
• Pass on their values of stewardship.
• Believe in endowments.

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Silent (Adaptive) Generation 1925-1942

• Children of depression and war.
• Took no chances sought job security by working
  for big companies to whom they were loyal.
• Believe that fair process is more important that
  final results when dealing with people,
  relationships, conflict.
• Rely on group to provide direction and purpose.
• Fueled most prosperous generation in history
  expert consumers lack sense of purpose.
• In elderhood, more adventurous, enjoy
  unprecedented affluence, but remain undecided.

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Boom (Idealist) Generation 1943-1960

• Born into era of optimism, arrogance, affluence.
• Boomers came of age rebelling against parents.
• Ignore anything that doesnt meet their needs
  Americas greatest consumer generation.
• Desire to infuse new values into the institutions
  they are inheriting.
• Will donate money if they believe the cause can
  make the world a better place and can show
  accountability.
• Want to know money is being spent as directed.

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13th (Reactive) Generation 1961-1981

• Thirteenth one to call themselves American
  citizens (aka Generation X)
• Babies of 60s/70s grew up with sense of
  rejection and alienation children of divorced
  parents who almost always worked outside home.
• First generation not to see their economic future
  as being brighter than their parents.
• If there is something to be done, they want to
  get busy and do it.
• Will not give to the institution but will give to
  programs like Habitat, which promises to make
  world a better place
• Dote on their children they want church and
  community programs to meet needs of their
  children.

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Millennial (Civic) Generation 1982-2003

• Being raised with delicate hands and a sense of
  value and virtue.
• Very likely will grow up generous and
  civic-minded.

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Pattern

• Millenial Generation and GI Generations are both
  considered Civic
• In this pattern four generational personalities
  have recurred in the same order (with only one
  exception) since the 1620s.
• From Generations, written in 1991 by William
  Strauss and Neil Howe.

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What can churches do?

• In your congregations/stewardship committees,
  create a Generation spreadsheet of members.
• Analyze how the stewardship program can be
  adjusted to allow for needs of different
  generations.
• Worksheet

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Tips

• Encourage your pastor and key leaders to be open
  about their giving.
• Give members of Stewardship Committee knowledge
  about giving levels in congregations.
• Rotate people in and out of Stewardship Committee
  frequently.
• Publish a chart in your newsletter of giving by
  giving units. Often people feel they are giving a
  great deal because they are unaware of what is
  really the norm.

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Wider Church

• When members of a congregation make the effort to
  talk about giving and to help others increase
  their giving, they rely on the church institution
  to
• Show their commitment to outreach and mission in
  the same way
• To carry forth with an attitude of frontier and
  commitment to mission.

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OCWM

• Our Churchs Wider Mission
• Lifeblood of the wider church that is our United
  Church of Christ
• Associations
• Conference
• National Ministries

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Together we do more in mission than one
congregation is able to do alone
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OCWMBasic Support

• A Few Examples of how OCWM is used
• Support and continuing ed for clergy
• Pastoral search
• Safe Church policies/boundary training
• Insurance
• Supporting Christian Education
• Church Leaders workshop
• The Friend, the website, Coconut Wireless
• Visits/sermons from Conference Staff
• Health Insurance

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How do we know how much to give?

• Churches need to make their own decisions on what
  is enough (just as we ask individuals to make
  decisions on how much they will give to the
  church)
• Some denominations have formulas, the UCC doesnt
• OCWM is not just another offering History of how
  OCWM was started

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So how do we decide on how much to give?

• Some churches tithe their income, just as they
  ask members to tithe their individual incomes
• Some churches determine either a percentage of
  the budget or a percentage of proposed income

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More ideas.

• Even churches without a budget have an idea of
  what their income will be
• Some churches take a percentage of each Sundays
  morning offering and set it aside for OCWM
• Some take the equivalent of the total they give
  to local mission and give that to OCWM through
  the understanding that what they are doing
  locally can also be replicated around the world.

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Special Missional Offerings

• One Great Hour of Sharing--Lent
• Strengthen the Church--Pentecost
• Neighbors in Need World Communion Sunday
• Christmas FundChristmas
• These dates are not set in stone and can be
  adjusted according to a churchs calendar

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Five for Five

• OCWM Basic Support Special Missional Offerings
  Five for Five

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Final Note.

• Communications
• The Friend
• The Coconut Wireless
• The Website

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How can we help you?

• How can we help your church with Stewardship
  education?
• Diane Weible, Associate Conference Minister for
  Stewardship 808-791-5633dweible_at_hcucc.org