John 21:17
Our first call as Development Directors or Advancement Officers is to be ministers. Ministry means to serve, and with that consideration it is possible that we may be inappropriately titled.
Actually there is a pastoral hue upon those of us called to help find the financial resources to sustain a given ministry. Such a repositioning of our calling may cause us to reconsider the priorities in our present role.
In a real sense we are Stewardship Shepherds. Our mission is to nurture souls, not necessarily to negotiate gift giving. In the mandate of the Lord to Peter, He said, “Feed my sheep,” not fleece the flock! That ‘feeding’ includes prayer for the potential donors, passion for God’s will in their lives, and a pursuing of the Word of God and the parceling out of it to the sheep (donors).
We must be careful to shed the robe of being seen as money mongers. Rather we should clothe ourselves in the garment of His righteousness. Doing so does not diminish “the ask,” but rather prioritizes our approach.
Our mantle should be that it is far better to feed the flocks than forage the donor in the name of fundraising.
May the Lord give us great discernment and sensitivity as we reconsider our titled positions. Let us consider being recalled, retooled and renewed so that we are seen as Stewardship Shepherds.
From Sandy Outlar, Headmaster of Lancaster Christian School, Lancaster, PA
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