This is the Day!

There is a light snow falling this morning as we wait for the year to run out the clock and we are ushered into a new year and decade.

What thoughts come to your mind as you consider the year past and where we go from here?

Here are some musings from someone who has had a nice two-week break from most of my usual activities:

1. Seek the Lord - Deut. 4:29 "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and will all your soul."

We can be gazing heavenward even as we work and toil on this earth. Our charge is to seek Him first and all these things will be added...

2. Trust in the Lord - This is the time to remember that all good things come from the hands of an always good God who has our best interests in mind.

3. Try to see our ministry as only one small part of the Kingdom work - While what we and our ministries do is vitality important for the community and beyond, God is not constrained by our shortcomings; nor is He more potent if we are experiencing growth and greater impact.

4. Reflect Jesus - every meeting or interaction is an opportunity to represent the One who sends us. Remember His kindness and compassion and His desire to see the fullness of what He has to offer.

5. Go deeper - In a world characterized by thin and temporal relationships, make every effort to have meaningful interactions so that others will be valued. We, too, have a greater sense of satisfaction when we can think of one or two really great conversations.

6. Seek the "bi-lateral" blessing of matching a donor's desires with the ministry needs. It may mean a non-cash opportunity, but God Himself will release the funds at the right time and in the right amount.

7. Expect the unexpected - these are not "normal" times in the non-profit world. Look for new approaches and partnerships that can yield even greater impact - it may mean that we don't control everything.

8. Make connections with peers - if we have ever needed the support and encouragement from each other it is now. Set aside time each week or month to connect with a peer who can encourage you and who you can do the same for.

9. Laugh at yourself - We can take our work seriously, but let us not take ourselves to seriously. Our Lord who reigns in heaven must look down on our (often) clumsy efforts and smile at our attempts to be successful.

10. Can't think of one more - drop me a line and finish the list, please....

God Bless!

"Dance with the one who brung you"

In the South, there is familiar expression about dancing - "Dance with the one who brung you". Up north, we might say, "Be satisfied with what you have and use it fully."

This is not a new expression - and is not even a new concept. Paul wrote about this back in the first century as he addressed the church at Corinth.

From 1 Corinthians 12:12-22

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

Whether you are new or old to the development/advancement work, God had gifted you with special gifts that are ideally suited to the work before you.

You may be one who can organize events - this is critical for community relations which can lead to personal relations

You may be gifted in graphic and other communications - use these for brilliant printed pieces and visualization on your web site

Gifted writer? Brochures and foundation proposals need these skills

Came from the business world? Use your understanding to develop special outside relationships.

Ministry minded? Connect first with local pastors who need to be appreciated and cared for.

I hope you see that whatever talent you have is useful for the Kingdom and should be the "lead dog" in your advancement work. So, be confident in the Lord and watch Him use you in a special way. The talents that you do not yet have can be developed - find someone with those and have him or her mentor you.

Stop, Drop and Pray

When we are are caught in a fire and our clothes are burning we are told to "stop, drop, and roll". Sometimes we see our job of fundraising as one where we feel flames licking our clothes. There is so much to raise and so little time and so few resources to tap.

1 Th. 5:16-18 'Be joyful always; pray continuously; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.'

I was at a conference recently with other school advancement officers and there is a sense that we are fighting an uphill battle, mostly by ourselves. Even though we realize that God Himself is the one who brings all good gifts, we often act as though it is all up to us, or up to our boards, etc.

Paul's instruction reminds us that we should remember to be joyful for who we are in Christ. He wants us on our knees 'continuously' seeking and trusting. We are to give thanks in all circumstances, even difficult ones.

Stopping to pray is recognizing who God is in our work, declaring our own inability to do everything, and trusting the Lord to lead us in the way we should go. This might mean being still and listening to see what the Lord would have us to do next. Or, He might just be saying, 'stop and watch me work."

If we build our work on Kingdom principles we can be sure that, even if we "fail" in our fund raising objectives, God's truth abides and it will sustain us and our school.

Matthew 6:33-34 'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'

How evangelism explains fundraising

When we go out on Evangelism Explosion visits, our team's prayer is that the Holy Spirit goes before us and has done the heart preparation in the person to whom we will speak. Believing and depending on the Holy Spirit puts us where God wants us - that is, merely His hands and feet in His work of redemption. Then, if we are privileged to see someone accept the free gift of eternal life, we can know that it was not because our of persuasive words that this blessing occurred.

Similarly, when we embark on raising money for our schools, I think it is critical to remember that:

1. All resources are God's resources - they are not the donor's nor are the resources ours

2. Our work is to represent Christ - the donor should see Him in us even as we encourage the donor to link their faith to their possessions, as Christ does

3. Our work is to testify about our school and the consequences of Christian education

4. Our work is to be grateful receivers of the blessings God is releasing into our schools

5. Our work is to bow in gratitude for allowing us to play a small, but important, role in advancing the Kingdom as more children get to meet Jesus in our school

When we adopt this attitude, it gives us "professionals" great freedom to be passionate about our wonderful call to see God's resources unleashed for Kingdom growth.

Are Development Directors Mis-named?

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