Raising the "talent" in time, talent, and treasure

The Lord has "resourced" His children with giftedness in these three areas, time, talent, and treasure.

Time and treasure are easy to get a handle on. We have our volunteers who do jobs that we would otherwise have to pay for, thereby saving real money and building community at the same time. We also know treasure, for that is the "currency" by which fund-raising is measured.

But, what about the talent? Let me illustrate in a story that is just beginning, but could be one of these "bi-lateral blessings" where both the school and the donor experience receive blessing.

I had a meeting recently with a friend who is all for Christian education, both as a parent and as a former employee of a Christian school. He is now a free agent and seeking God's leading for his next assignment.

While I knew some of his talents and gifts I discovered more as we talked. In this discussion we explored possibilities where the students could benefit from these skills - if not now, then maybe in the future.

This fall we will have an opportunity to explore the matching of school needs with these Kingdom resources. Not once did we discuss a financial contribution. It was not the time and it would have cheapened our interaction.

This kind of "prospecting" can unearth some wonderful treasure if we are just willing to look for gold in all its forms.

But I also reminded that I am serving my friend as I help him find ways to serve the King.

The Development Year in Review - How was it?

When we think of this past year, or are asked about it by peers or managers, our responses might be along these lines:

1. We raised __% of our annual fund goal
2. We had these activities or events that involved these constituents
3. We produced this brochure, or video, or improved the web site
4. We raised foundation money amounting to __
5. This % of our parents participated in the annual fund

Why do we describe our work this way? I suggest that it is because these are tangible measures of "performance" against a particular goal. And, none of these descriptors are wrong; they are valuable metrics. The problem is that they don't tell the whole story as I described in my last blog.

Try this. Call three or four donor/friends who you have had the most interaction with this year and ask them to evaluate your work. Listen to what they say and see how they describe you. I hope you hear something like this.

This is not to boast, but it is to show forth our Lord's mighty hand in changing hearts. Two weeks ago a donor/friend said to me, "Harold, had it not been for our interactions and your challenge to give generously to the Lord, I would have not known to do it".

By God's grace this man has joyfully increased his giving ten-fold from where he was before. The amounts are not important; the growing in grace is.

God created us, Jesus saved us, and the Spirit lives in us so that we can reflect (show forth) His glory. That is to say that we may need to evaluate or measure our performance in non-traditional ways.

This is why I suggest that Christian development officers have a ministerial orientation. If not, then we simply do what the non-Christian world does and see how much we can extract from folks that "have plenty".

The One who has plenty owns it all (cattle and hills, right?) and He will give it to our schools in response to our faithfulness to Him.

To "summarize", don't leave out the choicest morsels from your year-end review, even if you cannot put a number on them.

Trusting and expecting

Proverbs 3:1-6

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

In our work we have to trust. This is more than the declaration that God is in control in the overarching sense. Of course, that is true, but we cannot stop there.

Trust is also very personal, especially in the development and stewardship world. Are we really willing to trust the Holy Spirit to go before us and prepare the hearts of the people we speak with? If so, we can confidently and boldly describe our mission, hear the heart of the donor and know with assurance that God's Will will be done.

At the end of the fiscal year, we may come up "short" in terms of our monetary goal (especially by the end of June), but our Lord is not bound by our schedule or financial targets. Think back on the real fruit of your efforts, those "saints" who were encouraged that the school exists and who appreciate the education you provide. Pray that the Lord would prosper and move in their hearts so they can act on the desire to invest in this Kingdom work.

That, I think, is trusting and expecting.

By the way, if you have gotten this far, I can report that the Lord has "re-located" me to a new Christian school, Tall Oaks Classical School in Newark, DE. My title will be Director of Stewardship and my role will be to:

Connect the PASSIONS of God's people with the PROVISIONS He has supplied to accomplish Kingdom PURPOSES.

Be a blessing!