Sandy shares some perspective that is very important to keep in mind as we trudge through challenging times. It has been said that "tough times never last - tough people do". I would suggest that spiritually strong people are developed in the crucible of life and our work in schools.
"Hear" Sandy encourage us to walk in faith:
From Sandy M. Outlar - Headmaster, Lancaster Christian Schools
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds…” James 1:2
1. My God will “bail me out” of my troubles, not the government.
Philippians 4:19 "...my God shall supply all your need according to His riches..."
2. Things of this world will become less important and faith, family and friends more important.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 "...He has put eternity in their hearts..."
3. We will learn to be stimulated by the Spirit of God rather than rely on a “stimulus package” from the government.
John 16:13 "...He (the Spirit of truth) will guide you into all truth..."
4. We will appreciate more the simple, profound and free things of life that God has sent our way.
Philippians 4:11 "...I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:..."
5. We will become more dependent and secure in our Lord.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'
6. Prayer and trust will become priorities in our lives.
Proverbs 15:8 "...the prayer of the upright is His delight."
7. We will be surprised to see how people come to the “riches” found in Christ instead of turning to desperation and bankruptcy.
Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"
8. The evidencing of believers pulling together and becoming more dependent on each other rather than more independent of each other.
Ephesians 4:1-8 "walk worthy of the calling with which you were called...bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace..."
9. To be given the privilege of giving not out of surplus, but out of sacrifice.
II Corinthians 8:2 "that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality."
10. To be more humble, grateful and appreciative for all God has given to us through Christ.
Philippians 2:3 "...let each esteem others better than himself."
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
What is wrong with "It works"?
1 Cor. 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (NKJV)
What if you hear about a fund raising idea that should be used because "it works"?
I believe you need to ask 2 questions
1. What does "it works" constitute? More money than without?
2. Does "it works" - the end - justify the means?
The "what works" argument must be evaluated in light of your goal. As a development officer for a Christian school I am obligated to raise money in a way that honors the name of the One who called me, Jesus.
I believe we are obligated in at least two ways, the WHAT we do and the HOW (or motivation) with which we do our fundraising.
So, as I solicit a donor for a gift I must seek a Kingdom purpose. I think that purpose should be for our school as well as for the donor resulting in a "bi-lateral" blessing. With a business, like a bank, it may be more temporal and financial: they would like to be seen supporting a strong and morals-based college prep school. That is good for their business and banking is a profession that we can be in good company with.
With an individual donor I think I am always to appeal to Christ's work on the cross as the genesis of the orientation to give and God's gracious giving of all gifts as the means by which I/we exercise our faith.
I do not know how to prove that a biblical approach to fund raising gets better (financial) results. I do know that:
- I experience a freedom to minister when I rest in who is really doing the fund raising
- The raising of funds (like evangelism) is not a function of my cleverness or presentation - my presentation should be excellent because of who I represent
- It is better to let donors do business with the Holy Spirit than with me when it comes to responding to the call to give material resources
I do believe that there is much wealth being held by Christians because they have not been challenged (or not responded to the challenge) to give generously to the Lord in proportion to what they have been given.
So, where are we? Christian schools are hurting financially; many are closing because they are not financially viable; they are unwilling or unable to merge. The industry is suffering and I have this strong belief that part of the reason is that we have not gone about our work in the way the Bible prescribes. God may not bless our efforts if we fail to connect the gospel to giving.
What if you hear about a fund raising idea that should be used because "it works"?
I believe you need to ask 2 questions
1. What does "it works" constitute? More money than without?
2. Does "it works" - the end - justify the means?
The "what works" argument must be evaluated in light of your goal. As a development officer for a Christian school I am obligated to raise money in a way that honors the name of the One who called me, Jesus.
I believe we are obligated in at least two ways, the WHAT we do and the HOW (or motivation) with which we do our fundraising.
So, as I solicit a donor for a gift I must seek a Kingdom purpose. I think that purpose should be for our school as well as for the donor resulting in a "bi-lateral" blessing. With a business, like a bank, it may be more temporal and financial: they would like to be seen supporting a strong and morals-based college prep school. That is good for their business and banking is a profession that we can be in good company with.
With an individual donor I think I am always to appeal to Christ's work on the cross as the genesis of the orientation to give and God's gracious giving of all gifts as the means by which I/we exercise our faith.
I do not know how to prove that a biblical approach to fund raising gets better (financial) results. I do know that:
- I experience a freedom to minister when I rest in who is really doing the fund raising
- The raising of funds (like evangelism) is not a function of my cleverness or presentation - my presentation should be excellent because of who I represent
- It is better to let donors do business with the Holy Spirit than with me when it comes to responding to the call to give material resources
I do believe that there is much wealth being held by Christians because they have not been challenged (or not responded to the challenge) to give generously to the Lord in proportion to what they have been given.
So, where are we? Christian schools are hurting financially; many are closing because they are not financially viable; they are unwilling or unable to merge. The industry is suffering and I have this strong belief that part of the reason is that we have not gone about our work in the way the Bible prescribes. God may not bless our efforts if we fail to connect the gospel to giving.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Planned Giving for Eternity
Dale Walvort is Director of Advancement for Kalamazoo Christian Schools, an association that has been in existence for 130 years. He wrote this to friends of the school in November 2008.
Several months ago I attended a meeting that focused on planned giving opportunities in challenging economic times. Several of the topics were interesting, so I decided I would write an article about them for the next issue of our newsletter.
But things didn’t go as smoothly as I thought they would when it came time to “put pen to paper.” At first I couldn’t find the right type of reference material. Then I had several unexpected changes in my schedule.
When you read this several months will have passed since September 2008. But I am sure you remember those few days in September to be one of the most turbulent times for our economy since the Great Depression. All of our financial institutions seemed shaken down to their cores. Nothing seemed permanent anymore.
I was at the Barnabas Foundation annual meeting while all of this was happening. This organization is a Christian foundation that provides planned giving services to its Christian ministry members and their constituents. The seminars focused on issues such as the importance of will planning, how to promote planned giving, and some technical estate planning matters. The dominant theme of all discussions was that everything in this world belongs to God.
Then at the end of the week I was in church and noticed in the bulletin that the sermon topic was “Joy that Outlasts This Life.” As I listened to the message and followed the outline I was blessed to discover that my pastor had chosen to preach on the stewardship principles found in I Timothy 6. One of his central themes was that while everything in our lives on earth is temporal, we can use our material possessions to ensure future, or eternal, joy.
There haven’t been many times in my life where God has spoken to me as clearly as He did during that week. For this article, it would have been a good thing to tell how a charitable gift annuity can create tax savings in a down economy. But most people, including me, must work hard to remember that God owns everything in our lives and that we must use our material possessions to advance his kingdom. So my topic changed after that week ended.
Many (most, I hope) of you reading this article love and appreciate Christian schooling. Some have “lived” our schools for an entire lifetime, while others have been partners for several years. No matter how long you have been part of Christian schooling it’s my hope that you can see how the investment in the lives of Christian students is indeed an eternal investment.
Everyone’s financial situation is different (and changing, as we have seen in the past months). But one thing that will always remain constant is the opportunity to give back to God’s kingdom on earth when one goes to His heavenly kingdom. The process of preparing for that time is called planned giving.
So if you want to make a true eternal investment, I encourage you to learn about the basics of estate planning and about stewardship opportunities. These come from meeting with me and our planning partners.
Several other Christian schools around the country have a base of financial strength that is almost unequaled simply because they and their constituents have worked intentionally in the area of planned giving for many years; some are willing to name a schools as a partial beneficiary in their estate plan. Now these schools are in a strong position to be able to handle any decline in enrollment and the need for new facilities because of the eternal investments that were made. But first things must come first. Will you take this step of true stewardship?
Several months ago I attended a meeting that focused on planned giving opportunities in challenging economic times. Several of the topics were interesting, so I decided I would write an article about them for the next issue of our newsletter.
But things didn’t go as smoothly as I thought they would when it came time to “put pen to paper.” At first I couldn’t find the right type of reference material. Then I had several unexpected changes in my schedule.
When you read this several months will have passed since September 2008. But I am sure you remember those few days in September to be one of the most turbulent times for our economy since the Great Depression. All of our financial institutions seemed shaken down to their cores. Nothing seemed permanent anymore.
I was at the Barnabas Foundation annual meeting while all of this was happening. This organization is a Christian foundation that provides planned giving services to its Christian ministry members and their constituents. The seminars focused on issues such as the importance of will planning, how to promote planned giving, and some technical estate planning matters. The dominant theme of all discussions was that everything in this world belongs to God.
Then at the end of the week I was in church and noticed in the bulletin that the sermon topic was “Joy that Outlasts This Life.” As I listened to the message and followed the outline I was blessed to discover that my pastor had chosen to preach on the stewardship principles found in I Timothy 6. One of his central themes was that while everything in our lives on earth is temporal, we can use our material possessions to ensure future, or eternal, joy.
There haven’t been many times in my life where God has spoken to me as clearly as He did during that week. For this article, it would have been a good thing to tell how a charitable gift annuity can create tax savings in a down economy. But most people, including me, must work hard to remember that God owns everything in our lives and that we must use our material possessions to advance his kingdom. So my topic changed after that week ended.
Many (most, I hope) of you reading this article love and appreciate Christian schooling. Some have “lived” our schools for an entire lifetime, while others have been partners for several years. No matter how long you have been part of Christian schooling it’s my hope that you can see how the investment in the lives of Christian students is indeed an eternal investment.
Everyone’s financial situation is different (and changing, as we have seen in the past months). But one thing that will always remain constant is the opportunity to give back to God’s kingdom on earth when one goes to His heavenly kingdom. The process of preparing for that time is called planned giving.
So if you want to make a true eternal investment, I encourage you to learn about the basics of estate planning and about stewardship opportunities. These come from meeting with me and our planning partners.
Several other Christian schools around the country have a base of financial strength that is almost unequaled simply because they and their constituents have worked intentionally in the area of planned giving for many years; some are willing to name a schools as a partial beneficiary in their estate plan. Now these schools are in a strong position to be able to handle any decline in enrollment and the need for new facilities because of the eternal investments that were made. But first things must come first. Will you take this step of true stewardship?
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