October 20, 2009
Busting money taboos of clergy, personal giving
Below is a Georgene Rice KPDQ-FM interview with Chris McDaniel author of Dying to Give, moving from the idea of generosity to personal application.
Chris McDaniel: I think money has become such a taboo topic over the years because of scandal and because of those who raise their voices loud enough. Church leaders have turned away from this subject because they are fearful about it. We are willing to talk about other spiritual disciplines, willing to challenge and push each other in prayer, but because we are not talking about it no growth is happening. What I am talking about is not what we give or how much we give. Pride is warned directly in the Scriptures. The heart of what I am saying is that we need to grow. Through that we see God release more resources through His people.
Georgene: It is difficult for many of us in our consumer society to equate giving and generosity to joy and contentment. We want to give but not to the point that we have to sacrifice.
Chris McDaniel: Yet, when we come to that place of sacrifice God always shows up in ways that you have never seen Him before. It is fundamental to Christian law to give. Dying to Give as a resource ignites a connection between you and the Lord through journaling your conversations with the Lord through this process.
Georgene: When you look back at those markers you see how your have grown, like in the Introduction of your book when you had us remember when we were children how we gauged our growth through the marks on the wall.
Georgene: This book has 27 devotionals. How do you hope your readers will use this volume?
Chris McDaniel: Even though they are short devotionals, I hope they will take time with it. Often times we get distracted about giving. We can think it’s about manipulation or building Kingdoms. But, giving is about us and our personal transformation when we take part in it. It’s not just about money. It’s speaks to their time, their talents, and their treasures.
Georgene: The book is divided into four sections. You begin with Biblical foundations of giving.
Chris McDaniel: No structure will last without a good foundation and these devotionals reflect on the core foundational principles in the Scriptures that will help us build a lasting foundation. Through that we progress into the transformation of our very selves, which is Part 2, giving in your character. Giving is the character of Christ. It requires a lot of faith to be a generous person.
Georgene: Many of us don’t put those two together, giving and our character. That of course raises the obvious question. We are in a deep recession. A lot of people may be thinking they have been generous in the past and will in the future, but now is really a bad time. I need keep what I have close to the vest. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Are there seasons when we need to choose not to give?
Chris McDaniel: Obviously to give you must have income, but to give because of scarcity is not a reason not to give. You can give proportionately even in a down economy. Sometimes we overlook other assets that are sitting stagnant. The third part of the book gives practical tips on what we do with our assets and gives introductory tips on budgeting and proportional giving.
The last section of the book in Dying to Give compels us to move forward and not let scandals or circumstances cause us to miss out on the secret that God wants for us.
– Chris McDaniel is the Director of Development for Delta International. Has an MBA from Liberty University. He lives with his family in Camas, Washington.
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October 20, 2009
It is amazing that when giving comes first, the rest of your money seems to go farther.
October 20, 2009
I remember my mom telling me that when we were just small kids, my dad’s company was out on strike and money was tight, she was asked, in all kindness and concern, if she could afford to tythe. Her response was “can I afford not to?”
October 20, 2009
If one defines giving as allocating a portion of one’s income to support a well-educated, able-bodied “pastor” and staff who are very capable of making their own way in the world, I can see where there could be a hard sell -especially among those of us who see the Apostle Paul’s method of feeding the sheep AND paying his own way through tentmaking as a superior leadership model.
On the other hand I have seen believers become very unified in their generousity with money and, more importantly, time when providing for the disadvantaged, underprivileged or otherwise down and out individuals or groups. The internal rewards seem to be more substantial than those resulting from simply adding to the salary of a church staff or a building fund which is, essentially, a way of blessing ourselves.
Fearing to speak about money in order to retain current donations does not help a congregation.