The Importance of Vision
Gold in them thar’ hills
There was a 1931 song by Frankie Marvin about the urge to go prospecting in California: ‘There’s gold in them thar hills’. The yellow ore is there and all you have to do is go out and get it. I suspect some of our major retailers work on a similar line: There’s gold in them thar purses.
Recently I decided to purchase a new pair of long cargo pants to wear in winter. My wife and I embarked on a shopping expedition to a major department store in the Brisbane CBD. I really had no idea what price to expect but I was about to find out. I examined the offering on one table where the price tag was around $ 250. I gulped. Surely that could not be correct! So I moved on to another brand on another table where the price was over $500. I was astonished. Who buys this stuff?
My wife pointed out that a couple of stores up the mall was a different shop that may be more promising. However, on our way out I passed a rack of designer jeans, the type where material is ripped and proudly displays the resulting holes. I saw a tag saying ‘Reduced’ and paused to see the bargain. Yes it was reduced from an original price of $1465 to the fabulous steal of $1019. I kid you not! I went away thinking I was obviously very old and very much out of touch. Soon we entered a store close by where I was able to purchase a perfectly satisfactory pair of long cargo pants for $29.95. It wasn’t a fashion accessary but then I am not a clothes horse. The other department store must only cater to the gold in bulging wallets.
The backdrop to this story is that I hear repeatedly that people are doing it financially very tough in our current economic environment. Petrol, power bills, rents, groceries are all sky rocketing and putting enormous pressure on households. Politicians are incredibly sensitive on this subject as clergy can be. So in such times ministers can be very nervous about appealing for resources for ministry and just hope giving will magically get better.
Yet while financial hardship is certainly around in our congregations, it is not the whole story. There are also many people who are not financially stretched. The music icon Taylor Swift recently visited our shores and I read of one fan from Adelaide who outlaid $10,000 to see all seven shows. I googled to find how cruise ship numbers are going post Covid and what immediately hit my eye was the heading: Cruise Bookings hit record levels.
Thus I believe ministers should not let the gloomy headlines paralyse them from casting a compelling vision for the church and asking people to support it. Notice I say cast a compelling vision not complaining about the latest financial black hole.
By all means acknowledge that money is very tight for some people. You might consider saying something like:
‘I understand that in this congregation with prices spiralling out of control that some of you are stitched to the limit and you are already giving generously as much as you can. I get that. So thank you for what you are doing and don’t feel obliged to do more at this time. But there will be some of you who do have resources. You’ve just got a raise. Great Aunt Sarah remembered you in her will. The stock market has shone favourably on you, your business is humming or your super is doing very well and you can give generously again to further the ministry of the gospel here. If you are someone like that then I am asking you to give even more generously now.
So offer to help those who are struggling and ask those who are not to give generously. Give for a holy cause rather than holey jeans!
For more on raising resources for ministry see my book: Giving Generously. https://givinggenerously.com/buy-the-book-2/