Some speculations about future Stewardship formation

by the Rev. Canon J. Hugh Magers

Speculation #1.

The old "united" or "corporate" budget model that we employed so successfully for the last 50-55 years is headed for the last round-up. The reason for this is the shift in which generation makes budget proposals. We old guys say things like, "I give money to God through my Church and I don't question how it is spent." I've said this myself and taught others to say it and believe it. Or, "I make the giving decision and the Vestry makes the spending decisions." This is a wonderful way to live, but it is dependent on factors that are less present now. One essential factor for the "united" budget is a shared mission vision that is generated by a gifted mission visionary. I defy anyone to find a vestry with a singular mission vision now. Usually there are 17 visions if you have 9 people on the vestry. And the vestry is probably not all that well connected to the congregation.

A second factor for the "united" budget is a very high degree of institutional loyalty. My Republican friends blame the loss of this on Carter and Clinton. As a Democrat I blame it on Nixon, Reagan, Bush & Bush. Who or what ever is to blame, institutional loyalty is not seen as a virtue anymore but rather as a sign of soft headedness. An institution that isn't trusted can't present a "united" budget that will be trusted.

In the light of this, I speculate that we will see more and more emphasis on special offerings, fund-raisers for specific causes, and less reliance on annual pledges. We will likely see increased reliance on planned giving for endowment development and simultaneous efforts to broaden the base of support and developing major gifts from those with significant wealth.

I can imagine a time when large congregations will have a "funding director" in the same way that they now have a Christian Education Director. Clergy will need to have skills in fund development or they will be doomed to being excluded from significant mission decisions and activities.  

Speculation #2.

The one positive thing that we have learned over the last 30 or so years in Stewardship formation, the absolute necessity for personal conversion as an inner spiritual resource for serious Christian giving, is going to be more important than ever. I will not belabor this with conversion theory. If you don't understand it, go look it up. But, right now we know that about 85% of our giving comes from about 15% of our folk. The one thing these folk have in common is some sort of experience or formation process that frees them to be generous for God's sake and out of gratitude to God. Without exception in my experience they all say some version of "once was blind but now I see" (to steal a line from John Newton). This gives them the freedom to be open and candid about money. It gives them the freedom to be generous. Money has been changed in meaning from being a source of anxiety to being a source of joy.

Conversions can't be planned or programmed. A sneaky and mischievous God does this sort of thing. But we can create congregations that hold it up as normal rather than exceptional. We can do things in worship, preaching, teaching, and serving that open conversion as a possibility. Congregations that do this will be funded. Those that don't will not.

Speculation #3.

We will need to send lots of different Stewardship messages to lots of different folk in lots of different ways. Inductive Bible Study leads the way here. I can't think of anyone who has a stewardship issue that is not addressed by Scripture. I started with pure law. I can paraphrase it as "and God said, Hugh, tithe or die." Now I would paraphrase it as "and God said, Hugh give 20% and go around with a silly grin on your face while making giggling noises." And there were some different messages along the way. The hard part will be getting the appropriate text in front of the person who is ready to come to grips with it. I can see a time when only those who do not want to do mission will send the same Stewardship letter to every member of a congregation. Instead contact will be designed with generation, financial situation, spiritual orientation and mission interest in mind. In the future we will spend a lot more time thanking folk for what they do and give. This is going to mean that a lot more time and work will go into Stewardship. It may mean that we will have a "profile" created for every person in a congregation. This sounds like marketing, and is. Some will object to it for that reason. Those who want to do mission and are willing to do whatever it takes to fund it will find themselves in conflict with those who don't want to deal with money issues.

Speculation #4.

The money will go to mission. No mission, no money. God will fund mission. Mission is attractive. Stories of lives saved and changed for the better, saves and changes lives for the better. People who do mission feel powerful. Mission creates and then expands generosity. Generous people will not attend and not give to a Church that does not do mission. The short duration mission experience will become the single most important event in fostering conversion and generosity. When people go on mission trips they find Jesus already there, loving, forgiving and caring. They go on mission and there find their Lord and Savior at work. They are able to spend time with him. They see him saving and changing lives. They are able to see how he has saved and changed their lives. They return to their former life full of new life. If this sort of thing isn't happening, the giving will decline.

Speculation #5.

The Stewardship leader of the future will be a deeply converted mission visionary who is at peace with money and can beg effectively for Jesus' sake. It will be more fun if they all have great senses of humor, high-level communication skills, are extroverts and tall, good looking and have great hair. But they will come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some will have fancy educations. Some will be illiterate. They will come in all sizes, genders, and skin colors. It remains to be seen whether or not any of our Seminaries will pitch in and help train them. My guess is not. They will be trained by Dioceses, congregations, outfits like TENS and by the process of doing mission. They will find Stewardship Mentors. They will be, at the same time, sought after and shunned. They will talk openly about the two scariest things in the world, God and money.
 Hugh Magers, a retired priest from the Diocese of West Texas, is formerly the director of Stewardship at the Episcopal Church Center.  Now he serves on the Board of Directors of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship, and as a consultant to dioceses and parishes on stewardship, evangelism and Hispanic Ministry Development.