The ecology of generosity

Evaluating and enhancing our motives for giving

Victor Pilmoor is treasurer of the British Union Conference in Watford, Hertsfordshire, England.

Natural ecology is often depicted as "lion eating lamb." Kingdom ecology is about a future in which the lion eats with the lamb. It is a shift from predatory selfishness to symbiotic inclusiveness.

Ecology is a picture of birds and bees, food webs and life cycles, and growth and energy created by a God of generous abundance. It is the science of "living together" the interdependence between the diversity of life forms and the environment. It is a cycle of wheels,in which every wheel turns the next wheel. Itis also an illustrative analogy for the flow of spiritual generosity and moral energy in our communities.

How genuine is our generosity

Generosity is often thought of as a willingness to be substantially philanthropic. In a greater sense it is a mind-set in which people willingly embrace other people in need of acceptance or support, regardless of identity.

Is our theology of generosity adequate? Is it in proper tension with our stewardship? Is our church managed with a generous mind-set?

Professor George New lands of Glasgow University tries to "image generosity, as a shape for the unfolding of a self-giving, creative, responsive love in the contemporary world. The generosity of the resurrection of the crucified Christ is suggested as a central paradigm for the Christian life in society."

In essence, New lands is addressing the tendency of the Christian church to segment into exclusive groups based on ethnic, cultural, behavioral, doctrinal, and even personality preferences. He says: "A theology of generosity may assist us in avoiding a move from one sort of limited tribalism to another."In essence, a spirit of generosity is a quality critical to our church as we seek unity within our increasingly diverse community. An ecological perspective is useful because it gives us the means to think about the whole church,rather than the intense wants of our own community. It gives us the ability to evaluate our humanity in a world in which resources and opportunity are not equally or fairly distributed.

Motivation: Duty or joy?

This is not a philosophical mystery tour. Recent world statistics show that the ratio of mission giving to tithe has decreased in real terms over the last 30 years. There is also congregational pressure to retain more funds,with competition between the eschelons and institutions of the Church for existing resources; this in the face of rapid member growth in parts of the world most economically challenged. We need to talk more about creating a large pie rather fighting over our slice.

In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, our stewardship concentrates on the theme "all that we have is Thine alone." Tithe is the return to God of what is rightly His, and correctly so. The downside of this emphasis is that our giving tends to be motivated by duty rather than joyful response. This partly explains the relative decline and disparity in mission and local church giving. Systematic giving is to be commended, but to a significant extent it is just not happening as it could.

Our emphasis on personal salvation encourages us to look for a causal relation between our faithfulness and our being blessed. Our focus is on a two-way relationship with God, rather than a dynamic relationship that includes the world that God so loved through Jesus Christ His Son. A wider ecological interdependent view projects responsiveness to God's generosity as necessary for the mutuality of blessings we all receive through being a community in Christ.

Further, use of tithe in "ministry" concentrates on God's endowment for His chosen leaders and their service. The use of tithe is too easily seen as a levitical birthright flowing from the givers rather than God. The role that ministry has in keeping the wheels turning in an ecological dynamic is critical. Does our ministry encourage and embody the giving of ourselves and our means so that a spirit of generosity flows on?

The mystery of the flow between the givers and the recipients of resources in the Church is the domain occupied by administrators and treasurers. In practice "storehouse" activities are predicated more often by policy and practicalities than clear theology and divine value systems. Treasurers in particular are schooled in the economic doctrine of the "scarcity principle."Are ministers an impediment to the flow of generosity? How do we avoid introducing reverse spin in the cycle of wheels? To some extent the decline in giving to world mission, is a systemic reprimand. Clearly we can do better. Managing with an abundance mentality is a challenge for every treasurer.

God and agency

Philanthropy as such is literally a humanistic response to the needs of humankind. In the best sense it is an application of "the golden rule." Our difficulty is that we struggle to expose the appropriate need to the appropriate people, in the appropriate place,at the appropriate time. People therefore exercise philanthropy through charitable agencies. The merits of charities are promoted by fund raisers who educate us about needs, and goad us to good works, often by massaging our egos with recognition if we respond benevolently.

In an ideal world this might be sufficient to maintain the ecology of giving. In practice people do not care enough. People who operate benevolent agencies are also selfish, and the range of concerns they satisfy reflect their own preferences. To make the situation worse there is a tendency for those who benefit from the agency to develop dependence, which brings the flow of philanthropy to a halt. In short, humanistic philanthropy tends to offer visible symptomatic relief rather than lasting care.

We have become somewhat coy about these matters. Many preachers shy away from stewardship talk, perhaps because they find the apparent conflict of self-interest hard to handle. Likewise, members have become resistant to overt promotional preaching and cynical about indirect approaches.

Unlike philanthropy, genuine generosity is an altruistic response to the needs of humankind through God's love. It's a fundamental life orientation toward real people. It is a consequence of God working in our lives. It's about offering ourselves beyond the liberality of gold and goods. Our role is to ensure that the flow of generosity whose origin is God, cascades throughout the community. This model does not depend on the eloquence of a motivator. It is not stifled by self-interest. It recognizes that the source and destination of bounty is God Himself, in the process of which we too are blessed.

Designing more effective stewardship materials

In all of this, we must begin with our own hearts as ministers. But inwardly and outwardly our stewardship materials need to speak more clearly of God, His love and His abundant generosity. Currently, many of the materials in the hands of most members shout "Agency," " Formula,""Function," "Duty." Wrappings do not cause us to give gifts and neither do they create generosity. But they area vehicle for encapsulating and reinforcing our motivating spirit. They at least need to be designed to do that.

 

Here are some principles that can go into the design of something as visible and basic as the stewardship envelopes that we place in the hands of our people week by week.

  • Focus on the generosity of God.
  • Make them visually attractive.
  • Offer variety in mood and message.
  • Facilitate confidentiality.
  • Do not overload with too many offering titles.
  • Use titles that focus on the mission rather than the event. (What does "Sabbath School" mean on an envelope?)
  • Do not mix motives. (Do we need to contemplate our mortality every time we give?)
  • Systematic percentages are only meaningful if practiced and promoted. (They look greedy to the uninitiated.)
  • People are not in love with church hierarchy keep it subtle.
  • Size should facilitate local notes and checks.
  • Color printing adds just a little to the cost of each envelope.
  • Development costs are charged to stewardship promotion. (It's cheaper than driving around the country offering seminars to the converted!)

Paul's treatise in 2 Corinthians 8and 9 is pretty persuasive: "Just as you excel in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness and in the love which went out from you to come to rest in us I urge you to excel also in this act ofgenerosity."


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus
Victor Pilmoor is treasurer of the British Union Conference in Watford, Hertsfordshire, England.

August 2001

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Historic Adventist women

An informative and inspiring review of women as ministers in the Adventist Church.

Evolving Adventist theological education (part 1): A historical perspective

The development of ministerial field education in the Adventist Church

Is divorce the answer?

Are there justifiable reasons for divorce?

The hardness of human hearts

Some specific concerns about divorce.

"He lets the loser win"

The pastor's call.

A provocative study of tithing trends in Australia

Tithing trends and their implications.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - SermonView - Medium Rect (300x250)

Recent issues

See All