Page 18 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

fall 2017
presbyterian.ca
Connection
BOOK RevIeWS
18
presbyterian
Understand Why People Give and What You Can Do
By Janice Meighan, Development Manager, Stewardship and Planned Giving
Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship Written by Dr. J. Clif Christopher, 120 pages, Abingdon Press, second edi- tion, 2015
As a fundraising professional for many years, I have seen that the rea- sons people give have changed, and that many congregations have failed to adapt to this reality and make changes to the way they ask for and receive gifts.
A useful resource for congre- gations wanting to explore these changes is Not Your Parents’ Offer- ing Plate, by Dr. J. Clif Christopher. Dr. Christopher has his M.Div., is a Certified Fundraising Executive and is the CEO of his own successful fundraising company. Through real- world experiences, Dr. Christopher outlines how the “who, what, where and when” of generous giving has been changing for the last decade and continues to shift.
Christopher’s book shares a per-
sonal story as a call to action. When scanning his local newspaper, he saw an intriguing headline: one of his friends had made a multimillion- dollar gift to the local university. A devoted church member of over 40 years, this friend had made several gifts of a few thousand dollars to his church each year. When Christopher asks his friend why he chose to split his giving as he had, he heard the following, “Clif, I do not want you to think that I do not care for the church. I do. ... I just do not want what my wife and I worked so hard for to be wasted going forward, and the presi- dent [of the university] convinced me of its [my donation’s] life-changing value at the university.” This gentle- man wanted to see that his gift would have an impact and felt that the uni- versity’s plan to shape and transform lives far exceeded that of his church.
Canadian church members would do well to read and understand the trends Christopher is putting before each reader. At the end of each chap- ter he provides a list of questions and at least two suggestions of what can be done to remedy a particular chal- lenge.
In chapter two—“Reasons People Give”—Christopher outlines why a strong mission and vision are key drivers in fundraising, followed by re- gard for leadership and fiscal respon- sibility (none of these are new to fun- draisers outside the church context). The questions are: How well are you telling your members/donors about what you’re doing to impact and change lives? How can your leader- ship relate better to donors? Does your leadership even know who and what people are giving? Are people always being asked to shore up the annual budget alone? Do you inad- vertently do things that communicate that the church is not fiscally sound? Do people talk openly about their giv- ing to others, reflecting a culture of open discussion about money? (pg. 24). Once you’ve answered all of his questions, he provides options for going forward.
Giving and givers are changing and there is hope to be found in Christo- pher’s book. I recommend Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate to those who are looking to make a difference in the area of fundraising as ministry in your congregation or group.
his introduction, Sacks writes, “The Jewish people right now need lead- ers, people unafraid to face the chal- lenges of today and build for tomor- row instead of, as so often happens, fighting the battles of yesterday” (xxviii).
The same can be said of The Pres- byterian Church in Canada. Now more than ever, to fulfill our calling in a changing world, we need vision- ary leadership from the bottom up. God has a plan for us, but, as Sacks puts it, “we have to act” (25). We are each called to assume respon- sibility for leading our churches and ministries to a place where God’s plan can unfold and flourish.
As Christians, we become agents of God’s purpose by following Christ’s example. Many of Jesus’ leadership qualities were rooted in the values of his Jewish faith and exemplified by the key figures of the Abrahamic tradition that Sacks writes about so beautifully. The sto- ries of struggles of these great lead- ers will inspire you to pursue God’s calling in your life and ministry with
Called to Lead
increased vigour.
Lessons in Leadership offers an
impor tant reminder that leadership is a shared calling that requires us to live our lives in active mode. For Jewish and Christian people alike, this means regularly dialoguing with
the Word of God, taking respon- sibility for community well-being, committing to collective rather than individual success, responding to injustice, critiquing oppressive sys- tems of power and helping those in need.
by Emily Hill, Education Program Coordinator, Canadian Ministries
Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible
Written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 311 pages, Maggid Books, 2015
The vision of leadership that Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former chief Rabbi of Great Britain, presents in Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible is one that invites all people of faith to “take responsibility for creating the conditions through which God’s purposes can be ful- filled” (25–26).
Refreshingly unique in his ap- proach, Sacks argues that what dis- tinguishes a leader from a non-leader is not status, power, authority or office, but a willingness to become God’s partner in the ongoing work of creation. Becoming a leader is, there- fore, a calling for all of us.
Using the characters and stories of the first five books of the Old Testa- ment, Sacks explores leadership as a process of learning and becoming rather than an innate ability or secret formula gifted only to select people. The stories are divided into short, but deeply rich, weekly readings about how the forefathers and foremothers of Abrahamic faith learned to become agents of God’s purpose.
For many of the figures that Sacks analyzes, this process involved ups and downs as well as misunder- standings and missteps. Yet, they re- mained committed to pursuing God’s will for their lives and communities. As Sacks so aptly describes in his analysis of Jacob: “To try, to fall, to fear, and yet to keep going: that is what it takes to be a leader” (34).
Inspiring courageous and vision- ary leadership, even from those who seem like unlikely leaders, is at the hear t of Lessons in Leadership. In
LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE
Being Re-formed?
Following and Leading in a World of Change
Leadership conference with Kenneth J. McFayden, Academic Dean of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, VA, and Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development
Cost: $20
October 6–7, 2017
Toronto, Ont.
For more information, contact Jen de Combe, Canadian Ministries 1-800-619-7301 ext. 290, jdecombe@presbyterian.ca