Review, Re-View, Renew

As the church year comes to an end this month with the beginning of Advent on November 30, and the calendar year-end is also fast approaching, it’s normal to be wrapping things up and starting to look ahead. Many of your communities of faith may be feeling anxious or downright scared about what “year-end” will look like financially. Budgets that won’t be met. Deficits that are growing. It’s easy to be caught into the scarcity and fear cycle.

“What if…?” becomes a constant theme. What if people stop giving? After all, the economy is not good and so many of us are on a fixed income. What if Rachael dies this year? Who will lead the Easter brunch? It just won’t be Easter without it.

And so on and so on, until all people can see, and all they can talk about, is what they don’t have.

It’s scary. And fear is paralyzing. We dare not change anything or offend anyone. The last thing we need is someone to be upset and withdraw or leave.

When you are living this close to the edge, the edge is all you can see.

But what if there is another way?

Instead of “What is missing?” ask yourself “What is here?”. How has God blessed and equipped the people that make up your community of faith and your neighbourhood? How has God blessed and equipped you, yourself?

What are you good at? What comes naturally? And how can you use that in service to other people, to God, to your community of faith?

Instead of focusing solely on meeting the budget, look and listen for ways that people are growing in faith and practice. What difference is your community of faith making for its participants and those beyond?

Instead of scarcity, where do you find abundance?

Whether it’s in your own personal life, or the life of your community of faith, these three words can facilitate that shift.

• Review: What has come before this and what brought you to this place? What is “normal” and as Dr. Phil would ask, “How’s that working for you?”
• Re-View: How might you see, hear, and imagine things differently? Be intentional to really seek out all that you have. Make a list. If it’s helpful, use the three T’s of stewardship: Time, Treasure, Talent. Broaden your perspective and refuse to be limited by what you don’t have, or used to have but don’t any longer. What might you need to stop doing? What can you tweak? What can you start? What can you drill down on and get really good at?
• Renew: How can you use all that God has blessed you with in service to other people, to God, to your community of faith? Don’t just follow the same path. Do just one thing differently and see what God does with it.

When we offer what we have, you just never know what the outcome will be.

Will it be enough to erase the deficit, or guarantee your beloved programs will continue forever? Maybe? Maybe not. But when you shift your focus from what you don’t have and can’t do, to all the ways God has blessed you and how you can use those blessings to further God’s kin-dom, the budget and the beloved programs you’ve always done may not seem as important anymore.

—Rev. Dave Jagger is the Community of Faith Stewardship Lead within the Philanthropy Unit of the General Council.  The Stewardship Team is here to let you know there is another way, and we’d love to talk to you about it. Give us a call.

The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.