Ask, Thank, Tell (book review and commentary)

When I asked the stewardship folks at the ELCA church wide office what books I should read about stewardship, there was a long list and a short list. "Ask, Thank, Tell," by Charles "Chick" Lane made both.

Lane has a long history of stewardship education in the ELCA. His writing style is clear and accessible and his train of thought is easy to hop on for the long haul. This small tome, published in 2006, has three simple goals, which he spells out clearly in the introduction:

1.) Stewardship is about discipleship, not the congregation's need.
2.) Use these three verbs to shape stewardship ministry in congregations: Ask, Thank, Tell.
3.) Make sure your stewardship committee is doing these things instead of talking about them. Get creative.

Before I talk about Lane's three goals, it's worth noting that stewardship as we often think of it isn't everyone's favorite topic. It was about the last thing on my mind as I spent years drowning in student loan and credit card debt (see my previous blog post). But as director for evangelical mission (DEM) for the Alaska Synod, stewardship is part of my job. Happily, I don't have to be the stewardship expert (whew). I'm more of a stewardship cheerleader and resource-giver. I'll be reviewing books and resources periodically and encouraging folks in the Alaska Synod to practice the spiritual discipline of stewardship. It can be fun! I promise.

Back to Chick Lane, who starts with the helpful premise that stewardship is about discipleship. I've already experienced the misconception that stewardship means raising money for the church budget. I've thought that way myself and in my few short months on the job, it seems others think that way, too. Lane helpfully reminds us that the point of stewardship ministry is helping followers of Jesus grow in their relationship with Jesus. Put another way: Jesus wants your heart. All that money-talk that Jesus does in scripture is more about where people put their faith and trust, not just where they put their denarii.

Lane lists six characteristics of a good steward: intentional, regular, generous, first, proportional and cheerful. These are great but the bottom line is it's tough to think your way into these actions. Better, Lane, suggests, to just start doing a few of these things in your own giving. Try acting your way into a new way of thinking.

If you're a parish pastor, how do you get this ball rolling? Talk about it, of course! Lane suggests that the pastor getting his/her own financial stewardship house in order and then preach on stewardship, model stewardship and know what people give. The last one can be controversial. I never knew what anyone at my former parish put in the plate. "We don't talk about it," was pretty much the mantra of my Midwest rearing on most topics and money fit that bill, pardon the pun.

But as I've spoken with those who do stewardship ministry, I see both the congregation and I were missing out. I didn't really know how folks were doing in their relationship with Jesus because I refused to enter into conversations and awareness of giving. In fact, I probably didn't ask people enough how their relationship with Jesus was going other areas of spiritual disciple either. Mea culpa.

The rest of Lane's book goes over the basics of ask, thank, tell, and they are pretty much what one might expect. Stewardship ministry works when church leaders ask for people to give, not because of the budget but because that's the way we grow in faith and discipleship. Stewardship ministry works when church leaders thank people early and often. Stewardship ministry works when church leaders tell stories of what is accomplished with what is given and why each person's gift makes a difference.

I appreciated the theology that Lane uses in the first half of his book on giving as discipleship. It's a great frame for the more practical suggestions in the second half, where Lane urges stewardship ministry leaders to get specific and get to work as they ask, thank and tell. I won't go into all of these practical hints, tips and suggestions. I'd recommend getting the book and reading it as a church council, stewardship committee or use it in an adult forum.

If there's a weakness in Lane's book, it's that he doesn't tell us what to do if we've tried these things and they don't work. He doesn't tell us what to do if the pastor (or key lay leaders) are not on board with a stewardship as a spiritual discipline. He doesn't tell us if some of these ideas will work better in different-sized congregations. He doesn't tell us if these ideas cross ethnic, racial or socio-economic boundaries. We'll have to figure that out for ourselves. Clearly, not all of these ideas will work in Alaskan congregations. But the range of ideas and tips are broad enough for most parishes to find a few pointers. If nothing else, Lane's theology is solid, helpful and easy to understand.

Want to learn about any specific ideas in the book? Want to borrow my copy? Call or email me at the synod office.

My money autobiography .... and yours

Money. Stewardship. Give to God!

Are you still with me? Sometimes those words are enough to make a person turn the page or tune out.

One of my areas of focus as director for evangelical mission (DEM) here at the Alaska Synod is to encourage and support congregations and individuals in their stewardship (both personal and congregational). That's hard. I have limited exposure to "stewardship programs," I'm no expert on giving strategies, and I haven't read as many books on the subject as some others have. This may not sound encouraging, but stick with me.

Because there's one thing I do know: myself. When I went to DEM training in June, the stewardship leaders at the church wide offices of the ELCA encouraged us to do one thing before we did anything else: get our own financial house in order, both spiritually and logistically, and write a money autobiography.

What's that? A money autobiography is a narrative essay (or bullet points) to explore questions like:

* What is the earliest experience with money that you remember?

* As a child, did you feel rich or poor? Why?
* What role did money play in your life as a young adult?
*What is your happiest/unhappiest memory in connection with money?
* How does your faith guide your use of money?
* How do you practice proportionate giving/tithing?

There are many more questions. The other day, I sat down and wrote a four-page essay answering the questions. I didn't have to think very hard; it just tumbled out. I know from both facilitating and participating in pre-marital counseling that we all have strong emotions associated with money, many of these stemming from childhood experiences and parental attitudes. Think about it: what emotions come up for you around money? Security? Panic? Worry? Satisfaction? Love? Hate? Anger?

Writing my money autobiography was an important piece of self-reflection for me. How else can I encourage congregations to think about money if I haven't done it myself. Here are some reflections from my autobiography.

"One of the earliest experiences I can remember about money is that there was never enough of it. I grew up on a small Iowa farm that was the primary source of my parents’ income. I remember knowing we were poor and being afraid that there wasn’t enough money. I remember that we could have gotten free/reduced lunch but my mom didn’t want anyone to know we were poor. I remember eating government commodities, like cheese. I remember buying all of our clothes used. I remember being taught that we have to get by, re-use, find it for free or go without."

This story isn't that unusual. Maybe yours is similar. What's interesting is how it impacted my later understanding of financial stewardship. Here's a bit more.

"As a young adult, I volunteered extensively at a local church and gave a small amount, a few dollars at the last minute as the plate went by. I never thought about how much I “should” be giving. I knew about tithing but I thought it didn’t apply to me because I had always been poor and still felt poor. My newspaper salary was meager and I was still paying off college student loans, which I had to take because my family couldn't help pay for college."

Interesting. I thought giving only applied to people who had money. Instead, I gave my time. But now the story gets worse before it gets better.

"Living in Berkeley (seminary) was so much more expensive that I had planned. Even though I did work study, I still took out massive student loans. I got into credit card debt. I could not seem to stay ahead. Every year I went deeper into student loan and credit card debt. I gave only very little of my money during this time because I was so focused on my staggering debt load. When I graduated from seminary, I could only take a call that offered synod guidelines. I turned down one interview request at a church that couldn’t pay enough. During my first several years of ministry, I slowly climbed out of debt."

Well, did I learn anything? Yes. More to the point, I'm still learning. Here's where I am today.

"For the first time in my life, I’m starting to understand stewardship as giving in response to God’s gracious abundance. Before, I always assumed I was too poor to give. I thought I was off the hook. I thought I would give someday when I had more money. Even though I'm in a better financial position today, in part thanks to marriage which brought another income -- though I still have big student loan debt, and we have a mortgage and a baby on the way -- I could have known the joy of giving all along. I missed out, so focused on my worry, scarcity thinking and debt.

I’d like to keep working on my giving habits. I would like for my husband and I to mutually agree on some causes beyond the church to support. I would like to teach our son the joy of giving. I would like our son to be raised knowing that none of the things we own are really ours. It all belongs to God and we are just tending it. I would like our son to be raised without feeling panicky or worried about money. On the other hand, I want our son to know the value of saving, working for one’s own money and giving money away not just because others need it but because giving is a spiritual issue and a primary way that we grow in faith. This is what I wish I'd learned earlier, but I'm so grateful I'm learning it now."

Well, that's my story. It's not perfect and I'm clearly no expert. But it helps to know that we can grow in our attitudes toward giving. It helps to know that we can be generous, whether we're rich or poor. It helps to know that God has first given us everything, and it's a great joy to give in response to that love.

If you get a chance, do a money autobiography or at least ponder a few of the questions. You can find the whole document here by clicking on the PDF for "your own history." Let me know how it goes for you, if you'd like, at alaskadem@gmail.com

 

Launch!

Me with Bishop Shelley Wickstrom (Alaska Synod)
and the Rev. Susan Halvor (clergy women on a mission!)

Welcome to my Mission907.blogspot.com, my new blog in my new role as Director for Evangelical Mission for the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

That's a long and fancy title for what is really a pretty simple idea. Let me break it down.

My name is Lisa Smith Fiegel. I'm a Lutheran pastor in Anchorage, Alaska. I work in our synod (think: regional) office and help congregations share the good news about the reckless love and radical acceptance of Jesus Christ for all people. Also, I do some paperwork.

You might think this is obvious. Aren't churches supposed to be out sharing the news of Jesus and helping those in need? Yup. It's called the Great Commission (Gospel of Matthew 28:16-20). But sometimes Christians forget. We all do it. I forget, too. We forget that God calls us to get out of our comfort zone, to meet our neighbor, to do acts of service, to give of our financial resources and to tell about why the love and presence of Jesus makes a real, actual, concrete difference in our lives.

Why do we forget? Well, sometimes we get tired. I was a church goer for far longer than I've been a church pastor (a bunch of years for the former, about eight for the latter). I sometimes went to church because I had a crappy week and needed some encouragement. I went to church to see my friends. I went to church because that's how I was raised in rural Iowa. I went to church because I felt guilt if I didn't. These are not necessarily all bad things (but you can skip the guilt). Yet there's so much more to being part of a church.

Because the church doesn't exist for itself. It exists for the world. The main point of having a church at all isn't to get people to come to a building on Sunday morning. The main point of having a church is so that the members (who are the church) can get fired up to go out into the world and proclaim God's love in word and action.

That's what it means to be a church in mission, AKA a "missional church." Check out this short clip:

I've been a Lutheran and a churchgoer (you can be both!) my whole life. But only in the last few years have I really thought about what it meant to be a church in mission. I'm pretty excited about it. It's a new (not really all that new) way of thinking about church. It's a way to be relevant, when churches exist for the sake of their neighborhoods and communities. It's a way to get out of the scarcity thinking (we don't have enough time/money/people) that churches get into. It's a way to get away from the things people think about when they think about Christians (judgmental, hypocritical, homophobic, self-righteous).

Because being a missional church is all about being in intentional relationships with those in the neighborhoods near the church. Relationships matter. Relationships make a difference. Relationships change not only others but change us, too.