Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Now, I've pastored for long enough to know that talking about giving can, for some people, be a little bit uncomfortable. And I've seen pastors like myself make some mistakes when we talk about giving in our churches. In this conversation, we're going to unpack eight mistakes and things you need to stop saying from the pulpit when you talk about giving. Let's do this.
You're listening to the Reach right? Podcast, the show dedicated to helping your church reach more people and grow.
Hey, guys, I'm Thomas.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: I'm Ian.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: And today we're talking about mistakes that pastors make when they talk about giving from the pulpit. I think this should be a good conversation because I personally, as someone who's pastored churches, I have made each one of these mistakes. I think at one point or another, some of them more than others. But I think it should be interesting to talk about it because I've learned over the years that how we talk about giving, it really moves into the culture of our church. And churches can be so different from place to place when it comes to their attitudes towards giving and their attitudes toward tithing, that kind of stuff. And so I think getting these things right, it really makes an enormous impact on a church's bottom line. Agree?
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. And it's a tough one. This is a tough topic for, I think, most pastors to preach on or it's more delicate. Not that pastors don't like to preach or mention giving from across the pulpit, but definitely one of those that's a little more challenging or delicate to approach. So should be hopefully helpful for some of our folks here.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: Yeah, why don't you kick us off with the first one, Ian?
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Yeah, first one is, when you talk about giving, don't just focus solely on the financial needs of the church. If it's just, hey, gosh, we have a leak, a plumbing leak, or the roof's got a hole, we got to get this fixed or we don't know what to do.
It takes all of the joy out. It makes it more about a need and just the financial needs rather than really what giving is all abouT.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I've heard this a lot, like, so churches will talk about keeping the lights on and running things. And I think there are some occasional times where it makes sense to talk about if this need isn't met, then we have this kind of an issue. But everything that I've seen and in my personal experience, people are much more inclined to give extravagantly towards vision and where things are going, as opposed to just like the need, the deep need that's there. So I would encourage every pastor, when you're talking about giving in that offering time, stay focused on where you're going and not necessarily what needs to happen to keep the lights on. I think you're going to get better results. Sometimes you'll get immediate results from that financial need, but I think in the long term, it'll wind up costing you that way. So. Yeah, good one.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Good point.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Next one is a lack of transparency. I think a lot of people, especially people that aren't really good with numbers and finances, they tend to think that people around them, they think the same way that they do, and you don't want to bog people down with the finances and numbers. And then a lot of times that leads to this feeling that the church is somehow keeping something from people or hiding some kind of fact about their finances. And so really, a lack of transparency is something that I see really costing churches a lot when it comes to encouraging people to give. So I would encourage you to be totally open about things, let people know. I mean, there's a few things you probably want to be careful with. Like you don't want everybody to maybe know everybody's salary on the staff and then certainly how much every person gives at the church. You want to keep that kind of information private. But other than that, I mean, be an open book about things and don't be afraid on occasion to talk about these things from the pulpit or in smaller settings. Get this stuff out there and in the open. I think it'll actually help your church.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Totally agree. Not much to add to thaT. So we know when you're not transparent, it can make things awkward or more uncomfortable. And that's the last thing you want someone to feel about giving. But authenticity removes barriers and apprehension. Right. You don't want apprehension there when it comes to giving. So next one is not connecting giving with faith and stewardship. So obviously giving throughout scripture. Correct me if I'm wrong, Thomas, was it the most talked about topic throughout the Bible? Money wasn't money.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: It depends on how you frame it. But yes, I think that I've heard that saying before that Jesus talks more about money than any other topic. I mean, it depends on what you call a topic. It's very well addressed.
[00:04:38] Speaker B: Not giving, but money. But we know that just obviously it is a part of our faith giving. And if you're not making it about that and stewardship, that is a big, encouraging part about it.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: So, yeah, good stuff. Yeah, no, I think that making sure that you tie it in with that. And not just about obligation, but about actual stewardship. So I think what this means for me is making sure that you're not just talking about ways that people can give to the church, but in their whole financial life when it comes to stewardship, what does that look like?
What are his plans for my finances? How should I handle that? What's the right way to think about saving my money and giving to other people and thinking about my career and what my next steps are? God has ideas and plans and things to say about all of these topics. And so all that falls under stewardship and what we do with our finances. So take a more holistic approach. I think that will help you with some of the goals of increasing generosity at your church that way. So next one is, I see this one all the time, is avoiding the topic altogether. There's a certain subset of pastors that just do not like talking about finances or money. And I think it has to do with just, and a lot of times it's a fear of what people are going to think about you or you don't want to offend people because there's this reputation, for whatever reason, that people have of pastors that they are just money hungry and they're mostly wealthy people that ask other people to donate. And that's because there are a select, very small minority of pastors that are that way, that they are very wealthy and you see them on television and they're very ripe for critique, I would say. But as we know, the vast majority of pastors are not in that kind of situation. But we still kind of bear that burden. And so in a lot of ways, we want to avoid the topic altogether because if I don't talk about it, that nobody can accuse me of being money hungry. But really, that's not the right solution. In those cases, you have to be willing to talk about it because your church needs to learn about God's plan for generosity. So, yeah, I think it's not something you can avoid.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: No, totally agree. And that's a good transition to our next one, which is making it a transactional experience. When it's just presented as like an obligation and like paying your gas bill or whatever, it takes all of the joy and worship out of it. And that's what it's all about. It's about joy and worship. God loves a cheerful giver, as the word says. And so when you make it a transactional thing, it just really removes what it's really all about.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's well said. I think that I have been to churches before where it is just kind of transactional that I give my tithe and they do the work and that's just how that goes. And I think that's not inspiring to anybody. And I think if you want to lead a growing church with growing finances, you have to move out of that transactional bent towards things. Yeah, good stuff. Next one is neglecting to acknowledge givers. I think this is something that I have done. I know at times where I'm not good enough at this, at regularly acknowledging. And by that I don't mean, hey, John Smith over here gave $10,000 and we want to just acknowledge and praise him. That's not the reason why we do this stuff. But I think just in A general sense, I think getting in this habit of regularly talking about your congregation's generosity, because of your generosity, we were able to do this this year and give this amount and finance this project. And we talk about these kinds of things, and it makes those that know that they gave towards it, it makes them feel like they were part of something. So just these little statements. And I would try to incorporate this every single week into your church service. Make it part of your talk. When you do the tithes and offerings time or you talk about those things, make sure to mention, I just want to thank you so much for your generosity and the way that you give and what a blessing it is to pastor this church or to be a leader at this church and to see the way you give so generously. Use those kinds of terms and I think it'll build up people's faith as they kind of process this and step into more and more generous giving.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Yeah, that reminded me of one of the things our pastors always communicate is they say the words they use are, we are a generous church. We're so appreciative for a generous church. So it's a good way to say it. Well, I kind of covered this in the last point that I covered before, but failing to teach biblical principles on giving. So we were talking about not making it transactional and the joy and what the word says about giving. And that's huge, obviously.
And maybe this will take some pressure off some pastors that don't like to preach or share or talk about giving, is that you could use God's word and what he says about it. And also that obviously lets the believer and the person who's hearing about giving understand what the Bible says about it and not the opinion of just who's speaking. From across the pulpit about it.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I would make it a goal that just about every time you talk about giving, you don't have to do like an actual Bible study about it every time, but find some way to root whatever you're saying in scripture so it doesn't just feel like it's something that you want to bring up or a pet topic, but root it in scripture. Quote a scripture. It doesn't have to be something that's elaborate. You don't have to have everybody open their Bibles to that particular passage or anything, but be ready to share, even if it's just a short phrase. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. What perfect example. It's something that. Just a few words that you can put in there to root what you're saying in Scripture. I think that really will help just kind of anchor what you're talking about when it comes to giving. So last one, we'll talk about this. And this is one that I have done, and I was rebuked over and I needed to fix, and that is apologizing for talking about giving.
It wasn't a personal rebuke, but I remember hearing, like, it was just directed at me. A pastor once, I was at a. A pastor named Robert Morris. He pastors Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, up in the Dallas Fort Worth metro area there. And he was at a pastor's conference and he had the gall to talk about giving to a bunch of pastors. But that's kind of what he's known for. He's a tithing talk kind of guy. But it was just kind of a bold move for him to talk about giving to a bunch of pastors. Right. You don't typically do that. But what he said, he started his message. He just looked at everybody and says, stop apologizing for talking about giving. And that's something that I've done. I've done that thing where, hey, so happy you're here. We have to talk about giving today. If you're new here. I'm so sorry.
That kind of stuff. And it sounds next Sunday.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Yeah, right.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: Exactly. And I don't apologize to visitors as they walk out the door and shake their hands. I'm sorry. Come back again. And we don't talk about giving. We do it once a year. That is such wrong thinking. It's something that we need to understand that the passages in Scripture that talk about giving are there for our benefit.
God already has everything. He doesn't need it. It's for our benefit as the givers. Like, we we get to actually talk about giving as pastors, and we get to relay this that is actually a life giving message. And I have watched in my own life that as I've stepped out and learned more about what God says about giving, and I've practiced biblical tithing and I do these things that it has blessed me more than really little else in my life. I've seen God's hand all over my life as we've stepped out in this. And for me to apologize for talking to someone else about that when it's one of the biggest blessings they can ever experience in their life, it says something else about what we actually believe. Right? If we're going to apologize when we talk about giving, what we're actually saying is that you probably don't want to apply this because it's going to hurt you more than it's going to help you. And that just couldn't be further from the truth. So, anyway, rant over. I've seen a lot of us do this. I've done it, and I hope it's something that you can glean from this conversation today.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: Anything to add as we wrap up, Ian?
[00:12:48] Speaker B: No, Thomas, I know this topic. You've been very passionate about just as a pastor, and you've grown from it through just like the experience you just said. And I have as well. It's something that I've definitely shared the benefit of giving and been cheerful about across the pulpit. And no, I think this is great and we hope it was helpful.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: Awesome. Don't apologize for talking about giving, pastors. You guys got this. It's a good thing. It's a blessing you get to give to your church there. So if this has been helpful to you, it would mean a lot to me. And I'm going to not apologize for asking you to hit that subscribe button. Thanks for being a part of that reach. Right, family. And we'll see you guys next time.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: See ya.
