Witnessing

Have you ever been convicted?

You know that deep turning of your soul that reminds you of a particular action you did or should have done.

I had that experience just now. The doorbell rang, and it wasn't the very wonderful and gracious lady who has provided meals for my sick wife, child and myself for the past few days with another kind offering of great food. My daughter ran to the door and pulled back the curtain, and it was young men dressed in shirt and tie, holding pamphlets and Scripture books.

I opened the door wary and yet with enthusiastic greeting. I was immediately set-upon to shill the church these young men attend. I asked if they would then be coming to my church, as I am a pastor, too. This of course caught them offguard, shoved a few pamphlets and treated to silence and quick looks at one another as they formed the next step in their strategy.

Out came those most carefully applied words of traditional evangelism in the last 40 years, "If you were to die tonight, would be assured that you were going to Heaven."

It was at that moment that I lost my sense of decorum, laughed quite boisterously and said, "Really, that's your opening? You really need to work on that."

I did conclude with, "Yes, I am a pastor. Yes, I am assured I am going to Heaven. Thank you." Then I shut the door.

My wife, being the ever-faithful ecumenist, offered her apologetics and tried to remind me of what these young men were really trying to do. And I applaud her greatly for this, knowing full well, that if it had been her, I would have been attempting to redeem them at that moment as well.

She then offered this great line, "How scared of God do you have to be to go door to door trying to get others to be so scared of God that they would come to your church?"

And then it hit me. The moment of conviction fell upon my poor little head, and I think I know what I need to do in the next few weeks.

I had prayed for our neighborhood over the past year, and I have mentioned that I need to go visit with our neighbors. I haven't done it yet, and the time has come. God has whomped me over the head with this kind of reminder, that I have something else to offer, with an outstanding church.

I expect to spend time in the next few weeks going to our immediate back fence neighbors and saying hi, introducing myself, and asking what we can be doing to be better neighbors. I might get laughed at. I expect to get yelled at, because we have not done what some of our neighbors have "demanded" that we do. There are old wounds from the church, both ours and others.

At the end of it all, I want to remind folks that I am not there to convert them. The truth is God does that job. Mine is to help them find fellowship, and a place of sanctuary with our common space, the fence and community we share. This means we are present in those moments to help birth transforming love.

As for what I might do about the church that came visiting, my mind is still spinning.

Long-term Funding

A question for some of my friends and colleagues out there in the non-profit sector...

I saw this article recently, and was captured. I wondered what kind of success any of you have had in implementing such practice in the local church, and if anybody has templates of bequests.

Planned gifts are the pinnacle of donations. They represent a donor's ultimate desire to support a nonprofit organization. Essentially, a planned gift is any donation that is planned in advance, including bequests, annuities, trusts, life insurance and more.

Bequests are the most common planned gift. Typically, a bequest can be included in a will as a particular amount of money, a percent of the total estate, or a contingent gift that depends on certain circumstances.

Here are three simple ways to promote planned giving for your nonprofit organization.

1. Remember Us In Your Will. The easiest way to solicit bequests is to include "Remember us in your will" in your newsletter. Don't be afraid or timid about including this information. Other organizations are doing it and if you don't, you are missing the boat.

2. Provide some sample text for a bequest in your newsletter or on your website. It will make planned giving easier for some donors and at the very least, should help spark ideas for those who are interested in leaving your organization in their will.

3. Use prewritten materials. There are companies out there that write, design, and publish planned giving materials that you can add your logo to and give to your donors. The Stelter Company and The Sharpe Group are two great examples. You can get help with planning, internet-based solutions, and more, so it's worth your time to check them out.

Have some professional volunteers at the ready to help your donors make their planned gift happen. While most donors have their own advisors, offering your donors the names of financial, tax, and legal professionals who can help them can take you far.

Want more practical tips and ideas for successful fundraising? Get the twice-monthly "Bright Ideas for Fundraising" at http://www.getfullyfunded.com. Sandy Rees is a nonprofit fundraising coach and speaker who shows small nonprofit organizations how to raise more money, gain more supporters, and strengthen their Boards. (c) Sandy Rees, CFRE Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandy_Rees

What if...?

Realizing I am only taking a soundbyte; maybe this means cutting church to 1x month. Get sign-ups for "being in the world, not of it" for the rest of the month.


From: @clarkfrailey
Sent: Feb 9, 2010 11:04a

"Our problem is we're teaching too much, which leads to people to 'think' they're getting it." -Rick Warren @ Radicalis #fb

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/clarkfrailey/status/8866528552

As part of the ongoing 10thousanddoors campaign I saw this from UMCOM

Change The World Event

What if... on one weekend all around the world, 11 million United Methodists came together to work in their local communities? What if... we unite globally to fight a preventable, treatable disease that kills one child every 30 seconds? Would You Help? April 24-25, 2010. Build community locally. Fight malaria globally. Change the world. As we Rethink Church...are we getting it? What does "getting it" really mean to the way we worship celebrate and live church. As continued fodder for thought ponder this...