Stewardship and Generations: Talking about Money with People of All Ages

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Stewardship and Generations Talking about Money
with People of All Ages
The Rev. Karl Travis Pastor, First Presbyterian
Church, Fort Worth, TX
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Stewardship and Generations
A word about why it matters
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GI and Silent Generations

• Early experiences of money and stewardship
• Trained from childhood
• Nickels/Dimes in the milk box
• Fruit Fruits givers
• Likeliest to be pledgers
• Likeliest to be tithers
• Giving is a public responsibility, a necessity

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GI and Silent Generations

• Attitude Toward the Institutional Church
• High level of trust and participation
• Church mirrored, and symbolized, the established
  order
• Church is repository of inherited faith,
  entrance into social belonging
• Yet, in later years, the church was not above
  critique

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GI and Silent Generations

• Meaning of Money
• money security
• Stewardship Descriptor
• GIs sacrifice
• Silents commitment
• Money followed mission

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GI and Silent Generations

• How the church can encourage good stewardship
  among GIs and Silents
• Estate planning
• Fear management
• Encourage GIs and Silents
• to share their experiences and values
• to allow a new stewardship conversation

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Early experiences of money
• Post war economic boom
• Upward mobility
• Television advertising (redefined scope of
  perceived affluence)
• Rapid growth of stock market
• Growing disparity between rich and poor

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Early experiences of stewardship
• Spotty stewardship training in mainline
  congregations
• Many come from unchurched backgrounds, so
  stewardship is a new conversation
• Taught that giving is a personal option,
  personal possibility, not public necessity

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Boomer Attitude Toward Institutional Church
• Distrust, if not disgust
• Skeptical of stewardship if presented about the
  institutions health. Money does not follow
  mission, for Boomers
• Hold little denominational loyalty

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• 13er Attitude Toward Institutional Church
• Not constitutionally anti-institutional
• Will trust a congregation if it works, i.e.
  does what it says its going to, and tells the
  truth
• Looking for community, not church, in which to
  practice spiritual disciplines

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Meaning of Money
• Money tool
• Stewardship Descriptor
• Boomers distrust
• 13ers ignorance
• Mission must follow money

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Making Faithful Boomer 13er stewards
• Earn trust
• Provide control in giving
• Provide choice in giving
• Educate many Boomers began faith journey in a
  time when our congregations didnt teach
  stewardship

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Making Faithful Boomer 13er stewards
• Reinterpret, Reframe stewardship
• 1. Holistically. Its about lifestyle.
• 2. Its about individuals need to give, NOT
  churchs need to receive
• 3. Stewardship a spiritual discipline, among
  other disciplines.

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Baby Boom and 13er Generations

• Making Faithful Boomer 13er stewards
• Challenge the conflation of want and need
• Model sacrifice. The congregation which doesnt
  give to mission off the top has no moral right to
  ask its members to

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An Exercise for you to try in your congregation

• Divide into groups of 3-4. Include as many
  generations as possible in your group.
• In five minutes, write a outline for a single
  sermon which would reach and motivate every
  generation. Here are some choices of texts
• Matthew 625-34 Seek first
• Deuteronomy 261-15 Giving the first fruits
• Matthew 1923-30 We have left all .
• 2 Corinthians 88-15 Give according to what you
  have
• Psalm 24 The earth is the Lords
• Luke 1213-21 Parable of the rich fool
• Malachi 31-10 Tithing

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Have we been doing the wrong thing, really
well, for the last 30 years?
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Common Steps in a Stewardship Campaign

• Session projects coming years budget (may be
  rough draft)
• Interprets budget to congregation
• Newsletter articles, Minutes for Mission,
  letters, brochures
• Pastor preaches motivational stewardship sermon
  on single stewardship Sunday
• Pledge Cards toward coming years budget
  circulated by
• US mail
• Available in the Narthex
• Pony Express or other house to house system
• Pledge Cards returned by due date
• Session totals pledge cards, adjusts budget,
  dedicates pledges in worship
• Following year, process repeated

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Campaign for Whom?
MotivatesBoomers/13ers
Motivates GIs/Silents
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• Session projects coming years budget (may be
  rough draft)
• Interprets budget to congregation
• Newsletter articles, Minutes for Mission,
  letters, brochures
• Pastor preaches motivational stewardship sermon
  on single stewardship Sunday
• Pledge Cards toward coming years budget
  circulated by
• US mail
• Handed out in church
• Pony Express or other house to house system
• Pledge Cards returned by due date
• Session totals pledge cards totaled, adjusts
  budgets, dedicates pledges in worship
• Following year, process repeated

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Money Cross Talk for All Generations A
Miscellany

• Talk about God, then the believer, then the
  Church in that order.
• Emphasize individual's need to give, not
  church's need to receive.
• Consider electronic funds transfer, i.e.
  receiving gifts by debit/credit card payments.
• All stewardship rooted in thanks-giving.
  Gratitude produces generosity.
• A word about designation, special offerings, etc.
  vs. unified budget model.

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Money Cross Talk for All Generations A
Miscellany

• Reverse the budget equation
• Pledges produce budget budget doesnt attract
  pledges
• Use narrative budgets
• Faith first formulas later
• Provide opportunities for faith speaking
• Personal faith sharing (Every Member Visitation?)
• Testimonials in worship
• Earn Trust walking the walk
• PPP Publicly Promise to Pay mission commitments
  first
• For leaders, especially pastors share that you
  give, what you give, and why
• Transparent Treasury
• Regular financial statements in public places
• Systematic reporting of expenditure AND need

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Money Cross Talk for All Generations A
Miscellany

• In the annual stewardship effort, target the
  message, design the experience
• Multiple mailings, generationally specific
• Generationally sensitive brochures, letters, and
  appeals
• Include younger members in planning and executing
  the stewardship effort many times, younger
  members have little idea of how much money it
  takes to run a church!

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Money Cross Talk for All Generations A
Miscellany

• Reframe stewardship to be about all of life, and
  hence a year round conversation
• Preach stewardship more than thedreaded
  Stewardship Sunday
• Teach financial resource management
• Provide resources on simple living
• Center for New American Dream http//www.newdream
  .org/
• The Simple Living Network http//www.simpleliving
  .net/
• Alternatives for Simple Living
  http//www.simpleliving.org/