By: Erik Ely, Generis
Remember playing football in the neighborhood during the long hot summers? Without the luxury of instant replays, inevitably a penalty would occur often followed by an argument
In 20 years of market place service and leadership positions in church operation, there are things I wish I could do over. As an executive pastor, I had a scarcity mindset. When money got tight (an annual feature, it seemed), I slipped into survival mode. The focus shifted from the good that we could do with the money that God provided, to what we could not do.
Later when we restructured the staff, the church experienced a major financial turnaround. The process was painful, but worth the sacrifice. Then we communicated the positive financial changes with the congregation, who responded with generosity and support.
Personally, I got a glimpse of my mistake from the book Contagious Generosity. Scarcity scales back ministries during tough times instead of advancing ministries. It inadvertently teaches the congregation the importance of holding back instead of giving.
The cure for scarcity is to do the opposite, be giving and generous.
Yes, be responsible in your generosity, but begin the adventure. Give and you will see how God responds to your generosity. In fact, open-handed generosity during financial valleys is a more forceful weapon.
How about you? Have you ever encountered scarcity in your ministry? Can you tell me about your generosity journey? Leave a comment!
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