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Where There’s Slack There’s Lack - Part 6 of 8
SYSTEM #6: THE STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM
Wednesday has rolled around again! Time for the weekly installation of our eight-part “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series. I’m particularly excited about the system we are looking at today. It’s a crucial system and one that’s surrounded by a lot of questions and misconceptions…
Have you ever had a hard time getting new believers to tithe? Have you ever wished you had more faithful givers? Of course you have. We all wrestle with the money issue. That’s where The Stewardship System comes in. This is the system that asks, “How do you develop extravagant givers at your church?”
Stewardship is a tough issue. That’s why most of us, as church leaders, tend to separate it from other spiritual disciplines, like praying, reading our Bibles and going to church. We are afraid to hold our attenders accountable in the personal area of money.
But, let’s face it – money is not only essential to Kingdom growth, it’s also an essential factor in the spiritual growth of our people. We will never develop strong disciples until we learn to develop strong givers.
How effective is the stewardship system you have in place? To get an idea of how things are going, ask yourself these questions:
- Are you modeling extravagant giving?
- How do you know when someone gives a gift for the first time? How do you respond?
- When was the last time you taught on the spiritual discipline of giving?
- Have you given your people a tithe challenge in the last year?
Most new givers – and even a lot of more seasoned givers – don’t understand the importance of bringing the full tithe. There is a path we have to lead them down, as they mature in their understanding of stewardship. That kind of growth doesn’t happen haphazardly. But as God blesses and works through the Stewardship System, we can build churches of faithful, and even extravagant, givers.
This week, spend some time with your Stewardship System. Think through your process for explaining the importance of giving. Think about how you follow up with those who give. Write out your own financial testimony.
If you will give this system some true attention, you can begin to recast the sticky issue of money as the important spiritual discipline it really is.
Nelson
P.S. – If you haven’t already, make sure you download the free Church Systems Report, to learn more about the eight church systems and how they work together for the healthy growth of your church.
P.P.S - To dig deeper into this issue of developing extravagant givers, check out The Stewardship Seminar.
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How to Survive an IRS Audit
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I’m being audited by the IRS. The case is ‘almost closed’ although there are still some minor paperwork issues to be handled. Hopefully everything will be settled by August. As it turns out, everything was ‘proper and in order’ with my 2006 return but I did learn some important lessons.
First, I was selected for the audit by an IRS computer because my charitable giving was too high. Before you think I’m boasting, let me explain. If you are a minister, you claim a large portion of your salary as housing allowance, which means the part of your income that is deemed ’salary’ is pretty low.
For example, if you make $40,000 per year and you claim $25,000 per year as Housing Allowance, your effective Salary is only $15,000 per year. But if you tithe (or more) off the full $40,000 and give, let’s say, $5,000 to your church then the IRS ’sees it’ as if you are giving away $5,000 of your $15,000 salary - which, as you can imagine, raises some flags. (Full disclosure, you pay some taxes on the housing allowace but if it’s done right, you generally don’t pay state or federal tax on the part of your salary you deem as housing. Full disclosure 2: I’m a big fan of paying taxes. I love the benefits of living in America and the roads/schools/etc. that my taxes pay for. I just don’t believe in paying more than you should).
My situation aside, its an interesting commentary on American generosity when the IRS computers raise flags when someone gives away more than 10% of their income! I guess since the average American gives less than 3% of their income to charity it’s justified. Sad.
Second, I learned that the IRS can ask you for copies of your charitable giving statements (the forms that churches send out at the end of the year) and the canceled checks to back it up. I had the giving statement in my files…it was the canceled checks that gave me the problem. Fortunately, my bank and our church keeps scanned copies of the checks but it took some digging.
Third, I was audited for stuff on my 2006 return that I didn’t even claim. For example, I was audited for medical expenses. I had claimed zero medical expenses in 2006. The IRS computer chose to audit me on medical expenses because its a common issue where people cheat. Just thought you’d like to know.
Finally, I had a great sense of dread when the IRS audit documents arrived at my house but I had no sense of fear. Honestly, as soon as I read the paperwork I knew it was going to be a major pain and I dreaded having to produce all the canceled checks and documents in questions but I knew that I had nothing to fear. And this ‘lack of fear’ has nothing to do with my confidence in my own financial prowess. In fact, I’d give myself a grade of C+ when it comes to financial management. So why wasn’t I afraid of the IRS audit?
I was completely in unafraid of the audit because I knew I had done absolutely nothing wrong! I knew that no matter how much the IRS would poke around in or question my return that everything was proper and in order. And again, this is not to brag on my financial acumen but rather I knew I had done nothing wrong because since my days at Saddleback Church in the late 90s, I have willingly submitted my financial management to an outside firm - the #1 clergy financial management firm in America (you can read about Clergy Financial Services by clicking here).
Because I had allowed a trusted adviser to manage my salary, housing allowance, retirement and tax documents I knew that I was in the clear no matter how many questions the IRS asked. In fact, as soon as I received the IRS audit papers, I called Clergy Financial, faxed over the documents and entrusted them with the full process (I still had to find canceled checks and other paper work but they did the heavy lifting).
Why do I tell you all of this….well, one day you might be audited (apparently, ministers are audited at a higher rate than the general public because of the housing/salary issues I mentioned above). So, if you don’t have your financial house in order, an audit can be a major distraction. I want to spend as much time as possible focused on ministry! Also, a lot of pastors I know live in fear when it comes to their taxes. Clergy taxes are confusing and if you are trying to use ordinary tax software to handle the ‘extraordinary needs’ that arise from being a minister you may be in trouble.
And the final big lesson I want to share…get people around you who are good at the areas where you are weak! I’m weak when it comes to personal financial issues so I’ve made a point to bring folks like Clergy Financial around me. I’m weak when it comes to a whole bunch of other issues too so I’ve tried to find trusted advisers that I can call on. Don’t be afraid to pay for good advice. In the case of Clergy Support, the advice is very inexpensive (maybe your church will even provide it for you) and they are great. But the old saying is true…beware of cheap advice, you may get what you pay for!
I hope these lessons are beneficial to you!
Nelson
P.S. If you do call Clergy Financial, please tell them I recommended you. I need all the good will with them I can get!
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Stewardship Seminar - Video Webcast - Last Chance!
In less than 48 hours, we will be doing a video webcast of my Stewardship Seminar. Why don’t you join me for the event? It’s Thursday, July 24, from 9:00am - Noon Eastern Time. Here’s how it works:
- I’ll be teaching the seminar live here in NYC to a great group of pastors
- You will watch the video-stream of the seminar on your internet - with both audio and video! In fact, your entire staff can watch with you (you could even project it on the screen in your conference room).
Pretty cool, huh?
Here’s the link to register now (click here) or you can call 212.730.8300 x212 to register by phone or if you have any questions.
For more information on what will be covered, click here.
I hope to “see” you on Thursday!
Nelson
P.S. If you’d like to be in the ‘live audience’ here in NYC, we still have a couple of spots available, just follow this link.
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Do You Have Enough Money?
Let me guess… No! None of us ever feel like we have the money we need to do all of the ministry we want to do. But the truth is that you have enough money to do everything God has in store for you and your church. The question is not whether it is there; the question is whether or not you understand the importance of tapping into it in the right way…
Every dollar you need to do ministry is in the pockets of your regular attenders and members. To often, we just don’t know how to harness the power of that money like the Bible says we should.Let me remind you of a critically important truth – Financial stewardship is inseparably linked to spiritual growth. If your people aren’t giving like they should, they aren’t growing like they should.
That means that if you aren’t challenging them to bring the full tithe, you are doing them a disservice as their pastor. And you are also doing your church and its ministry a disservice. But when your regular attenders and your members are giving as they ought to, your church will be fully financed. That’s the way God set it up. Not to mention the fact that you will have a church full of faithful, growing Christians!
So, next time you feel like you don’t have enough money, step back and take a hard look at the situation… are your people bringing the full tithe? Why not? Are you challenging them to give in the ways we’ve all been instructed to give? If not, your problem isn’t a money problem, it’s a stewardship problem.
Nelson
P.S. – If you want to learn more about teaching your people to give in a God-honoring, practical way, check out The Stewardship Seminar.
P.P.S. You might also check out my upcoming Stewardship Seminar Webinar - you and your entire church can watch in as I teach the Stewardship Seminar to the live audience in NYC. Click here to learn more about the audio and video webcast or click here to join us live in NYC!
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Break the Summer Giving Slump with a Mid Year Giving Statement (plus a free download of my letter)
If you’ve listened to my Stewardship Seminar then you know that I’m a fan of quarterly giving statements. The IRS only requires that you send “Giving Statements” once a year (in January) to everyone who has given financially to your church but I recommend you do it four times a year.
Even if you can’t send giving statements four times a year, let me highly suggest that you do a mid-year giving statement. In fact, if you jump on it, you could probably get it mailed out this week or next.
We are currently putting the final touches on our mid-year giving statements which will be mailed out next week (I recommend you mail them as opposed to emailing them). Here’s what we are including:
- An update letter and challenge from me. You can download the rough draft of my Mid-Year Giving Statement Letter by clicking here. (Note: I offer this letter to you as an example only)
- A unique giving statement that shows what each family has given between Jan 1 and June 30, 2008 (our accounting software makes this pretty easy to print)
- An Auto-Debit from. You can download ours here. Feel free to complete it and send it back to us - I suggest you start at $500 per month! OK, seriously, check with your bank before you ‘adopt’ our format. Some banks are more friendly to auto-debit set-up than others.
- A small free gift. We only do a free gift with our mid-year giving letters. I want the envelope to be ‘lumpy’ so people will open it.
- A postage paid giving envelope that people can use to send in their next tithe/offering.
We place all this in an oversize envelope and mail it at the non-profit rate (we will send our third quarter update via first class mail so we can get the new addresses form the Post Office for anyone that has moved). Overall, this costs us pennies a piece but the return on it is incredible!
Here’s a few of the benefits of a mid-year giving statement:
- A great way to communicate vision
- A great way to challenge people during the summer slump
- A great way to shepherd your people by showing them what they have given
- A great way to keep your stewardship system tight
- A great way to lower end of the year edits to giving statements
- A great way to honor God by reporting to those who are supporting your church
Plus so much more. I can promise you that your people will appreciate the statement if you do it well and make it attractive and professional.
So get started…even if you can’t get this out until early August, I still recommend you do it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Nelson
P.S. Here are two additional Stewardship Resources for you:
1- The brand new podcast with Steve Stroope, author of Money Matters and Church and Senior Pastor of Lakepointe Church, click here to listen now.
2- My bestselling seminar on developing extravagant givers in your church, click here to learn more about The Stewardship Seminar
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Lessons Learned From Rick Warren - Lesson #3
Lesson #3 - You Are Blessed To Be A Blessing
Rick taught me The Principle of Generosity. This principle states that you are blessed to be a blessing. God wants to work through you. He wants the blessings He pours into your life and ministry to flow out of you and bless others. Picture a living river, being fed from the source and giving out to the tributaries. If you just take God’s blessings for yourself and never pass them along, you become more like a stagnant pond.
Not only does Rick teach this principle, he models it. During my years at Saddleback, I witnessed his extraordinary generosity many times over. He was constantly giving away books and materials to pastors who couldn’t afford to buy them. He was always pouring free stuff into the community. When we had conferences, he made sure that price didn’t keep pastors who needed the information from being able to be there – We always sold thousands of tickets to people who could legitimately pay and also gave away thousands to those who couldn’t.
I’ve really tried to take this principle to heart. Through Church Leader Insights, I have made intentional efforts to model generosity. God has blessed me, The Journey and CLI greatly, so it is my responsibility to let that flow through me and back out to you. That’s why we give away almost $7000 worth of free materials every week to church planters. We recently gave away more than $50,000 worth of Evangelism Seminars, and our free reports are packed with information we could sell but would rather give away. And you know what? God continues to bless us even more. I’ve learned that you can never out-give God. This kind of mindset has exponential results. I understand and model The Principle of Generosity because of Rick. Hopefully, in some small way, you will take to heart and model The Principle of Generosity because of me. Who will learn The Principle of Generosity because of you?
Every day, ask yourself: “How can I use my blessings to bless others?” Just imagine the ways God would move if we all committed to being flowing rivers.
- Nelson
P.S. - Speaking of giving away free stuff, if you haven’t had a chance to download the free “Maximizing Summer” special report yet just click here to get it! The information will really help you grow through the summer and set yourself up to have great momentum in the fall!
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