“Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid…” (2 Kings 12:9)
Frustrated by the lack of action, Joash takes matters into his own hands. At the king’s command a chest was made and a hole bored in its lid. The chest was then placed by the altar and positioned in such a way that anyone entering the temple would pass right by it. Joash was giving his priests a lesson in fundraising.
I find it interesting that he didn’t raise money with mass appeals. We see no one making speeches in this passage. No mention of pledge cards and no attempts to raise funds by laying a massive guilt trip on the people. He simply established a clear, well defined way for the people to give to God’s work. And, it worked. The money was raised and the temple was restored.
I didn’t learn this principle from a church accounting handbook or by consulting with capital campaign experts. I served as a bi-vocational minister for a number of years. My place of service was in a disadvantaged part of our city, a place never included in any chamber of commerce brochures boasting of the merits of living in our community. Most of our church members were poor, many extremely so. As a result, I was reluctant to talk about money, much less ask these folks who had next to nothing to give me some of the little they had. In fact, we never asked for money, discussed money or passed an offering plate. In my “common sense”, practical CPA perspective, I rationalized that it would be embarrassing to ask them to give back some of the assistance money we were giving them in the first place.
It was not until deep into my ministry that I realized I was doing my people a major disservice. By not asking for money, (Or, rather not giving them a chance to give) I was not helping my people at all. In fact, I was hurting them. As their pastor, I was robbing my flock of an opportunity to participate in Kingdom work.
When I came to my senses, I made some changes. We placed a small basket in a prominent place. We didn’t pass it around during our services. We simply told the people it was there. This gave our people a chance to participate in an act of worship. And the people gave. Not a large amount, as Wall Street measures things, but by Kingdom standards their gifts were an immense treasure.
KEY: The principle here is that as leaders of the flock, pastors need to be sure to give the people the opportunity to give. Because “they are always asking for money” is a frequent excuse given by non-church goers for avoiding church many are reluctant, like I was, to ask or even talk about money. However, there is some research indicating that “money talk” really is not that much of a factor in people avoiding church. (Feeling unwelcome and lack of relevance seem to be more likely the cause of church avoidance!) What I have learned from my own experience is that an open discussion of money and a transparent accountability system results in confidence and trust by the congregation. If stewardship is taught as one part of a strong discipleship and worship program, and not just a once a year or on an as needed (crisis) basis, the church congregation will not fear, detest or dread the topic. They will embrace it.
Verne Hargrave is the Church and Ministry partner at PSK LLP and author of the book, Weeds in the Garden.
