As we start 2012, I thought it might be good to review the fundamentals of growing generosity. My position allows me to see a lot of situations and I am amazed at the number of church and ministry leaders who do not fully understand even the basics. So, let’s review that here.

What are the basics? It starts with two things:

• a compelling story
• an engaged audience.

It’s really that simple – a story and someone to listen. Yes, there are other factors, but it starts with these two. If you don’t have these right, nothing else matters.

The compelling story is the factor that grabs the hearts of those who might be willing to be generous to that church or ministry cause. I see lots of churches that have well designed web sites and communications but the story content is lacking. Too many of the web sites I see look like overgrown electronic bulletin boards. I know churches have to promote activities and events, but not to the exclusion of telling stories of how the church has impacted hurting, hopeless, helpless people. I’m not trying to be derogatory. I just want churches and ministry organizations to see how they are perceived when potentially interested givers try to access information about them and find nothing to grab their hearts.

Here are a couple of churches that have done a good job in balancing the need to provide information about events and activities and also present compelling stories.

• Cross Timbers Community Church – http://www.crosstimberschurch.org/
• Mountain Lake Church – http://mountainlake.tv/

Having an engaged audience is just as important. If you have a compelling story, but no one to listen, that doesn’t work, does it? I constantly hear church ministry leaders lament that their people are not as engaged as they could be. Too many times, we want to lay the fault for that at the feet of the people. Busy schedules and increased mobility among church people might be part of the issue. However, churches and ministry organization need to look in the mirror, too. Have you presented the story of your ministry in a compelling enough way to cause your people to want to be engaged inn serving, leading and giving? The stories are there, but have you told them publicly?

Give your church or ministry a quick check up as you start 2012. Are you telling your story well and engaging your people? If you haven’t, I’d recommend you make this one of your top priorities for 2012. In particular, look at your web site and regular communications media. Is there some aspect that would grab the hearts of your people? If not, work on that.

Tell the stories of how your church or ministry organization has impacted the lives of people within your sphere of influence. Your people will be more engaged than ever — and probably more generous, too.

If there is one behavior that constantly surprises people, it is the act of generosity. Many of us travel a lot. We tip hotel staff and even help people out that we meet along the way. Sometimes we choose to do this well beyond what we are “expected” to do. Have you ever noticed what happens when you offer a gratuity well beyond the norm? If you haven’t, you should try it some time so you can see what it does to you and to the one receiving it.

Or, here’s another one. Have you ever been in the drive through lane at a fast food restaurant and when you get to the window to pay, you find that the person in front of you paid for your meal? It happened to me one day and my instinctive reaction was to pay for the person behind me. Yes, generosity is contagious.

We don’t do this because we have been blessed with an abundance of financial resources.  Nor do we do it because we want to feel better about ourselves. We love to give because giving is an opportunity to pass along the joy of our faith in Christ.  We share with others in a way that has been modeled for us by other believers and by the God who gave himself for us.

The greatest way to change the world, Gandhi once said, is to be the change we wish to see in the world. This definition gets at one of the key reasons why generosity is contagious.   When we are generous, it creates a transferable experience that leaves both the giver and the recipient different than they were before something was given.  We can stand on the sidelines and watch other people giving generously and be inspired by their actions.  But when we ourselves choose to give freely to others, not only is monetary currency exchanged, there is an intangible currency that is passed from recipient to giver, a currency so powerful that it becomes contagious, inspiring the desire to give in both the one giving and the one receiving.

When a church operates out of the mindset that there are limited resources available for the work of ministry, it operates at less than its full capacity. It places limits on the dreams of the church and its people. It restricts the ability of those in its midst to think beyond what is currently believed to be possible. It minimizes ministry potential to the limits of available resources.  This creates a “scarcity” mindset, rooted in a fear that one day we will run eventually out of resources. Worse, when churches operate with this sense of limited resources, their behavior trickles down to the person in the pew.

During recent times of recession, I have heard many leaders talk about “holding on” to what they had.  Sadly, some congregations embrace their financial fears and stifle their faith.  Instead of asking what God might do in the midst of challenging economic circumstances and dreaming up new opportunities to proclaim Christ, they limited their dreams—and their potential for spiritual growth and community impact.

Churches that practice a contagious level of generosity don’t see or acknowledge limits. They begin with a foundational belief that we serve an all-powerful, all-knowing, and always-present God who creates resources when they don’t exist.  Contagious giving is rooted in faith and it remains open to the impossible.  The paramount question is not, “what do we need to cut to survive?” but “what is God calling us to do next?” If the God we serve is not bound by our human limitations, then he certainly isn’t limited by our currency—or lack of it!

We must remember that when God calls his people to do something, he has already equipped us with the resources we need to do what he asks of us — and that means depending on him and growing in our faith.

Generous churches are led by generous pastors. It’s possible to be a generous pastor of a non-generous church. But it’s nearly impossible to be a generous church that is not led by a generous pastor. This speaks directly to the level of influence leaders have on their communities. In many cases, the primary symptom of a church struggling to fund its mission and ministry is a pastor who struggles with money.

I understand that as a pastor you didn’t commit your life to professional ministry because you wanted to talk about money. You may have even been trained to believe that talking about subjects such as money, sex, and politics were off limits and potentially offensive. So I understand if you are reluctant to teach or preach on this subject.

In fact, I want to start out by letting you know two things: one, that it’s OK to be uncomfortable talking about money, and two, it’s NOT OK to let that discomfort become an excuse for failing to develop your people in this area.

The truth is that leaders who lead generous churches don’t just talk a good game. They have intentionally trained themselves in the principles of generosity and they openly model a generous life. “Generosity is a value that is modeled at the top level,” says one church leader. “It’s not just something we talk about, it is modeled on all levels—individuals, leaders and as a church.”

The attitude a pastor has about his own finances will have a direct effect on the community the senior leader serves.  Churches we’ve worked with have frequently experienced exceptional growth in giving when the pastor has spoken freely about his own attitudes toward money.  In other words, the posture  a senior leader take in this matter will set the expectation and the tone for others.

Just as Jesus calls us to make a decision to follow him, your orientation toward generosity will inspire others to follow suit or it will distract them from using what they have for the advancement of the kingdom.

The “follow me” principle — a senior leader modeling generosity and challenging the people to come along.

Generous churches are led by generous pastors.

Over the last ten months, I have gotten to know some of the folks at Dave Ramsey’s organization, The Lampo Group. I love not only what they are doing, but also how they go about it. I asked Debbie LoCurto, Vice President of Financial Peace University for Church, Military, Spanish, Momentum, and the Individual, for a few minutes of her time. Here is our conversation.

Jim: I see a lot of churches offering Financial Peace University these days. Any theories as to why it is so popular?

Debbie: Dave presents the material in an interesting and entertaining way using real life examples. People can relate. Then, he gives baby steps to help people walk out God’s principles. It isn’t easy, but people see hope.

Jim: What kind of results do you typically see from a person who goes through FPU?

Debbie: People have a budget that works for the first time in their lives. Couples are communicating about money and therefore sharing their future dreams and goals. And when folks really learn that 100% of everything they have belongs to God, they begin to live their lives differently.  Financially, the average family eliminates $5,300 and saves $2,700 during the 91 days of the class.

Jim: What is Momentum? How is that different from offering FPU classes?

Debbie: FPU is a DVD-driven small group accountability course that brings life change. Normally 10 to 20 families go through the program at a time, and as you can see significant life change happens.  Momentum is a culture change within the church to move the church to true biblical stewardship and generosity. Momentum starts with a workshop led by Dave’s team and teaches churches to tie people’s giving with the mission of the church.  Momentum uses FPU as the education/life change course for their congregation, but it doesn’t stop there.  The church then has a common language to take their congregation from tippers to tithers to outrageous givers so Kingdom work can be done.

Jim: Why is the parent company called The Lampo Group?

Debbie: Dave really wanted this company to be God’s company, so when he went to name it, he began to pray.  He thought of a lot of different names but most of them modeled what the world was doing…like The Ramsey Group.  But he felt impressed to look up the word LIGHT and found Matthew 5:15 – don’t hide your light under a bushel.  In the Greek, light in this instance is LAMPO, so he called our company, The Lampo Group.

Jim: What is the mission of Lampo?

Debbie: The Lampo Group, Inc provides biblically based, common sense education and empowerment that gives hope to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed.

Jim: Lampo has a pretty neat operation. Talk about the culture you guys get to work in.

Debbie: Dave knew he did not want employees—People who come late, leave early and steal while they are here. He wanted folks that felt called to this mission. He wanted team members. So from day one of his business he did not hire anyone who was just looking for a J-O-B.  From there, Dave knew if the company was going to grow, he had to make sure that anyone in the company could make decisions or answer questions like he would. So, he began teaching a leadership class to our team. He covered everything from customer care to marketing to making the call. So Dave has built a team culture with an entrepreneurial spirit.  We get the job done, while caring deeply for our team and clients. He now teaches this course to small business leaders/owners around the country. It is called EntreLeadership.

Jim: What’s in the near future for Lampo?

Debbie: For the church department, we want to take the next several years and really raise awareness for church leaders to teach TRUE, biblical stewardship. There are over 800 scriptures on money and possessions. People need to hear these scriptures and apply them in a radical way to their lives. When we align our lives with His word – it changes things! Also, later this fall, Dave has a new book coming out, EntreLeadership. If you lead people, it will be a must read.

Jim: All right, here’s the big one people want to know. What is Dave really like?

Debbie: What you see is what you get.  If you listen on the radio, you can hear his heart of a teacher when a first time caller has a question, but you can also hear him really tell someone straight up that they need to fix the issue. That is how he is at the office. He encourages us to excel and holds us accountable to our dreams.  Dave is an incredible leader. He often says, “if you are going to put a fish on the back of it, you better drive it right.”  He demands that we take on personal responsibility and do our work as unto the Lord. He is transparent giving us the good, the bad and the ugly and involving us in making decisions. He is the most generous man I have ever met.

Jim: I am not surprised to hear that. That is exactly the way he comes across. Thanks so much, Debbie, for taking time to give us a “behind the curtains” view of The Lampo Group! Keep up the great work!