All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing. Proverbs 21:26
“In his book, Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud suggests that all of us will need to give up something in order to move forward. In life, this might be ending a business relatioship, a personal relationship, or giving up a possession. In giving up something, space is then created for the birth of something new.
For organizations, especially established ones, the necessary ending may be with an employee or a habit that is no longer effective. Often, organizations such as churches need to give up a particular practice. This practice could be relatively new in its implementation but never gained enough traction to be fruitful or viable.
After all, sometimes even new practices are hard to give up when hard to give up when hurt feelings are involved. In many instances, the practice is longstanding tradition to which the leaders and people have become accustomed, and passing the offering plate is one of those long-established practices.”
Donald A. Smith in A Better Offering: 5 Unmistakable Habits of Generous Churches (2020).
Are there any longstanding practices in your life, church, or ministry that need to go so that generosity can flow?
Do this. List your cravings. They could be desires. They might also be practices that you think “have to” happen.
We actually become dependent on these props, which when broken down, often allow fresh growth to appear alongside old growth.
In this book, one point Smith makes is to expand the understanding of giving and the channels of generosity beyond traditional offering methods.
For example, we “have” to do Stewardship Sunday! But what about the other 51 Sundays of the year? Redefine generosity holistically in the context of discipleship!
Or we have to pass an offering plate! But what if automatic giving from bank accounts makes sense to most people? Create new channels and opportunities!
Every church and ministry can improve in these areas. Perhaps engage the next generation of God’s servants to help you see blind spots.
These are places and practices where “necessary endings” become a new beginning for generosity to flow in a variety of ways.