Ask and Ye Shall Receive

by Jessie Jennings

*Special to R3

The spring is finally upon us. I enjoy many things about the springtime. I enjoy the return of the birds that I hear singing as I walk my dog each morning. I enjoy seeing the sun shine through the curtains of my home as I prepare for work.. I enjoy being able to walk outside without a hat (which is strictly avoided in the winter since only my chin is covered with hair).  While I enjoy many things about springtime, there are a few things that I have come to expect that I do not enjoy. First, I expect to have to pick up allergy medicine before pollen envelopes my car. Second, I expect to lose an hour of sleep when we “spring forward.” Finally, I expect to hear during a spring pledge drive how this is my year…or it could be if I would sow into that word; the bigger the seed the better. After all, you have to sow where you want to go, right?

As I have listened to various forms of giving campaigns on television and radio alike, I have seen that there is some interesting rhetoric being used to compel people to contribute toward their causes. Some of the rhetoric can be helpful. One example of rhetoric that I heard recently that could be viewed as helpful was on the Christian radio stations K-Love and Air One.  These stations appeared to have avoided the use of “Give to get” rhetoric at all costs. I know what you’re thinking…how could they convince people in our consumerist culture to contribute if they didn’t list a benefit for doing so? Not so fast, they did list a benefit. The appeal was made more toward the altruistic individual than toward the self-serving individual (although someone could argue that altruism is self-serving as well because the individual receives a warm and fuzzy feeling inside for doing something to serve others). The rhetoric that was used on the radio stations tended to revolve around the understanding that the listeners who were contributing were making a difference in the lives of others. This was reinforced by the use of testimonials and sound bits of people sharing how the radio station had saved their life by helping them to find help when they needed it or given them hope when they were at their wits end. This was in stark contrast to the approach that was used on the popular television station recently. 

Whereas the radio repeatedly shared how the funds were used to make a difference in the lives of people around the world, the television station used more religious rhetoric that tried to convince the viewers that the station was “good ground.” Never mind the fact that the text they were using in this instance was from a parable that was explained by Jesus and was referring to how people hear and receive His Word…not where they send their contributions. There were no images of how they used the funds to change the world. No video or audio testimonials of how the viewers were becoming a part of a movement that would carry the hope of Christ to a hopeless person they hadn’t even met. There were only long messages about how others had given to God before seeing a miraculous release of favor and blessing. 

Don’t get me wrong; I believe that to be so. I believe God has blessed people in the Word who have stepped out on faith. However, I’m not so sure of how their stories are being treated in many modern contexts when it comes to raising an offering. Sometimes it makes sense and other times it feels a little bit like manipulation. Sometimes it feels as though I can hear the voice of Obery Hendricks Jr. in his book The Politics of Jesus where he wrote, “Josephus writes matter-of-factly of the lands his family owned outside Jerusalem, and reports priests amassing ‘a large amount of property from the tithes which they accepted as their due.” And if we think this doesn’t happen today all we need to do is turn on the news and we’d see that an Archbishop in Atlanta was pressed to sell the $2M home he bought with money that had been donated to the church to help those in need. Granted, I realize we all have needs. 

While rhetoric (according to Cicero) should instruct, please and persuade we must always be careful to ensure that what we are conveying is consistent with the cause of Christ. He discussed money and, as such, we should be open to discuss these matters but we have considered the manner in which we talk about these things. If we were instructing others about the benefits of giving, it would behoove us to communicate how we are giving ourselves (individually, collectively, organizationally). Sure, “you have not because you ask not” but what about those who have not because unjust systems are preventing them from receiving? Is their breakthrough one offering away? Or are we playing into that same system that could be keeping them from walking into it when we levy additional “temple taxes” on them under the hopes that God will see their act of faith and command a blessing in their direction. I know God is able to do so, but sometimes I wonder if the way we direct people toward it is the best way to go about it. Because of these thoughts, I opt for communicating how their seed will make a difference in the lives of others (because I can be sure of this when the funds are handled with integrity) rather than making promises that the offering will make an immediate difference in their own lives. That’s just my practice. How about you?

Jessie Jennings is a student at Memphis Theological Seminary and the Pastor of Communications at Golden Gate Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee.