Gifts or Givers

Last week I met a former chief development officer of a seminary in the USA who has recently launched his own ministry to encourage generosity among philanthropists and effective fund raising in Christian ministries. The key “take away” from our conversation was differentiating two words: gifts from givers.
As a leader of a Christian non-profit organization, it made me pause…are we developing gifts from donors or spiritually forming givers to Kingdom causes? There is a huge difference between the two…ones is transactional and the other is transformational.
We sent our quarterly appeal out to our donors and potential donors the week before this meeting…I had to go back and review what we had sent. How much of my letter was about our need for a gift and how much was it directed toward the giver? I hope it was about both…the spiritual vitality of the one who gives and the Kingdom impact pursued by the ministry in receipt of the gift – namely LTi.
The next time you receive one of those (or ours for that matter!) appeal letters ask yourself, “Does this ministry only care about the gift they hope to receive from me, or do they truly care about the giver’s heart for building up the Kingdom?”
Worthy of a prayerful pause, don’t you think?

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Steve Macchia

Founder & President

Steve is a graduate of Northwestern College (IA) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.). His prior ministry includes serving on the pastoral staff at Grace Chapel (Lexington, MA) and as president of Vision New England. Since July 1, 2003 Steve has served as founder and president of Leadership Transformations, director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building, and adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Ministry department at Gordon-Conwell. He is the author of sixteen books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective),  Baker bestseller Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP). He lives in the Boston area with his wife Ruth and is the proud father of two grown children, Rebekah and Nathan, daughter in-love Ashley, and papa to his beloved granddaughter, Brenna Lynn and twin grandsons, Aiden Joseph and Carson Stephen. “My soul comes alive singing the great hymns of the church and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. I’m in awe of God for fulfilling the dream for LTI that he birthed in my heart, for the team he has assembled, and the transformational impact experienced in the leaders and teams we serve.

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