Mini Foundations
A few years ago I was invited to serve in a trustee capacity for a charitable foundation. It was one of those "how did it work out that I get to do this" kind of things.
A little backstory.
A Christian entrepreneur set up a will in the 1980's that upon his death, a portion of his assets would be used to set up a trust fund that would invest in start-up ministries. His legacy lives on. Every year we give away grants to church plants, missionaries, and parachurch ministries.
One of my favorite days of the year is our annual meeting where we decide on year-end grants. That day is today.
Here is one of the lessons I've learned in this capacity: none of us owns anything!
Every time we give away a grant I'm cognizant of the fact that I had nothing to do with this. These aren't my resources. I'm just privileged to act as a trustee. But the truth of the matter is that I don't own anything that I think is "mine" either. I'm a trustee of my God-given gifts and passions. The resources and time at my disposal are gifts from God. We're all trustees of everything.
Glenn Droomgoole says, "Maybe we should look at our meager resources as minifoundations." If we all viewed ourselves as trustees of minifoundations I think it'd help us become better stewards.
I think it's tough for 21st century Americans to understand the 1st century Jewish mindset. We have deeds and contracts and certificates and patents and copyrights and receipts. All of those things prove ownership. Or do they? I Corinthians 6:19 says, "You are not your own." You don't even belong to you!
When you put your faith in Christ there is a transfer of title. You sign over the deed to your life. Denny Bellesi says it involves "consciously transferring the title on everything you consider yours so that it now becomes His. It's a subtle shift, but a profound one. No longer is it "my" house or "my" car or "my" money or "my" stuff it all belongs to Him."
Os Guiness says, "Behind everything is the ruling principle that God, as Creator, owns absolutely everything. We humans are always and only stewards."
So I'm not just a trustee today. I'm a trustee everyday.
Is there anything more fun that giving away money and blessing people?
Of course, it's easy to say that when you're a trustee of someone else's resources. And that's the point! You are the trustee of someone else's resources--God's resources.
Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Don't get me wrong. I love being on the receiving-end of someone else's giving :) But the greatest joy is being on the giving end.
The real blessing is being a blessing!
A little backstory.
A Christian entrepreneur set up a will in the 1980's that upon his death, a portion of his assets would be used to set up a trust fund that would invest in start-up ministries. His legacy lives on. Every year we give away grants to church plants, missionaries, and parachurch ministries.
One of my favorite days of the year is our annual meeting where we decide on year-end grants. That day is today.
Here is one of the lessons I've learned in this capacity: none of us owns anything!
Every time we give away a grant I'm cognizant of the fact that I had nothing to do with this. These aren't my resources. I'm just privileged to act as a trustee. But the truth of the matter is that I don't own anything that I think is "mine" either. I'm a trustee of my God-given gifts and passions. The resources and time at my disposal are gifts from God. We're all trustees of everything.
Glenn Droomgoole says, "Maybe we should look at our meager resources as minifoundations." If we all viewed ourselves as trustees of minifoundations I think it'd help us become better stewards.
I think it's tough for 21st century Americans to understand the 1st century Jewish mindset. We have deeds and contracts and certificates and patents and copyrights and receipts. All of those things prove ownership. Or do they? I Corinthians 6:19 says, "You are not your own." You don't even belong to you!
When you put your faith in Christ there is a transfer of title. You sign over the deed to your life. Denny Bellesi says it involves "consciously transferring the title on everything you consider yours so that it now becomes His. It's a subtle shift, but a profound one. No longer is it "my" house or "my" car or "my" money or "my" stuff it all belongs to Him."
Os Guiness says, "Behind everything is the ruling principle that God, as Creator, owns absolutely everything. We humans are always and only stewards."
So I'm not just a trustee today. I'm a trustee everyday.
Is there anything more fun that giving away money and blessing people?
Of course, it's easy to say that when you're a trustee of someone else's resources. And that's the point! You are the trustee of someone else's resources--God's resources.
Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Don't get me wrong. I love being on the receiving-end of someone else's giving :) But the greatest joy is being on the giving end.
The real blessing is being a blessing!
3 Comments:
That reminds me of a quote I read recently by J. Hudson Taylor that sort of goes with what you said... "In study of the Divine Word I saw that the apostolic plan was not to raise ways and means, but to go and do the work, trusting in His sure word."
I'm there man, right before I read this post I dropped a check in the mai to a church planter in Cincinnatti. It felt really good.
Like you said, "You don't even belong to you!"
I always tell folks that the most fun thing to do in the world would be helping manage a foundation for church planting . . . I almost think it would be more fun than planting in some ways. Problem with me doing it would be that it would all be given away in no time!!
Enjoy giving it away!
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