We should be more concerned about the Almighty’s dollar than the almighty dollar.
For ten years I served in the children’s ministry at a Southern California megachurch. Over time I moved from being an intern to the children’s pastor.
Even as a pastor, I didn’t have to deal with the offerings, budgets, tithing, giving, or income/expenses matters. Then, during what would prove to be the latter half of my service at this church, God began tugging at my heart to serve Him overseas where churches often lacked a life-changing children’s ministry.
In 1991, my wife, Marla and I answered the Lord’s call and moved to Poland.
Before we could relocate, though, we had to raise money for our personal support as well as for the ministry work. (I’m still trying to figure out why the word raise is used. It’s like money is down there somewhere, and we have to find it and bring it up to use it. I’m sure there’s a good reason for the term; however, I am unaware. Anyway…)
At that point, the almighty dollar became an integral consideration in my ministry work. I learned in Poland—and later saw nearly everywhere else we launched new ministry work—just how ubiquitous the US dollar was.
In fact, before living in Poland, I had no idea how common the dollar is in economies around the world. In the 1990s, when the US Treasury Department dramatically changed the $100 bill, I saw inside Polish banks, posters that adorned the walls and windows detailing—in Polish—the half-dozen changes in the US $100 bill (a new watermark, increasing Ben Franklin’s head size in his portrait, etc.).
The last time I went into a US bank and saw posters showing the changes in the euro or the Polish zloty was… never. With this glimpse of the significance of the US currency on the other side of the world, I started to see the reach of the almighty dollar.
At the beginning, when I was raising support—when I was on a quest for those very dollars so I could serve on the mission field—I’d meet people, tell them about our ministry plans, and ask them to consider giving financially.
This process moved along fairly well and with decent success. But then I discovered some important Bible teaching and realized that at least two different fundraising roads can be traveled.
I also realized that we should be concerned, not about the almighty dollar, but about the Almighty’s dollar. Something my son did was key to my new biblical understanding.
A Trip to the Dollar Store
Whenever we returned from Poland, we’d spend time with family. We’d take a break from the rigors of the ministry schedule and attend to our personal needs… such as repairing my wife’s wedding ring.
Marla and I had been married nearly twenty years, and the ring I had gotten her was not the highest quality to begin with. I was a children’s worker in a church—and I worked two other jobs on the side. I couldn’t afford a nice ring, but this one had lasted for twenty years, barely.
The ring was clearly on its last legs and needed repair. I mean, the posts holding the tiny diamond had worn down to almost nothing. So we went to the jeweler, and I have to say, it was a little embarrassing to walk in with the ring and its parts in a little zip-lock sandwich bag.
The jeweler explained what he could do, how long it would take, and how much it would cost. We agreed to the terms, and he took the bag. I saw that Marla wasn’t happy to be parting with her wedding ring. Caleb, our four-year-old son, noticed too.
Afterward, we decided to stop at the Dollar Store where we always stocked up on items we couldn’t get in Poland. Fortunately, nobody noticed that, after twenty years of marriage, we were still shopping at the Dollar Store.
As always, our two children hit Mom up for a dollar each so they could do their own personal shopping. They scurried off while Marla and I got what we needed. About five minutes into the shopping, Caleb suddenly appeared and, discreetly using a classic psst, psst signal, asked me to follow him.
I followed Caleb over a couple of aisles until we reached it: a rotating display with wedding rings on all sides, plastic wedding rings glistening with gold paint.
Each cost $1, and he whispered, “I wanna buy Mom a wedding ring since she gave hers to the guy at the store.” I helped Caleb choose what looked like the right size, and then he snuck up to the cashier and bought Mom a wedding ring.
When we got to the car, Caleb told his mom that he’d noticed she was sad after she gave her ring to the man, so he’d bought her a replacement. He then dug into the little white plastic bag and placed the ring on her finger just as he’d seen done at weddings.
Marla was teary-eyed, and Caleb was beaming. He knew he’d hit a home run with Mom. She wore the ring the rest of the day, and she didn’t even take it off at night.
The following morning, though, the gold paint had run and made her finger blue. Today, though, if you look in Marla’s jewelry box, you’ll find that treasured $1 gold/blue plastic wedding ring.
Giving What is His Already
Caleb’s purchase of a wedding ring replacement for his mom was more than just a heartwarming scene from the Watts family album.
It gave me a crucial insight into a fundraising paradigm: Caleb never thought about the fact that Mom had given him the dollar he had used to buy her the gift. All he knew was that Mom was pleased, and he felt great being able to give to her!
As a result of Caleb’s generous heart, I suddenly understood more clearly the meaning of passages like these:
"Who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You." (1 Chronicles 29:14 NASB)
"The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." (Psalm 24:1 NASB)
Everything belongs to God. So, whenever we give our tithes and offerings, we are giving back to Him from all that He has given us.
The dollar is not almighty, all-powerful, or all-consuming. God is almighty, all-powerful, all-consuming, and everything belongs to Him. Every dollar is the Almighty’s dollar. Whatever we put in the plate is The Almighty’s Dollar, not mine and not yours.
And so… that trip to the Dollar Store marked the beginning of a great adventure of discovery.
In the weeks ahead we will look at some foundational Bible passages and look at some important biblical truths. I invite you to join me on the less traveled road in the world of fundraising.