Facts and Emotions

One more story about the Conference I attended a couple of weeks ago.  It's funny to me how much listening to my lunch neighbor complain about the keynote speech the night before has solidified my thoughts about the keynote.

(There is a side lesson in that for all of us.  Don't just listen to those who agree with you.  Listen to those who don't agree with you - not to argue your point, but to come to a better understanding of your own thoughts.)

My lunch neighbor said the people he encounters in his own planned giving work don't want to hear stories.  They aren't interested in emotion.  They want to know how the money is managed.  They want to know returns and facts about diversification.

Again, I think he missed the point.  Do I think donors want to know about how the money is managed? Absolutely!  Being passionate about what I do doesn't mean that I'm not smart and knowledgeable about what I do.  It's my responsibility to know about returns and the security of the money being managed.  It's my job to understand how the tools of planned giving work and how they can help the donor in front of me.

Emotion doesn't make me stupid or uninformed.  It makes me better at all of the above.  And I would be fooling myself (as I think my lunch companion is) if I ignored the need the person I'm serving has to make a difference.

Stories show the other kinds of returns - the impact of the money.  It's all about making a meaningful difference.

In the work you do in your church, are you involved in stewardship?  Do you only share the budget and the shortfalls of the income?  Do you believe that is all the congregation wants to know?  If that is the case, I think you might be wrong.  Tell the stories.  Show the passion.  Help people understand that the gift of money they give to God through God's church does God's work.