A Convicting Moment

When I was a student at Covenant College, the Lord convicted me of a sin I still wrestle with today. I’ve sometimes referred to it as “winning at all costs” or my “sacred/secular divide.”

A year or two into college, I realized that many of the things I was learning intellectually were not being applied through my hands and feet. I found it easy to separate my life into the sacred and the secular.

On Sunday morning or in conversations with professors, I thought about how I could impact the world for Christ, but in the business realm, I thought about how I could make lots of money. When our soccer team prayed together, I thought about how wonderful it was that we got to play for God’s glory, but as soon as I stepped on the field, I wanted to win at all costs and build up my own greatness.

In my adult life, these divides impact how I go about fundraising. I wish I could say I’m always all about raising money for the mission, but in all honesty, my pride too often comes first. Deep down, I want to “win” by doing a great job and getting a pat on the back from the organization or from my boss or from the board of trustees. I do also care about the mission, but I routinely need reminders to incorporate my work and faith together.

At Canaan Group & Associates, we often run into people—mature, faithful Christ-followers—who view fundraising work as an either/or: Either you build sacred relationships with donors or you bring in the money. I believe that’s a completely mistaken view because it’s all God’s anyway—the money, the relationships, and whether or not we’re successful fundraisers belongs to Him.

Conversations about biblical stewardship is the center of the Venn diagram. This is the intersection between money (which we too easily relegate to the secular realm) and relationship, discipleship, and growing together (which we tend to think of as sacred). This is why we at CG&A love talking about biblical stewardship. These conversations grow and shape donors, but they also grow and shape our own hearts.