|
The Attitude of Entitlement
 | |
Jerry Nance
|
By Jerry Nance PhD, President, Global Teen Challenge
We live in a time where many seem to have the belief that the world owes them. I often hear conversations of people wanting something without any cost to them. Most of these conversations seem to have a lot of emotion attached and an apparent lack of responsibility on the part of the one wanting the benefits. I was recently in Australia and heard that there were only 6 or 7 million employed who were contributing to the tax base for supporting a population of over 23 million. I may not have the numbers exact, but even if I am close, one can quickly realize that there will not be enough tax money to accomplish all that the politicians and government programs would want to deliver.
What I would like to address is a spirit that seems to be seeping into the nonprofit world and into the attitudes of many of our Teen Challenge staff. We must be careful to not allow ourselves to believe that somehow the Church owes us a living because we do a valid work and that we have a valid cause. I am aware that our Teen Challenge directors and their families and staff sacrifice in untold ways to keep the ministry alive and financially solvent. There are overwhelming pressures at times that you carry as a leader. It is easy to wonder why the church doesn't do more for us since we are doing such a great work. But, why are they obligated to help us? God called us and we must press forward and manage the challenges that come in this process.
Let me make myself clear. No one owes me. No one owes you. We are responsible to work with God to fulfill our dreams, our gifting, and our chosen path in life. Whether the work is for profit or nonprofit, we must come to terms within ourselves that no one owes us anything.
This principle became a realization to me when I was working through our plan to develop an effective ministry. Over the years I have met many of our staff and other leaders of nonprofit ministries who were angry with the church for not supporting them more. Not just any church, all churches. They felt that they were doing a labor of love for hurting people and were offended that the church wasn't doing more to help them. They had the idea that the church owed them financial support for their efforts, and I often overheard statements such as, "The church should help more," and "We deserve as much support as the foreign missionaries," and "The churches should all just automatically put us in their budget." I soon began to realize that even though you are performing a valid, valuable ministry, the church is not obligated to support you or your nonprofit.
Many worthy nonprofit organizations, most of whom are doing great works, bombard local churches with requests for funding. Churches cannot support all worthwhile causes, but they often do support those ministries with whom they have established relationships. Leaders must bridge the gap between their ministry and the local churches by serving, and by providing services for them that make the relationship meaningful and beneficial for both parties.
Be willing to take the lead in building relationships. I realized that if we were going to succeed, it was up to us to begin supporting the local churches within the area. Providing beds for youth and young adults with addiction problems was not enough; we needed to do tangible acts of kindness to express our desire to serve. We began offering our help with painting and cleaning, and projects for other outreaches and ministries. We wanted people to know that we were not just interested in getting their money, but truly wanted to serve the body of Christ. We have helped hundreds of churches over the years, and God has blessed us with many wonderful church friends as a result of our effort. Serve them and they will support you. Love them, partner with them, and everyone wins.
Because of the nature of our work, I was very sensitive to public criticism and rejection in my early days with Teen Challenge. I wanted people to understand how important our work was in reaching those with life-controlling problems. One of my chief objectives was to present quality programs when visiting churches. We worked to develop an excellent music program, and trained our students so they could share their testimonies with boldness. First impressions count, and we wanted to make the most of every opportunity that God provided. We worked on good first impressions. Putting Hope Within Reach, Jerry Nance Top of Page
|
