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CHAPTER 8 EXAMPLE LEADERSHIP
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A good illustration of example leadership occurs in 1 Chronicles 29. King David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but God told him through Nathan the prophet that he should leave the task for his son Solomon. Though disappointed, David resolved that he would provide for the building so that Solomon would have all the materials he needed to accomplish the work. Through the years David amassed gold and silver, precious stones, bronze, iron, wood and marble. He did everything he could to prepare for building the temple. But as he neared the end of his life, he somehow felt that his efforts had been insufficient. His son seemed so young and inexperienced, and the task of building the temple seemed such a large undertaking. David wondered whether the young man could really carry out the work at hand. Faced with such a quandary, David decided to do even more than he had done through many years of gathering materials. He opened up his own personal treasure house, and gave 110 tons of gold, and 260 tons of silver (1 Chronicles 29:4 NIV margin). This above all he had given before. The people of Israel saw what their king had done, and they felt impressed—not so much with the great size of his gifts, as with the spirit in which he gave them. Many sensed the drawing of the Holy Spirit to follow David's example. So through their local leaders, the people began to bring their gifts as well. They gave 190 tons and 185 pounds of gold, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. And those who had precious stones gave them to the treasury as well. (ibid. verses 7, 8 NIV margin.) We might be awed by the amount which they gave, but that isn't the point of the chapter. Verse 9 sums up the moral of the whole story: "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly." NIV David then prayed, thanking and praising God for the way He had worked on the hearts of the people. Two sentences in his prayer show the overall attitude with which the gifts had been given: Verse 14: "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." NIV Would the people have given so freely if David hadn't provided them a good example of willing-hearted giving? It's doubtful. But with the proper spirit in their leader—willing to give of himself and his treasures—the people felt encouraged to follow. And the king's Investment project succeeded in almost tripling the amount he personally in-vested! Here is an illustration for those who want to be effective Leaders in Sabbath School Investment: they need to follow the example of David. Investment leaders cannot expect the people to become excited about a program in which the leaders themselves have not become involved. But if the Investment leader has a project him/herself, and makes periodic yet humble reports on its progress, the people will be inspired to begin projects of their own. Then it will be said of the Sabbath School Investment leader—to paraphrase 1 Chronicles 29:9: "The people rejoiced at the successful Investment project of their leader, and they worked freely and wholeheartedly for the Lord."
HOW-TO EXPERIENCE "I've Seen Miracles" "I really get excited about Sabbath School Investment," bubbled Eva Harding* of Charlotte, North Carolina. "I love it! I've seen miracles happen." When Eva and her husband Kenneth moved to the Sharon Church in Charlotte four years before I spoke to her, she felt shock at what she found. Here was an otherwise healthy, growing church with a good spiritual experience. But they had no Sabbath School Investment program. When she asked about Investment offerings she learned that for the entire previous year their total Investment offering had been $45! "How can this be?" she wondered. "Investment is an important offering. It not only supplies needed funds for missions, but it teaches us many lessons about the joy of partnership with God." On an early Sabbath in her new church Eva recognized a woman whom she had known before —in a church where the members practiced Investment with enthusiasm. "We got together and decid-ed that something had to be done," she continued. "Soon afterwards the church nominating committee began selecting officers for the new year. We asked them to appoint us as Investment leaders—and they did.
No Goals or Pressure "We've never set any goals or pushed anyone to work in the program," Eva explained. "We feel that participation is a private affair between each Christian and his or her God. But as leader, I've told them true stories of people who have had good experiences with Investment." As they listened to the stories from week to week, church members became interested in Investment. First one . . . then another . . . asked Eva and her friend how to begin and, as they got underway, how to go on. The two women never pressured the members to participate, told them what project they should have, or how much of the proceeds to give. They merely encouraged each to find a place where they could fit into the Lord's work.
The Influence of Personal Example One woman—a recent convert—read to the church a letter from Juanita Kretchmer. The letter told of a person in New York who started with only a few dollars and invested it wisely. Eventually the Investment offering grew to a large amount. The Charlotte woman who read the letter decided she wanted an Investment project too. But what? And how? She started a house cleaning service, planning to give as Investment some of the income from every new client. She now has all the clients she can serve, and gives liberally to Investment. The example of this woman and others like her had an electrifying effect upon the church. Things began to happen. That year the Investment offering topped $1000—from $45 the year before! Mo-mentum continued to build, and Eva kept on featuring stories of successful investment projects —more and more of them told by the participants themselves. She actively carried out her own projects and reported to the church her progress as God blessed her. Investment offerings increased. The total for year 2 was $2500; for year 3, $4400; and for year 4, $5633! And the church continues to work. "When my husband and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary," Eva continued, getting real-ly excited, "someone gave me some cute little cotton dish towels. I thought they were lovely, so I made a few for gifts too. Then I got to thinking: 'I could sell these for Investment.' "Word got around that people could buy them from me and soon it was all I could do to make them fast enough. My daughter-in-law is helping me now. The local health-food store stocks them, and the bank manager told my husband his people want more. We only started last October, but we've already sold more than 300!" *Eva has passed away since this story was written.
STEP BY STEP Investment Leader Checklist » How many people can I name who are doing something for Investment? » Of those I can name, how many have had a chance to share their ideas, successes, or unique projects with others in our church? » Have I shared with the church how the Lord and I are working together in my Investment project? » Does everyone in my church know I'm the In-vestment leader? » Do I share with others this vision: The most ex-citing thing about being an Investment leader is _____. (You fill in the blank) Subtlety expose the people to the Investment virus. » Have I taken _______ to the Lord—the biggest problem I have as an Investment leader? (Your prayers are vital to success.) » Am I excited enough about Investment that I'm training another person in my church to become an effective leader?
PROJECT EXAMPLE Carved Walking Sticks Many people use canes and walking sticks. Jason Kipp of the Burleson, Texas, church, has capitalized on this need and uses it as an Investment project. Jason carves intricate designs on canes and walking sticks. He once carved a walking stick in the form of Aaron's rod "that budded" so his wife could use it in her children's Sabbath School class. He also carved an eagle-headed walking stick with intricate feathers down its entire body. Kipp usually purchases new shovel or sledge hammer handles because they have been made from hardwoods that will take a beating. Deciding what to carve on the cane doesn't come easy. Through the years he has carved flowers, cross-hatching that gives the illusion of leather straps, and birds sitting on branches. Some canes have holes carved into them, and on one he chiseled a ball inside a cage. Sometimes his canes and walking sticks bear all of these patterns and, more often, a combination of them. The entire process consumes from 40 to 50 hours. "I've been carving canes for several years," he told me. "But since I decided to set aside a percentage of sales for Investment, I've sold several." Jason sells his canes for $100-$150 each.
HOW-TO EXPERIENCE Roses, Olives, and Aluminum Cans No one ever said that being an Investment leader would be an easy job. The leader needs to be involved in some kind of Investment project in order to encourage others to do the same. And he or she needs to find ways to inspire other church members to develop projects of their own. At times the work may seem discouraging. It may appear that no one listens or wants to become personally involved. But the Lord will bless per-severing effort, and the faithful leader will enjoy God's favor as he or she leads the church in this important area. Betty Hellerud, Investment leader of the Hillcrest church in Bakersfield, California, knows first hand the frustrations of seeking the cooperation of her fellow church members. "It doesn't seem like anyone's doing anything," she moaned. "And yet someone must be active. Money for the offering keeps coming in throughout the year." For nearly fifteen years Betty led her church's Investment program by precept and example. In spite of occasional setbacks, God blessed with an annual offering of about $1000. "Several church members collect aluminum cans and sell them," she told me. "One of our members operates a car-repair shop. He buys the cans and then resells them to a recycling center. This makes it possible for the people to take their cans to a central location. "Roscoe Trunkey is one of the church elders," she continued. "For many years he has sold things at a swap-a-rama and turned in his profits for Investment. Several members hold garage sales." She paused for a minute. "But, of course, most garage sales leave you with a lot of things left over. "Some people might be tempted to cart all this junk to the dump," she went on. "But we don't do that at Hillcrest. There's a member of the Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Bakersfield, who runs a second hand store to raise funds for Central's Community Service Center. We take all our garage sale leftovers from Hillcrest over to him, and he sells them in his store. He gives all the profits for these things back to Hillcrest for our Investment fund." This inter-church cooperation has worked well for several years. Betty Hellerud herself doesn't stand by doing nothing. Like any good Investment leader she has projects of her own. Besides adding to the Investment offering, this helps to encourage others to become involved. "Some years ago a neighbor gave me a rose bush that I thought was particularly beautiful," she explained. "I soon developed a hobby of raising roses. From year to year I pruned the bush, and replanted the cuttings. As time went by I expanded my bush into a sizable rose garden. I've been able to pro-duce 16 different colors of roses." Soon she discovered that other gardeners wanted cuttings from her bushes so they could grow beautiful roses too. So she began selling the cuttings for Investment. "I made over $300 one year," she bub-bled. But that's not all she does. Betty also gleans fruits and vegetables from the fields near her home. "After the pickers have harvested the crop, there is a lot of produce still in the field," she said. "The farmers don't seem to mind us going over the fields and taking what we want. Then we sell it for Investment." In recent years Betty has discovered that many people who have fruit trees in their yards don't want to be bothered with picking and processing it. "So we go to these houses and ask permission to pick their fruit. Then we process it and sell it for Investment. I have a recipe that a friend gave me for curing olives. This year I cured 15 gallons of olives!" Even though inspiring church members to become active in Investment may at times seem to be a difficult job, it does have its rewards. And following the leadership style that Betty Hellerud uses in Bakersfield's Hillcrest Church, should produce success in almost any church. Remember, this is God's work. Every dollar we raise for Investment will help to carry the gospel to someone who otherwise may never hear it.
Investment involves just you and God—team effort that's bound to increase your faith and enable you to share God's love. As you praise Him, others are certain to notice and want to have the same kind of experience. There are hundreds of project ideas that people have tried and found successful, and your Sabbath School members may create new ones as the Lord leads them. There seems to be four main areas into which we can divide Investment projects: ▪ sales ▪ service ▪ savings ▪ self-denial (A list of suggested projects appear in Chapter 10.) You will find it helpful to frequently remind your Sabbath School members of these categories and to assist them in selecting projects of their own.
HOW-TO-EXPERIENCE Massachusetts The South Lancaster Village church has many In-vestment projects in the works. Led by Becky Renzi, Investment leader, the church raises Investment funds as well as money for other local projects. Beth Currie, treasurer, taught a quilting class, with proceeds going to the Investment fund. Francine Burrington followed suit by teaching a needle point class. Becky held a yard sale, collected cans, and sponsored a spaghetti dinner for the church. Some people didn't tell Mrs. Renzi what they were doing, but brought in money that they had raised. While carrying on this active Investment program, the South Lancaster Village Church also held a Mother's Day banquet and a car wash to raise funds to send young people to Washington, D.C., to feed the homeless and do other missionary projects.
PICK A PROJECT . . . WORK WITH GOD! |