1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be high-minded or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things for enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Part I

Paul’s Interruptive Fundraising Message

The practical fundraising story

This passage tells a story. It’s a story about the rich Christian. This is a ministry to those with the capacity to make large gifts. In practical fundraising, this works.

It’s a story where the fundraiser plays a key role. He is the guiding sage who comes alongside to deliver the call to adventure. In practical fundraising, this works.

It’s a story where the rich Christian is the main character. He is the actor. He has agency. He makes the impact. In practical fundraising, this works.

It’s a story driven by the rich Christian’s backstory. It starts with his personal values and background. It shows how these compel him to accept the call to adventure. In practical fundraising, this works.

It’s a story set in the land of wealth. This is about wealth conversations. It’s about wealth sharing. It’s about big gifts. In practical fundraising, this works.

These all work. They all help. But one more thing is needed – urgency. The story needs an “inciting incident” to break through the ordinary world. It needs an interruptive challenge.

The interruptive challenge in story

The challenge is to enjoy wealth. It’s to enjoy wealth by using it

“to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18).

In story terms, this is the “call to adventure.”300 Various story experts call this step by different names. Robert Mckee calls it the “inciting incident.”301 Others call it the “catalyst.”302

Regardless of the name, the story element is the same. A crisis (threat or opportunity) arises for the main character. He can’t just ignore it. It forces him to respond.

But the crisis is not hopeless. It has the promise of a solution. That solution requires accepting a challenge. It requires accepting the call to adventure. This begins the action in the story.

The call to adventure presents

This call to adventure follows a negative-positive sequence. It’s prompted by a crisis. But it’s a crisis that promises the hope of a solution. It’s a challenge. But it’s a challenge that promises the hope of a victory. Both parts together force the character to respond.304

The interruptive challenge in fundraising

Modern fundraising research supports the urgent negative-then-positive interruption. An interruptive fundraising challenge works.305 Negative messages grab attention.306 But a negative-then-positive challenge works even better.307 An urgent challenge works best of all.308

This perpetual accumulation never stops. It never stops unless it’s interrupted. In story terms, this interruption is called the inciting incident. Something disrupts the main character’s ordinary world. It forces a decision. It adds urgency to the story.

The interruptive challenge in scripture

In the Biblical fundraising story, we play the role of the guiding sage. We come alongside [para-] with an authorized message [angelle]. We interrupt the rich Christian’s ordinary world of habitual accumulation. We break through the complacency. We force a decision. We deliver an interruptive message.

In 1 Timothy 6:7, this message begins with a death reminder. The message is

“You’re going to die. You can’t take it with you. Your wealth ownership will soon end.”

This is also a reminder that our needs are limited. We don’t need stuff after we’re dead. Recognizing our limited needs can create abundance. If we’re likely to leave it at our death, it’s extra. Sharing from an abundance is more enjoyable.

1 Timothy 6:17 reminds the donor that he has not placed his hope in uncertain/disappearing [adēlotēti] wealth. This word also has another meaning. It also reminds him that he has not placed his hope in hidden/buried [adēlotēti] wealth. The message is:

“Your wealth ownership is disappearing. Don’t just bury it and die with it. Don’t place your hope in buried wealth.”

This ministry is, “to those who are rich in this present world” or “in this present age.” Literally, this phrase means “in the now time [en to nyn aiōni]”. This emphasizes urgency. Wealth holding is temporary. It’s only right now.

However, in the earliest text, the phrase is slightly different. It reads, “To the rich at this opportune moment [en to nyn kairō]”. Paul also references the donors’ wealth using “en to nyn kairō” in 2 Corinthians 8:14. Kairō references “time as opportunity.” It’s used in the sense of

1 Timothy 6:7 interrupts with a harsh negative reality. It highlights the coming crisis – death and the loss of all wealth. Verses 9-10 continue this negative message. They show the disastrous and deadly results of unchecked hoarding.

But then the message turns positive. It’s about God’s ongoing rich provision. It’s about enjoying wealth. It’s about accomplishing real good. It’s about becoming rich in beautiful good works. It’s about storing up treasure. It’s about living the life of a deeply connected, generous sharer in a reciprocal fellowship community. The crisis becomes an opportune moment. It promises the hope of victory.

The interruptive challenge in writing

Effective storytelling uses the urgent negative-then-positive interruption. The “inciting incident” must start with a disruption. Researchers explain,

Another researcher likens this to an alarm clock. He explains,

“the Inciting Incident is a jolt to the system.”310

Another says it “disrupts the homeostasis.” Another calls it simply “trouble.”311 Robert McKee explains,

“the inciting incident is the first major event of the telling of the story that radically upsets the balance of forces in the protagonist’s life.”312

This crisis must be urgent and compelling. It can’t be vague or trivial. Otherwise, it won’t force a response. McKee illustrates this point. He writes,

“When an Inciting Incident occurs, it must be a dynamic, fully developed event, not something static or vague. This, for example, is not an Inciting Incident: A college dropout … wakes one morning and says: ‘I’m bored with my life. I think I’ll move to Los Angeles.’ She packs her VW and motors west, but her change of address changes nothing of value in her life … If, on the other hand, we notice that she’s created an ingenious kitchen wallpaper from hundreds of parking tickets, then a sudden POUNDING on the door brings the police, brandishing a felony warrant for ten thousand dollars in unpaid citations, and she flees down the fire escape, heading West – this could be an Inciting Incident.”313

To motivate dramatic action, the problem must be disruptive. Without a sufficiently disruptive problem, there’s no reason to act.

The interruptive challenge in ministry

Paul’s words, sounds, and language are all designed to interrupt. They are a “jolt.” They “disrupt.” As we’ll see in the next section, they even create a “POUNDING” effect.

The wealthy donor has a serious problem. His wealth holding is coming to an end. It’s disappearing. That’s not opinion. It’s observable reality.

Paul’s message is disruptive. It’s a “jolt to the system.” It’s trying to “throw life out of balance.” It’s trying to “radically upset” the wealth holder’s life. It’s a powerful “inciting incident” in the donor’s life story.

This is not just a first century issue. It’s also a modern one. People accumulate wealth. They often do so beyond the point of their personal need. But many don’t stop to realize just how much extra they actually have. And they never stop to decide what to do with this extra. They just keep doing what they’ve always done. They just keep accumulating. Their wealth management results from inertia rather than intentional choice.

This ministry intentionally interrupts them. It interrupts their unexamined accumulation. It then asks:

“What are you going to do with your disappearing wealth?”

Fundraisers often fear this question. Paul didn’t. Fundraisers often don’t want to get so personal. Paul was intent on doing so. He viewed the relationship with the rich donor as a ministry relationship. A ministry is supposed to get personal.

These wealth conversations are different from normal fundraising. They have different goals. These are personal, spiritual goals for the rich Christian. These are ministry goals. We don’t want their ending to be like the burying bad stewards.

And because of that concern, we interrupt them. We grab attention. We break through. This is what works in story. It’s what works in ministry. It’s what works in fundraising. It’s what worked 2,000 years ago. It’s what still works today.

Part II

Paul’s Interruptive Fundraising Sounds

Paul’s interruptive sounds

For Paul’s audience, the musical sound of words was part of their meaning.314 His letters were intended to be read aloud.315 They were public performance pieces. In Greek, his fundraising messages made a specific sound. They came with a soundtrack. Just as in the movies, the soundtrack reveals the mood of a scene.

In verse 7, Paul starts the wealth discussion with death. But it’s not harsh. Instead, he uses a quotable catchline.316 It has pleasant, lyrical phrasing.317 It’s a light and breezy reference to the obvious. Verse 8 references contentment and gain.

Verses 9-10 then turn negative and noisy. They use eight death-related Greek words.318 In English these are,

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Paul delivers a steady drumbeat of harsh, death-related words. This “drumbeat” is literal. The sound is a growing crescendo of offensive, noisy interruptions.

Paul uses repeated “p” words – like a beatboxing performance. This is called plosive alliteration. Before, during, and after Paul’s time, this is taken as a negative, abrupt, interruptive sound. In Homer, it’s the sound of “smashing.”319 This sound effect has been described as

In verses 9-10, 30% of all words begin with these “p” plosives. In verse 10, the sounds become more intense than in verse 9. The words shorten. Median character length drops from 7 to 5. The soft, lyrical beginning has transformed. The soundtrack grows to a crescendo. The listener is repeatedly struck with harsh plosive sounds. And then it stops. For six verses, Paul changes the topic.

After a break, verse 17 returns to the negative and noisy message.326 It returns to the hammering aggression of the p-plosive interruptive sound. In an English interlinear translation, the word sequence begins: To-the

These are six phrases starting with six wealth holding words. We can see the structure. What we miss is the sound. We miss how the words themselves act as instruments.

This sentence begins: Tois

panta

But Paul’s message is not just negative. The negative message connects to a positive opportunity. The final sections reference wonderful personal benefits for the donors. The sound track matches this, too. It continues with the rhyming,

The sounds become pleasant and positive. So does the message itself.328 It’s all about enjoyment, beauty, abundance, and lasting treasure.

Paul’s plosive poetry in practice

In our passage, Paul tells Timothy, “Here’s what you say.”329 It matches what Paul himself has said in his fundraising. This is not just true of the words. It’s also true of the sounds.

In 1 Timothy 6:17, he tells Timothy to deliver this fundraising message centered on “enjoyment.” In 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul himself delivers a similar fundraising message. He writes,

“And God is able to bestow every blessing on you in abundance, so that richly enjoying all sufficiency at all times, you may have ample means for all good works.”330

The sequence and content parallel each other. 1 Timothy 6:17 / 2 Corinthians 9:8 explain,

The messages convey parallel ideas. What about the sound? In 2 Corinthians 9:8 after “God is able” is,

Paul then repeats the idea in 9:11a as “en panti ploutizomenoi eis pasan haplotēta”

Paul uses the percussive “p” repetition again. As compared with our passage, he even intensifies it. Paul’s fundraising message is interruptive. It disrupts. It spurs. It breaks through.

Paul’s interruptive soundtrack

We can learn a bit about messaging from these word sounds. Paul’s percussive “beatboxing” grabs attention. It’s an interruption. Fundraising must grab attention. Fundraising is often interruptive. People don’t naturally wake up and think,

“I sure hope someone asks me for a donation today!”

In sales terms, charitable giving is often a product that “is sold, not bought.” It requires a prompt, a spur, or an offer. It requires instructing.

Paul’s message is interruptive. It interrupts the normal, habitual, lifelong process of wealth accumulation. It interrupts unexamined wealth holding. It says,

“Now, right now – at this opportune moment – is the time to decide what to do with your wealth.”

It’s an extreme, interruptive message. It comes with an extreme, interruptive soundtrack. Effective fundraising sometimes needs to interrupt. Sometimes we have to prompt, spur, ask, or offer.331 That’s part of the Biblical fundraising process. It’s even part of the Biblical fundraising sound.

Paul as fundraising copywriter

Paul’s fundraising writings weren’t simply business letters. They weren’t just plain prose. They used a fascinating poetic structure called chiasmus.332 They obsessively employed plosive alliteration. They were lyrical. They created sound effects.

And how does this matter for real-world fundraising? It gives us a scriptural example of fundraising communication. This is not just a literary curiosity. It’s practical.

Charity leaders often prefer ponderous, lengthy, abstract donor messages. They communicate complexity. This might even feel like a more “proper” way to motivate a Christian audience. In this view, a jingle, rhyme, tagline, or catchphrase is out of place. It cheapens the message. It’s too slick. It’s too salesy. It’s Madison Avenue.

And yet, this is what scripture does. When Paul instructs Timothy on fundraising, we see these elements. When he writes his own fundraising letter, we see them again. Paul’s message is lyrical. It’s punchy. It’s poetic. It’s like a modern jingle. He alters phrases to make them match a beat.333 He not only creates new catchphrases – he even creates new words!334

Communicating this way is hard work. It’s harder to write a song lyric than an e-mail. Creating a memorable tagline with a catchy, pleasing sound is not easy. But if we model Paul’s practice, it’s necessary. Imitating scripture in fundraising can include imitating these communication strategies.

And here’s the thing. It’s effective. Having once heard, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” we can never unlearn it. It’s sticky. Paul’s methodology isn’t just cute. It works.

Modern research confirms this. One experiment found,

“Words that begin with plosives are more frequently recalled and recognized.”335

An experiment with brand names found the same. Recall was significantly higher for brand names beginning with an initial plosive.336 This is not just an English-language phenomenon. A Korean study found that

“Korean brand names beginning with plosives also elicit higher recall and recognition.”337

Thus, it’s no surprise to see marketers using initial plosives. A study of brand names found that plosives were the most common creative device.338 Another labeled it the second most common linguistic device among top brand names.339 Another found 93 of the top 200 US brands started with a plosive.340

Of course, plosives aren’t the only semantic strategy. Paul’s fundraising messages used many types of wordplay. Modern experimental research finds that wordplay (paronomasia) enhances recall.341

What’s the point? Carefully crafted, persuasive fundraising communication is scriptural. The most effective, cutting-edge, research-based strategies of modern advertising are not new. They’re 2,000 years old. Using them doesn’t contradict Biblical fundraising. It copies Biblical fundraising.

Make the offer

The myth of George Müller

The truth of George Müller

How to “not ask” like George Müller

Müller’s gift and impact publicity

Müller’s inspiring donor stories

These are among the many ways Müller “did not ask” for money. We would do well to motivate others so persuasively to generosity by our own “not asking!”