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.”

Check your fundraising list

In 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Paul is doing something unique. He’s telling Timothy how to encourage generosity in others. He’s explaining to Timothy how to fundraise. He’s giving Timothy the steps of the major gift fundraising process. Paul is not just being theological. He’s being practical. He was, after all, a practicing fundraiser.

So, let’s get practical. Let’s answer some practical questions. Why doesn’t our ministry or church have more resources? Why aren’t we raising the big gifts that other charities do? The answer is simple. It’s because we aren’t following the instructions.

Something is missing. What’s missing? That’s easy to find. We can turn this sentence into a checklist. If we can’t check a box, then that’s what is missing. Think about this in your situation. How many of these items can you check?

_ Do you have a ministry to the rich?

“To those who are rich” [Tois plousiois]

_ Are you presenting this as an opportune moment?

“rich in the now time” [en tō nyn kairō] or “rich at this opportune moment” [en tō nyn aiōni]

_ Are you coming alongside them to instruct?

“Instruct” [para-angelle]

_ Are you instructing with the confidence of an authorized messenger?

“Instruct” [para-angelle]

_ Are you persistently instructing again and again?

“Instruct” [parangelle – Greek present tense]

_ Are you connecting their giving to their social identity?

“not to be high-minded” [mē hypsēlophronein]

_ Are you connecting their giving to their spiritual life history? “nor to have set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God” [mēde ēlpikenai epi ploutou adēlotēti, all epi Theō]

_ Are you instructing about wealth and wealth sharing rather than just income and income sharing?

“rich … riches ... richly … rich … good sharer of riches/abundance … treasure … (financial) foundation” [plousiois, ploutou, plousiōs, ploutein, eumetadotous, apothēsaurizontas, themelion]

_ Are you discussing the past origin story of their wealth?

“God, who richly supplies us with all things” [Theō tō parechonti hēmin panta plousiōs]

_ Are you discussing the present uncertainties and opportunities for their wealth?

“rich at this opportune moment” / “rich in the now time”; “the uncertainty of riches”; “God who richly supplies … for enjoyment” [plousiois en tō nyn kairō/aiōni; ploutou adēlotēti; eis apolausin]

_ Are you discussing the future disappearance and potential future impact of their wealth?

“the uncertainty of riches … storing up for themselves the tresure of a good foundation for the future” [ploutou adēlotēti; themelion kalon eis to mellon]

_ Are you presenting them with opportunities to enjoy their wealth by using it to buy work?

“for enjoyment: to do instrinsically good work, to be rich in beautifully good works” [eis apolausin: -ergein, ergois]

_ Are you presenting them with opportunities to enjoy their wealth by using it to accomplish intrinsically good work? “for enjoyment: to do instrinsically good work” [eis apolausin: agathoergein]

_ Are you presenting them with opportunities to enjoy their wealth by using it to accumulate so many beautiful, visualizable, inspirational good works that they become rich in them?

“for enjoyment: … to be rich in beautifully good works” [eis apolausin: ploutein en ergois kalois]

_ Are you making them feel like they themselves have done intrinsically good work?

“to do good” [agathoergein]

_ Are you making them feel that they are personally the owners and collectors of beautiful, good works?

“to be rich in good works” [ploutein en ergois kalois]

_ Are you taking the time to help them get ready to become joyfully sharers of abundance?

“to be generous and ready” or “ready to be joyful sharers of abundance” [eumetadotous einai]

_ Are you offering giving opportunities that more closely connect them to a family-like, mutually-sharing, fellowship community?

“ready to share” [einai koinōnikous]

_ Are you offering them opportunities to build up an endowment-like, beautiful, visualizable foundation for the future?

“storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future” [apothēsaurizontas heautois themelion kalon eis to mellon]

_ Do you feel and act as if you are offering them the chance to experience life that is really life both now and later?

“so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” [hina epilabōntai tēs ontōs zōēs]

This checklist gives us the goals. It shows us how to act. It shows us what to say. It shows us how to say it. It gives us the guidelines for effective major gift fundraising. It’s a great checklist. But it’s not just a checklist. It’s also a story.

Check your fundraising story

This passage works great as a checklist. But it’s not just a list. It’s also a story. This isn’t just an exegetical curiosity. It matters. It matters because story works. Story is memorable. Story is compelling.

This story works for donors. The most compelling story for a person is his or her own story. So, too, for a donor. The most compelling story for the donor is not about the organization. It’s about the donor. It’s their donor story.

This story also works for fundraisers. A story works better than a list of technical terms. We could use a fundraising list such as:

Those terms are technically correct. But they’re not intuitive. They’re not memorable. It’s easy to forget steps. It’s easy to do them wrong.

A story is different. If something is missing from a story, it’s obvious. If an action doesn’t match with a character’s role, it stands out. A story is more intuitive. Instead of a technical list, it’s more natural to ask,

These are steps in a classic story. They’re intuitive. They’re memorable. They’re also included in Paul’s message. Scripture provides a compelling fundraising story.

It’s a story. It’s also practical. It’s a step-by-step guide for major gift fundraising. We can treat it like a cookbook. Follow the instructions, and good results will ensue. Skip some steps, and it won’t turn out as well.

If we’re not succeeding in major gift fundraising, we need to check our story. Does our story have all the elements? We’ll likely find something missing. We’ll likely find a story problem. So, let’s consider some story problems. Let’s ask, “What’s missing from our fundraising story?”

Wrong main character?

This is a ministry to the rich. It’s a ministry to those with accumulated wealth. Without this people group, this ministry can’t start. Without high-capacity donors, major gift fundraising can’t start. If we don’t have this main character, we can’t tell this story. The story starts with the people. That’s the first step.

Now, suppose you have these people. Another character question remains. What role are they playing in your story?

Often, charities get this main character wrong. They don’t want the donor to be the main character. They want to be the main character. They want to be the hero, the actor, and the decider in the story. They want to have agency. They want to tell a different story. They want to tell the charity administrator hero story.

In that story, the donors play just a bit part. Donors are supposed to honor the administrators’ heroic work by showering them with money. Or maybe they’ll put some gas in the tank for the heroic administrator’s grand journey. At best, donors get the role of “Gas station attendant #3.” They’re bit players in the story. That story might be compelling for charity administrators. But it won’t motivate major life investment gifts.

The problem is a story character problem. In the donor’s story, the main character is the donor. The charity is just a tool. It’s a tool the donor can use to do good. It might be a wonderful tool. But it’s not the main character. It’s an instrument the donor can pick up and use to create good works.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 is a story about the donors. They are the main characters. This isn’t subtle. It’s a story about them. It’s about their identity. It’s about who they have been in the past. It’s about who they are already being today. It’s about who they will be in the future.

It’s a story about their impact. They are the ones who do intrinsically good works. They are the ones who become rich in beautifully good works. Their actions result in their benefits. They are the ones storing up for themselves. They are the ones who violently grab hold of that which is really life. They are the story’s main characters.

If we get the main character wrong, then we’ll be telling the wrong story. We might have a great plot. We might have wonderful dialogue. But we won’t be telling the right story. Without the right main character, we’re not following the story pattern. If we don’t follow the story pattern, we’re unlikely to succeed.

Wrong supporting character?

This story includes another character. It’s a supporting character. It’s the authorized messenger who comes alongside to deliver the challenge [parangelle]. It’s the one who ministers to the rich Christian. In story, this is the guiding sage who makes the call to adventure.

Often, charities get this character wrong, too. Sometimes, they don’t want to minister to the rich Christians. They just want money from the rich Christians. They just want to be “fund-raisers” or “money-getters.” This doesn’t match the scriptural role. And it doesn’t work.

Sometimes, they don’t want to come alongside the rich Christians. They prefer to stand far off. They’re afraid. Or they’re hostile. With any other people group, they would jump in. They would learn about their world, their life, their language, their concerns, and their needs. But not with this group – not with the rich. They don’t want to come alongside. They want to keep their distance. This doesn’t match the scriptural role. And it doesn’t work.

Sometimes, they’ll come alongside but they won’t deliver the authorized message. They’ll be friendly. But then they won’t give the call to adventure. They won’t make the challenge to enjoy wealth by using it to do good. This doesn’t match the scriptural role. And it doesn’t work.

Sometimes, they’ll deliver that message, but they’ll do it with hesitation. They’ll do it sheepishly. They won’t act like an authorized messenger. They won’t act as if they’re offering the world’s best life experience. This doesn’t match the scriptural role. And it doesn’t work.

Sometimes, they’ll deliver the message, but only once. They won’t do it with persistence. They’ll stop at the first no. Or they’ll stop at the first yes. They won’t do it in the Greek present tense. They won’t continue to do it again and again. They might commit one quick “drive-by” asking. But they won’t continue to come alongside for the donor’s whole journey. This doesn’t match the scriptural role. And it doesn’t work.

If we get the supporting character wrong, then we’ll get the story wrong. We’ll be playing the wrong role. Without this supporting character, the story fails. There’s no one coming alongside the rich Christian. There’s no ministry relationship. There’s no one delivering the authorized message. There’s no call to adventure. There’s no one guiding them on the journey after the challenge. There’s no guiding sage. No one continues to walk with them after the ask.

Without the right supporting character, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, it doesn’t work as well. When our actions don’t match the scriptural role, our results will be weak.

Wrong setting?

This is a story about wealth. It’s a story about wealth holders. It’s a story about wealth disappearance. It’s a story about wealth enjoyment. It’s a story about wealth impact. It’s a story about wealth sharing. It’s a story about wealth diversification. It’s a story about permanent wealth preservation. In one sentence, Paul references wealth seven times. This is a story set in the land of wealth and wealth sharing.

Why does that matter? It matters because this is not a story about income or income sharing. Income sharing is fine. But that’s not this story. This is a story about accumulated wealth. It’s a story about buried, hidden piles of disappearing wealth.

Of course, it’s a stewardship story. But it’s a specific kind of stewardship story. It’s not a story for the bingeing bad steward. It’s a story for the burying bad steward.

Suppose a person has wealth. Their plan is to manage it. Protect it. Preserve it. Bury it. Hide it away in a napkin. Stack it up in a barn for the future. Bury it in the ground. Sock it away because “you never know.”

The problem is this. We do know. We know the future. They know the future. Their wealth is going to disappear. They will lose it all – either during life or at death. That’s the future of their wealth.

Just hiding it all away for the future is not OK. God responds to this by declaring,

“You fool!” (Luke 12:20b)

The master says of the burying steward,

“And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30).

We care about our people group. We don’t want their story to end that way. That’s why we’re willing to do the hard stuff. That’s why we’re willing to have wealth conversations.

We must have wealth conversations. Income-sharing conversations don’t help. Income sharing doesn’t touch the buried wealth. The problem of the burying bad steward is not an income-sharing problem. It’s a wealth-sharing problem. That’s why there is this special ministry just for the wealth holders.

Having wealth conversations is central to this ministry. It’s also effective fundraising. As a matter of practical fundraising, it can be transformational. This happens when a donor’s giving moves beyond disposable income sharing. It happens when they begin to see their accumulated wealth as donation relevant.

Changing this mental accounting changes giving. This isn’t just theology. It’s practical reality. We see it in experiments. We see it in national data. We see it in what the most effective major gift fundraisers do.

This is practically effective. It’s spiritually critical. But for many, it’s scary. Talking about wealth feels uncomfortable. Talking about another person’s wealth feels even more uncomfortable.

We might feel unqualified. We’re not wealthy. Maybe we’re not wealth experts. Fear is a barrier. Ignorance is a barrier. These keep us from having wealth conversations.

Such barriers are not unique to this ministry. Reaching out to any new people group can feel daunting. Whether the ministry is to prisoners, an overseas community, or even “to the rich,” it will require work. There will always be a lot to learn.

For this people group, we can learn about wealth. We can learn about wealth management and wealth sharing.592 We can learn to have wealth conversations.593 We can help donors move from wealth to abundance. We can get them ready to be good-joyful-abundance sharers. We can put in the time and the effort. We can overcome our fear.

What’s the quickest way to start? Share stories. Share donor stories. Share asset donor stories. Asset donor stories are wealth-sharing stories. Sharing asset donor stories helps to create a social norm. It helps to build the sense that

“People like us enjoy making gifts like this.”

But what if we don’t have these stories? What if our donors don’t do things like this – yet? That’s OK. We can borrow these stories. These asset donor stories don’t have to be our donor stories. We can borrow them from other organizations. We can borrow them from history.594 We can borrow them from the Bible.595

Wherever we find them, we need to tell donor stories with the right setting. We don’t just tell donor stories. We tell asset donor stories. We tell wealth-sharing stories.

We also help donors to tell their own stories. We help them tell stories set in the land of wealth and wealth sharing. We have wealth-sharing conversations.

Without the right setting, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, our fundraising won’t work as well. When our message doesn’t match the scriptural message, our results will be weak.

Wrong backstory?

Paul’s fundraising story doesn’t start by talking about a gift. It doesn’t start by talking about an organization, a cause, or a project. It starts by talking about the donor. It starts with the donor’s backstory.

In a classic story structure, the backstory establishes the main character’s identity. It establishes identity by showing his values, his people, and his life story.

This won’t be just a random set of facts. It will link to the call to adventure. The backstory establishes why the main character will accept the call to adventure. He will accept the challenge because of who he is. He will accept because of his identity.

Paul’s fundraising story begins with the donor’s identity. It begins with their values, their people, and their life story. This isn’t just a random set of facts. It links to their call to adventure. This backstory establishes why they will accept the call to adventure. They will accept the challenge 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).

They will accept this challenge because of their values, their people, and their life story. They will accept this challenge because of who they are. They will accept because of their identity.

What are their values? They are in the already-in-progress process of being not “high-minded.” They are not above or separated from the fellowship community. They are connected to their people.

Who are their people? This is the fellowship community. It’s the koinōnia. This connection is why the rich Christians will koinōnikous. They will share with the fellowship community.

What is their life story? Beyond their already-in-progress values, they have a history. In that life history, they have already, in the past (Greek perfect tense), placed their trust in a richly providing God. They have not placed their trust in hidden, disappearing, uncertain riches. That past decision has a continuing impact on the present (Greek perfect tense).

They will accept the challenge. They will accept the challenge because of their values, their people, and their life story. They will accept the challenge because of their identity.

We can start our fundraising with this same kind of backstory. We can start with the donor’s identity connections to the cause, the community, the project, or the organization. We can start with their values connections. We can start with their people connections. We can start with their life history connections.

What if we don’t know any of these things? We can ask. We can ask to learn. We can also ask to do something even more powerful. We can ask to help the donors tell their own personal donor story.

We can ask how their giving reflects their values.596 We can ask what inspires them to give.597 We can ask what inspired their first gift to the organization. 598 We can ask how the cause or organization has been important in their life.599 We can ask about any loved ones who also cared about the cause. We can ask about their philanthropic role models.600 We can ask how they learned to be generous.601

We don’t start by talking about a gift. We don’t start by talking about our organization, our cause, or our project. We start with the donors. We start by learning about our donors. We can uncover their philanthropic backstory. And so can they. We can uncover the values, people, and life story elements that motivate their generosity. And so can they.

And as we learn this backstory, we can make connections. We can connect these motivations to intrinsically good works. We can connect these motivations to beautiful good works. We can connect them with opportunities to share with the fellowship community. We can connect their backstory with the most compelling calls to adventure.

This backstory is critical. If we skip the donor’s philanthropic backstory, then we’ll get the story wrong. Without the donor’s backstory, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, our fundraising won’t work as well. When our message doesn’t match the scriptural message, our results will be weak.

Wrong (or missing) call to adventure?

This is a message with a challenge. It’s a challenge to use wealth

“for enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” (1 Timothy 6:17b-18).

We are to instruct the wealth holder. We are to come alongside to deliver an authorized message [parangelle]. But this is not instructing just to teach something. It’s instructing to do something. Our instruction must include a challenge to act.

We can get this challenge wrong in several ways. We can get it wrong if we aren’t making a challenge. We might be friendly. We might come alongside. But if we aren’t making this wealth enjoyment challenge, then we aren’t delivering the authorized message.

We can get this challenge wrong if we’re just asking for money. The direction is not to ask people for money. It’s to instruct people to enjoy their wealth by using it to do good works. It’s a call to do intrinsically good works. It’s a call to collect beautiful, inspirational good works. It’s a call to connect more deeply with a fellowship community. It’s a call to adventure that promises a meaningful victory. If we’re just asking for money, we’re doing it wrong.

We can get this challenge wrong even if people give. The challenge is for wealth enjoyment. If they’re not enjoying it, then it’s a failure. The goal is not giving. It’s giving with the right emotion. It’s giving that is fun, happy, blessed, and joyful.602 If our challenge is a call to obligation or suffering, we’re doing it wrong.

We can get this challenge wrong even if they give with the right emotion. Giving with the right emotion is a great result. But if it’s just income sharing, then it won’t touch their buried wealth. It won’t address the problem of the burying bad steward. This passage is not a call to income sharing. It’s a call to wealth sharing. It’s a call to wealth enjoyment. If our challenge is only a call to make small gifts from disposable income, we’re doing it wrong.

The challenge is not about a one-time gift. It’s about the lifelong use of wealth. It’s about not ending as the burying bad steward. It’s about wealth enjoyment. The story is not about a gift. It’s about a person. It’s about their overall life and wealth journey. If our challenge is only a call to make one gift, we’re doing it wrong.

When we get the challenge wrong, it doesn’t affect just the donor. It also affects the fundraiser. If we’re just asking for money, then we’re trying to take from the donor. We’re being a burden. Such giving leads to “donor fatigue.” It also leads to fundraiser fatigue. That’s not this role. That’s not this message.

Instead, this challenge is a call to wealth enjoyment. Which of these jobs sounds more attractive?

The first job doesn’t sound attractive. The second one does. The first job doesn’t deliver the scriptural message. The second one does.

The point is this. We’re offering a great deal. We’re offering the best deal ever! We’re offering the best life ever! We’re offering the opportunity for wealth enjoyment.

Anxiously hoarding it just to die with it is not the way to wealth enjoyment. Just trying to stuff in even more consumption is not the way to wealth enjoyment. This ministry shows the way to wealth enjoyment.

The wealth enjoyment challenge provides massive value to the donor. Understanding this changes the fundraiser’s job. It changes the fundraiser’s confidence, persistence, and courage.

Getting the challenge right is critical. It’s critical for the donor. It’s also critical for the fundraiser. The challenge is a call to use wealth,

“for enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,” (1 Timothy 6:17b-18).

If we get this challenge wrong, we’ll get the story wrong. Without the wealth enjoyment challenge, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, our fundraising won’t work as well. When our message doesn’t match the scriptural message, our results will be weak.

Wrong (or missing) victory?

Our challenge should promise a victory. We can also help to deliver these “victory” results after a gift. But the “victory” process starts much earlier. We can begin by helping donors to define a personally meaningful victory. This can start with questions.

We can ask about their “blue sky” goals. We can ask – if money were no object – what kind of an impact they would like to have on the world.603 Or, on this cause. Or, at this organization. We can ask what they want to achieve with their charitable donations.604 We can ask what they could accomplish with their wealth that would be the most meaningful for them.605

These questions help uncover what good works would bring the most enjoyment to the donor. Eventually, these conversations can connect to projects at our organization. These are the projects that can promise a personally meaningful victory for the donor. This connection makes the challenge more compelling. It can lead to major life investment gifts.

It’s not enough to describe our organization’s inspiring history. It’s not enough to show that our organization has become rich in good works. Instead, the promised victory is that the donors will do good work. They will do intrinsically good work. They will become rich in beautiful, noble, inspirational good works. They will thereby enjoy their wealth.

These are not just promises to be made at the challenge. These are promises to be delivered. The donors should experience their impact. They should feel that they have done good work. That’s what leads to repeated giving. That’s what leads to big giving. That’s what leads to wealth enjoyment.

If this donor victory experience is missing, we’ll get the story’s climax wrong. If we don’t deliver these results, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, our fundraising won’t work as well. When our donor experience doesn’t match the scriptural message, our results will be weak.

Wrong (or missing) resolution?

In a classic story, the call to adventure promises the hope of a victory. Later, the climax delivers the victory. Finally, the resolution confirms the meaningfulness of the victory.

How does the resolution do this? It may show that others recognize the importance of the victory. It will also confirm the main character’s new identity. Because of the journey, he has become a different person. His identity has grown. He has transformed.

We see the same elements in this passage. The results from the donor’s giving start simple enough. The donor does good work. But then the results expand. They affect the donor’s identity. He not only does an intrinsically good work. He does so many beautifully good works that he becomes something. He becomes rich in a new way. He becomes rich in beautiful good works.

Next, this identity impact becomes even more blunt. The giving modifies the donor’s “I am” verb [einai]. The donor becomes a good abundance sharer [eumetadotous] with the fellowship community [koinōnikous]. This isn’t just what he does. It’s clearly and plainly who he is. It’s his identity. It’s his “I am” statement.

In fundraising, we can confirm this identity growth. We can confirm what the donor did. We can confirm the impact of the gift. But we can do more. We can confirm who the donor is being. We can confirm the donor’s philanthropic identity.

Effective gratitude can provide this story resolution. It can include gratitude for the impact of the gift. This confirms the victory. It can also include gratitude for the donors themselves. This is gratitude for who they are being. It confirms their admirable philanthropic identity.

Understanding this story element helps differentiate between weak and strong gratitude. It helps differentiate between the following:

The first response doesn’t match the story. There is no victory. There is no identity confirmation. There is no relationship. There’s just a financial transfer.

The second response does match the story. It confirms the victory. The donor made something happen. Their work accomplished something good.

The third response matches the story, too. It confirms their positive identity. It confirms who they are being. It confirms their connection to the mutual fellowship community. Being part of this community also connects donors with each other. These connections help confirm the meaningfulness of their giving. They support continued giving. They enhance the donor’s experience.

If we focus only on getting from the donor, we’ll often skip the story resolution. We won’t confirm the meaningfulness of their victory. We won’t confirm their resulting positive identity. We won’t deliver the full story. We’ll tend to stop at the ask. But if our goal is donor joy, we won’t leave this part out. If we focus on helping the donor, we won’t make that mistake.

Delivering the full donor story does something else. It means we aren’t limited to just repeatedly making the challenge. We won’t call only to ask for money. We’ll also call to confirm their impact. We’ll call to express gratitude for that impact. We’ll call to express gratitude for who the donor is being. We’ll come alongside for the entire donor journey. We’ll help to deliver donor enjoyment. We’ll deliver a donor experience that they’ll want to repeat.

If this confirmation experience is missing, we’ll get the story’s resolution wrong. If we don’t deliver this ending, we’re not following the story pattern. When we don’t follow the story pattern, our fundraising won’t work as well. When our donor experience doesn’t match the scriptural message, our results will be weak.

Do what it says

The instructions that Paul gives to Timothy work. If you follow them, they will work for you. If you don’t follow them, they won’t work. This may seem obvious, but it’s important.

We might be both spiritual and religious. But if we don’t do what it says, we won’t get the results. Others may be neither spiritual nor religious. But if they do these things, they’ll get the results.

So, let’s be practical. Compare your fundraising efforts against this passage. Can you check each box? Do you have each story element? Are you following the pattern? Are you following the instructions?

Doing this can be hard. It can require adjusting some old attitudes and opinions. It can mean doing things that other people don’t understand. Let’s face it: Effective ministry is hard work. This is no exception.

So, as we end this journey, let me share some practical advice. It’s advice from James. He writes,

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLT).

Do what it says. Do it, and you’ll find that it works. The words are true. If you treat them like a recipe, you’ll find that the recipe works. If you become a “doer” and not just a “hearer,” the results will be awesome!