Letting go, letting God

I’ve eluded to this in previous posts already: I’m at a loss as to how to continue raising the rest of our support. We’ve been at it since November 2002 now, although the last couple years I haven’t put much effort into it.

I don’t know if this is because I’m somewhat jaded at the whole process — at the lack of actual giving in comparison to expected or hoped for giving (which raises inevitable questions of faith). I open my address book and just stare at the names, wondering what on Earth I should do next. Maybe it’s because we simply don’t know the right people. Maybe God has some other creative (see previous post) ways for us to subsist in the ministry other than relying solely on personal support.

Regardless, I’ve had an amazing peace about the whole situation. There is certainly a sense of urgency which needs to be conveyed; if we don’t have significant new support (an additional 25%) by the end of the year, we’re going to be in more than a bit of a predicament. Either I’ll have to slide back to part-time at the ministry and find another part-time job, my wife will have to find some regular income to supplement what will be a greatly reduced salary from the ministry, or I’ll be looking for a different line of work.

We remain convinced of our place in this ministry now and for the foreseeable future. So I’m not really thinking about that last option right now.

With this peace, I’ve also been more casual about asking people to support us. This may be a backlash against the very formal fundraising instruction we received — friends recently told me in an interview for Propel that “It seems to us that support raising shouldn’t require you to be people that you’re not” — or it may be related to conversations my wife and I have had about relying more on prayer then strategy (I suppose this is appropriate anyway, although I’m generally a very practical person and — like D.L. Moody in this area — am not the type to spend hours on my knees.).

And, perhaps and hopefully, it’s Spirit-led regardless of the how and why.