I discovered an article in Food Network Magazine entitled, Reality Check, Please! It reveals how menus are designed to make us eat more and spend big. I want to draw some comparisons between ministry and menus. Hopefully, they will equip leaders to cast vision that will encourage people to eat more of God's Word and give more to God's work.
As a church, when casting vision leave off the dollar sign ($). A '08 study by Cornell University revealed that when restaurant menus left of the dollar sign, the average check went up. The dollar sign puts emphasis on money instead of the meal.
When we publicize dollar signs and publicly talk about how much was given last week, do we take the emphasis off ministry and put it on money? What if we talked about the lives that were changed, orphans that were cared for and the hungry that were feed? Instead of trying to outgive from week to week by printing the dollar sign, how about attempting to give God more glory each week by what we say?
For example, if you are prepare to collect a spring missions offering to support foreign missionaries. Don't throw a dollar sign up and say, "lets give more this year than last." We gave $XXXX last year let's give $XXXX amount this year. Instead, tell "glory stories" of what God did through foreign mission last year. Emphasis the two kids that decided to forgo birthday presents to give more last year. Give them an opportunity to call an overseas missionary, live, in a service. Ask those kids, what is your plan to give more this year? Ask the congregation, what is your plan is to give more individually?
Leave off the dollar sign and create a culture where more giving equals more ministry. By the way, restaurants are serving steaks. The redeemed are serving the Savior. The consequences of our cast are a little higher. Next time you look at a menu notice the missing dollar sign and how much emphasis is placed upon the meal. Next time you cast vision recognize how important it is to talk more about ministry than money.
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