Frequently Asked (and Unasked) Questions About Support

In an attempt to share the inside secrets of how I've chosen to live my life in an unconventional way, pursuing an extraordinary adventure, I'm sharing some of the questions that I get asked often, or the questions that I sense some people would like to ask but don't for one reason or another. The whole point is that I'm trying to demonstrate that it is possible, that life doesn't have to be a tedious trek, and to be a model to show that life can be an extraordinary journey. Hopefully it will inspire you to live an extraordinary life of your own flavor.

To that end, here are some of the most questions that have been directed at me, either outright, or (more often) by inferring what people are trying to ask without sounding rude about it.

Why work with a missions organization? Why not a local church or some other organization that pays a salary?

I am passionate about seeing people be set free to live extraordinary lives. I want to seek out people and help them do that. If you think of a tree, the local church would be like the trunk and roots of the tree. Designed to bring depth, stability, and presence. Churches are designed to impact the local area where they are. Missions organizations, on the other hand, are like the branches of a tree – we reach out to places the trunk could never go and plant seeds that hopefully develop into their own trees.

Working in the missions side of things allows me to break out of the local culture. I get to explore the world while I do work that I find meaningful and fulfilling. I get to do the exciting work of seeing lives changed, and the expression that I find most suits my strengths, giftings, and personality is the missions side of it. Also, the work itself is incredibly varied. One day I'm on the ropes course working with at-risk kids, the next day I'm at a business leadership seminar teaching principles of teamwork, the next day (or month) I'm in a college in Asia, teaching English and building relationships. There's always something new around the corner and I can always be excited about what the future holds for me.

Along with that comes a world focus which I personally believe is healthier and more reflective of the Biblical model. Instead of having a nearly obsessive interest in my own country – who's being elected, what kind of sweaters they wear, what kind of sports they play – I have a broader view that takes into account the rest of the world and understands that there are much bigger issues out there than the pettiness that usually dominates the news.

Why Youth With A Mission (YWAM)? Why not another missions organization?

YWAM is the missions organization I started in, and there are very few others that equal the experience of a Discipleship Training School (DTS). The DTS is the most popular and largest course offered by YWAM, and is also the introductory course that you have to take before you staff or take any other courses. It changed my life, definitely ruined me for the ordinary, and I want to provide that chance to other people as well.

YWAM also allows a lot of flexibility and opportunity. Where other organizations place you in a strict hierarchy, YWAM essentially lets you choose what direction you want to go, then provides room for you to go there. It works well as a greenhouse for starting new things because I can be trained, recruit staff, and spread the word to people who would be interested in joining through already existing networks, without having to work my way up the ladder first.

No one in YWAM receives a salary, in fact, no one gets paid. We are all volunteers that raise our own support – everyone from the international president to the guy who washes the dishes. This makes for an awesome work environment because everyone does what they feel is important and what they feel called to. You hardly ever run into the person who is bitter about the job they're doing but stuck there because they have no better opportunities.

What about “tent-making?” Doesn't the Bible say that missionaries should support themselves?

No! When Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about how he supported himself by making tents and selling them, it was to remind them about how shamefully they treated him by not supporting him. He did that only occasionally, and for the specific reason of demonstrating to the people he was teaching that Christians should be the hardest workers of all and not just lounge around (apparently, the Thessalonians had a problem with laziness). In fact, many times Paul encourages the churches to take up offerings for himself or for the apostles in Jerusalem. So the whole point of the tent-making in the first place was as an object lesson to teach the people how they should work hard so that they could support people doing God's work! (See 2 Thessalonians 3:9)

Now, as I've said before, that doesn't mean that I should simply sit back and wait for others to take up my slack. I believe that if God calls me to something, he expects me to do it with my eyes open, engaged in the moment to explore every opportunity to the fullest. If I'm doing the work he's given me well, part of that will be raising funds and occasionally working to make up shortfalls. However, I don't believe God asks people to do two full-time jobs as a lifestyle.

What about “If you don't work, you don't eat?”

You have to remember, this was in the context of the early church where it was considered normal and expected that the believers would give everything they owned to the body of believers and share everything together. In this type of community, there is the possibility that some people could simply be leeches, taking what they needed but never doing anything to contribute. The “don't work, don't eat” policy came about in response to the people who were abusing the generosity of the church. This is exactly why Paul set the example by tent-making, so that he would not encourage the leeches.

I already give to a church.

That's not really a question, but I get where you're coming from. I don't expect people to stop giving to wherever it is they're giving in order to help support me. I simply ask that they give a little extra to me.

Of course, I do have a few qualms about how churches spend their money. Do you really need to rent a donkey for the Christmas pageant? Essentially all of the money that you give to a church goes directly back into the church itself, mostly for the purpose of making it a more comfortable place to be. Of the average dollar put into the offering basket, less than one cent goes towards reaching people who don't know Jesus. So if you do give to a church, make sure that the money you are giving them is going to a worthy cause, and not just a round-a-bout way of buying yourself a better environment to worship in.

I don't have any money to give.

Again, not a question. However, I'll answer it anyway. And my answer is baloney. That's right, baloney. What you really mean is that you don't have any money you want to give.

How can I say that? I don't know you. I don't know what kind of pressure you deal with, or how all the money you have is gone as soon as you open that paycheck. You would be totally generous if you just had a little extra, but you're literally squeezing everything just to make ends meet right now.

Be honest, that's what you're thinking, right?

When people explain circumstances as a way to excuse their behavior, it really just means they like things the way they are and don't want to change. So, the person who says they are “barely making ends meet” still has a home, a television, probably with cable or satellite and a Netflix account, a car or two, maybe a pet (or two or three), and will get Starbucks every other day and buy lunch every time they go to work. Then they complain that their paycheck is gone and doesn't leave any room for them to be generous.

I have bad news for you – if you work for a living and can't afford to be generous you are living selfishly and need to seriously change your lifestyle. I believe wholeheartedly that we are to be sources of life and inspiration in the world instead of simply consumers. So you can't really say you don't have any money, when really you mean you don't have any money that you don't want to spend on yourself.

How much money do you need?

Ha ha, trick question! The real question is how much do I need from you? The answer to that is simple. I don't ever ask anyone to give me anything unless they feel that God is leading them to do so. So if you feel like God is okay with you donating some money, read on. If not, you can skip to the next question or go read some of my other articles.

First, give as much as God tells you! If God didn't give you a specific amount, I would say that somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 per month is a good starting point. If you can afford more, give more! If you can't afford that much, give less! My goal is to have 50 committed supporters at $50 per month for a total of $2500 per month. Currently, I operate on about a third of that (and am loving life doing it!)

What about a one-time gift?

One time gifts are nice, and help out a lot. However, unless you plan to donate a large amount (more than $500), I would honestly rather have you sign up to give monthly. Instead of $500, give just $40 per month for a year.

The thing with one-time donations is that there is no way to plan on them. While trying to make plans that possibly take me 3 or 4 years down the road, I can't take into account one-time gifts simply because of their sporadic nature.

How do I give? What's the system?

The best way to give, and generally the easiest for my supporters, is to have a certain amount deducted every month from a checking account. Generally the most convenient. You need to fill out this form and mail it to me with a voided check.

You can also mail a check at any time to YWAM Salem, specifying in a separate note who the donation is for.

The final way is through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page. One note: this method is not currently tax-deductible. We are working on making it so, but it's still in process.

7 Reasons to Give to Me

Like this bridge, I require a lot of different kinds of support.

Living an extraordinary life supported by others sounds like a nearly impossible dream. In the last article I detailed why it is important to give money away – now I'm going to speak specifically about my situation and why people might choose to support me.

There are a few reasons people would donate to keep me afloat:

1. They believe in what I'm doing.
   I feel like I have the most awesome job in the world. I get to see people's lives transformed and then watch them go out and change the world. There is nothing more exciting than to be on the front lines of making the world a better place to live. This spring we will have another group of students learning to be world-changers. Every day I think that every person would want to be a part of this if they could. Most people who support me fall into this category.
   
   
2. They want to do something outside of themselves.
   Giving away money is one of the best ways to keep what's really important in perspective – especially when you don't get anything out of it. Like I've been saying: Extraordinary lives begin when you determine to become a source of the good things in life instead of simply a consumer of them. Many people give to me because they want to do good in this world.
   
   
3. The work is important, and it's not getting done.
   Although there are many, many Christians in the world, there are still many people (approximately 30%!) who have never had the chance to hear and respond to the gospel. This is the greatest tragedy the world has faced, since it is preventable and avoidable, but the church has been largely self-serving and has not made a concentrated effort to reach the unreached. It's time to end that.
   
   
4. They want to do something but can't because of their schedule or job.
   This group essentially outsources the things they would do to me. They're saying “We would love to do what you're doing but can't for one reason or another, but want to send you in our place.” These are people I love to partner with because they are eager to hear the things that happen in my work and share the same passions I do.
   
   
5. They believe in me.
   This group of people would support me no matter what I did (like my Mom). They generally don't question what I do so much, they just know that they're happy to contribute to my overall health and well-being.
   
   
6. They understand a Biblical call to generosity.
   Both the old and new testaments implicitly and explicitly state that followers of God should be generous. Not just a call to obedience, but a real understanding of the excitement and joy that comes from being able to give someone some money. God desires interdependence among believers, and being generous with money is a big first step towards that goal.
   
   
7. They want the tax deduction.
   To be honest, I don't think anyone who gives to me does it solely for the tax benefits, but it is part of the equation for some.

Obviously that's not exhaustive. I don't presume to know every reason why people donate to me, since I'm not them. But that does cover the major reasons. In the next few days I'll post the final article in this series – the one that covers the more obscure questions I've gotten about living on support.

Why Would Anyone Give Away Money?

Living on support requires two things: someone willing to live on support, and people willing to support them. So, an obvious question that comes up is why people should give away money – at all, to anyone. Not just me. So, continuing my series of articles about living on support, here is the big answer to the big question:

Why should you donate money? Why not just keep it all to yourself? After all, you earned it.

Yes, you did earn the money you have. You do have any right to do with it whatever you would like to. However, there are several very good reasons to be generous with your money.

1. Being generous frees you from the influence of money. Let's face it, money is intoxicating. If all you want is to reach a point where you don't need any more money, you will never reach it. No matter how much you have, you will always want more, or know someone who has more. I've known a multimillionaire who was one of the most greedy people I've encountered. I've also met some poor people who seemed more content and happy than I thought was possible. Wealth is an illusion, and all the money in the world can't satisfy your need for more. The only way to break free of the addicting power is to start giving money away. Intentionally putting money into something that will not benefit you directly is one of the most powerful things a person can do to make their life better and more exciting.

2. Giving money allows you to be involved in something you otherwise couldn't be.

Many times we would like to do things to make a difference in the world. But try as we might, we are only one person and can only do so much. If you are someone who has a job, you probably have a job for an honorable reason – like supporting your family, or driving the economy, or because you don't want to live with your parents (If you don't have a good reason for having a job other than paying the rent, maybe you should seriously re-evaluate the choices you're making). Earning money, however, has this ability to consume nearly everything you do, so that by the time you're done working and earning the money you have very little time to give to something that you feel is truly worthwhile and meaningful. That's where giving comes in. Not everyone can just quit their job. I get that. However, they can donate some of the energy that they use working on that job to a cause they believe in by giving some money to it. That way they are still participating, still doing the work of world-changing, just in an outsourced kind of way. It's a partnership: one person works a job so he can earn money, but is unable to do any sort of work helping others; another works helping others but is unable to receive any pay for it. By working together, both of their goals are accomplished.

3. There is a huge payoff in giving money away.

Financially, you will never see that money again. You can kiss it good-bye. However, emotionally and spiritually, there is a huge reward. You get the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something honorable. You get the pleasure of knowing that you are making a difference, not just being a leech on the planet. You get to have relationships with people who are on the front lines. You become a source of good instead of just a receptacle for it. In the end, it simply feels great. That's an awesome reason.

4. You can.

This one seems so simple. If we could somehow shrink the world down to one dinner table, we in the western world would be astounded at how grossly we gorge ourselves while the rest of the world has to make due with the bare minimums. I'm not saying that we should equally re-distribute wealth. I'm simply saying that it becomes less important to upgrade to the new 120 Mhz high definition monitor when you consider that there are young people selling themselves into unspeakably hellish situations because they don't see any other means of surviving. Life is not about how much you can cause to flow towards yourself. It's about flowing outwards, creating life instead of simply consuming it.

5. God asks us to.
   If you're a Christian, this is a basic part of your belief system. (If you're not a Christian, I highly recommend it!) However, Biblical generosity is not simply 10% - that's just the bare minimum (and if you really want to get into it, the 10% amount is questionable – more like 24-30% in the Old Testament). True Biblical generosity is about giving everything that you have and everything that you are, laying down your rights and your very life to do what God wants in this world. Giving 10% to a church is a far cry from the radical generosity God calls us to.

So, you up for the challenge of giving up some money? In the next few days I'll tell you why you should give to me, and answer some other pressing questions about tent-making, missions vs. church, and others!

Why Live On Support?

Living on Support is a lot like crowd surfing.

Why should you care about the reasons I live the way I live? 

 It's simple, really. I hope that by modeling a life that is uncommon and extraordinary, I will inspire others to change the world by living extraordinary lives as well. By explaining my reasons for living the way I do, it might inspire you to a life that is extraordinary but looks completely different than mine. Also, some of you might be considering being a part of the small army of people it takes to support me, and this might help you make sense of how this whole thing works. I'm doing a few posts about living on support and what that means.

I start talking about support, and invariably I get this look that communicates a few things. Namely, that I'm crazy. Also, that I'm selfish. Also, that I'm crazy. Seriously, seriously, crazy. I mean, who just stops working and asks other people who are working to support their lifestyle? How is that even possible? Why would that be okay?

To begin to answer the question of why I would live off of support, I first have to clarify just a bit. I'm not actually living off of supporters; technically, I'm living off the providence of God. I'm doing what I feel he's called me to, and I believe that he is the one giving me the means to do what he has asked me to. Ultimately, I do what I do whether people donate to me or not. Yes, the people who donate money to me are giving to me, but with the idea that they are doing it because they themselves are being obedient to what God has called them to do. By being obedient with the money God has given them, they are in effect giving it to God, who is giving it back to me. I realize that saying that when people give to me they give to God might sound a little arrogant, and I probably would agree that it does, if I didn't live in the same way. I am in the same boat as my supporters – meaning that I am obedient with the money that I receive. I will often give to worthy people and causes as God calls me to. I realize it's a fine point, but the distinction is important.

But why would I live that way? 

 Why not work and do ministry on the side? Wouldn't a legitimate missions organization pay their missionaries? Why not work at a church? These are all good questions, and usually pretty typical.

Essentially, it comes down to a few basics. 

1. I do what I do full time, usually more than 40 hours per week, and put everything I have into it. Getting a second job, even a part-time job, is something that could be done but is not a viable long-term solution. I've worked 60 plus hours per week before, and being so busy with so many things on my plate makes it nearly impossible to do any of them well.
2. I believe it's closer to a Biblical model than many other forms of employment today. If you examine the Bible, you will see that a basic theme is that we are to be interdependent on one another. We are not to be codependent, which is a form of validating unhealthy habits in one another. But neither are we designed to be independent, self-sustaining people who need nothing and give nothing. I think meeting each others physical and spiritual needs is the most basic tenet of Christian life.
3. I'm being obedient. If this is where God has called me, this is where I'll be. Whether or not there is money, I'm going to keep doing what I believe God has asked me until it's either impossible or I die trying. Now, obviously God hasn't asked me to close me eyes and cover my ears and just keep charging forward without understanding my surroundings, the pitfalls and opportunities. I think that when God calls people to something, he expects them to work as hard as they can to do the best they possibly can using every possible resource. In this case, fund-raising lets me continue being obedient longer than if I just did nothing.

So that's the basics of why I live off of support. There are more pointed questions, like why I work for someplace that doesn't pay a salary, why I don't “tent-make”, and how much I really need anyway. I will be answering those and more in an upcoming post.