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A man in a white t-shirt covers his ears with his hands, expressing frustration, against a bright yellow background. The text reads "Ignoring Fundraising Critics" and "Ecclesiastes 7:21-22," emphasizing the theme of overcoming criticism in the context of fundraising.
Fundraising Verse of the Week

Ignoring Fundraising Critics

“Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you— for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.” Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

Charles Spurgeon lectured this text to his preaching students with the catchy title, “A Blind Eye and a Deaf Ear.” His application was to not let undue criticism discourage them from doing their work. You can spend a lot of emotional energy trying to please critics when you would be much better off focusing on things that really matter. Critics come in all shapes and sizes and have different motives. Here are four:

Hostile Critics
Nehemiah had his share of critics to deal with. Sanballat mocked him like a middle schooler, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day?” (Neh. 4:2). Tobiah added his zinger, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” (Neh. 4:3). Ouch! Nehemiah ignored them and just kept working. Perhaps you have opponents who don’t want you to succeed and criticize everything you do. Use your deaf ear and keep working.

Naïve Critics
When it comes to fundraising, everyone has an idea. A board member shared his sage advice, “What you need to do is find 10,000 people to give us $100.” It might seem like a good strategy and good math because, theoretically, his plan would raise $1 million. However, his plan had two flaws: (1) the campaign goal was $3 million and, (2) the entire town’s population was only 12,000. Campaigns aren’t built from the ground up but from the top-down. All successful campaigns start with leadership gifts to build momentum.

Foolish Critics
Not every critic is an enemy; some are just foolish. Mark Twain remarked, “Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” Solomon wrote two interesting back-to-back proverbs, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him” (Prov. 26:4) and “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes” (Prov. 26:5). So, which is it? Answer a critic or ignore them? The Spirit can give you wisdom for the right response in the right situation.

Friendly Critics
Spurgeon’s message was about turning a deaf ear, not both ears. A wise person listens to a friend offering constructive criticism. “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Prov. 27:6). We often react negatively when someone shares something we don’t want to hear. Our natural self wants to save face, but we must learn to receive criticism graciously. Listen carefully. Ask clarifying questions. Thank your friend for their honesty and take time to reflect on what they shared.

Think About This: Solomon’s main argument for ignoring your critics is to remember, “for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others” (Eccl. 7:22). We all need forgiveness for judging others.

Response: Father, please forgive me for the times I’ve criticized others. Help me always speak “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph. 4:29).

Strategic Planning

Anticipate Your Sigmoid Curve

“Pivot” has become the new word for ministry strategy. You’ve done the hard work of strategic planning and are ready to implement this incredible new vision. Then… BAM… disaster strikes and completely rocks your world. How do you adjust to a changing environment fast enough to weather the storm?

In 1995, organizational management guru, Charles Handy theorized that organizations should start reinventing themselves before they reach their peak. Most organizations only think about trying something new when they’ve hit the bottom and run out of ideas. According to Handy, the best time to start something new is while you are still successful — when things are going well, you have the energy, resources, and creativity to come up with new ideas. Some ministries are nimble and can flex in response to change; others can’t or won’t adjust, and struggle to survive.

Handy’s Sigmoid Curve, or S-shaped curve shows that new initiatives have a first phase of experimentation and learning which is followed by a time of growth and development. Unfortunately, every new idea peaks, plateaus, and then curves downward. To keep on growing, the successful organization must keep developing new initiatives. The key is starting a new curve at Point A before you need to change. Most ministries do not change until Point B which is often too late. When your ministry is declining, it’s hard to think bold, new thoughts when your only focus is staying in business.

As Israel entered the Promised Land, the Lord instructed Joshua to follow, “because you have never been this way before” (Josh. 3:4). One of the most dangerous moments for an organization is when they begin to lean on their own understanding (Prov. 3:5). Successful strategic planning is less about what you and your board think you should do and more about listening for what God wants you to do. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isa. 30:21).

Is God calling your ministry to leave what you do well and try something new to respond to the needs of today’s generation? If so, start your strategic thinking now while things are going well. Don’t wait until your ministry starts to decline and forces you to make changes you may not want to make.

Stay ahead of the curve. If God is asking you to reinvent your ministry, he will give you the wisdom to navigate the change.

Handy, C. (1995). The Empty Raincoat: Making Sense of the Future. Australia: Random House.


Ron Haas has served the Lord as a pastor, the vice president of advancement of a Bible college, a Christian foundation director, a board member and a fundraising consultant. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and Simply Share – Bold, Grace-Based Giving. He regularly presents fundraising workshops at ministry conferences and has written fundraising articles for At the Center magazine and Christian Leadership Alliance’s Outcomes magazine.

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