Founder and President, Generous Giving
Senior Program Officer of The Maclellan Foundation;
B.A. in Business, Westmont College
Married to Cathy Maclellan
Generous
Giving
One Fountain Square
Suite 501, Provident Building
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Ever wondered how you as a pastor can teach
about giving to your congregation?
Get
a hold of The Generous Church Toolkit.
It contains a leader’s guide, a copy of Randy Alcorn’s
book The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of
Joyful Giving, a DVD and a CD containing sermon outlines,
sample sermons, illustrations, multimedia tools, devotional
materials, testimonies, and small group studies.
GUEST BIO
Daryl Heald Explains Generosity
as a Lifestyle
The 700 Club
CBN.com
– A Legacy of Giving
Daryl Heald was the son of a veterinarian-turned-missionary. Daryl’s
mom and dad had accepted Jesus Christ as adults. They soon led each of their
children to the Lord. Daryl’s dad prayed with him and his brother every
night. When Daryl was in elementary school, his dad announced he was selling
his vet practice to become a full-time missionary with the Navigators. The
children saw this as a normal next step in the family’s Christian walk.
Then the day came when Daryl’s dad called them together after church
to pray. This wasn’t a normal family prayer meeting. Dad had to tell
his family that the bank account was now empty and it was time to ask the
Lord what He would do about that. So they all prayed.
That very afternoon, a relative and a skeptic of his father’s decision
to sell the veterinary practice called Daryl’s dad. In abrupt tones,
this relative told him how one of his investments had gone extremely well
– so well that the relative's accountant said he made “too much
money” and needed to get rid of some. The relative proceeded to tell
Daryl’s dad that he really didn’t understand why the decisions
had been made to leave a good job and be a missionary, but he would be sending
a check for $10,000. God had mightily answered their prayer for provision
through the generosity, albeit grudgingly, of another. Daryl was quite taken
with the idea of giving.
Through the years, Daryl saw God continue to meet his family’s needs
and saw that his parents were quick to give to others. When Daryl met and
married Cathy Maclellan, he was marrying into a family with a strong heritage
of giving. The Maclellan Foundation gives away millions of dollars to individuals
and ministries whose work is advancing the Kingdom of God in some way.
Generous Giving grew
out of the Maclellan Foundation and has as its mission to motivate followers
of Jesus Christ toward greater biblical generosity. Their core message proclaims
the joy of giving out of gratitude for salvation in Christ, rather than out
of obligation or guilt.
Today, Generous Giving offers more than 900 charity projects in what it describes
as "the world's largest database of faith-based funding opportunities"
and offers donors the ability to communicate with organizations anonymously
to avoid being placed on telemarketing lists. Their Web
site also includes a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) section
with information on tithing, discipling of givers, and -- for pastors -- preaching
to a church on giving.
Answer the Why Question
Daryl admits that giving does not come naturally to most Christians. And
that very thing is one of the reasons that Christians are less than fulfilled.
Daryl points out that the Bible shows that God is a Giver. John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world that He gave…”. Daryl says there’s
incredible wealth in evangelical hands and that God has poised His church
for explosive, exponential growth worldwide. But since giving isn’t
a natural human desire, we have to help people overcome their resistance to
giving. People need to answer what Daryl calls the “Why” question.
Why should we give?
The answer is fairly simple. While we might hear more that it’s more
blessed to give than to receive, the fact is, the more we give, the better
we feel. Daryl says, “Dig deeper – what really is joy? And the
things we are all about getting, how much joy do they bring?” It’s
a diminishing return rate. For example, you get a cell phone, and then you
notice that the latest cell phones are also walkie-talkie enabled and that
makes you feel out of it. That’s the getting side. When you give with
the right heart, the gift really makes you want to focus on the other person.
Daryl points to 2 Corinthians 9: 9-11, where it says God is giving to us;
you will be made rich in every way to give; be generous on every occasion.
Daryl says we must debunk the thinking that “If I give, it’s gone”
because giving is ultimately not about the giver or the receiver but about
glorifying God.
Scriptures Command Giving
The Scriptures command us to give, but the parables show us that there is
more to it than a command. We give not because God wants what we have, but
because giving is designed to bring blessing, joy, and reward. Daryl says
giving opens the windows of heaven because we are made in the image of God
and He is a giver. We are at our best when we mirror Him, when we truly understand
that giving is meant to fulfill us.
Daryl sites the famous scene from Chariots of Fire where Eric Liddell tells
his sister, “He made me fast…. I feel His pleasure when I run.”
It is that way with generous givers. They feel His pleasure. Even Ted Turner
admitted two years ago when he received the Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy,
“What the Bible says is really true. It is more blessed to give than
to receive.”
All Givers Receive a Return
Sometimes the return we see here is only one-dimensional. It may be qualitative
-- improved relationships, harmony in our homes and in our family or work.
It’s sometimes a quantitative return, and it’s sometimes a requisite
return. But the bottom line is, “You can’t get out of the way
of God’s blessing.”
Daryl tells this story that touched him personally. Daryl was in Ethiopia
sharing with the Young Life staff there. A 23-year-old girl named Yodit came
up and said, “I’m so blessed with what you said. I came from a
Muslim family, and when I became a believer, they kicked me out.” Her
dad had been sending $12 per month for her college tuition and living expenses.
Before he quit sending the money, her pastor modeled giving to his flock.
The pastor gave his shirt to a bare-chested little boy playing soccer in the
cold. She went on, “As I began to understand how much God had given,
I wanted to give back to God.” So she started giving 40 percent of her
$12. Before she gave away the 40 percent, the $12 was never enough. After
giving 40 percent, God began to bless her in many little ways. The taxi driver
wouldn’t charge her a fare or a friend would invite her for a meal.
She said she never lacked for anything, even when her father’s money
stopped coming. Then the Lord gave her a dream. She said, “I had as
much wealth as a landlady, a wealthy landlady, and everyone who came to my
door I was able to give.” Daryl told her he believed God had seen in
her heart that she had been faithful in little so He would entrust Yodit with
much. Daryl says he had never seen someone start out at 40 percent giving.
Daryl’s mom and dad are still with Navigators, and his mom is prolific
women’s author Cynthia Heald.
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