CREDITS, DESIGNATIONS, SHARING & REWARDS!                 DFO 317A        10/74

         1. I KNOW ONE OF OUR MOTTOS IS "FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, & UNTO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED", but both I & the Lord believe in SPECIAL REWARDS for those guys who really do a GOOD JOB with their talents, & neither of us believe in supporting the lousy loafers who bury theirs! So I believe if you have enough faith & are doing your best with what you've got, God will see that you're rewarded accordingly, & will lay it on the hearts of your donors to give to your particular department according to your works & how much they appreciate them!
         2. SO I BELIEVE IN THE GIFTS GOING TO WHOM THE GIFTS ARE DUE, & I think it's dishonest not to put designated gifts where they belong & to the person or department to whom they were sent & specifically designated, unless that person or department is willing to turn around & voluntarily donate it to the common cause because they have enough & don't need it as much as someone else or other department who does, but isn't as glamorous, appreciated or well-publicised as his! Savvy?
         3. IN FACT, EVEN IN OUR EARLIEST DAYS WHEN EVERYTHING EVERYBODY RECEIVED PERSONALLY OR OTHERWISE WAS DUMPED IN THE COMMON POT FOR THE EXPENSES OF ALL, THIS WAS DONE VOLUNTARILY only & with their prior written consent, having joined the team with that understanding, & when our needs & expenses were small & everyone's needs were furnished no matter what, including food, clothing & shelter, such as it was & what we had of it, as well as medical expenses, whether it were a new tooth or new glasses or a new baby or whatnot, according to their faith & needs. But this was when we were still one big blob all together!
         4. BUT NOW THAT WE'RE BREAKING UP THE BLOB & YOUR DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING SEPARATED to try to go it alone as much as they can on their own faith & to try to earn their own through their own works & be rewarded accordingly as to how well they push & publicise what they're doing & each appealing for help for his own task as much as possible, I, like the Lord, believe that EACH SHOULD BE REWARDED ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS & how well he does it & how much faith he has for it, & so should certainly receive for his department those gifts which are designated for his or its use, & only UNdesignated gifts placed in the general fund to be used as needed by those in need. This is the way Fred did it & it worked fairly well--& God does too!
         5. BUT I'M NOW TRYING TO HELP YOU SEE HOW TO APPORTION THESE FUNDS FAIRLY according to needs as well as abilities, & that along with our general socialism of general SHARING, there should also be, as with the Lord, some INCENTIVE toward a greater measure of departmental ENTERPRISE & INDEPENDENCE & individual FAITH for each's INDIVIDUAL needs to inspire each to not only carry their fair share of the LOAD but also to have more faith & WORK harder toward receiving their share of the REWARDS!
         6. AS IN A PIONEER WORK, LIKE WITH A YOUNG CHILD, WE MAY HELP THEM TO GET STARTED but eventually they must grow up & carry their own load as much as possible, & if God does not bless them in this regard, something must be wrong somewhere. If your pioneers are not blessed in some way, at least spiritually, financially or somehow, & everything & everybody is down & nobody seems to be getting anywhere & not much is being accomplished, something must be wrong.
         7. JUST SO, IF A DEPARTMENT IS NOT BEING BLESSED IN ITS LABOURS WITH FRUITFULNESS IN SOME WAY, INCLUDING THE LORD'S SUPPORT, IT IS EITHER NEGLECTING TO ASK FOR IT OR IS NOT GETTING THE JOB DONE & therefore the Lord is not blessing it. Even GOD tells us to ASK & we shall receive, but He also says to SEEK & ye shall find & to KNOCK & it shall be opened unto you!--Mat.7:7. So if you're not getting results in your department, you're probably falling down along one or more of these lines: You're not really PLUGGING for your needs, getting out & WORKING at it by PROCURING your own, & you're failing to knock on the opportune doors which would be opened to you if you'd work at it! God expects you to do YOUR part & He'll NEVER fail to do HIS!
         8. IF YOURS IS A NEW WORK & A NEW MINISTRY OR A NEW DEPARTMENT, WE MAY HAVE TO HELP YOU ALONG FOR AWHILE, BUT YOU CANNOT BE A BABY FOREVER! Sooner or later you must grow up & put away this childish dependence & try to make your own work pay for ITSELF or encourage GOD to pay for it or OTHERS to help you support it. If you're really doing your best & working as hard as you can at it & doing all in your power to make it go & support itself & you STILL can't make it, then maybe you're going in the WRONG direction or doing something God's not PLEASED with or He wants you to CHANGE somehow.
         9. SO AGAIN I SUGGEST THAT EACH DEPARTMENT THAT WANTS TO TRY TO STAND ON ITS OWN TWO FEET & raise their own support as much as possible be allowed to leave home & be as independent as possible with our help only to get them started & in cases of emergency, like the Early Churches of the New Testament times, & without so much centralised control & dependence.
         10. SO AGAIN WE URGE EACH OF YOU TO DO YOUR BEST TO PLUG YOUR OWN DEPARTMENTS, DIG YOUR OWN DITCHES, PUMP YOUR OWN WELLS, ADVERTISE YOUR OWN NEEDS & RAISE YOUR OWN SUPPORT as much as you can by encouraging designated donations from both disciples & friends & families. Then BUDGET EACH DEPARTMENT'S FAIR SHARE OF UNDESIGNATED GENERAL INCOME ACCORDING TO ITS NEEDS & those who need the most help or are least able to make it on their own.
         11. I SUGGEST WE ENCOURAGE THE KIDS TO GIVE TO WHOM & WHAT THEY WANT TO GIVE FOR SPECIFICALLY & see whose ministries they appreciate & want to support the most! That would probably be me & mine, of course, with most of them, but neither I nor THEY can get along without YOU & YOURS, so that would not be fair. Therefore we must encourage them to give as the Lord leads, both to us personally as well as your various ministries & departments as they feel led in showing their appreciation for each of our works.
         12. IF ANY OF US WIND UP WITH AN ABUNDANCE BEYOND OUR PERSONAL OR DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS, WE SHOULD SHARE IT WITH THOSE WHO LACK & have needs which have NOT been supplied because of lack of knowledge or understanding or appreciation--or even sometimes their own ignorance of the need or their failure to let it be KNOWN & DIG for it!--Amen? If the Homes give as they should, there should be plenty for each needed department & you could BUDGET EACH'S FAIR SHARE according to its needs. Fair enough? God bless you all! Love, Dad.

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family