"The
Great Transfer of Wealth: Are You Ready?"
by C. Peter Wagner
Web: http://www.globalharvest.org
It
has been a while since I have received as much thoughtful response to a Global Prayer
News article as I did to "The Great Transfer of Wealth: Are You Ready?" This has
turned out to be such a hot button in the Body of Christ that I decided to take
the matter a bit farther.
To remind you, I brought up the fact that since 1992 we have been hearing from God,
through respected prophets, that He desires to release great amounts of wealth to
His people for the advance of His kingdom, namely through evangelism, church planting,
caring for the poor, and transforming society. Why, then, hasn’t it happened as
yet? My answer is that first God was probably waiting until the government of the
church got into place on the foundation of apostles and prophets, which did occur
beginning in 2001. Secondly, He is probably waiting until the proper strategy to
handle these funds is functional. This is only beginning to happen.
I postulated that there are four essential links in the chain of wealth-transference:
The major holdup, in my analysis of the situation, is that second link of "managers."
2 Ways "Providers" Will Be Used
The "providers" are there. There are two ways that the providers will be used to
supply the money that God is releasing. Some of them, whether believers or unbelievers,
already have the money in huge quantities. This will be delivered by what could
be called "supernatural transference."
A biblical example would be Israel in Egypt. God released huge amounts of wealth
from the pagan Egyptians to His people. They did not earn this money from making
bricks without straw. It was a supernatural transference. On the other hand, the
second way that God will use some providers is to give them what could be called
"power to get wealth." This is like making bricks for a profit, but it would more
likely take the form of a gold mine or a technological breakthrough or a patent
on a lifesaving drug. The Bible says that "[God] gives you power to get wealth"
(Deut. 8:18) and "The Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all
to which you put your hand" (Deut. 15:10). People who are now making money will
go to new levels, through the power of God, that they have not even imagined!
"Distributors" and "Field Marshals"
The "field marshals" are also there. One of my apostle friends, for example, is
currently planting between five and ten new churches per day! No one has to teach
him how to use money to spread the gospel. Field marshals like this are now in place
all over the world.
I believe that the "distributors" are in place, but they have not yet been recognized
as such because they will only go into action once the funds are available. Undoubtedly,
many apostles who are members of the International Coalition of Apostles will be
among them. There will, of course, be some overlap between distributors and field
marshals as there is between all the links on the chain.
The Missing Link
Which leaves us with "managers." This is the missing link. Why would God release
huge amounts of resources that could go down a black hole? Few distributors or field
marshals, who for the most part would be nuclear church apostles, would have the
business skills to receive the funds and handle them in such a way that they would
not all be used at once, but that they would provide a constant stream of revenue
for advancing the kingdom. Unquestionably these kinds of skillful managers do exist
within the Body of Christ, but they are not yet part of the chain, strategically
connected to distributors and field marshals.
Let me give you a concrete illustration. Not long ago, a friend of mine, Dan Carless,
who is a successful Colorado Springs real estate developer, told me that he was
a consultant for the board of directors for Every Home for Christ. He once posed
a hypothetical question to its president, Dick Eastman. He said, "Dick, would you
rather have me give you $1 million or $250,000 per year?" Dick, of course, replied
that he wanted both, but that was not an option. Dick could have used $1 million
very easily because he is one of the most qualified members of the "distributors"
link that I know, in direct touch with numbers of effective field marshals. But
the wise choice was $250,000 per year because in four years he would have the $1
million, and in four more he would have $2 million to help fulfill the Great Commission
of making disciples of all nations.
If this were to become a reality, Dan Carless would be functioning as a classic
"manager," because he would use his $1 million to make 25% per year and give the
proceeds to Every Home for Christ. If this became the rule, rather than the exception,
it could open the door toward an entirely new way of funding ministries such as
Every Home for Christ or Global Harvest Ministries.
Donor-Based
to Revenue-Based
I think it will become the rule, once the chain is in place. Currently most ministries
are financed by the providers donating directly to the distributors or field marshals
without going through the managers. This "donor-based" system of financing requires
the leaders of the ministries constantly to make appeals for new donations and
limiting their activities to the responses to each appeal. Some will spend up to
25% of their income in generating new donations.
However, once the managers (who will be mostly workplace apostles rather than nuclear
church apostles) have taken their God-assigned place, ministries will be able to
move from "donor-based" financing to "revenue-based" financing. This, I think, is
the wave of the future, a new wineskin for financing the Great Commission.
One of my friends, Joseph Thompson (who co-edited with me our exciting new book
Out of Africa),
is actually experimenting with this for his ministry, Light the Nations. I recently
received an appeal letter from him, not for a donation to his ministry cash flow,
but rather to the "Corban Fund" over which he has appointed a manager who will invest
the capital and turn over only the proceeds for Light the Nations cash flow. This
letter motivated me to donate, as over against a dozen or so other appeal letters
I received from friends the same week asking for a traditional contribution.
My message? Managers, rise up, get connected, and let’s get God’s transfer of wealth
moving!
by C. Peter Wagner
http://www.globalharvest.org
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