Apostle Paul's Fundraising Economic Theory of Savings and Social Change

This article critically explores the idea of savings from the New Testament perspective, particularly, using the Pauline fundraising strategy. This paper seeks to point out that the direction given by Apostle Paul regarding the fundraising of the Gentile Christians constitute an informal economic theory of savings. Content analysis was used in reviewing relevant literature for the study. It was established that the directions Paul gave to the Gentile Christians regarding the fundraisings constitute informal savings principles. Additionally, Pauline fundraising strategies was eschatological and relational in nature. The paper concludes that Paul’s fundraising was centered on three concepts namely, generosity, gratitude and mission. In this regard, Paul’s fundraising economic theory had the sole aim of bringing social change in the lives of the Jewish Christians.

to another in order to achieve the owner's objectives". 8 Wilson did not relate fundraising to solicitation of resources. Rather, he associated fundraising to a steward prudently managing his/her master's resources. In this regard, Wilson's assertion suggests that fundraising is synonymous with stewardship. The two words are to some extent related, yet are not synonymous. 9 Alan R. Andreasen and Phillip Kotler view the practice of fundraising as an activity of collecting money towards the development of a community or an organisation. 10 Nevertheless, according to the working definition of the study, fundraising is a process of soliciting resources for a course. This solicitation is a means by which people show their sympathy, friendship, commitment and, most of all, their love for one another. This bond of solidarity plays an important role in the society and in the Church in particular. In other words, in the context of the study, fundraising is an activity that is directed towards securing financial support from individuals or groups towards the establishment or sustenance of a church. This is done mainly through means such as tithing, offertories, annual harvests and other forms of appeal for funds.
Other terms related to fundraising are the inclusive and patronage models, which were used by Kin-Man J. Chow in his study of the social network in Corinth. 11 The patronage model is a fundraising strategy where the rich believer has advantage over the poor and needy believer because of his/her wealth. This is a strategy where in the course of raising funds, a fundraiser gives or mentions a specific amount of money he/she expects some believers to give to the Church. For instance, in the course of raising funds, the fundraiser may ask believers, especially those who can afford, to give one thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢ 1,000.00) to the church. In this regard, the patronage model tend to favour the rich than the 'have-nots' or the poor. The inclusive model nevertheless, is a mode that allows every Christian to give to the Church whatever amount of money or resources that he/she had planned to.

A Brief history of Fundraising from the Judeo-Christian Perspectives
Fundraising is one of the avenues that religious institutions use in gathering resources for their establishment, maintenance, sustenance and growth. In antiquity, well-known cults had their fundraising theologies that mandated their priests to make a living out of their priestly vocation. For instance, the developed worships of Egypt and Assyria were sustained through their enormous revenues derived from their religious activities. Ancient Israel also developed its own fundraising theology. 12 The emphasis in this work is largely centred on Judeo-Christian strategies of fundraising as can be supported from both Old and New Testaments. In this regard, for instance, in Ancient Israel funds raised were mainly used to support the needy as well as in the building and maintenance of Yahweh's temple. Fund-raising was strongly emphasised in the Old Testament and in the early church. In Jewish tradition, fund-raising was meant for the care, support of the poor and needy and was mandated in the Law (Deut.15:7-8) which were seen as a means of atonement during the Second Temple period (Ex. 30:10; Lev. 16:10-11, 21-22, 29-33). 13 Aside what was mandated, Ancient Israel had the voluntary fundraising system that was used for various purposes such as building of temples and repairing of broken walls (Exod. 25: 1-9; 35:4-36; 1 Chron. 29:1-20; 2 Chron. 31: 1-20 and Neh. 1: 1-11; 2:1-20).
This Jewish strategy of fundraising is one phenomenon on which Christianity began its historic growth. 14 The adoption of the Jewish system to some extent facilitated the growth of the Church since it was used to cater for believers and non-believers as well. 15 Nevertheless, the Church could not sustain this Jewish system due to factors such as famine, double taxation, widowhood challenges, persecution and socio-economic ostracism. For instance, a severe famine rocked the world in 47-49 AD/C E. 16 The great famine, which was prophesied (Acts 11:27-30) by a Jewish Rabbi named Agabus, was due to Emperor Caligula's attempts to desecrate the Jerusalem temple. 17 Although, the prophecy was given at the time of Emperor Caligula, it actually took place during the reign of Emperor Claudius in 47-49 AD/CE. 18 Prior to this famine, the Jerusalem church was facing the challenge of how to take care of her large number of dependent widows (Acts 6:1 7) and the famine actually worsened the situation in that church. Apart from the famine, the Christians in Palestine at that time also had to pay taxes to both the Roman authorities and the Jewish authorities. 19 The payment of these taxes further worsened their plight.
The Jerusalem church was the worst hit by these challenges. To help curb these challenges, a meeting was held in autumn of 51 CE at the end of which Apostle Paul was tasked to raise funds to support the Jewish saints. 20 This many believe formed the bases for the Pauline theology of fundraising. The request for Paul to raise funds in support of the Jewish saints was made in the mid-forties but was formalised during the end of Paul's transitional ministry in Rome around 55-56 CE. 21 Apostle Paul used strategies such as large group mailings, representatives in the field and taught on Christian stewardship in the raising of the funds. 22 It is worth adding that funds were raised among the Gentile churches. A question, which needs to be asked, is whether the fund-raising activity continued even after the great famine was over. Howard C. Kee and Young Franklin W. Young opines that the fund-raising did actually continue even after the famine. 23 They argued that the Jerusalem church was impoverished because of their failure to sustain their communal living spirit. The communal living spirit was a system where the wealthy Jewish Christians shared their wealth or properties with their poor and needy brethren (Acts 4: 32-3). This communal living spirit can be compared to the once dominant extended family system in Africa where people assisted each other irrespective of one's ethnic or social background. The help in this regard was partially due to the connection shared by the members. Nevertheless, in some Africa countries, especially in Ghana today, this family system in most cases is gradually giving way to the nuclear family system where people are only concerned about the welfare of their immediate families. Nevertheless, Wach Joachim claims that churches in contemporary times do create their own extended family system of communal living. 24 The Pauline strategy of fundraising practice continued to the period of the Church Fathers through the medieval era. This notwithstanding, during this period the perception of the church, particularly the Church Fathers towards the wealthy believers had changed. This could perhaps be attributed to the attitude or the method used by the rich believers in gaining their wealth. The Fathers considered the wealthy believers to be spiritually impoverished because they were seen as greedy, extortionists and oppressors of the poor. 25 In this regard, the rich supported the poor and needy believers in order to gain salvation and the latter in turn reciprocated this kind gesture by interceding for the former. 26 This epoch witnessed the use of plenary indulgence when Pope Urban II remitted all penance of Christians who participated in the crusades and who confessed their sins. 27 This was later extended to those who could not participate in the crusades but offered monetary contributions to support the crusades. With time a treasury of indulgences was created, which sought to promote the Church and its mission. 28 In this sense, indulgence became commercialised and funds generated from its sale. The sale of indulgence gradually became incorporated in the Church and steadily developed into a new method that the Church used to raise funds to meet some of its needs. This new strategy existed with the one inherited from the early church. The new strategy, which could be termed as the Catholic strategy of fundraising thus involved the selling of indulgences by individual bishops in order to raise funds for church development. For instance, the Church raised funds through the payment of indulgences towards the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and for the sustenance of the Church in Rome and her priest or agents. 29 The Catholic strategy of fundraising implies that salvation could be attained by merits (buying/payment of indulgence). The strategy gradually gained recognition in the Church and was carried on through the Medieval period. Nevertheless, with time the purpose of instituting the Catholic strategy of fundraising was defeated in that it led to many abuses by some bishops. These abuses led to agitations from some people within the Catholic fold. Eventually, the Catholic strategy of fundraising emerged as one of the catalysts that led to the Reformation of the Church in the 16 th century. 30 The Protestant Reformers of the 16 th century rejected the Catholic strategy and adopted what was inherited from the early church. Their argument was that salvation could only be attained by faith and not by merits or good works. In spite of this rejection, it can be argued that the practices of the Roman Catholic Church regarding fundraising found their way into the life and practices of the churches that emerged from the Protestant Reformation.
In line with the tradition of continuity, the practice of fundraising was introduced in the Ghanaian Church. Prior to gaining autonomy, the mission established churches were only collecting church dues/levy from the congregants; 20 Ibid. they depended on the mother churches for most of their financial support. After becoming autonomous in the 1960s, they introduced the traditional fundraising theology inherited from their mother churches. 31 Since the inception of the Church in Ghana to date, the Church had grown to become the dominant religion in the country. The growth of the Church has led to changes in the Church's liturgical practices such as prayer, music, worship and strategy of fundraising. Regarding strategy of fundraising, the changes have led to the emergence of several strategies of fundraising with their attendant challenges.
From the foregoing argument, it is evident that the Church since its inception has witnessed the introduction and adoption of different kinds of fundraising. It is worth saying that such introductions were occasioned by a necessity and this came about because of a pressing need(s) of the Church. Therefore, it is evident now that one common practice pertaining to the Church is fundraising that was inherited from the early Church. The next section therefore critically explores Paul's fundraising economic theory from the theological perspective.

Paul's Fundraising Economic Theory
The researcher agrees with Tiede that Paul did not explicitly develop an economic theory, yet the directions he gave to the churches regarding fundraising is an economic theory of savings. 32 This is because to ''put something aside and store up…'' (1 Cor. 16: 2a) constitute an informal savings method. Mohit Malhotra gives three principles guiding savings, which are found in Paul's fundraising practice, and these are budgeting, discipline and spending less. 33 The first principle is that one needs to have a pictorial view of where his/her money would be kept as well as identify the trends and challenges that may be associated with the savings. Additionally, one needs to determine how much to save, the source of the saving and period that he/she receives income. When this is achieved, one can then structure and quantify his/her goals of savings by budgeting. 34 Similarly, before commencing their contributions, the Gentile Christians were educated or informed about the purpose and situation of the Jewish saints by Apostle Paul. Aside this, they were given directions regarding how they could proceed with their contributions (1 Cor. 1:2).
The second principle of savings worth noting is discipline. Discipline is very relevant in savings in that one ought to be committed and dedicated to the savings. 35 This is because without discipline the act of depositing money either daily or monthly at the bank would be a mirage. Similarly, storing up something and presenting it to the Church authority on the day of worship requires discipline, especially when the saving was not done in a bank. In this regard, the Gentile Christians were really disciplined with their informal savings method.
The last but not least is spending less. This principle suggests that one needs to reduce his expenditure in order to reserve some income to be able to save. In addition, one needs to budget his/her expense every month and in this regard, impulse buying ought to be avoided. 36 Similarly, to achieve this objective the Gentile Christians needed to prudently manage their resources in order to have surplus to store. In this regard, they were not to misuse or channel their surplus to unproductive use or ventures, but were rather asked to cultivate the habit of saving those surpluses and putting them into profitable use. In other words, the Gentile Christians were to prudently utilise their resources in order to avoid waste. In this vein, Paul was advocating for a prudent management of one's resources in order to avoid waste. This prudent management of resources is similar to the direction given to the Israelites in Exodus 16: 19 where they were warned against hoarding, which consequently resulted in waste creation.
Aside avoiding waste, this researcher also thinks that Paul's direction was also geared towards the spending dynamics of the churches concerned and this was paramount to the realisation of the fundraising vision. The spending dynamics means that the Gentile churches needed to spend less in order to store surplus for the fundraising. One of the possible ways to avoid waste is prudent management of one's resources (finance). Therefore, if the congregations of the Gentiles are involved in imprudent spending how could they be able to ''put something aside and store up'' (1 Cor. 16: 2a) and present to their congregations? Besides, the spending dynamics of the congregations is correlated to the outcome of the fundraising. In other words, the aggregate savings of the Gentile congregations determines the capital stock of the fundraising. Hence, the spending dynamics of the congregations concerned is very relevant to the realization of the fundraising activity.
Aside Mohit's principles that can be closely related to Paul's practice, the researcher thinks that commitment and dedication, purpose of the heart, sacrifice and systematic financial planning are paramount in any savings vision. In savings for instance, one ought to show great commitment and dedication since without these virtues the realization of whatever vision one has would be a mirage. Similarly, the Macedonians for instance, showed commitment and dedication to the course of the fundraising project in the midst of their affliction. In fact, it takes the grace of God to be able to accomplish such a task.
Starting a savings account is not dependent on the possession of great wealth, but a matter of the purpose of the heart. The banks and the numerous microfinance companies scattered everywhere in Ghana are not particularly keen on the gargantuan amount one can start a savings account with; their interest is in the purpose of one's heart. Similarly, generosity is not dependent on the possession of great resources, but rather what one has purposed in his/ her heart to give matters and the Macedonians demonstrated this. Although they were afflicted (2 Cor. 8: 2), yet they purposed to contribute to God's work and this was because they had a relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, they did not only have a relationship with Jesus; they actually knew him. The knowledge of Jesus Christ led the Gentile Christians to be notoriously committed to the Lord, which they demonstrated in concrete evidence through their fundraising. Their generosity was the outworking of their relationship with Jesus Christ, which happens to be the true hallmark of Christianity. An unadulterated or true Christian life does not involve 'talk-shows' , but a practical participation in the lives of other believers (James 2: [15][16][17]. God demonstrated this when he gave Jesus to humanity (John 3: 16) and the later emulated the former by laying his life for humankind.
It is equally true that savings go with sacrifice and here the Gentile churches concerned, were to sacrifice whatever they had stored to the Jewish Christians. Sacrifice is undoubtedly one of the cardinal principles of economic savings in that without it one cannot achieve any goal in investment. It is worth noting that in the early church there were occasions that Christians had to fast for three days so that meals meant for such days could be used to meet the needs of the poor and needy brethren. 37 Assuming the duration for gathering the funds took five years and if the Gentiles had to fast for three days every week for five years so that they could save enough to support the Jew Christians, then that was a great sacrifice. Although their sacrifice could not be quantified in monetary terms, it is worth saying that considering the strained relationship between the Gentile Christians and their Jewish brethren (Gal. 2:11-21) this sacrifice would not have been possible from human perspective. Nevertheless, the sacrifice became possible through the grace of God embedded in Jesus Christ and this was achieved with the resources God gave them. The researcher hence agrees with Tiede that the Gentile Christians understood the proper meaning and power of their resources in the light of Jesus' death and resurrection. 38 Additionally, in sacrificing, the Gentiles emulate Jesus' sacrifice of riches and glory for humanity when he agreed to lay his life for humanity. In other words, the Gentiles emulated the greatest ever sacrifice made by Jesus Christ when he exchanged his riches, comfort and glory for poverty and restored humankind's glory that was lost to the devil in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3: 1-19). Similarly, the Gentiles sacrificed their riches, comfort and energy for the Jewish Saints. This act of the Gentiles dismantles or destroys the artificial and spiritual wall/veil that existed between them and the Jewish Saints (see Gal. 2 11-21). The removal of the veil resulted in thanksgiving from many quarters (Gal. 9: [11][12] which prior to the delivering of the funds was non-existent. This is similar to the saving grace of the Lord who did not only offer himself as a sacrificial lamb for humankind's redemption but also destroyed the veil that separated God and humanity after the Fall of humanity (Gen. 3: 24; Luke 24: 45; Mark 15:38 and Matt 27: 51). In this regard, just as Jesus' sacrificial act destroyed the veil, which for centuries had separated humankind from God, so did the generosity of the Gentiles destroy the veil, which for centuries separated them and the Jewish saints. In both scenarios, a relationship once lost was restored.
Systematic financial planning is another essential principle worth considering before any viable bank savings could/should take place. Persons with regular work and regular income who need to start any form of savings with the bank need to have systematic financial planning. The planning informs a person of how much of his/her income he/she can save, the frequency of what is to be saved and for what duration. Savings is always possible when a person is able to set aside a portion of his/her income every month. Nevertheless, no matter the degree of enthusiasm of a prospective saving client, if such a person is unable to set aside a portion of his/her income monthly, savings will be a mirage. In other words, a prospective savings client is able to realize his/her saving dream when he/she has a systematic financial plan. Similarly, this principle is enshrined in the direction given by Paul regarding fundraising. Initially, when the Corinthians heard of the fundraising project, they were enthusiastic to help the needy Jewish saints (2 Cor. 8: [10][11]. This made Paul boast about them to the Macedonians regarding the eagerness of the former to help in the fundraising project (2 Cor. 9: 2). Nonetheless, because there was no such systematic financial planning on the part of the Corinthians, their eagerness or enthusiasm became a mirage. Consequently, Paul reminded them of their commitment by encouraging as well as giving them a systematic saving plan (1 Cor. 16 equal), the level or quantum of one's investment may determine the outcome of the investment. Similarly, whatever each Gentile sowed determined the outcome of the blessing that would be received from God. In 2 Corinthians 9: 9-11, Paul argued that God is capable of making his grace abound to the Gentiles (all Christians) for their kind gesture. Since God used the Gentiles as a means to relieve the Jewish Christians, so God is able to let the same grace meet the needs of the Gentiles. The means in this case, does not necessarily refer to financial support, but to an appropriate provision that God will use to meet the needs of the Gentiles. It is worth noting that in 2 Corinthians 9: 8, Paul refers to God's grace as being capable of accomplishing good work. In this sense, the objective of God's provision is that the Gentiles might abound in every good work. 39 This is further expatiated in 2 Corinthians 9: 10 where Paul prays that God increases the fruits of the Gentiles in righteousness. Paul, in this regard, was referring to a blessing that surpasses material possession; a blessing that will enable the giver to engage in greater benevolence. In 2 Corinthians 9: 10b Paul teaches that the real benefits of giving are the spiritual blessings that accrue to Christians because of investing in the household of God. The Gentiles were to invest in the lives of the Jewish Christians. Like in any investment drive, what will be the returns or benefits that would accrue to the Gentiles regarding their relationship with fundraising? History has it that four benefits would accrue to the Gentiles concerning their relationship with giving and these are spiritual, material supply, thanksgiving and prayer. 40 Firstly, by taking part in the fundraising the Gentile Christians gave back to God whatever resources the latter had given them. This implies that God is seen as the Creator and giver of sustenance. Their act of participation implies the sowing of seed which has a reaping effect; they tend to reap the fruits of righteousness (2 Cor. 9:10).
Secondly, the contributions of the Gentiles were meant to meet the physical needs of the churches in Jerusalem and Judea (2 Cor. 9: 12). The Gentiles were likely to thank God for the opportunity of contributing to relief the burden of the Jew Christians. 41 Thirdly, not only would the recipients of the contributions rejoice in getting a relief, they would glorify God for the Gentiles sincere obedience to God (2 Cor. 9:12-13). In this regard, the generosity of the Gentiles would result in thanksgiving on the part of the Jew Christians. 42 The researcher also thinks that close associates of the Jewish Christians were likely to praise God on behalf of the Jewish Christians as well as seek God's blessings for the Gentile donors.
Lastly, the act of the Gentiles led the Jewish Christians into a spiritual intimacy with the former and the latter would always remember the former in prayers (cf. 2 Cor. 9:14). 43 This, the researcher thinks will have a positive effect spiritually and physically on both givers and the recipients.
The effect of the Pauline fundraising is thanksgiving, which is expressed in 2 Cor. 9: 11-12. The appreciation could be expressed from different angles; from both the givers and the recipients or from the recipients and even a third party. 44 Hence, the harvest principle sees God reciprocating the gesture of a cheerful giver by rewarding the giver spiritually and placing the giver in an environment of love.

CONCLUSION
It can be established from this paper that after the Jerusalem Council meeting, Apostle Paul was tasked to raise funds in support of the Jewish saints. This was necessitated by certain socio-political factors, which were beyond the control of the Church. In doing this, Paul adopted the inclusive model that gave the Gentile congregations the equal opportunity to contribute to the fundraising and no one was coerced into giving. Consequently, even those who were afflicted gave generously in support of their needy brethren. Additionally, it was realized that the fundraising had strategies (voluntary, harvest, divine enablement and interdependence) that undergirded the practice. In other words, the Pauline fundraising strategies were eschatological and relational in nature as already mentioned earlier. In addition, although Paul was not explicitly talking about an economic theory in the directions he gave to the Gentile churches, inferences that are made from the direction points to the economic theory of savings which are practical implications of the Pauline fundraising strategies. The contributions of the Gentile churches implied that they offered their resources as well as themselves unto the Lord, Paul and their Jewish brethren. In other words, their contribution depicted a Christ-like life in that they really "walked their faith" in emulating the Lord. It can thus be concluded that the Pauline strategies of fundraising are centered on three concepts namely, generosity, gratitude and mission. In this regard, Paul's fundraising economic theory had the sole aim of bringing social change in the lives of the Jewish Christians.