P90X And Next Level Generosity By Chris McDaniel

Spiritual Approach to Next Level Generosity

One of the most recognizable home workout systems in recent years is P90X—an intense program designed to take fitness to the next level. If you have a television, you’ve likely seen an infomercial featuring Tony Horton, the creator of the system, with testimonials from individuals who claim to have lost weight and improved their strength. P90X was released in 2004, and by the end of 2010, more than three million copies had been sold worldwide.

Designed for individuals who already have some level of fitness, the goal of the system is to develop an extreme workout program that takes you to the “next level.” Before releasing the system, Horton spent two years interviewing top fitness experts and experimenting with various disciplines to accomplish this goal. The result was a trademarked concept called Muscle Confusion™.

Why Muscle Confusion™?

Imagine, for a moment, that you haven’t exercised in a while or don’t have a planned fitness routine. If you start exercising regularly, you will quickly notice gains in strength or weight loss. This would, of course, motivate you to continue…until your body plateaued and you stopped seeing improvements. Horton claims our bodies hit a plateau over time because they automatically adapt to the same muscle movements and routines. Once we hit this plateau, we don’t see the same changes and can even realize diminishing results. The concept of Muscle Confusion™ is carried out in the P90X workout by constantly introducing new moves and routines that challenge your body and result in greater gains and weight loss.

How Does this Apply to Giving?

Over time, I’ve discovered that many principles that apply to the physical realm also apply to the spiritual realm. Much like our physical bodies, our faith also needs to be exercised and challenged. Think about your giving patterns for a moment. Have you ever stopped giving for a season? Did you notice how hard it was to get started again, much like exercise? Then, once you started again, did you feel a greater sense of purpose and even notice a sudden positive transformation in your life and in the lives of the recipients? How about plateaus? Have you ever hit a plateau in your giving? Once you hit that plateau, did you begin to notice a lack of personal spiritual transformation or possibly a diminished impact on the recipient?

Just as our bodies adapt to repeated physical routines, our spiritual lives—including generosity—can also plateau. At first, giving feels invigorating. But over time, without challenge or change, we may lose the sense of purpose and impact. Just like Muscle Confusion™ pushes the body beyond its limits, Giving Confusion can push our generosity to new heights.

Practical Ways to Grow Spiritually Through Generosity

Here are some suggested ideas to exercise and challenge your faith regarding giving:

1. Double the Impact: Start a Matching Fund

Most gifts to churches or ministries come in the form of cash from individuals. Often, our routine is to mail or electronically disburse a special or monthly gift to the ministry without any thought of multiplying it. I recommend contacting the church or ministry before sending in a gift. Ask if they would be willing to set up a matching fund using your intended pledge. This would allow them to communicate the opportunity to their constituents and encourage further generosity. Your gift of $100 could become $200; $500 could result in $1000, etc. Personally, I’ve never seen a matching pledge that wasn’t realized.

2. Tap into Corporate Matching

Many employers offer a matching gift program that will match any charitable contribution made by an employee to a qualified 501(c)(3) IRS tax-exempt organization. Contact someone in your human resources department or corporate leadership to find out if such a program exists. If so, typically it’s a fairly simple form to fill out to activate the matching funds for a special, monthly, or quarterly gift.

3. Pair Your Gift with Presence

Many churches and ministries need your time, talent, and treasure. While a financial gift is great, it’s even more effective if you can offer your time and talents to serve at the ministry you are supporting financially. You can serve once a month, even weekly, accomplishing set tasks or ministry projects that match your time, availability, and talents. Regardless of how you serve, your presence and gift of service will maximize your giving.

4. Donate a Non-Cash Asset to a Church or Ministry to Auction

You can donate a week at a timeshare, a painting, memorabilia, an antique, an automobile, or other items that could be auctioned off for up to five times the amount you paid for the gift. There’s something about the competitive environment of an auction for a good cause that creates momentum for maximized giving.

5. Give the Gift of Generosity

You can purchase a Good Card for any amount through Network for Good and give it as a birthday or Christmas gift to family and friends. Simply pre-load the amount with a stored dollar value, and the recipient can redeem the Good Card by picking a ministry or charity as the recipient. You can use this as a chance to introduce a couple of great ministries. This is an excellent opportunity to share the joy of giving with others.

Don’t let your giving grow stale—look for new ways to stretch your generosity. Start today by picking just one idea from this list to implement this month. You’ll be surprised how God shows up when you shake things up.

What are some ways you maximize your giving for Kingdom impact?

Chris McDaniel is the Vice President of Sales for vTECH io. He leads a sales team that delivers cutting-edge technology solutions, combining industry knowledge with a passion for exceptional service.