While in the Army, I noticed that one of the things soldiers always looked for was what example the commander was setting. They knew what the standard was on paper. They knew what the manual said. They certainly knew what they had been told, but what really mattered to them was what they witnessed. You could often predict what sort of a unit you were joining by what you saw being done by the leaders of the unit. There might be 200 soldiers in a company, but it was usually the Commander and the First Sergeant, by their example, who made the biggest difference. If the commander said, "I will lead the run," then you could count on everyone doing an exemplary run. If the commander said, "You guys go run," you could count on it be less than a stellar outing.

It is no different in a church. If the pastor and staff do not lead, then it is unlikely that the congregation will perform as they should. It is vital that pastors lead in every aspect of the Christian life, giving included. When a pastor and staff are not tithing and being generous in every possible way, it is seldom that I will see a congregation that does. This attitude of giving must not only be done, but it must be shared with those in the church.

1. Every year the pastor should share directly both in writing and from the pulpit what his/her gift that year will be. He/she should also share how they arrived at that amount and what spiritual thought process they went through in determining what should be done.
2. Every year the pastor should sit down with all members of their program staff and review the giving of that staff member along with other aspects of their work. Each member of the staff should have already signed a covenant stating what was expected from all leaders of the church. Tithing should be a part of that covenant. If a staff member has not fulfilled any part of the covenant, the pastor and staff person should design a plan to meet the standard as soon as possible.

I think you will see that once the leaders are out front on the run, then the entire team will run the race better than they ever have.