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The Whys and Hows of Money Leadership A curriculum for pastors/leaders just getting started by Mark Vincent, Lead Partner, Design for Ministry |
"There were two other problems with this compartmentalization. The first was that dangerous re-definitions began being introduced. Congregations began defining mission (previously defined as sharing the gospel to a lost and dying world) as a plan for remodeling their church building. Stewardship (previously defined as caring for God's mysteries, that is, the gospel) began being defined as not wasting money, or giving money to meet the budget of a ministry organization. The justifications of these definitions were that the local congregation was a place people might hear the gospel, or that the ministry organization supported by financial contributions was the agent that would share the gospel for the church. It didn't matter whether the congregation or a ministry organization actually had an action plan for evangelism or not.
"The second problem was just as critical. By compartmentalizing income from expense, households, congregations and, to some extent, ministry organizations began mismanaging funds. Many congregations have no tools for managing cash flow. They routinely project more expense than income, calling it a faith budget. They develop double-blind accounting systems so those managing the money have no idea what the income sources really are, calling it confidentiality. Giving has been removed from discipleship and new member orientation out of fear of giving offense. In short, congregations now do what many households do — live at the edge of income and time, rather than inside them, so generosity cannot be maintained from one year to the next. When this happens, the congregation spends whatever it decides to spend hoping the income works out in the end. The congregation takes on programs without consideration for the additional volunteer time it will take or the pressure it might put on its accounts. Such a system cannot cultivate givers who respond to God's grace with firstfruits offerings.
"The largest of all obstacles created by this separation of income from expense is that the financial system used by denominations became request or even assessment based. This was sometimes referred to as 'fair share' or 'every member' contribution. Ministry organizations asked congregations to make modest increases based on their previous year's giving. Congregations sought to find a way to help people figure out how much they should give so the congregation could meet its budget. The result was congregations began perceiving their contributions to churchwide agencies as a payment for services — an expense against which they deserved a return. This mentality found its way into congregations as well — with members giving, but doing so expecting their congregation to provide a certain range of ministry opportunity and activity.
"This led to a decline in income ministry organizations received through the offering plate. Thus, they began working with donors far more directly, helping them get 'connected' to ministry through their giving. This individualization of giving, while certainly enhancing generosity and recovering income that would otherwise have been lost, also contributes to the 'I should get something for my gift' mentality that moves giving into the realm of allocation and away from gift."
A firstfruits orientation places God at the forefront of money activity. It invites a percentage gift, given of the first and best in honor of God rather than a mere, contractual amount. Households, pastors and congregations need to live in this rhythm together — each supporting the other, each calling the other to this life of faith.
2. Money pools — According to William Danko, only a few people have the gift to manage money through precise measures.2 The rest of us depend on some form of forced scarcity. That is, we pay what we must from the first so that it doesn't remain in our bank account and get lost to impulse purchases.
Those who teach money management have known this for years. They help people make a distinction between their obligations and their discretionary income. Secular money advisors ask you to distinguish between:
Those who take a ministry approach normally add a category to how one divides money:
They develop banks for children and money envelopes for adults to help them manage money according to this method. This method has one shortcoming: people don't always distinguish between the cost of providing for the basics of life (food, clothing, shelter, medicine) and the conveniences of life (leather furniture, vacation at a resort, the latest CD). To make this distinction we need to create four categories — what can be called money pools.
Continued
2 The Millionaire next door, Longstreet Press, 1997, p. 38ff.