A GPS for $ Directions

A congregation e-mailed me the other day and asked if I could help them overcome the “strangle hold” their budget had on their attempts to expand their ministry. I wrote back and asked them what seemed to be the problem. “Our congregation’s council has been working to increase our member’s giving for several years and although there have been several increases in giving over the years, the cost of doing the work of the church and the ongoing expenses seem to consistently take all the income”. I wrote back and said, “Welcome to the club! Nearly 100% of all congregations have the same issues”.

Then I asked, “what kind of debt load do you have?” And she told me that “they didn’t have any debt, just a mortgage on their sanctuary that “ate up” over $ 10,000 a month, almost a third of our annual income!”

I didn’t bother to explain that the mortgage was indeed a debt and that a mortgage that consumed over 30% of their income was definitely a big debt load. “How old is the mortgage”, I asked. We are in the sixth year of a twenty year mortgage, the original loan was for $1,650,000 and we have a balance of over $1,100,000. “What was the original interest rate”, I asked. It was 6.5%, so we really can’t save anything by refinancing.” “I imagine you had a Capital Campaign to raise funds for that loan, when was that finished”, I asked. “Five years ago we received the last of the three year pledges”, she answered. We have really wanted to start a school or a pre-school, since we have the property and extra building space and many members and local residents that have asked us , but things are always so “tight” just trying to pay our expenses that we haven’t been able to move forward on it!”

“I’m talking to you on e-mail and there’s no way that I can get a feel for your challenges without knowing more, but it sounds to me that probably need to plan a new Capital Campaign with two goals; To reduce your mortgage and to fund the beginning of your new school. My advice would be to call the ELCA’s Mission Investment Fund and get some advice from their building consultants and also contact the ELCA’s Stewardship Key Leader program about what it would take to do that campaign. Those two groups are “in house” Lutheran financial planners that can give a good assessment of the best way for you to proceed and they both have outstanding “track” records. It will start your congregation back on the road to growth!’

One of the key reasons that so many of our congregations don’t grow is because they afraid to ask for help. Most of them will suffer through years of “hand wringing” and long debates in their council meetings agonizing over things that can be corrected in short order by groups within the ELCA that are always anxious to help. They remind me of most men when they aren’t sure of how to get to the place they are going, they will get lost rather than stop and ask for directions! The fault maybe is on both sides though, as many times, the ELCA makes it difficult to find out exactly where to ask the questions. But, the bottom line is that thousands of our congregations struggle with challenges that are easily solvable with slight changes in the congregation’s approach.

It isn’t “brain surgery or rocket science” to overcome these kind of financial challenges and every congregation has them from time to time. Don’t wait for someone to invent a GPS for your congregation to give you directions on how to overcome these financial challenges. Ask your synod for help or go to elca.org and find the people that deal with these problems every day. God wants your congregation to grow --- and it’s just good stewardship!

I received an e-mail last week from a lay leader in a congregation that asked a question in reference to an article a while back about motivating stewards. He wrote, “we are a small congregation that have really never asked our people to become active as stewards except that we tell them what our needs are and ask them to help. What is there beside that?”

My answer to that e-mail was that it was impossible for me, an outsider that knows nothing of your congregation to give that kind of guidance without knowing more, but there are a few comments that I will make and you can judge if they make sense.

“Stewardship, in a congregation, is generally something that is more about the “needs” of the giver to give than it is about the congregation’s “need” to receive. God probably isn’t as concerned whether the light bill gets paid at the church as he is concerned about the priorities of the people attending worship services. If a person is a good steward, they are a person that has a working relationship with God in every facet of their life and God is their #1 priority. They are going to show God their appreciation for all they have received by being generous in giving their money, their time and their abilities. People who have their priorities straight will be good stewards without motivation. The challenge is that many don’t want to get involved and prefer to “let someone else do it”.

But God has not given us all we have to be spectators of life. To sit in the sanctuary and watch others struggle, while we second guess how they are living their lives. God has given us our talents, our abilities, our life and the money we have, to be “players”. He expects us to be people who get involved in trying to help those that struggle and those that have lost their way.

The problem with much of today’s attitude about stewardship is that money is the #1 priority. It’s just too easy to throw a couple of dollars down and relieve your guilty conscience when you see others that need your help. When we think we can “buy our way” into involvement we are in fact being spectators not involved in the outcome and not giving stewardship a second thought.

Part of the problem is that we separate our everyday lives from our spiritual lives and leave any thoughts of stewardship at the sanctuary door when we shake hands with the pastor on the way out. Part of that problem can be laid at the feet of the church, as many congregations are expected to not only put on their “Sunday Best” for church but also to wear their “Sunday Attitude”. In that one hour of service on Sunday our attitudes are supposed to change just like our suit, and we are all of a sudden stewards.

In order for a person to be a true steward their lives have to be “seamless” and be the same the other 167 hours of the week as they are in that one hour on Sunday.

That means you have to believe in God and ask him to guide your life. Then your priorities change and the things that satisfy you fall behind those things God wants us to accomplish. I hope this is helpful.”

That lay leader asks a question that every one of our congregation should consider, “Are we shooting for the right target in stewardship?” How can we do a better job of making that close connection with our creator? That’s a question that is the secret to growth and happiness and it’s also the secret to good stewardship!