I had a couple of interesting conversations today over Twitter. For me, it started with @troyneujahr tweeting the following from a pastor’s conference:
“Money given by people in the pews is largely spent on the people in the pews.”–David Buegler #MIpastors
I mentioned in response that I often “flag” my offerings to the church for specific ministries that I see value in, a comment that sparked some discussion.
It got me thinking about church budgets and how ministries or projects in churches get approved and funded. I know from my own experiences that a lot of money is spent on what I would call “ineffective ministries”. In churches I’ve been a part of, I’ve seen some very odd “projects” soak up a lot of dollars. As a member, I just scratch my head and think of how that money could be put to much better use.
My own passive-aggressive method of dealing with this is to divert my own offerings to ministries that I see as having more value within the church. Some still goes to general, but the bulk I flag for ministries that I feel are more deserving. @rayjgentry called me out on it:
@newlutheran could that be a way though to keep control of your money? that you don’t completely trust the church?
I thought about trying to defend myself but I had to be honest. The answer to both questions is “yes”. It’s definitely a means of controlling “my” money. However, I don’t see it as being any more controlling than choosing to give to my local church as opposed to some other ministry. The second question he asks was much more profound though. And I have to answer: no, I don’t completely trust the church.
If I could write a check directly to God, I would. But as it stands now, I put my offering in the hands of people. I’ve seen what people do with money, even well-intentioned Godly people. There are a lot of moving components in the financial machinery of a typical church congregation. I’ve seen how church projects and ministries get funded. I’ve heard silver-tongued committee members weave a stories about how whatever it is they want to fund is somehow tied to the ministry goals of the church. I’ve seen ministries get line items in the church budget year after year, with very little fruit to show for it.
So I ask: if God was a member of your church, would he vote “yes” on your budget?
My guess is that He’d want to trim the fat and cut out nonessential and ineffective “ministries”. How much of your church’s offering money is distributed to ministries that have little impact on the community around you? Are we diluting our effectiveness by stretching our congregational resources across ministries that don’t bear fruit? Are our churches becoming jacks-of-all-trades, but masters of none? Are we trying to do so many things that we do none of them well?
Imagine what could happen if your church completely cut off ineffective ministries and limited themselves instead to just a handful of mission-driven efforts. I urge you to take a long hard look at your church budget next time you get a chance. Pray over it. Ask yourself what God would do if He could get his hands on it.
