How do you answer this question…
Is the role of faith the same or different when managing personal finances versus church finances? Explain.
I’ve been thinking about this because Bethel and many other churches are developing their budgets for 2016. When a church is developing its budget, I hear things like:
- “The numbers just have to work”
- “We just have to have faith”
- “We can’t let the number-crunchers determine what we do as a church”
- “We can’t let the dreamers determine our direction or we’ll be bankrupt”
- “If we’re going to continue to pay our bills and remain viable, we can’t just sit back and say ‘The Lord will provide.’”
As you mull all of this over, the following questions might aid your thinking:
- What is the role of faith in your own personal finances?
- Is the way you manage your personal finances any different from how we manage finances in the church?
- How is income different at home versus church?
- What happens if income and expenses don’t align at home? at church?
- If it’s all about expenses, where is there room for vision and God’s call?
- If it’s all about doing what we feel God has called us to do, what happens if there’s not enough money? What does that mean and what do we do?
When we manage our personal finances, we have a family budget. We know what our income will be because of our paychecks. If we want to do something that exceeds our income, we either have to wait or we have to find another way to increase income … maybe another job.
Income in the church is different. Offerings are not about paying dues or taxes. There is a spiritual component to our giving, but it’s also simple accounting.
I would love to hear your thoughts on where your heart and mind go with these questions. Feel free to share wherever this message is posted.
Thanks for thinking with me…
PJ
Epicurious Lutheran 