A Most Generous Search Committee Member

Posted on August 26, 2014 Written by

Several years ago a church found a dynamic youth minister they wanted to hire. However, that minister had school and housing debt which had financially strapped him. He wanted to move to his new location with his family, but he couldn’t afford a deposit on a house and he didn’t want to move to an apartment.

Then a member of the search committee stepped in. He’s not wealthy but he did have the financial leverage to help: he bought the house the youth minister and his wife were looking at and then let the minister live there on a rent-to-own agreement. Only a handful of people even knew about the arrangement, which allowed the new minister to have his privacy and dignity.

There are several lessons in this:

  • If you are a minister, please get out of debt as soon as possible. You should have, at most, housing and car debt. Pay off your school loans, credit card debt, and other debt/loans as quickly as possible. Actually, this is true for everyone, not just ministers.
  • Churches should help young seminarians with as many scholarships as possible. They’ve committed to serve the church, and everyone knows that ministry positions don’t typically have high pay scales. Churches can establish scholarship funds and endowment funds to help people, especially 20-somethings, go to seminary with fewer financial worries.
  • Establish financial practices in your own life which will allow you to take advantage of opportunities to help others and yourself when those times arise. If this committee member had poor financial habits, he couldn’t have helped the youth minister; but because he managed his money well for years, he could step in. Do the same in your own financial house so that you can be generous when the opportunity arises (when God puts those times right in front of you!).

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: generosity Tagged:

Publicly Available Financial Statements

Posted on August 19, 2014 Written by

Right outside the door to my Finance Office is a multi-tier tray in which I put several documents. This is part of my goal of complete financial transparency. Members (and non-members) can get any of these documents without having to ask for them and without being stopped or being asked why they want the information. Here is what I put in my financial information trays:

  • Latest Month’s Financial Statements

o   I always put out the most recent financial statements. While the church business meeting may only get a financial summary (in order to save paper), the document in this tray by the Finance Office is the same document which the Finance Committee gets. I put it out no later than the 15th of each subsequent month so that people can read current data.

  • Last Year’s Audit or completed financial statements

o   I’ve always had an annual audit, but some churches can’t afford an annual audit. If you have an annual audit, please put out copies of the complete audit so that people can read what an independent CPA wrote about the church’s finances. If you don’t have an annual audit, then put out the prior years’ complete financial statement (the document which has the information for all 12 months). People can look back at the prior year and compare it to the current year if they choose.

  • Other info: I also want to look forward, not just backward at financial information. To that end, I put out information which will help members be better Christians and give them ideas for being generous with their church.

o   Stewardship books: I make available two books which are free for the taking. The books are Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley and The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. These books are inexpensive, but they are powerful. I keep the rack stocked with these books and encourage people to take as many as they want.

o   Capital needs list: Every church has long-term, financially expensive needs. However, most churches do not have a way to let members know what needs to be done. I strongly encourage churches to post a list of their capital needs – ranging from relatively inexpensive items (chairs for the children’s area) to major items (new roof or A/C units). Keep your membership informed because at some point, the church will have to pay for these expenses and perhaps someone will see this list and take care of it before the church has to pay for it.

o   Other Items: You can use this to publish information about a current capital campaign, a long-term mission project, or other things that the church needs to be aware of.

Use this multi-tier tray to keep your members informed. It’s money they gave to their church, and providing transparency engenders your donors’ trust.

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: budget, church finances, church financial statements, leadership Tagged: , , ,

The Most Important Job in the World

Posted on August 12, 2014 Written by

Working for God is it. Whether you’re paid or not paid, working for God is a job like no other. And like other jobs, it has its own standards by which the workers are measured: what are your motives (it should be based on love) and what quality of work will you do (the answer is excellence). All too often we let paid workers off the hook and don’t expect high quality work from them, and that is wrong.

The Old and New Testaments have strong words for prophets and priests who are self-serving and who ultimately take their followers down the wrong path. There is a high standard for paid church workers and to fall short is to undermine God. God demands excellence – not perfection.

I’ve seen too many churches who hire people because they need work and they can’t get work anywhere else. The church is compassionate and wants to help. And that is good. But a church should never hire a ministry (to quote Andy Stanley). Always make the distinction between someone who needs help (financial, food, transportation, etc.) versus the needs of the church to get work done.

Church leaders (paid and lay) must always expect the best from every staff person. If someone can’t get a job anywhere, there must be a reason no one else is hiring them. The church can pay for training for him (but not on the job training), give him food and clothes or pay for rent. But do not give the person a church job. That will ultimately hurt the church and the current good employees who will think they can lower their own standards.

Churches as employers must expect great work. To be satisfied with anything less creates an unhealthy work environment and perhaps even a poor worship place. Church staff must do great work for a great God. Church employees must have a standard so high because of their ultimate boss that even corporate America is jealous. Church workers must do such amazing work that there is no question they are pursuing excellence. To do anything less is to short-sell God.

 

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: church staff, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , ,

Checklist Faith

Posted on August 7, 2014 Written by

My wife and I taught middle school kids in Sunday School for three years. Nearly 20 years later we’re still good friends with the four core kids. For those three years we were the additional adult voice that said the same things their parents were saying, but sometimes the kids ignored their parents (imagine that!). At that time I said that I hoped when my kids grew up there was an adult who could speak truth to my kids when they chose to ignore me. It is still a constant plea from me to God.

What I wanted to do for those three years and what I want my own kids to experience is that during middle school they need to begin developing their own faith. Parents begin faith development in children as infants and it continues for about ten years. But somewhere in the tween years (11, 12, and 13) kids begin to see that as a child’s faith. Their options are to remain with a child’s faith, develop a faith of their own, or ditch faith altogether.

A checklist faith is merely a faith in which the adherent ticks things off to say they’ve done this, agreed with that, and will do whatever. It is not a personal faith – it is placating someone else; frankly, that isn’t faith.

I struggled with my faith. I screamed and cursed God when my dad died when I was a teenager. I hated him for that. I questioned everything. I read the Bible, cover to cover twice, while still in my teens to see what the “owner’s manual” says. I still wrestle and push back and ask questions. I have a deep and abiding faith in my Creator and Sustainer. It is not a checklist faith.

I hope my kids will develop their own viewpoints. I want them to read the Bible through at least once if not multiple times. I will have hard conversations with them about my faith and theirs. I want them to have a rooted belief in God – roots which they have planted and watered and nurtured.

Don’t settle for a checklist faith and get the t-shirt. Make it yours and not the faith of our fathers.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: faith Tagged:

Unnecessarily Complicated

Posted on July 29, 2014 Written by

Relationships get complicated mostly because people can be complicated. However, work product should be as simple as possible. Over the years I’ve seen things at work made complicated because people (it always boils down to people being involved!) make things complicated so they can be the ultimate problem solvers, since they are the only ones who know how it was all put together.

I’ve seen “unnecessarily complicated” in

  • Accounting – where financial statements and chart of accounts were so complex that even CPAs couldn’t follow the figures.
  • Governance – where the decision-making process was perceived to be democratic but when analyzed, ultimate authority was in the hands of a few people.
  • Technology – where hardware and software where installed to “protect the church” but it was so much that it meant the staff could be spied on and that slowed down the computing power causing inefficiency
  • Banking – where bank accounts were created for individual funds (instead of using the accounting system) which resulted in additional bank fees and nightmares in transfers between accounts
  • Staffing – where a church won’t terminate an unproductive staff person so that person’s work ethic implodes staff morale resulting in even more personnel problems

And there are more, lots more – but you’ve got your own list.

Keep it simple and not complicated. When there is a problem, confront the problem. Gather some people who are good in this field or bring in a consultant/auditor who can cut through the personalities and get to the heart of the matter. Then, deal with the real problem – and that might involve letting some staff go or changing vendors – and then clean up the mess.

Get rid of what is unnecessarily complicated. It does nothing for the church or the Kingdom. It serves only to make some people feel good and/or support their egos. That has nothing to do with the goals and purposes of the church. Keep it simple and keep it aimed at God.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: strategy, wisdom Tagged: ,

Degradation of Civility

Posted on July 22, 2014 Written by

I heard this term recently. It’s a good description of what we’ve all seen on social media: someone gives their opinion on a topic and others attack the person for his/her point of view. When we hide behind a computer screen, we feel we can be impersonal and even uncivil if not outright vicious.

  1. Attack the problem, not the person. Attacking a person is not healthy on your part – in fact, it speaks very loudly about who you are, not the other person. Besides, if you are that passionate about an opposing point of view, then surely you should have sound rebuttals.
  2. For Christians only: you must always value the person more than either your point of view or theirs. God loves people, not opinions. Christians don’t get a pass on this – non-Christians may get a pass (depending on their faith-teachings).

Do all you can to respect people even it means you will just barely tolerate their opinions. People can change their point of view but hearing uncivil words and/or even being attacked is downright wrong.

 

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: communications, wisdom Tagged: ,

Simple, Transparent, Expectant, Accountable

Posted on July 15, 2014 Written by

Financial statements should have these characteristics and here’s why:

  • Simple

o   Any accountant can make financial statements hard to read and interpret but that undermines their goal of being a tool which is used to help the church make better decisions (not just better financial decisions).

o   Keep things as simple as possible because most people can’t read financial statements. If the statements are too hard to read, many people will conclude that things are being hidden from them and the trust level degrades.

  • Transparent

o   All financial statements should have all church financial figures. Hiding or consolidating numbers is not good for the church. It decreases the confidence level members have in the church’s financial leaders. Besides, all the money was given by church members so they should be able to see where all the money is.

o   All financial statements should be published every month. If corporate America can put out monthly statements, then every church should be able to do that, too. I think complete financial statements should be made available to everyone who wants them every month, not just to the Finance Committee.

  • Expectant

o   By this I mean the church should have high expectations of how its money is handled.

o   It should have highly qualified, fiscally impeccable, and well-trained staff in the Finance Office.

o   Its lay leaders should give their time to know the figures and help the church understand the figures.

o   The pastor and other ministers should understand their role in teaching generosity and personal financial priorities.

  • Accountable

o   There is accountability to the church: if the leadership expectations are not being met, then the church should ask them to fulfill their responsibilities or seek others for these roles. There is also legal accountability: if anyone involved in the church’s finances has any hint of fiscal irresponsibility, then the church is obligated to remove him/her from that role.

o   All churches should have a financial audit at least every four years and in the off years, the church should have an “agreed upon procedures” audit. The AUP ensures the finance office is following best practices for a church.

These are non-negotiable items for me in a church finance office, its financial statements, and the people who work there (paid and volunteer). What are your standards?

 

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: accounting, church finances, church financial statements Tagged: , ,

The “Dying Season”

Posted on July 8, 2014 Written by

Jane Wilson was the Senior Adult Minister at South Highland Presbyterian Church. In the late 1990s she told me that January through April, just four months, are “The Dying Season.” More senior adults die in those 17 weeks than the rest of the year combined.

  • The weather in the northern hemisphere can be cold and harsh
  • Christmas and Thanksgiving have passed so there is no major social event “to live for”

Church staffs should prepare themselves the rest of the year to handle the emotions of the Dying Season and they should educate the church members, too, about this time of year. There is little that can be done to stop this except perhaps provide social events in the springtime that will make people look forward to what is coming.

Jane’s comment so many years ago has made me accept better that I lose too many of my friends during a very short and harsh season. Thank you, Jane.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, wisdom Tagged: ,
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