David & Solomon: Setting Up Your Successor For Success

Posted on October 22, 2013 Written by

David ruled Israel from 1000-960 BC and his son, Solomon, ruled from 960-920 BC. David was Israel’s greatest king: he unified the country, defeated the Philistine threat, built major civic projects and palaces, and prepared the way (and supplies) for Solomon to build the first permanent temple in Judaism. That temple lasted about 350 years and was the focal point of Judaism. Its restoration became a rallying cry of Jewish nationalism.

1st Kings in the Bible describes the materials, construction, foremen, and laborers needed to build the temple using a LOT of detail. The person most responsible for prepping for the temple was King David, but he never saw it. His job was to gather all the things needed to build the temple so that his son, Solomon, could do the actual building. David’s job was to create a platform so that his successor could be a success.

Pastors who are within five years of retirement have one primary job – to take care of things in the church (some of which have been lingering for years) so that his or her successor is set up for success. This involves making some hard decisions about personnel and/or volunteers, reallocation of budget figures, changing some of the expectations of the church about its leaders, and in general ensuring that all the minefields within the church have been cleared. A longtime and soon retiring pastor should have enough clout to do all these things and still retire gracefully. His financial future will not be dependent on the church when he retires, and that knowledge should free him up to make long-delayed decisions which can help the next generation.

David ruled and finished well as king. He made mistakes and he was vain, but for the most part his motives were pure. Yes, David was used by some of the people around him, including the conspiracy regarding his successor. But David knew that all that he did over the course of his 40-year reign could fall apart if he didn’t gather the materials and wise counsel his son and successor would need. In turn, Solomon was able to stand taller on his dad’s shoulders than he could have on his own. Solomon completed some of his dad’s unfinished stuff (the temple) but did a lot on his own (foreign relations). Solomon’s time was good for the country and good for him (albeit he made some unwise choices in his wives and advisors). Solomon’s success is directly related to David’s setting him for success.

Are you a David who will retire in a few years? If so, what are you doing to intentionally set up the next generation for success? Are you finishing well or just barely crossing the finish line? Be like David and help your successor be a success.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, future, leadership, strategy, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , , , , ,

IRS Forms 8941 and 990-T

Posted on October 8, 2013 Written by

Under the 2010 Obamacare law, the US Government is giving money to small businesses, including churches. Form 8941 and Form 990–T enable small employers to get money based on the number of FTEs (full-time equivalent employees) if that number is less than 25, if the church paid employer health insurance, and if the average salary of the FTEs is less than $50,000. Below are the three conditions for filing (straight from the IRS):

1. You paid premiums for employee health insurance coverage under a qualifying arrangement. A qualifying arrangement is generally an arrangement that requires you to pay a uniform percentage (not less than 50%) of the premium cost for each enrolled employee’s health insurance coverage (defined later). However, an arrangement that requires you to pay a uniform premium for each enrolled employee (composite billing) and offers different tiers of coverage (for example, self-only, self plus one, and family coverage) can be a qualifying arrangement even if it requires you to pay a uniform percentage that is less than 50% of the premium cost for employees not enrolled in self-only coverage. In addition, an arrangement that requires you to pay a separate premium for each employee based on age or other factors (list billing) can be a qualifying arrangement even if it requires you to pay a uniform percentage that is less than 50% of the premium cost for some employees.

2. You had fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) for the tax year. You may be able to meet this requirement even if you had 25 or more employees. For details, see Individuals Considered Employees and Full-Time Equivalent Employee (FTE) Limitation, later.

3. You paid average annual wages for the tax year of less than $50,000 per FTE.

I submitted the forms for a couple of clients who each got back over $6,000 for each year filed, and there are 3 years which can be applied for (2010, 2011, and 2012). The money came in about 2-3 months in a check from Uncle Sam; no one from Washington made any inquiries or calls about this.

“If it sounds too good to be true, thus it must not be.” Not in this case. One of my clients has close connections to Rep. Eric Cantor’s office. A church member contacted a staffer in Cantor’s office and the staffer said this is all legit and furthermore, the government would not use this as a way to “get into the business” of non-profits and churches.

Uncle Sam is giving away money – get it or lose it. If you need more info, please contact your auditor or email me and I’ll help.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: budget, church staff Tagged: ,

True Test of Servanthood

Posted on September 24, 2013 Written by

How do you act when you’re treated like a servant? Too often I don’t react well. People ask me to do this, they complain about that, and they want me to take care of something else. They treat me like a servant. Well, I am a servant, so I should expect to be treated like a servant. But I’m also a leader, and my humanity tells me I should be treated like a leader.

One of the key things about servants is that while they are called on to do lots of menial chores, their role is vital. If not for them, much of the work would never been done. Never underestimate the need for servants and the work they do.

I’ve seen families with servants and how those servants were treated. Almost always the servants were treated with graciousness and respect. Occasionally servants were treated in a demeaning way, and those places had high turnover rates among their servants. Servants are never to be denigrated. They are to be appreciated and valued for the assistance they provide.

So, when I’m treated like a servant, I need to understand the motives of the person. Are they “putting me in my place,” in which I case I have a responsibility to help them understand how to use church servants more effectively? Or, does the requestor have a real need and I, the servant, can help meet that need like few others can? Can I read through the question to see the real intention and then be a servant to this child of God? I’m going to try and I hope you will, too.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Missional – Institutional

Posted on September 17, 2013 Written by

All churches start with the passion of a person or group of people. They are excited about the opportunities and sometimes approach the impossible with a can-do attitude. They face lots of problems and often overcome them. This is the “Missional Church” – the church that starts with a mission to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ and will not be deterred from that task. There are discouraging times along the way, and there are setbacks every now and again. But the leaders and the members who stick it out know they are doing what God wants them to do.

And then, almost without exception, every Missional Church hits a roadblock. They buy a building, and that structure frequently stops the Missional Church in its tracks.

Too often the Missional Church becomes the Institutional Church. There is now something to protect, a debt to pay off, a place to focus resources, a building that consumes more and more financial and personnel resources. Left unchecked, the Institutional Church takes away almost all of the passion of the Missional Church.

I’m not saying church buildings are bad—far from it—but there must be some moderation. I am saying that the church must not lose its initial passion for people, but it should never let that energy be redirected toward bricks and mortar.

I celebrate the Missional Church and encourage it. I just want that church to never lose its desire to keep the main thing the main thing. And in church, the main thing is always, always, always PEOPLE. So, buy a building, make it a nice one so that people will come, and then find ways for those who come inside to then go outside to minister to others. Never believe that a building, an institution, is the endgame. It is a tool, not an institution.

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Jesus and Church Staff (Pharisees and Sadducees)

Posted on August 27, 2013 Written by

Look it up – the ONLY people whom Jesus ever criticized were church staff (that would be the Pharisees and Sadducees during Jesus’ life on earth). He never laid low anyone else, but he really came down hard on the Temple leaders. He wasn’t even discreet about it – most times he said it straight to their faces. In one chapter alone, he takes it to them (these verses are called the “Seven Woes” by scholars):

  1. They taught about God but did not love God — they did not enter the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor did they let others enter. (Matt 23:13-14)
  2. They preached God but converted people to dead religion, thus making those converts twice as much sons of hell as they themselves were. (Matt 23:15)
  3. They taught that an oath sworn by the temple or altar was not binding, but that if sworn by the gold ornamentation of the temple, or by a sacrificial gift on the altar, it was binding. The gold and gifts, however, were not sacred in themselves as the temple and altar were, but derived a measure of lesser sacredness by being connected to the temple or altar. The teachers and Pharisees worshipped at the temple and offered sacrifices at the altar because they knew that the temple and altar were sacred. How then could they deny oath-binding value to what was truly sacred and accord it to objects of trivial and derived sacredness? (Mat 23:16-22)
  4. They taught the law but did not practice some of the most important parts of the law — justice, mercy, faithfulness to God. They obeyed the minutiae of the law such as tithing spices but not the real meat of the law. (Matt 23:23-24)
  5. They presented an appearance of being ‘clean’ (self-restrained, not involved in carnal matters), yet they were dirty inside: they seethed with hidden worldly desires, carnality. They were full of greed and self-indulgence. (Matt 23:25-26)
  6. They exhibited themselves as righteous on account of being scrupulous keepers of the law, but were in fact not righteous: their mask of righteousness hid a secret inner world of ungodly thoughts and feelings. They were full of wickedness. They were like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones. (Matt 23:27-28)
  7. They professed a high regard for the dead prophets of old, and claimed that they would never have persecuted and murdered prophets, when in fact they were cut from the same cloth as the persecutors and murderers: they too had murderous blood in their veins. (Matt 23:29-36)

That is hard stuff to hear – imagine if it were directed at you. How would that make you feel? Pretty bad. Now imagine how you would feel if Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, were to say that to you. You’d feel even worse.

Church staffs have very high expectations – set for them by God and to which they agree (or else they wouldn’t have accepted to serve with a church). Everyone who serves on a church staff should take a moment every week to step back and ask, “Have I done anything this week for which Jesus would criticize me?” If yes, then address that issue head on; if not, be grateful but also make sure you’re not covering something just because you don’t want to address it.

We all fail – we’re all human. The key is how we react when we know we’ve failed God. If we try to cover it up – expect Jesus to get in your face about it. Never be a hypocrite like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Recognize your shortcomings, be a leader, and own up to them. People will respect you and God more if you acknowledge that you aren’t perfect and that God is, and always will be, working on you.

Lead On!

Steve

 

 

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Wedding, Funeral, and Other Services Income

Posted on June 18, 2013 Written by

Question: When a pastor performs a wedding, funeral, or other event and is paid, does he/she have to claim that money as taxable income?

Answer: Yes, wedding/funeral/speaking gifts to a pastor are considered taxable income. These gifts usually go straight to the pastor and are often not given by the family through the church. Keeping it off the church’s books is the cleanest and simplest.

More Info: A way to use that money for ministry is this: the pastor takes the money from a wedding/funeral, records it for his/her taxes, then gives it to the church into a designated fund (“Pastor’s Ministry Fund”) which only the pastor can access. Then, during the year as the pastor has meals, buys books, buys a gift for someone, etc., the pastor can pay for that expense out of the designated fund. That expense won’t affect the church’s budget (because it’s a designated fund), the pastor gets a tax break on the gift he/she received because the gift was donated to the church, and the pastor gets to use that money for something related to his/her work AND there is proper oversight because the money is run through the church (meaning, it is subject to a review by members of the Finance or Audit Committee – that oversight protects the pastor lest someone accuse him of spending money frivolously). It is a neat way for the pastor and church to get a win/win.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances, church staff Tagged: , ,

Moving Expenses

Posted on June 11, 2013 Written by

Question #1: If the church creates a form which states that an employee agrees to repay the moving costs if their employment is voluntarily or involuntarily terminated before two years of service are completed, does this constitute an employment contract or cause concerns regarding the At-Will employment laws?

Answer: A moving contract is fine. Just to be on the safe side, I would include a sentence in it to the effect that the moving allowance does not constitute an employment agreement and that the at-will employment laws of the respective states are completely applicable. You might even tell the employee that any repayment would be first taken from their pay and if there is still a balance the former employee would be expected to reimburse the church.

Question #2: If the church gives money to a new employee to cover moving expenses, is that money considered income, non-taxable income, or is there a way to give the money/cover the expenses without it affecting the employee’s income all together?

Answer:

  1. Publication 521 from the IRS is a doc from the IRS which details everything there is about moving expenses. Download a copy into the church’s “IRS Forms & Publications” folder in your church’s server. Whenever you need to, send that Publication to the employee to whom it applies.
  2. There are two ways to go about this:
    1. Give a lump sum to the employee and add that amount to the employees’ W-2 at the end of the year.
    2. Reimburse the employee for expenses based on receipts/invoices turned in.
    3. Either way, the employee must keep track of all invoices, bills, expenses, etc. and either turn them for reimbursement or list them on their next 1040 as an itemized deduction. It is a lot of paperwork to keep up with, but it is well worth it so that the employee does not have to pay taxes on the lump sum or pay out of pocket for the expenses incurred.
    4. On the church’s side, the easiest method is to give the new employee a lump sum payment and have the employee keep track of all his paperwork without turning in anything to the church. That makes things very easy and simple for the church (which is why I recommend it) and makes the employee responsible for his expenses. It also encourages the employee to be frugal; the less he spends on the move, the more he can keep in his bank account!

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: budget, church staff Tagged: ,

What Are You Reading?

Posted on March 26, 2013 Written by

Getting your staff to read together is really important. I recommend that all staffs read two or three books together every year. It will help keep everyone on the same page, and they’ll talk about it in the halls and at lunch in addition to the planned discussion times. Some of these books may be good for some key committees to read together, and that will help the key leaders be on the same page, too.

I suggest a variety of books on different subjects. Church staffs expect to read books about churches, but what about good biographies of strong leaders (Rockefeller, Jobs, Roosevelt(s), missions stories (Peace Child), business (Good to Great, The E-Myth Revisited), social justice , prayer (The Prayer Circle), or the status of the church in America (American Grace). There are thousands of good books to choose from on any number of subjects—and not only with church-related themes. Fiction such as the Narnia series, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and even the Harry Potter series provide Christ-centered truths. The reading list does not have to be limited to C. S. Lewis (good as he is).

Well-written books will also help your staff members speak and write better as they see some best practices. Book discussions will help the staff communicate more and better with each other to explain their point of view in a non-threatening way (after all, it is “just” a book). And, eventually the staff will have a bookshelf which will impress office visitors (that’s my weakest argument!).

Get the staff to make suggestions. The reading list may start with the pastor’s choice, but it must include good and worthy selections submitted by other staff. The pastor will certainly want to use a book to help the staff focus on a specific topic, but the pastor should not be the only person selecting titles.

Finally, it will be interesting to see just how people read the books—in print or electronically. Each has advantages and detriments. Each method appeals to different types and ages of people. That alone can be worthy of a discussion of how society and the church are changing, and then you can discuss the contents of the book!

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, strategy Tagged: , ,
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