Straight Talk About Money (April 23, 2008)

Straight Talk About Money
by Holly Vicente Robaina
Churches need to be forthcoming about financial matters.

April 23, 2008 | Today's Christian Woman
Money's a topic that makes people squirm. Many couples can't have a candid conversation about purchases or budgets or checking account balances. Perhaps this reticence explains why the median credit card debt in American households is $6,600, according to CardTrak.com.

Similarly, churches—both their leaders and members—seem to have a hard time speaking plainly about finances. I've heard plenty of long, flowery speeches about firstfruits, multiplication, and abundance. And I've listened to a few drawn-out threats that God will forcibly take what's his if I don't freely give it. One church I visited took two offerings; and several friends' churches have passed the plate as many as five times in one service.

Hearing sermons on my need to trust God with my finances is certainly good. But when I feel I'm being beaten over the head with the point, I start to wonder, Is the church having financial trouble? Why doesn't the pastor just say, "We're up to our eyeballs in debt"? Why doesn't somebody stand up and ask what's going on?

But I've never stood up and asked, and I've never witnessed anyone else do so. Obviously, church leaders aren't the only people who tiptoe around the topic of money; many church members never inquire about their church's financial status.

Money talk embarrasses some churchgoers. Friends have told me they don't ask for reimbursement when they buy church supplies because asking is too awkward. One friend told me she reduced her tithe in lieu of submitting her receipts.

But picking up the tab can have some unfortunate consequences. It makes creating an accurate budget difficult for church leaders. If "Sally," a volunteer children's church teacher, buys curriculum books for five years without submitting receipts, and then moves to another state, the church staff will suddenly face a shocking realization: They have no budget line for curriculum books, and no idea how to plan for the ongoing expense. Or worse, the new children's church teacher will assume she's saddled with paying for the books "because that's what Sally did." Such expectations are a surefire way to lose volunteers.

The budget will also suffer if Sally reduces her tithe instead of requesting reimbursement. If she regularly tithes $200 a month, but one month spends $150 on curriculum and reduces her tithe accordingly, the church budget will fall $150 short, since the church treasurer plans it based on regular tithes. That amount might sound small. But what if Marlene, Jenny, and John buy items for the church and also reduce tithes that month?

Obviously, direct discussion about money matters can only help the church. I used to be pleased that my church never spoke about finances. (We haven't passed an offering plate in years; instead, we have collection boxes in the back of the sanctuary.) Naturally, I assumed everything was just dandy. Then, a few months ago, the senior pastor announced we hadn't met our budget goals due to decreased tithes and offerings. I appreciated this straightforward statement, but it caught me off guard. How had we gone from dandy to deficit?

Part of it was due to the U.S. economy's downturn. But a bigger part of the giving shortage was due to our church's no longer even mentioning the offering. Apparently, it had become a little too secretive: One Sunday, a baffled visitor had handed me some cash and said, "I wanted to give this to the church, but I didn't know how."

A simple, weekly offering announcement boosted giving and got our budget back on track. Silence seems to be a real budget buster.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, offers a great model of straight talk about money. He tells the Corinthians how he'll use the funds—to support the poor of the Jerusalem church—and instructs: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made" (1 Corinthians 16:2).

That's the directness I want to hear. Perhaps a few candid comments will keep the offering plate—and the congregants' hearts—overflowing.

Blessings,
Holly

Is discussing money difficult for you? How would you rate your church's financial conversations? Do you have a good understanding of your church's financial situation?