Crunch Time: A New Hope

This has certainly been an interesting week for our church - one that I think will prove to be pivotal in the life of the church. We may be a little broken, but one thing is certain - there's a lot of life left. As for myself, I went into the week feeling somewhat discouraged, but now I am very encouraged.

Word got out on Sunday evening that the finance committee had left our organist's salary out of the budget. However I hadn't gotten word until I checked my e-mail. I had cleared it down to six over the weekend, but when I went to check on Tuesday night there were 35 e-mails in my inbox! So the fight had begun in earnest, and the first battle would be fought the following night at our all-church conference where next year's budget would be put to a vote.

I replied with my own e-mail stating that, in my own heart, I could not vote in favor of the budget. But I also stated that it was time for the church as a whole to roll up its sleeves and fight for its life. There had to be alternatives, but we would have to fight for them, otherwise next year we'd probably discuss cutting the choir director. And in another year or so, we'd be discussing putting the property up for sale.

And fight we did, yet we were all quite courteous in doing so. It all started about halfway through the meeting Wednesday night once the budget was brought up. It seemed pretty obvious to me that there was some fuzzy math going on. All ministries were asked to submit a budget that was 10% lower than last year's. Looking at the report, it was odd to note that Worship and Arts actually went up, at which time our choir director got up and said he did exactly what he had been instructed, so how come the budget went up? There were other things that were brought up that seemed odd as well.

The subject of apportionments also came up. Apportionments are the monies contributed by each church in the conference in order to maintain the connectional ministries of all the churches. The budgeting for apportionments (as we were told) is based on the expenditures of the church two years prior. I checked another conference's website - their apportionments were based on an average of the church's expenses for the three prior years. In my opinion, it's not a terribly fair and equitable way to assess the apportionments. It's great for the (few) churches that are actually growing. It's like the current real estate market where you get a nice low interest rate and now two years later, your property has appreciated considerably in value - a smokin' deal if you sell. But for the churches that are declining in membership and the resulting income, it's like getting a car loan for a vehicle that's two years old based on the value of that vehicle when it was still brand new on the car lot! That's not fuzzy math - it's just plain stupid.

The question was asked, "What if we don't pay all of our apportionments?" Our District Supervisor replied, "Nothing." I can pretty much confirm that just looking at our own conference's apportionment reports. There some churches that aren't paying all of their apportionments, and even a few that haven't been paying at all. This has been valuable research - I will be touch with our church's lay leader and finance committee.

Another question that was brought up was, "How many of us were even aware that we were in such dire financial straights?" Only a few hands came up. It was obvious that the various committees had not been talking to each other, let alone the finance committee and the SPRC (staff/pastor/parish committee). In fact, the SPRC was told by the finance committee to eliminate the organist position. Meanwhile, our choir director was expected to direct the choir and play the organ (which fortunately he can do) - and get paid less for it.

The great thing about this whole discussion is that it has brought us back together as a church again. It got people talking - several good points were made and wonderful ideas proposed. Naturally it was recommended that the finance committee to revise the budget. The most astounding moment was when that original budget went up for a vote - only three voted in favor.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. It's not going to easy, either. The budget obviously needs to be revised. A supplimental stewardship campaign is being launched. And we're trying to find creative ways to deal with the budget (my chiropractor was the SPRC chairperson at her church and she gave me some good ideas).

But the meeting on Wednesday night did something wonderful. It got us all talking to each other, speaking assertively but lovingly. The Holy Spirit has filled many hearts; it has ignited a fire in our church unlike any we've experienced in years. People are speaking boldly in their faith. While difficult - it is now an exciting time in our church.

In my prayers for our church, I pray for guidance, wisdom, discernment, creativity, humility, boldness, and perseverance for as long as it takes. Amen.