Got questions? Needs? Wants? Desires? How long do you wait
before you ask or express these things? For most people, the better question
would be why wait at all, right? I think I am in this camp of “Why wait?” After
all, it seems to me that I will never get anything unless I ask for it, right? Personally,
I am all about asking, except when it comes to the dreaded “ask” for church: money!
I hear it often said about churches: “All the church wants is my money, and all
they do is ask for it.” Is this really true? Maybe in some cases, but as a
senior pastor myself, I avoid asking. Why is this? Maybe it is fear, and maybe I
should ask more often, or maybe it shouldn’t be an “ask” at all.
We live in a money-minded world, where things like “It takes
money to make money” and “everything has its price…” are almost cultural adages, not simple miscellaneous statements. In this world, the church is supposed live
out the Great Commandment (Love God, love others) and Great Commission (Make
disciples), as well as be a refuge and a resource for those struggling in it.
In order for the church to be a resource, it must first have resources. This is
just the fact. To live out God’s purpose for His church requires leadership. In
order for a vision to become a reality, it not only needs energy and creativity,
but also money…there it is, the “M” word.
Why is this subject so taboo at church? There is no other service-based
business in the world that offers a service without charging, so why is it so
bad to talk about it? I suggest we get over it, otherwise in order to continue
to fund ministry, the church might someday need to adopt some flavor of a fee
structure. I suggest that they already do. As ways to support themselves, many
churches charge fees for everything from facility use to pastoral time outside
of Sundays.
I feel that my responsibility is to teach God’s people the
entirety of God’s Word, and not just the parts that make us feel better. Paul tells
us in his letter to Timothy that “all” Scripture is from God and useful (2 Tim
3:16). So my plan is teach it all, and to do it with reckless abandon, without
reservation, so that I may also be able to claim someday as Paul did in Acts 20:26-27 (ESV):
“Therefore
I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I
did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”
A simple fact is that in 2013, it takes money to move the
Gospel. I am in no way saying that the Gospel will not move without it, but
sending people to Third World countries, buying food and clothing for the poor
and homeless, sending kids to summer camp or VBS, takes money. The reminder is, when a church asks for money, don’t think about it as giving to a church’s
budget, but think about it as giving to the cause of Christ.
And while I am talking about it…I do not desire to be a
church that asks because it wants to do something, but a church that has, at its
core, generosity as a value, and always acts on what we believe God is leading
us to do, regardless of the cost. Neither do I desire to be a church that says
nothing in order to be politically correct and not offend. Hope Crossing needs
your help to facilitate the cause of Christ. That is our vision; join us
wherever you are, however you can, with whatever you can…and by the way, that
takes money too.
…just sayin’
In His grip,
Pastor Pat
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