Church Resources: It’s All About Stewardship

For the internal workings of church, it is all about stewardship. I am confronted by this by idea almost daily. On Sunday, churchgoers give a portion of their earnings to God, following God’s will and their heart’s desire. On Monday, those gifts become the responsibility of church workers.

God lets us manage His gifts.

That is a weighty thought.

I am convinced that all operations of the church should be dictated by stewardship. It is the umbrella under which all decisions take place. From budgeting to hiring to firing, we are to manage all resources, whether monetary or human, to the best of our ability. This means that it is ok to seek efficiency in operations. It’s ok to make tough decisions. It’s also ok to make sure that resources are not overused.

Let’s have a conversation. What challenges have you experienced in stewarding church resources?

Observations: From Secular Work to Church Work

Three years ago, I made a transition from the secular workplace to the church workplace. Several have made such a move, and several others are considering the switch. Here are some quick observations from one who has made the jump:   

Church work can consume you.

Church work does not occur just on Sunday. Sunday is merely the result of a week’s, sometimes month’s work. If you think that you are escaping the long hours of work at a “normal” job, you are mistaken. Although it will vary depending on the size of the church, you will probably be working more hours than your prior job. A church is a complex organization that produces complex demands on its employees. Be prepared for anything.

You will quickly realize that you need to protect your time, specifically time spent with family. I have seen many church employees neglect their proving ground, their family, for church work. They speak proudly of how little they have seen their family because of their work. They treat it as a badge of honor. It is not. Do not fall into this way of thinking.

Church work can be stressful.

Again, a church is a complex organization that produces complex demands on its employees. Stress arises from a number of areas. Both the mechanical and relational aspects of church can be intense. Though the complexity will vary from church to church, many churches look like a small conglomerate offering not just a worship service but education, counseling, relationship building, missionary, and compassion ministries as well. And you may play a role in each one.     

Church work will test you.

Church work tests your spiritual maturity. Whatever God is for, Satan is against. The depth of God’s love for the church ensures Satan’s attack. And church leadership tends to be a primary target. Prepare yourself and your family to engage in spiritual warfare. Set up boundaries for your relationships, your finances, and your time. The pressure of ministry will test any cracks. Do not be caught off guard when temptations arise.

What else?

My Starbucks post. It’s about time.

I have read many articles, a few books, that utilized Starbucks to explain Biblical ideas. As an avid coffee, specifically Starbucks, drinker (I stay away from the term, “addict”), I believe that such utilization is completely warranted. The ability to meld the company into these types of conversations is easy due to the near spiritual experience one has with the pleasant drink.  Recently, I realized that I had not written such a piece. This, of course, mandated that I open the laptop and start typing. It was about time. 

Here we go…

In 2008, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, made a decision that would raise eyebrows nationwide. They would close their stores. The company had experienced dramatic growth in the subsequent years, but this tremendous pace did not come without its consequences. According to Schultz, the quality upon which Starbucks prided itself was waning. One of their foundational products, espresso, was inconsistent and unsatisfactory. They had lost their focus, lost their identity. On February 26, 2008, Schultz mandated that all stores close their doors for 3 ½ hours. During those moments, baristas would participate in a re-training of espresso-making. Shultz wanted to ensure that, when the doors reopened, patrons of their stores would experience a world-class espresso drink.

 During those hours, nearly $6 million dollars was lost in employee costs and potential revenue.  It was a bold move, but, according to Shultz, necessary. To proceed into the future with their current product would only result in greater harm. Though customers found themselves crying, curled up in a fetal position in the corner of a lonely room (that may have just been my experience), Starbucks’ baristas emerged better prepared to create the perfect drink. Starbucks had rediscovered its identity that, for several years, did not know it had lost.

There is danger in success. Before success, it is the core that moves an organization forward. It is the foundation. All business elements are supported by the core. When an organization experiences success, new opportunities begin to present themselves. If these opportunities are not closely attached to the core, then pursuit of these opportunities will take focus away from the core. Eventually, the core will become brittle from neglect. The foundation upon which the organization is structured will become unstable. The organization will start to show cracks.

Many organizations have failed because they forgot who they were. Unlike Starbucks, they did not get a second chance. They forgot that their existence derived from their core and consequences ensued. Organizations must protect their core. The opportunities that success brings are just that, opportunities. Their presence does not necessitate a chase. Opportunities must be evaluated before the chase. If, both internally and externally, they draw focus away from and not towards the organization’s core, they are probably best avoided.

3 Lessons Learned by a New Father

The first five months of parenthood have been a rush. Here are three quick lessons I’ve learned:

1.  The baby clothing industry is a scam

Most pre-birth gifts are baby clothes, particular of the new-born size. During the months leading up to our son’s birth, we were blessed to receive several of these gifts. Naively, I thought we were pretty much set until his junior year in high school. By our son’s third week of life, he had outgrown the majority of his infant wardrobe. Some, he never was able to try.

I have found this momentary wearing of clothes to be the norm. Rarely does a onesie last beyond a few weeks. And yet, we are stuck. We have somehow been warped into believing that our children must be clothed.  I have concluded that the only way parents can rationalize the constant purchasing of baby clothes is to have more babies. The key lies in the hand-me-downs.

2. Boppy is a word

My vocabulary has increased tenfold since the birth of Nathaniel. The baby world has its own, underground language, unbeknownst to those who have yet to venture into parenthood. After a few weeks of being indoctrinated in the ways of babyland, words like Boppy, ExerSaucer, and Bumbo became a mainstay in my vernacular. They fluently flow off my tongue as if I were not immersed but born into this unique life stage. I suddenly find myself as one of them. And as one of them, I no longer question the validity of any word that ends in “y.”    

(It should be noted that my spell check had a very difficult time with this paragraph.)

3. Every married man should desire to be a father   

Over coffee, a friend commented to me, “It seems that once a guy has a child, he becomes more of man.” To preface the comment, he was single and had observed a handful of his peers enter into this world of fatherhood. There is something to his observation. Fatherhood molds men in ways that can and cannot be verbalized.  I am different. I can sense it. The more I chase after God’s design for fatherhood, the more I understand God’s role as Father in my life. And I can only hope that I am different because of it.

What are some lessons you’ve learned as a father/mother?

He was Father

Recently, I found myself swapping early childhood raising stories with a good friend. His children were older than mine, and he told of an occasion when he was confronted with the need to tell his son about the workings of his body. Unlike most stories I have heard regarding this particular conversation, my friend saw the moment through a different lens.   Where most men tend to run from the discussion, he cherished the discussion. He found excitement in the honor to tell his son of his created design. Though the talk was probably difficult for the child to hear, the father knew that his son needed the words, he needed the guidance.

In that moment, I understood God a little more. As God placed his Spirit on the men who inked His words onto paper, He was the Father. Though He was El Shaddai, God Almighty, leading a triumphant war against the darkest of powers, He was Father, desiring to lead his children through their daily struggles. Though He was Elohei Marom, God of Heights, He was Father, desiring the depths of our hearts.  Though He was Elohei Tseva’ot, God of Hosts, He was Father to each individual son, each unique daughter. Though He was El Echad, The One God, He was Father to all.  And though He was Elohim, the Creator, raising mountains from the deepest of seas, He was Father, wanting each of his children to understand the reason for their existence and how they are to operate on earth. 

God did not have to reach out to us through Scriptures, but He did. He could have let us wander this planet, struggling to figure out life on our own, but he didn’t. He could have left us without instructions, without an understanding of ourselves, without an understanding of Him, but He wouldn’t.

Because He is Father. Because we are His children.

Although the topic is not always light and the conversation is not always easy, He desires to tell each of us about our created design. Like my friend, I can imagine God’s excitement as we open His Scripture and listen to His guidance. I can imagine God cherishing His moment to be Father.