Everyone makes mistakes. But when a pastor makes one and is humble enough to
admit it, it usually winds up in a sermon. I'll spare you the full sermon on my
biggest financial mistakes and instead offer the cliff notes version. They are
...
1. Not placing Jesus first in my finances. For years I used the excuse
that I couldn't afford to tithe. Through some painful financial lessons,
however, God showed me that I couldn't afford not to tithe. He pointed me to
Matthew 6:21: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." At
that point I completely surrendered the 10 percent—and I've never missed it
since.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count
the cost, whether he has enough to finish it--lest, after he has laid the
foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying,
"This man began to build and was not able to finish"'"(Luke 14:28-30, NKJV).
Calvary Assembly of God in Winter Park, Florida, recently celebrated an
achievement that reversed a curse on our church. We wept, shouted, laughed and
had the time of our lives celebrating becoming free of debt. It was a huge
accomplishment for us. Calvary had suffered for years--at times with
excruciating pain--because of this mountain of debt. By God's grace, it will
never happen again!
This wasn't the first time I had been in this type of situation. In 1986 I
became the pastor of another church deeply in debt. The leaders could see no way
out. The bond company that underwrote the mortgage was breathing down our necks
and would soon take legal action against us. God provided a miracle of
provision, and we made our payment--but it was years before we became debt-free.
They come in all shapes and sizes. They are men, and they are women. They are
friendly, they speak and behave like devout Christians—and they are looking to
bleed you dry of every last penny in your possession. Christian con artists,
spiritual seducers, godly grifters.
They’re constantly on the prowl for easy prey in the church—typically widows,
widowers, the recently divorced and the relationship-starved. The more money you
have, the bigger a target you are. Here you’ll meet one such charlatan—Jane
Smith. Her name and those of her victims have been changed, but her story is
true.
While you observe examples of her well-practiced art of deception, you’ll
also hear from Jeffrey P. Bjorck, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor
of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Graduate School of Psychology, as
well as Wayde Goodall, pastor of Winston-Salem (North Carolina) First Assembly
of God.
If a congregation truly embraces the theology of giving, and if members manage
their lives on the principles of Christian stewardship and tithing, then the
problems of raising the funds necessary to meet the ministry's budget are
generally resolved. However, this is not always the case. Statistics tell us
that fewer than 5 percent of church donors actually tithe. The average donation
by adults who attend Protestant churches is about $17 per week.
A stewardship-driven church is a successful church. The underlying principles
of stewardship are the foundation for the whole structure of raising funds to
run the church.
Fund raising is only one side of the equation, however. How the church spends
the funds it raises is equally important. The congregation must give a good
accounting of the money it receives. This includes its budgeting, its
budget-servicing responsibility and its reporting.
Picture a church filled with passionate, loving, outrageous givers. Sadly, that requires some imagination. Surveys tell us that only 3 percent of evangelical Christians tithe—meaning 97 percent don't. Does that mean that 97 percent don't love their church, don't love God, don't love Jesus? Does that mean they are greedy and swallowed up in consumerism? I used to think that. But after working with hundreds of thousands of families across the globe for decades, I've discovered that just isn't the case. They aren't greedy; they're broke.
To make matters worse, I've found that churches don't always know how to help people get on their feet financially. Instead of leading men and women of God into a truly abundant life, churches often stumble into a few key money traps. Let's take some time to identify what these traps are and how we, as godly church leaders, can help turn this ship around.
