Removing the Mysteries about Church Finance. Jerry L. Johnson

leader are dependent on the leader’s knowledge, ability to sift through enormous amounts of data and competing ideas, receive inputs from key constituents, and have their decisions benefit their business.

      The three professionals mentioned above (accountant, banker, and attorney) were very successful in their technical field. The attorneys (with eight offices in multiple cities) had many clients and won most of their legal cases. But they were unable to manage their own business and were faced with default, unpaid staff, behind on rent. Very similar to the church described in Section 1. They had superb legal skills but not the needed business management skills.

      The banker and partner (electrical engineer), and the accountant owned businesses outside their professional skill, which skills were inadequate to manage their businesses. To bring each company back to solvency required application of management tools. The accountant owned a roofing company, the banker owned a company that made electronic control systems for metropolitan waterworks.

      The point of the three examples: if a business is managed by the same technical skills as the business or is totally different, it is still important that management skills be employed.

      3A 2003 study conducted at Cornell University states that “People tend to be blissfully unaware of their incompetence. Where they lack skills or knowledge, they greatly over-estimate their expertise and talent, thinking they are doing just fine when, in fact, they are doing quite poorly.”

      Now, what does this mean for the average church? Just this: Churches need to be trained in good financial behavior, management skills, and better communication as well. It should not be taken for granted that church leaders know how to handle finances correctly or employ sound management techniques. There is plenty of scripture requiring finances to be managed properly. I have found none authorizing or encouraging solvency with money. Recognizing the two basic ways of learning a subject, by revelation (you were instructed), or discovery (trial and error, more costly but perhaps more entertaining for a while). Decisions about church finance should not be made by trial and error, "this seems like a good idea, let's try it." You will find in this book rules for empirically based plans that are supported by scripture.

      4TABLE 1-1 COMPARISON OF OPERATIONS

      

      Point One - The point of the above comparison matrix shows this. It does not seem to matter whether the enterprise is managed by someone with training and education in the same discipline as the primary focus of the enterprise (i.e. attorney: law firm), or not (i.e. CPA: roofing company). The skills for managing an enterprise are not automatically conferred on the leader. The leader of the enterprise may have the technical knowledge required of the enterprise but be less skilled otherwise. Skills of a cobbler are not automatically conferred simply because someone buys a shoe lathe or stitchery.

      Churches tend to view themselves as distinctly different from non-church enterprises, but there are more similarities in your operations than there are dissimilarities. The only difference is the product. The reason churches are often considered to have unique management needs comes from a lack of understanding what those management needs are (you don't know what you don't know).

      Point Two - There are tasks required to be performed, regardless of the enterprise type or industry, and a great many of these tasks are the same type. An enterprise will experience difficulties when they believe their enterprise is unique and does not need the same business skills as other businesses. A task that is shown to be “required” may be ignored, but the task elements are still there, which could be part of the reason they got in trouble. The method of using these skills, can be quite varied, such as "Facilities Management."

      Looking across the above matrix, you can see that the church needed the same type functions as the for-profits. The only obvious difference was the requirement for a board of directors. The church will have a board of elders, trustees, deacons, or another membership-based body to oversee the functions of the enterprise. This is not required for a privately-owned enterprise although it is recommended. For public companies, it is required; voluminous laws, regulations, and procedural guidance are enacted for the control of public companies. Law firms have a partner’s committee. They also engage in analysis of their competitors, which for churches might simply be a better understanding of what interferes with people attending church.

       Basic Premise

      Discussion throughout scripture about financial matters occurs more frequently than mention of mercy, love, healing, or prayer. It could be God knew that His Children would need much more directive on this subject than most any other. He wants us to use money but also knew that our weaknesses could cause us to place undue value on money. To start with, we will work from the basic premise that money is important. I think it is. When I spoke with the power company about the church’s overdue power bill, they would not barter. Their response was “No thanks, we don’t take milk, butter and eggs for payment. We want money, or we’ll have to turn your lights off.” So, there you have it.

      Before going further let’s put it in perspective.

      1 Timothy 6:10 states, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

      Creating wealth simply for the sake of having more is not sanctioned anywhere in scripture and there is ample caution against that. Proverbs 23:4-5 states: "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” This scripture does not differentiate among any people, so let’s accept that it applies to us all.

      Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

      The blind pursuit of money can lead to serious consequences between a person and their faith (and, as we shall see, also the law). In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

      This book encourages the love of God and wise use of money. It is the wise use and handling of money that will be the primary focus.

      Jesus applauded and blessed the widow for her two pennies that she gave (Mark 12:41-44). He was equally passionate through his parable about the coin that was hidden under a rock and did not appreciate (Matthew 25:26). From this, I get the meaning that while we are expected to be generous in giving, there is an equal injunction to be wise. In Section 2 you will see where a church seemed to have unintentionally missed both the generous part and the wise part.

       Using Multiplication

      Jesus instructed using parables, to provide universal truth. However, those hearing the parables might not have understood at the time the reason for using parables. In Mark 4:11 “And he said unto them, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.'” He was not merely speaking to his immediate audience but reaching through the ages to teach us today.

      Through another parable (Matthew 25:20-21) Jesus praised the faithful servant who multiplied his talents: “...Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ‘His Lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord’.” Multiplication! This and other examples reveal that Jesus supported multiplication, that he applauded the increase.

      Throughout this financial management book, you will get more detail and be challenged to set aside preconceived notions of “how things have always been done” and look at church finances in a different way. There is one financial principle central to this