Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done (as long as we can afford it)

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth, as long as we can afford it… Never before have these words been more true to me than in recent years. Most church leaders prefer to hide behind the idea of the recession, sounding like an unhappy politician who keeps saying, “I inherited this mess”. Regardless of how we got into this situation or how long it took to get here, I am exhausted from listening to movement without achievement and an alarming trend that most churches subscribed to… At the end of the day, buildings, air conditioning, soft pews and beautiful bathrooms are far more important to the church than its staff. Period, game over, no discussion needed. We are not going to “committee” our way out of this. Talk, talk, talk and no action. Before any church will put a bullet in their building fund, they will run down and run out their staff. I sat in one meeting where I was told, “David, you don’t understand, we have a commitment to paying the building”. I responded with, “Thank God we don’t have that kind of commitment toward the staff”. All this commitment to a building that Scriptures clearly teach that God says, “I do not dwell in temples built with human hands”. What about the commitment, what about the promises we made to the staff? What about the fact that they count on us for their mortgage? This is where they live-how they exist-not a building that is massively under-utilized and if you divide the amount of hours most churches are in service by the average monthly mortgage payment, it only costs $225.00 an hour to keep running? Wow, what a deal…. Let me go a bit farther-reducing your staff or their pay for the sake of your building is a sin-a great sin-that God will hold us accountable for. The life of your church isn’t measured by what happens on Sunday morning. It will be measured by our love for each other-our undying commitment to never let each other down-to be and live Jesus beyond the limited scope and sequence of the “be kind to God hour” that Sundays have become. There is good news though. As churches continue to minimize their staff, we will witness a “redistribution” of spiritual wealth as leaders, pastors, directors and staff find healthy churches and start their ministries over again with people that actually get it. And if you are a staff member facing decisions like I am addressing here in this article, I applaud and support your decision to move on. Don’t allow a confused sense of misplaced loyalty to prevent you from finding a ministry home that honors its commitment to its people above all. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am just over-reacting. Really, David, don’t you think you are just a bit dramatic? No, I don’t think that at all. Truth be told, this is one of the reasons I enjoy secular employment. Sadly, there is more honor among thieves that in the church. What about you? You mad yet? Or does it really not matter to you? For those churches that have sacrificed and kept their staff intact, I celebrate that you are the great hope of the Christian faith. For those that think that buildings matter most, I look forward to roller skating or watching movies in your building in just a couple of years. David