Tag: Money

Why Good Pastors Are Concerned About Offerings And Attendance

Have you ever wondered why pastors seem so concerned about offerings and attendance? If you are close to your pastor, you may have heard him ask after a service about the offering or attendance. Maybe you thought him unspiritual for doing so. After all, shouldn’t he be more concerned with the presence of God in the service or whether the sermon was anointed?

Most good pastors are very interested in offerings and attendance, and for good reason. The truth is there is no better objective criteria for gaging the health of a local church than whether it’s people are consistently showing up and giving. Continue reading “Why Good Pastors Are Concerned About Offerings And Attendance”

I Want To Spend Money

It’s true. I want to spend money. It’s Black Friday, the sales are on, and I could buy new gadgets and clothes and other new stuff. It’s not that I need things. I just want to do the discretionary spend.

When I buy new stuff there’s always an initial rush, a cross between peace and pleasure mixed with a vague hopefulness about how I might have just improved my life. It doesn’t last very long, and not as long as it did when I was younger, but it’s still there. Later, I sometimes regret I spent the money, but if it comes it always comes later, in the long run. Continue reading “I Want To Spend Money”

Money And The Ministry

Jesus and his crew roll into Capernaum and before Peter can even get to his house the Temple tax police corner him and ask if Jesus intends to pay His tax. Peter, apparently trying to avoid trouble just says “Yes” and then rushes into the house to tell Jesus.

Before he can open his mouth Jesus asks Peter a question, the point of which is that since Jesus is the Son of God, He obviously has no obligation to pay such a tax.

After all, the tax supported the temple where people worshipped God, and Jesus was God, the very object of that worship. Taxing Jesus was like making Peyton Manning buy a ticket to the next Indianapolis Colts game.

And here is the point of Jesus teaching: “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” (Matthew 17:24-27).

Jesus refused to let the issue of money come between Him and His ministry. If Jesus had refused to pay the tax based on His identity it would have been easy for His critics to say He was claiming to be the Son of God to avoid paying taxes. Jesus chose not to give them the opportunity.

When I hear of the salaries of some of the pastors of megachurches in the U.S. I wonder if they’ve ever read this passage of Scripture, and I wonder how badly they want to reach non-Christians.

Let me make something clear. Im not offended by pastors being well-paid. I think pastors should be well-paid. In fact, if it were up to me, in a perfect world, they would be the highest paid of all vocations.

But we don’t live in a perfect world, and in a corrupt world the No. 1 priority should be reaching the corrupt with the Gospel. So why hinder that effort over the issue of money? Jesus didn’t. GS

Saving For A Storm

People often ask, “How much money should I have in savings?”  Given the statistics showing how few Americans save, the first question perhaps should be, “Why save at all?” The answer is that savings promotes continuity.

Jesus likened those who acted on His words to building a house on a rock, as contrasted with building on sand. When the storm came, the house built on the rock stood while the one built on the sand fell. (Matt. 7:24-27).  What’s interesting is both the wise man and the foolish man were subject to the same storm.  In other words, surviving the storm was not a result of having been exempt from it but having prepared for it.

Everyone is subject to storms.  Adversity is a given.  What matters is how you prepare for it. Having money in savings allows one to weather the storm and keep going without getting slowed down or pulled off the path of one’s destiny.  It provides continuity, a hedge against interruption. Continuity is “[a]n uninterrupted succession or flow.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.).

Some may say this is not faith but trusting in savings and that real faith is trusting Jesus to get you out of the adversity once you find yourself in it. But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said to prepare because storms will come. Faith is trusting in what Jesus said and acting in obedience to His words.

So how much savings is enough?  The general rule of thumb is six months living expenses, although I believe that is really the minimum.  That means the more debt you have (mortgage, cars, credit cards, student loans, etc.) the more savings you need.  The irony is those who are already in debt need to save more to maintain continuity in their lives but because of their debt payment obligations are less able to do so.  Those with little debt and lots of discretionary income needn’t save as much but are better able to do so.

With these principles in mind you should be able to put pen to paper and figure out how much savings you need to ensure when the storm comes you can preserve continuity in your life. GS