WHAT CAN MONEY DO?
As an accountant, I look at finances as
a way to make sure rules are followed and income is maximized and expenses are
controlled. The plan needs to be to turn a profit. That’s how you know that the
business is a success. The stockholders are happy! The stockholders (the
stakeholders) have received a return on their investment.
As a deacon, I look at finances in a
completely different way. Before I can even begin to look at the finances of a
church (or synagogue, or basilica, or mosque), I have to face some questions:
·
How
do we know a church is a success?
·
Who
are the stakeholders?
·
What
is your investment?
·
What
is my investment?
·
What
have I received if I’ve received a return on my investment?
A lot of money in the bank account at the
church does NOT show success for a church.
The stakeholders are many, and they do not necessarily
include just the members of the church. The stakeholders are those who are
unchurched; those who have been hurt by the church; those who are in need;
those who are hungry and living in the streets; those who have suffered
violence, at home, on the streets, at school, and in the world; those who live
just outside our doors and those who we may never meet.
My investment must be just as multi-layered as
the stakeholders are. My investment must include prayer; my investment must
include my time; my investment must include my love; my investment must include
my witness; my investment must include ME. And my investment must include my
gifts. Why? Because our vows as United Methodists have included “to faithfully
participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts,
their service, and their witness.”[1]
For anyone who has been active in the finances
of a church knows, money can be important; but it is a tool, and can only be
important when that tool is used properly and is used to build God’s kingdom
here and now.
What do I receive as a return on my investment?
It’s certainly not what I’d receive as the owner of or investor in a business.
I don’t have more in my purse or my wallet. But I will have more in my heart
and in my life. And, more importantly, there is more outside me. More love;
more prayer; more disciples; more service; more worship; just more. BUT, there’s
also less: less hunger; less homelessness; less violence; less racism; just less.
What can our money do for us, and more
importantly, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world?
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