Asking for Money

It's Capital Fund Drive time at the congregation I Pastor. It's that time when the Pastor and the Fund Drive leaders ask the congregation to give some extra over the next three years to help pay down the debt on the facility.

I don't mind asking for money.

What the church is about is worth supporting. From food pantry to visitation, from Habitat house to community Easter Egg Hunt, the church is worth supporting.

On the other side of the aisle; out there in the chairs, people complain when you ask for money. If you've been a part of a congregation for any length of time you know that the church needs money and is going to ask for it. And, if you are really active in the work of the congregation it's likely that you already have within you a desire to support the church financially.

However, all that being said, I would like to not have to ask. I would prefer that the church members offer; that they say, "we recognize the value of the church in our lives and in the lives of others and we want to give this extra." Sometimes that happens for smaller projects -- here's hoping that someday it happens for something bigger.

In the meantime, I will be asking for money.

The Gossip Factory

Why is it a part of church life, this she said or he said thing? Why is it that we have to tell someone what someone else said? It's drama. It's inflammatory. It causes extra pastoral work for the pastor. It does not build up the church, which was intended to be a mission outpost not a gossip factory.