At Offering Time, My Job Is on the Line
When your congregation's financial 'inferiority' causes problems for your bank account.
George R. Cannon, Jr.

Hudson's Taylor's motto was my own in my first pastorate: "God's will, done God's way, never lacks God's supply."

I seriously felt that as long as I was doing God's will, everything would be all right. In fact, I believed finances were not an issue. God would take care of that.

Reality hit home soon. Finances became an issue.

After serving the church two years, I received a phone call that would strike fear in any pastor's heart: "It looks like we are not going to be able to pay you this month." It was summer and families were away on vacation. The treasurer assured me we could catch up.

One pay period became two periods and soon would be three.

Panic set in.

I had just purchased a home in the community. What was I going to do? Would I lose my home? Was this the end of my ministry?

Then the third call came. The treasurer found that even with the new growth, the church was not able to pay me at the level to which they had committed. He had slowly used the surplus in the bank to make ends meet. In fact, he said, the church could only keep me if I took a 20 percent pay cut.

We called a business meeting, and the pay dilemma was explained to the church. I agreed to the cut, with the stipulation that the church bring it back to their prior commitment within a year. If they failed to meet that commitment, I would not be able to stay.

The church agreed, reluctantly.

Quick solution quickly gone
Within that year attendance doubled, and the church returned my salary to its previous level. We outgrew our rented facility, and we began talking about construction.

Soon a dispute developed over the type of building to build, and some families began withholding their offerings.

I received another phone call: no paycheck again.

My resentment mounted. I felt the church was neglecting its responsibility to my family and me. Did nobody care?

Finances had become a constant source of stress in my life. Before long, it was evident that I could no longer lead with the attitudes that I had developed toward them.

After the service in which I announced my resignation, the treasurer informed me that once again the church was not going to be able to pay me.

21st century realities
As I began applying for ministry positions, I realized that I had to come to grips with the baggage I was carrying from my first pastorate. As I met with pulpit committees, I had a tendency to view their churches with suspicion and their promises with skepticism.

Every church seemed to me another problem waiting to happen.

After several months of this struggle, I realized that the real problem was me. It was true the church had dealt unfairly with me, but it was I who had lost sight of my call and the One who had called me. I was the real issue. God then began to bring everything into focus.

Here are my discoveries.

1. Be careful about the way you apply Hudson Taylor's motto.

My reaction to the difficulties in my first church grew from my misguided faith in Taylor's motto. While it carried me through the first crisis, my misapplication of the Taylor doctrine ultimately resulted in resentment toward God.

I felt that he had abandoned me.

In actuality, I'd overlooked the corollary of Taylor's motto: If God doesn't supply, maybe this wasn't God's will for me. Perhaps this was part of God's leading, and I should be serving elsewhere.

If I am going to serve in pastoral ministry, I must have a balanced approach toward money. I have faith in the One who calls me, while recognizing that finances are an issue and bills must be paid.

2. Churches must be realistic about their obligations.

My first church was idealistic, and so was I. Like many churches, they offered me a salary package based on wishful thinking without taking into account the average offerings.

As I candidated with my current church, they first offered me a salary that would draw on a surplus they had banked. My current pastorate is in a community caught in economic downturn that has lasted for more than 10 years. Many people have left town, and those who remain have financial issues, too.

Not only the pastor's salary is in jeopardy, but money is tight for all church programs. We ask of every ministry, "Can we really afford this?"

After looking at their monthly income, a truer picture emerged of what they could afford. This resulted in a salary package that was less than they originally offered me, but was more realistic and, we trust, sustainable.

3. Money is a touchy subject, so speak slowly and carefully.

Even as I admit the financial scene is bleak around here, that is no excuse for providing poorly for the pastor or for ministry. Pastoral responsibility requires that I speak up, but prudence mandates I speak carefully.

So many ego issues are involved: I must care for my family. Churches usually want to care for their pastors. And saying that their giving is inadequate sounds like a personal attack. I must be on guard against raw feelings that might arise from unguarded conversations.

In a discussion about money, one board member said, "A pastor should not be uptight about finances. If they grow the church, their salary will grow." To me it sounded like he was suggesting a pastor work on commission, with compensation tied to headcount. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but that would only have created greater problems. I will find another way to address the church's obligations to the pastor and his family, and to realistic budgeting.

When the offering plate goes around, my job is on the line.

But so is our integrity—mine and my church's.

George R. Cannon, Jr. is minister at Curwensville Christian Church in Curwensville, Pennsylvania.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
Click here for reprint information onLeadership Journal.
Fall 2003, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, Page 82