Few projects excite and galvanize a congregation more than a new building or a major renovation. People complain about construction delays, capital campaigns, and the general din and dust, but their blood pumps, their wallets loosen, and their enthusiasm rises. Lyle Schaller went so far as to generalize that congregations that build capital are happier than those that spend it. Most congregations in the midst of a construction project illustrate his point: as they convert their members’ cash into real estate, their spirits rise, peaking at the dedication service.
But what happens then? Usually there is a period of euphoria. Occasionally a congregation goes on from strength to strength without a pause. More often, though, there is a letdown, a period of slump in finances, in program, in morale: the post-construction blues.
Read more about The Post-Construction Blues.
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Most congregations engage in social ministry to some degree, and most feel that their efforts could be better. But planning for ministries that seek to serve or influence the world beyond the sanctuary can be challenging. Because the world’s needs are so large and complicated, outreach efforts are especially vulnerable to criticism. How, then, to have a positive, constructive conversation?
One way to begin is to pose good questions and invite people to discuss them while a planning team takes notes. Make it clear that the purpose is not to critique your current ministries or to make decisions about the future. Decisions can wait for another time. At the outset you want to get people thinking more creatively about the basic reasons for the congregation’s community-outreach ministries.
Read more about Planning for Community Ministry
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Q: I am on the personnel committee of my church.We expect to fill two staff positions soon, and wonder what our policy should be about accepting applications from members of the congregation.
A: When hiring staff, congregation leaders often ask this question. Hiring members has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that members are apt to be familiar with the congregation, committed to its mission, and used to working hard without pay. The drawbacks are that a former lay leader may have difficulty accepting supervision, and a minister or board that tries to fire a member may wind up in hot soup with the member’s friends and family.
Read more of Is it Wise to Hire Members?
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Most board members know micromanaging is bad. Boards criticize themselves all the time for long meetings, trivial agenda items, and an inability to delegate: “We should be making policy, not managing the operation.” Staff and volunteers chafe at the need to bring projects back to the board at each point along the way. A seemingly innocuous report can be a red flag in the board’s face, provoking it to meddle.
Beyond self-criticism, though, few boards know how to escape from the temptation to spend all their time on trivialities. John Carver, a consultant whose “Policy Governance” system has transformed many non-profit and public boards, offers one possible model. But does it fit the needs of churches and synagogues? I consider this question on an article in Congregations (subscribe!) that is on the Alban Institute website:
Read more about John Carver and congregations
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Q: I’m the spiritual formation intern at a medium-sized Episcopal church whose rector is about to retire. Do you have recommendations for what I can do to support the congregation as the rector prepares to leave? Most of the resources I know about seem to focus more on the practical and business aspects of this critical time rather than on what it means about relationship to God and each other.
A: Clergy help us to know the love and faithfulness of God. Through words and actions and the conduct of their lives, they teach us to trust (or sometimes, sadly, not to trust) God’s promises. Everything about our spiritual lives depends on whether we develop basic, fundamentally nonrational trust. Spiritual maturity is not belief that all will go well, but faith that, when things go badly, we can count on the companionship of God and that which is of God in others….
Read more of Ask Alban: The Spiritual Challenge of Clergy Transition.
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Some time ago, I created a financial self-evaluation tool for churches. I’ve been testing it informally ever since, and welcome further feedback and suggestions. If you use it, I hope you will post a comment here that will help me to improve the Snapshot.
Some questions you might address include:
- How well do the “benchmarks” scale up and down to churches of different size?
- What changes would be necessary to make this tool useful for synagogues?
- How does the process play out in your board, finance committee, or other leadership group? Does the concept of “satisfaction level” work for you?
Dan
Posted in Finance, Planning | Comments Off
Some years ago, advice columnist Ann Landers published a letter from a college student who was pondering his career choices. “My classmates are all in a race for the biggest salaries. I want security, a stable salary, and peace of mind. What jobs should I consider?†Ann reassured the young man that his desires were normal and acceptable, and listed several careers that offered the stability he wanted: civil service, postal work, the clergy—the clergy?What an interesting idea. Oh, I’m sure somewhere—probably in Thomas Hardy’s Wessex—a parish priest rests secure in his benefice, whiling away long afternoons writing uplifting novels. But my experience of ministry, and that of most clergy I know, has been quite different. Our calling is, of course, to be for others—to change lives for the better through practical service, spiritual challenge, and moral support. Ironically, though, even more than most employees, we must be our own advocates when it comes to the business side of our profession.
Read more of Salary Anxiety.
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I received a lesson in the relationship of faith and money the morning my oldest child was born. I was 29 and serving a small church in Florida; my wife was teaching at the nearby state university. For the first time in our adulthood we were enjoying financial stability and independence. We had purchased a condominium apartment and a $50 sofa at St. Vincent DePaul’s. (What an improvement from the trunk we had been sitting on! Material things can sometimes make a spiritual difference.) We had a modest bank account and a second-hand Toyota Corolla station wagon. We were ready to become typical middle-class parents.
After the birth and a brief time for the three of us to rest and cuddle in the delivery room, my first paternal role was to tag along as the nurse wheeled little Carolyn down the hall for her first pediatric checkup. For some reason this procedure took me by surprise. I think I had imagined that if mother and baby survived childbirth, we were safe. But of course that checkup was the first opportunity to diagnose any of a thousand pediatric ailments.
Read more of A Soul Decision.
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 Q: My congregation is expecting its first bequest. We would like to use it to establish an endowment fund. A stockbroker in the congregation offered to manage it for us, but we’re wondering if this is wise. We’re also worried that the endowment will have a bad effect on member giving to the church. What should we do?
A: Give thanks that you have the opportunity to structure your endowment now, before it has any money in it! It is much easier to plan when you don’t have the worry of managing funds at the same time.
I would say, “Thanks, but no thanks†to the stockbroker. You want an arm’s-length, businesslike relationship with your fund manager. Also, a broker’s expertise can be expensive if he or she is earning commissions on investments. Many local congregations place their endowments in a joint denominational fund. Brokerage and mutual fund companies and the trust departments of banks also manage this type of fund.
Read more of Ask Alban: Setting Up An Endowment Fund.
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Nineteen synagogue consultants met in Boston last summer … with Alban senior consultant Alice Mann, whose writings on church size have drawn attention in the Jewish world. In the top-floor conference room of Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies building, Mann described the theory of church size most often used by the Alban Institute, and drew on the experience of participants to learn how the ideas have already been adapted for use in synagogues. The group discussed the best way to measure synagogue size, the characteristics of synagogues of various sizes, and the challenges that transitional stages present in Jewish congregations.
Read more of Searching for the Key: Developing a Theory of Synagogue Size.
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