Pacifica Synod - ELCA
1801 Park Court Place,
Bldg. C
Santa Ana, CA
92701-5010
Phone: 714-692-2791
Fax: 714-692-9317
E-mail: Office@pacificasynod.org
Money Matters Challenge What Truly Matters
  remember in my first classes in Pastoral Counseling 101 and 102 how the professor identified the major issues that most often set the stage for adverse tension in various relationships. We learned the lists of the stressors that led to heartache for many. We addressed the needs of couples in pre-marriage counseling, those who were married, family members, especially if they were partners in a business or earned their livelihood together. We also learned about some of the
primary obstacles for the members of a church council. There were several causes that were the same for each of the relationships and among the top reasons why conflict and tension arose among people living, loving, working, partnering in close interaction with one another was money, and how people reacted when there were concerns related to money matters. Was there enough money to make ends meet? How was or was not the money being spent and saved? Who was earning what? Is this yours or mine or ours? There were other related issues about the dollars earned, inherited or received. Conflict over money was high on the lists of what causes brokenness, hurt, tension and separation among people who are committed to one another in the ways listed above.

As I think back over the three congregational pastorates that I served in my first 18 years of pastoral ministry, I remember two times of deep hurt over issues around the dollar sign. One time it had to do with broken promises regarding church finances. I also remember another longer season of strain and stress in my ministry that involved the leadership of the congregation. The conflict began with a disagreement about one line item in the budget relating to staff compensation. It should have been quickly resolved, but it moved from an issue to personal attacks. Both of those times were painful and hurtful moments for the congregation, the church council and the staff members. For a while, the focus on ministry and mission was overshadowed with matters all too mundane. It was a disruptive time in the life of the congregation and its leadership.
"Strive first for the kingdom of God and God's righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well…"
(please read
Matthew 6:19-7:8)
Today we are living through one of the worst economic recessions most of us have ever experienced. For a variety of reasons, many of our congregations have suffered financial stress and hardship. Many are reporting one or more of the following…
" There are fewer or smaller gifts in the offering plates.
" There are fewer giving units bringing their offering envelopes to worship.
" People have left the congregation for any number of reasons.
" Members have lost their jobs.
" People have lost their homes.
" Families have moved away.
" People's income has been reduced.
" Generous givers have watched their investments shrink.
" Members have died.
" People are withholding their gifts.

There are so many reasons for the decline in giving. Many congregations (but admittedly, not all) are reporting that they are receiving less contributions today than they did two or three or more years ago. At the same time prices keep rising and the cost of living increases. Mortgages, insurance, utilities and other substantial bills continue to be paid at the pre-recession rates. It is very difficult to make ends meet with reduced dollars for day-to-day operations and payroll. These are very challenging times for the leadership and membership of those experiencing these realities.

How will we respond in the face of these hardships? My pastoral counseling professor would say that while some people will pull together and find a way through the challenging, difficult times, sharing the burden and sharing the solutions together, unfortunately not all will respond in that way. Some will react in ways that blames another, accuses and separates. The conversation will move away from the overall issues as people chose to personalize the issues and attack the other(s). The end result of that approach is that more problems are heaped upon the original problems of the financial crisis. Now more people are leaving or abandoning the need to pull together through these difficult days. Instead of staying together to endure the crisis, there is even greater reason for the money problems. Now there are even fewer dollars to meet the needs. Such a response leads to even more pain for the community, its relationships and the individual members involved than the original crisis over money matters.

People of God and people of faith have the gifts that are needed in times of great stress and challenge. We have the promises of God to walk beside us through difficult times. We have the assurance that God, whose eye is on the sparrow and who dresses the lilies of the field, will care for us. We have partnerships in the whole church, which promise that we are not alone. We have faith to sustain us in the most difficult of times.

There are many reasons to be hopeful during these difficult days. At the same time, there is a great need to be faithful and respectful and caring for all during times that put us all to the test. It is yet another time to listen to the voice of Jesus, (again I urge us all to read Matthew 6:19 through Matthew 7:8) who taught, "do not worry…do not judge… ask, search, knock, strive first for the kingdom…"
In the light of Christ,
—Murray D. Finck†, Bishop

More Bishop's Journals: August 2010 -Thank You Pastor Peterson