How does your church make decisions?

Have you ever sat in the pew, and wondered how in the world did my Church come up with that decision?

If some strange decisions are being made in your Church, maybe your Church is being run more like a business than a ministry. 

As in any organization, there are a limited number of resources such as seats, meeting space, and parking.

Could it be that your Church is trying to improve their average earnings per member through the decisions that they are making? 

Did you know that if their earnings per member go up then they can afford more attractive buildings and staff increases, so they can attract even more affluent members.

On and on it goes. I hope and pray that this does not describe your Church.

Even if I were affluent, I wouldn’t want to be favored because I had money.

My hope would be that I was being loved and appreciated by authentic people, and not loved because they perceived me to be an affluent giver. 

Look at the decisions that your Church’s leadership is making through a revenue perspective, and then think through what they are doing.

Then, those decisions that they’re making might make some sense. I'm not saying that it's happening in your Church, but it might. 

In some cases, a revenue perspective is the only thing that might make sense. Is your Church a Business or a Ministry? Look through revenue glasses.

To help clear things up, ask…

1. Does your Church’s leadership favor the affluent over others?

2. Does your Church’s leadership rush the new members who are affluent into leadership roles?

3. Does your Church pursue affluent prospects over everyone else?

4. Does your Church have a good representation of the less fortunate in your Church?

5. Does your Church rush to help the Church members who are in crisis, including job loss?

6. Does your Church encourage personal giving to the poor especially to your brothers and sisters in Christ?

7. Are the affluent in your Church taught to be caring with those in your fellowship and elsewhere who are less fortunate?

8. Does your Church encourage their members to cross socio-economic barriers?

9. Does your Church separate the affluent from the less fortunate even in worship?

My hope is that your Church is a ministry and not a business. If not, seek the Lord’s leading in what He’d have you to do.

Matthew 6:24 (CEB) “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth”.