The One Person You Want on Your Team

You find funny things reading the paper.
 
How about the two women who, at 5 p.m. when it was still daylight, drove into a harbor in West Hawaii because their GPS said that’s what they should do?
 
They survived but alas their rented SUV did not.
 
What was amazing was just how nonchalant the women were. Oh? My car is nearly submerged? Should I be thinking about getting out? Did we get rental insurance? Oh, nooooo! I can’t see the SUV anymore.
 
This, in some ways, is how some people (of course, not you) approach finances. Many years ago, I wrote a post, Please, No More Faith Budgets. It’s one of my favorites because, like the women in the above-mentioned SUV, too many congregations trust everything will all work out…even as they are slowly going under with their eyes wide open.
 
Sadly, wishful thinking has sunk too many wonderful congregations.
 
If you’re lucky, you’ll have one person on your Finance team who will ask hard questions. This person will say,
 
Can we afford this?

Do the numbers pan out?

What is acceptable risk?

Are we meeting all our obligations?

How are we going to pay for it?
 
These are not fun queries by any stretch. But they need to be asked. That one person may be sounding the alarm:
 
“The GPS isn’t right. Let’s go a different way.”
 
I hate conflict. I don’t go out seeking people who disagree just to be disagreeable. On a finance committee, however, you need to have that one person who is willing to point out your blind spots and keep you on the right path.
 
That person may help you avert disaster. This is a person who can help you and your congregation be sure your feet are planted on firm ground. Remember that old hymn, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand?  It’s a little like that.
 
Bottom line: Don’t be those two in the SUV. Use your common sense. When your budget starts to look like it’s out of whack or a little unrealistic let that still small voice of the Holy Spirit (and that one finance committee member) set you on the right course.
 
And for heaven’s sake…get the insurance.
 
Photo credit: Tianya1223@pixabay.com

Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations. She thinks this may be a good video to watch before your next Finance Committee meeting; the classic Steve Martin sketch on SNL, Don’t Buy Stuff.
 
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered!
 
Schedule a meeting now.
 
If someone has forwarded this to you and you would like to subscribe to "Inspiring Generosity," click here.  Miss an issue?  Click here.