The Poverty Decision

No post yesterday as I was driving all around town doing random things. Having a car is a HUGE help to my ministry. Honestly, I think I was foolish to go without a car for my two years at SMM, but financially it would have been a stretch. In retrospect, I should have asked for a car allowance from SMM to handle at least much of the cost, but like most churches they think of themselves as poorer than they are. The most articulate description I've heard of this phenomenon called it "The poverty decision." It was Susan Turpin, Companion of the Order of the Holy Cross, who came up with that phrase. She is a modern contemplative whom I admire greatly. She's also a very skilled accountant who told the Order that many churches and non-profits make poor decisions because they imagine themselves to be poorer than they are. There is a kind of false humility in going for the cheap solution, as though we had solidarity with the poor. But we're not poor--our churches have lots of money and can always fund-raise for more.

The classic example is when it comes to buying a new boiler for a church. Many churches will go for the cheapest model available rather than something which is more expensive, but will cost less in the long run. Most churches these days are smart enough about boilers to avoid that particular mistake, so the flawed thinking manifests in other areas like the copy machine, how much they pay staff, or what kind of coffee they buy.

You see, the quality of the coffee you give to visitors is very important for what is says about what you value. If you value fellowship, you buy and serve the same quality of coffee that you would serve in your own home. When you are talking about tools that support ministry, like copy machines and phone systems and so forth, having a cheap solution will limit the organizational capacity of the church.

I know, this seems very obvious--especially to people from the business world--but non-profits act foolishly in this way all the time. I heard of a church once where a Warden ended up having huge fights with the Incumbent because he didn't think the Rectory cable bill should be included in the utility expenses paid by the church. The Warden argued that the church was running a deficit and that meant they needed to make cuts in spending. The incumbent, I imagine, felt that he had sacrificed quite enough for the church already. Most of us get paid WAY less than we would be making in the private sector. We accept that as part of the call to ordained ministry, but we at least deserve a comfortable home (with cable)!

I know, nobody is going to disagree with me when I put it like this, but you'd be surprised how many churches make the poverty decision when it comes to compensating their clergy or buying coffee or boilers. I'm just very thankful at this moment that I'm at a church that thinks more strategically about these things. I wonder if that fact that my predecessor had been trained in the ways of finance made a difference for inculcating healthy attitudes towards money at COTM?

-t