The Business of the Church

This morning I went to a talk at the Presbytery office by John W. Wimberly Jr., author of The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth that Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management. Wimberly distinguishes between two different-and-essential roles that pastors play: leaders and managers. Leadership is helping to articulate a vision of what God is calling the church to be and do, and to motivate a congregation to share it. Management means taking care of the details to assure things get done well.

He argues that like other businesses, churches have to manage money, personnel, and property. He described some of the things most ministers never learn in seminary (and which most of us end up having to do):

• Institute financial management and auditing procedures.
• Read and understand financial reports.
• Create a strategic plan.
• Write personnel policies and job descriptions, and do appraisals.
• Plan property maintenance and establish a capital maintenance fund.

 I found the conversation, which included pastors from churches in Westchester and Rockland counties, to be worth the trip. While some would argue that churches are "different" because of our spiritual aims and eternal purpose, I say that we ought to be at least as good at managing the resources we're given as any secular business. Sadly, it's often not so.

A 2007 study by Villanova University found that 85% of the Roman Catholic dioceses who responded reported they had discovered embezzlement within the last five years, with 11% of these totaling more than half a million dollars. The Marquet Embezzlement Report says that last year non profits and religious organizations combined accounted for nearly 11 percent of all incidents. They observe that the control environment is relatively looser in non-profit organizations, making it easier to embezzle in general. However, there is less cash to steal in these organizations. In the largest church case adjudicated in 2009, the embezzler took more than $100,000 in small amounts from the offering plates over 42 years!

I'll have some stuff to talk about at my next meeting  with the Trustees!

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor

PS: I'm certainly NOT suggesting there's anything wrong at PCMK. Just the opposite! We're seeking to be open and transparent, and create an environment where we can talk about all these management issues.