Solomon's Porch and emerging church stewardship

I went to worship last night at Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis with my friend Rachael.  Their space was spectacular.  I kept having the opinion that our burgeoning community should never have it's own building... that is until I walked into that one last night.  There was art everywhere, including an enormous goose flying overhead (which I believe in Celtic Christianity is a symbol of the Holy Spirit).  The sanctuary, which is sizable, was filled with sofas and easy chairs in the round.  I am in love.  Being able to sit in a comfy sofa for worship was a big plus for me (especially as it was over 2 hours long!)  Folks were friendly. The music, while not terribly conducive to congregational singing (which I am partial to), was well done and not at all vapid like in so many other churches. 
Their pastor, Doug spoke about the finances of their community.  Apparently they had been relying on a few major givers who "had the gift of giving" while others "had the gift of music, or art, or other stuff"...a system which they are now having to rethink.  This community had decided at its inception that they would plan each year's budget based on the actual giving from the previous year, rather than basing it on pledges as many churches do.   It seems as though that worked for 8 years, each year the giving having increased form the previous year... until now.  Several major givers are no longer part of the community and the church is now in a major financial crunch.  After Doug's talk a member got up to talk about tithing and rather than the "joy of giving" talk of a congregational tither, this guys gets up and basically says, "I'm here to tell you that I'm a lousy tither, seriously, it's really hard for me to give, but I want to get better at it, so let's do it together." I thought it was brilliant.

I left there thinking about the financial reality of the emerging church.  House of Mercy, another Twin Cities emerging church which must be around 10 years old now, is also in a financial crisis.

There are a few issues.  One is that the postmodern urban young adult population is not rolling in money.  But the other is the fact that we in our culture have this pernicious reality of being profoundly affluent while having a mentality of scarcity.   I include myself in this.  So a lot of folks in the emerging church think that putting $5 or $10 dollars a week in the plate is sacrificial.  But we'll buy $100 jeans and $5 coffee and $50 concert tickets.  I wonder if it will be possible in our new community just getting off the ground in Denver if we can establish a DNA of radical stewardship: environmental, physical, financial, spiritual.  It kind of has to be a whole-life thing of joy and defiance in the face of our culture of consumption and selfishness.  Giving away 10% of our family's income is a small step toward realizing that none of it is ours in the first place, so we release a small portion into the world believing that it will help  accomplish something better than if we spent it on ourselves.  We free ourselves form the bondage of that money each month and it can feel like an act of defiance, but it never feels like on obligation.  The question is how can this be shared with a new community?  Any ideas???

Comments

[Jeff Greathouse]

I think it is about what you saw in their service. They do it quite frequently. The community shares with one another about their personal experiences, their stuggles and their triumphants.

I think folks are still looking for authentic relationships and issues that are relevant - talked to them in a community way.

[Chris]

I've grumbled about the troubled state of finances and stewardship among Emergent communities in the past (in a post and also perhaps in a comment on your blog). Emergent's anti-institutional bent is an asset in many aspects of ministry, but presents a challenge in terms of stewardship.

First, you need to get funding - one way or another - for the first several years. Those folks who walk in the door and make a commitment to your new community of faith - they should be giving and you should talk with them about giving - but you shouldn't depend on "new member giving" to sustain your community for the first few years.

But one of the beauties of Emergent is that it is less concerned with filling roles on institutional committees and more with living faith through creative and expressive life practices. From the beginning of your community let giving be a core faith practice. Sure, faith should flow and speak through music, art, time and talents, but these things don't pay the bills. I think that your core folks would appreciate this fact, as they can't send a song or drawing to Visa to pay for those iPod downloads.

Finally, gather a core group of disciplined leaders dedicated to your vision. These core leaders should be praying with you, studying Bible with you, giving generously to the ministry, and reaching out with you. I wouldn't have time for folks who show up, are active, and consider themselves "leaders" but who don't give. At some point leaders have to lead in all aspects - not just in being passionate, intelligent, creative or dedicated with time and talent. I've seen this on a number of fledgling non-profit boards - they've got a bunch of well-wishers who really don't know how to give.

OK. Rant over. I hope and pray that you find a way . . .

[Ryan Torma]

One of the best tools we have found is Thrivent's Simply Giving. Being able to give through EFT has really helped Spirit Garage folks reach their giving goals.

[Brian Schulenburg]

Great post! Thanks for sharing. Tithing is and will always be a challenge with younger believers. I love the way that Doug had someone come up and share about his own struggles with giving. It is important that all believers take ownership in all areas of their faith, including tithing. Sacrificial giving is one of the most beautiful, faith stretching exercises of followers of Christ. Great thoughts. Thanks.

[Mark K.]

I think money is a sword that has at least two edges for congregations...On the one hand, generous giving tends to reinforce a sense of ownership, in a good way, as commitment and engagement. On the other hand, it tends to reinforce a sense of ownership, in a bad way, as entitlement or control.

Goodness knows I don't know how to solve the financial worries of congregations everywhere. I can, though, speak to what sounds good to me, as someone attracted to emergent-style congregations. Maybe there will be something useful in there...

I think one important thing to avoid is a sense of the budget as "finding the income we need to meet our expenses." Instead, the budget should be "finding the balance of income and expenses"--and someone contributing to lower expenses should be seen as equally valuable as someone who contributes more on the income side.

By which I mean: Identify the cost of everything and, as much as possible, provide opportunities to either reduce *or* fund that cost. Some things--pastor's salary, insurance, mortgage--can only be funded. Most services and supplies are more flexible, though, through volunteering and/or having the connections or time to search out the best deals.

On the income side...I think a good goal is to have the budget be a vehicle of inspiration. People generally don't want to do only what is necessary, but also what is exciting. I think it would be interesting to set a guideline that 10% of all income goes out from the congregation to support other "doing good" things, 10% goes into savings to build up reserves so that big projects are feasible in the future, and the remaining 80% goes into current operations. (This also can create a sense of always having "more," avoiding scarcity fears).

In a way, you have an advantage with a new church plant. You don't have the sense of historical obligation to keep up a building or programs inherited from previous generations.

Good luck!

[Nadia]

Thanks everyone for your comments.
Mark,
What you offered is very helpful indeed, thanks for taking the time.
a
Nadia

[Carol Howard Merritt]

Great insights, Nadia.

I have no doubt that generosity and giving can be a part of the DNA from the beginning. It's a wonderful goal, and a necessary one.

Take care.

[lorna (see-through faith)]

terrific post. and stuff to think about too. Thanks

[dave]

ah...good thoughts and questions. i'm not sure i have any answers more than those provided but do have thoughts as i've been thinking about how all this is going to work with our new emerging community here in flagstaff. initially i think jesus set us up, living as a homeless person. that's not the most conducive lifestyle given children and families. the book of acts also makes it challenging with the "all for one and one for all" communal lifestyle. again, a great romantical thought but isn't too practical given our capitalistic society.

personally, i'm just excited to get the skeptics at the table to talk and wonder about jesus, let alone begin asking them for money. now i know it's more than asking for money to sustain the pastor or the organization for its own sake, but rather about the discipline in coming to terms with the power money plays on and in us. i'm not sure how we'll tackle this, but what i do know is that it will all be couched in relational terms, that we know each other well enough to know that our motives in pursuing such things are not heard suspiciously, but lovingly and as it relates to what God is up to in the world and in me.

good thoughts. the other thought i have is to share the responsibility broadly with others, the leadership as someone previously wrote, put it back on the group and see how they might figure out the challenge, instead of the pastor having to do everything. blessings and spirit-driven peace.

[becca]

relationaltithe.com is a good place to start, for pondering on the sharing of collective resources... responsible redistribution.
I like to think of tithing more holistically than some financial donation (you are spot on about people being unwilling to match their generousity with their own luxury-spending, a la $30 for a new CD but that's too much for supporting a homeless person...)
so if tithing is about 10%, let us tithe our time, energy, relationships, food, resource use, busy-ness. Slow down, spend energy on people, not just your work, give away some of your groceries, give the environment a Sabbath.
shalom.

[church chairs]

Nice thinking but please Slow down and spend energy on people, do more than your work, give away some of your groceries, give the environment a holly Sabbath.

[rich]

Wow! Sounds like and incredible experience.

A while back I read Church Re-Imagined by Doug Pagitt (which is essentially a diary of one week at Solomon's Porch). So, I feel like I've been there however virtually that might be. But still, I hope one day to visit in person. Perhaps one day!

Thanks for that great account!

[Arty]

If you think the scriptures are a means of grace, then you need to ask if getting overhead in a building is authentic. Some of the apostles worked for livelyhood though they could rightfully have asked for payroll, some collected monies FOR the purposes of equalizing assets between Christians in different places, and some to give to the poor.

No monies asked for building, materials, no 'stewardship' campaigns etc.. They met in their homes.

Looks to me like the emergent churches (at least those in the twin cities mentioned) are like the '70s Jesus People days and are similarly finding themselves into institutionalization as they go along which may lead to denominational like distinctives....

[Arty]

If you think the scriptures are one of three means of grace, then you need to ask if getting overhead in a building is authentic. Some of the apostles worked for livelyhood though they could rightfully have asked for payroll, some collected monies FOR the purposes of equalizing assets between Christians in different places, and some to give to the poor.

No monies asked for buildings, materials, no 'stewardship' campaigns etc.. They met in their own homes.

However, it looks to me like the Emergent churches (at least those in the Twin Cities mentioned) are like the '70s Jesus People and are similarly finding themselves into institutionalization as they go along which may lead to denominational like distinctives....In light of this, maybe it's time to savor and revere the models of old white haired ladies in the Lutheran pews of the midwest who kept Sunday school going, putting coins in noisy offering cans, praying for tough needs (not wants),who plunked thick scriptural compilations about God on the organ and keeping liturgy going on as it has for centuries. Maybe 'postmodern' (Or as Francis Shaeffer called it, escape from logic)is going to be roped into Moderninity by neccesity.