At Offering Time, My Job Is on the Line
When your congregation's financial 'inferiority' causes problems for your bank account.
George R. Cannon, Jr.
October 1, 2003
Hudson's Taylor's motto was my own in my first pastorate: "God's will, done God's way, never lacks God's supply." I seriously felt that as long as I was doing God's will, everything would be all right. In fact, I believed finances were not an issue. God would take care of that. Reality hit home soon. Finances became an issue. After serving the church two years, I received a phone call that would strike fear in any pastor's heart: "It looks like we are not going to be able to pay you this month." It was summer and families were away on vacation. The treasurer assured me we could catch up. One pay period became two periods and soon would be three. Panic set in. I had just purchased a home in the community. What was I going to do? Would I lose my home? Was this the end of my ministry? Then the third call came. The treasurer found that even with the new growth, the church was not able to pay me at the level to which they had committed. He had slowly used the surplus in the bank to make ends meet. In fact, he said, the church could only keep me if I took a 20 percent pay cut. We called a business meeting, and the pay dilemma was explained to the church. I agreed to the cut, with the stipulation that the church bring it back to their prior commitment within a year. If they failed to meet that commitment, I would not be able to stay. The church agreed, reluctantly. Quick solution quickly gone
Within that year attendance doubled, and the church returned my salary to its previous level. We outgrew our rented facility, and we began talking about construction. Soon a dispute developed over the type of building to build, and some families began withholding their offerings. I received another phone call: no paycheck again. My resentment mounted. I ...
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