• First Who, Then What: A Philosophy of Church Staffing
• 8 Core Competencies for Church Staffing

These two consistently rate among the highest read articles on my site. The reason strikes me as quite simple: In all the training pastors go through, they never learn how to lead and mange a staff. I wanted to pick up on those previous posts and ask the next question that church leaders must face: How much do we pay? If you spend all that time identifying the right people to have on the bus who match the mission of your church and demonstrate the character, competency and chemistry you are looking for, don’t you want to keep them for a while?

There are many resources on church salary such as the MinistryPay.com salary survey or the Compensation Handbook for Church Staff by expert Richard Hammer. The limitation of those books is that they tell you what other churches are paying their people, not what you should pay your people. For most churches, the real struggle is that the list of positions they want to hire is a mile long and yet, the dollars are limited. It is at this tension point that between a lot of jobs, the desire to keep your best people and the limited dollars available that I put forward this concept: If you have 10 positions open, hire 5 and pay like their 7. Let me explain…

• 10 Positions Open: What are the open positions that you have at your church? Identify that list of positions you would like to hire. For the sake of this discussion, let’s suppose you identify 10 positions.
• Hire 5: If you have 10 positions, you 1) are unlikely to have the money to hire all of them and 2) even if you did, it’s probably not a good idea. Churches must consistently remember that the job of the paid staff is to train and deploy God’s people to serve, not to do all the work ourselves. If you hire every job you come up with, you will burn through dollars and you will limit the ability of your people to fulfill their God-given call to serve. So if you have those 10 positions, look to hire 5 of them.
• Pay like 7: Here’s the catch. When you hire those 5, pay them like they are 7 people. You still come out three positions ahead (paying “7″ salaries instead of the original 10) and you are setting yourself up to retain those people that you worked so hard to find.

We all know verses like 1 Timothy 5:18 (“The laborer deserves his wages”) and Matthew 10:10 (“The laborer deserves his food”). And in my denomination, when a pastor is installed at a church, the congregation is asked, “Do you engage to continue to him while he is your pastor that competent worldly maintenance which you have promised, and to furnish him with whatever you may see needful for the honor of religion and for his comfort among you?” That is, will the church agree to pay the pastor appropriately and fairly so he’s not worried about money and is free to serve?

The concept is great. But, practically, how does a church do that with so many potential positions and limited dollars? My suggestion: Have 10 jobs? Hire 5 and pay like their 7.

What I want, what I long for, is to risk big. Either we will fail epically or we will see God do things more amazing than we ever dared to ask or imagine. But either way, there will be a story to tell of how God’s mission was worth everything. It is to this place of risking everything that John Bishop calls us in Dangerous Church.

There are two particularly penetrating (and convicting) insights that from the book that I would like to highlight:

• It starts with the pastor: Pastors, we are in a strange place. We are just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. And yet, people look to us to model the gospel in our own lives. If we aren’t gospel risk-takers, why would they be? If we don’t share the gospel with unbelievers, what makes us think they will? If we don’t live out the gospel through caring for the outcasts and outsiders, is there any chance they will? Convicting words.
• It’s all about God: Ultimately, we – me, my church, any of us – do not have the power to change lives. Only God does. We are called to be faithful and embrace his radical mission in the world. He alone can make the blind to see, the lame to walk and raise the dead to life. Only God. That’s an important truth easily forgotten.

If you are looking for a book that will call you and your church to radical places and to take radical risks for the glory of Christ, this is it. It’s time to stop pursuing being a safe church. It’s time to become a dangerous church. Let’s roll.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free as part of the Dangerous Church blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.

So concludes Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken, In the first chapter of his epistle, James sets forth two very different roads that we can walk that will lead us in two very different directions.

• One road leads to a crown of life (vs 12) while the other road leads to death (vs 15)
• One road refines us through fire to make us mature and complete while the other road caters to our selfish wants
• One road forms in us the character of Christ while the other road captivates us with false promises
• One road produces joy while the other road produces sin

The question is not, “What road do you want to be on?” That is a nonsensical question. The better question is, “What road are you on?”

If you are experiencing tests and trials, God is using those trials to make you mature and complete. The road may not be easy, but it will produce abiding joy. If you are experiencing temptations that are enticing you, go before Christ who alone was tempted yet without sin and trust in him.

Two roads diverged in a wood. What one are you on?

Instead, this book is a series of testimonies from voices throughout Christendom on the role that tithing has played in their lives. Interesting stories undoubtedly, but a tool for deepening an understanding of the call of giving, it is not.

One theme did resurface throughout several of the stories is the idea that tithing is the starting point, not the end point. Randy Alcorn, who contributes on chapter in this book, refers to tithing as “giving’s training wheels.” The tithe is a guideline to help us grow in charity, not an end unto itself. That lesson should resonate with us all. Our God gave everything – the life of his own Son – to us. The tithe is a step in surrender all of our lives to the One who surrender his life for us.

In short, if you are looking to see the impact of tithing on the lives of others, it is an encouraging read. If you are looking to wrestle with a theology of tithing or its application to the church throughout history or today, this book comes up short.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Giving to Passion

What are you passionate about? If I am honest, I am more excited to give to those ministries/organizations where I am passionate about their work. I like the Red Cross, but I have no passion for the organization. On the other hand, much of my personal story was shaped by Young Life. I love that ministry. Giving to Young Life is an overflow of my passion. I’m sure you are the same way. So what are you most passionate about? Give toward those organizations.

Flexibility in Giving

We Americans tend to run our entire budgets (our entire lives) with no margin. This includes our giving. We plan out exactly how much we intend to give and where. But what happens when something unexpected comes up that you would love to give to, but have no margin in your budget to give toward that cause? For example, what if you left 5% of your anticipated giving as undesignated so that you can give to help the teenager in your church go on a short term missions trip?

Sustainability in Giving

Are you just writing checks to help orphans in Africa? Or are you helping with a job training program for orphans in Africa? The reality is, there are ways you to get more bang for your giving buck. Some organizations are better stewards of your money either through lower overhead (meaning more of your money goes directly to the end mission) or through sustainability efforts. In Nicaragua, I met a church that used a $2000 gift to allow one of its members to start a small bakery on the church property. That bakery now employs 15 people in a small compound, including sales people with monthly sales quotas of $25 each. That $2000 gift is multiplying its effectiveness because of the sustainability of the enterprise. Are you giving to a black hole or does your giving multiply in effectiveness through sustainability efforts?

We all, as Christians, are called to give more, give more often and give more strategically. Take the time to evaluate your own giving that the money that has been entrusted to you – all of it – would be used for the glory of Holy God.

Interact: How can you be more strategic in where you give?

• Give more
• Give more often
• Give more strategically

It is the third point to which we turn our attention today (and tomorrow). It is also the one that elicits the most frequent questions. People get the idea of giving more and giving more often (even if we don’t like its implications for our lives). But the idea of giving more strategically is a new thought for many of us. What do I mean when I say that we should give more strategically?

In short, giving more strategically is to be intentional about your giving. This includes how much you give, how you give and what ministries/organizations to which you give. Let me provide a few examples of how giving more strategically might work out in real life. From these examples, I would encourage you to reflect on your own giving and you can be more strategic in your giving.

How much you give

Graduated Tithe: Ron Sider put forward the idea of a graduated tithe nearly 30 years ago now. To be honest, I hadn’t not even heard of the graduated tithe until recently. Here is the concept: You start by deciding how much you need to live on. You set that amount as your living expenses and tithe (10%) on that amount. Then for every $1000 over that, increase your giving on that amount by 5%. So, say you need $43,000 to live on. Of that $43,000, you give 10%, or $4300. Say you actually make $45,000 per year. For each $1000 increment, you would increase your giving 5%. In our example, you would give 15% of the $43-$44k increment and 20% on the $44-$45 increment. Click here for more on the graduated tithe.

How you give

Auto-Debit/E-Giving: Putting money in the offering plate provides an opportunity to intentional say to God that you are trusting in him. But what happens when you go on vacation? Chances are, you don’t make that gift. Maybe you are disciplined enough to remember and give it next time, but most people will just skip that gift completely. Consider using your online bill-pay or your church’s online giving option to set up automatically recurring gifts. I, for example, schedule my gift to the church to be given twice a month automatically in conjunction with payday.

Life Insurance: Have you considered noncash gifts, such as stocks, bonds and wills (you do have a will, right?)? Think those are just for “rich people”? Here is one easy idea that any of us could do. Say you currently give $10,000 to your church. Consider this scenario. Continue to give $9000 per year to the church but redirect that final $1000 to a term life insurance policy with the church as the named beneficiary. $1000 is approximately the price for a $200,000 policy for a 45-65 year old male. If this man were to pass away with the policy in place, his church would receive a $200,000 windfall. Now, this life insurance setup primarily works for people in that 45-65 window (too cost prohibitive for older individuals and too low a possibility of payoff for those younger). But the point is, have you considered if there is a mechanism of giving that will maximize your dollars for the good of the organization?

Tomorrow, we will return with a look at how to be more strategic in where you give your money. For today, reflect on how much and how you give your money.

Interact: How can you be more strategic in how you give?

• Give more
• Give more often
• Give more strategically

Over the next few days, we will reflect on each of those phrases and what it means to give more, give more often and give more strategically. We will look at the first two today as they are simple and straightforward to understand (though convicting and challenging to implement), and then the third (and least understood) over the next two days.

Give More

To give more is to reflect on what you currently give and to ask God how much he wants you to give. While you may need a plan to progressively move from your current giving to that new level of giving, even in so doing, you are giving more than you had previously.

I know that throughout Christianity, there is a lot of talk about the ongoing role of the tithe in the church. Randy Alcorn makes what I think is a helpful comment on this point, “The tithe is giving’s training wheels.” Ten percent, what was required as a minimum from the poorest Israelite, gives us a good starting point as we learn to trust in the provision of God. From there, we grow our giving both in absolute dollars and in relative percent. There is one person I know who made a goal to be a “reverse tither,” that is, he and his wife wanted to give 90% and live on 10%. Now that is a radical commitment to giving more!

Give More Often

Similar to the first, the concept behind “give more often” is easy to comprehend. My recommendation is that your goal would be to give as often as you get paid. There are many people who give monthly or quarterly or even yearly. That $10,000 check in the offering plate sure looks impressive. But my challenge to that person would be to give $200 every week rather than $10,000 once a year. The amount may be the same. The difference is incalculable.

There are two primary reasons that giving more often that I put forward to people wrestling through their giving: for their own good and for the church’s good. First, giving is a spiritual discipline where we consciously say, “God, this is yours, not mine.” We learn to trust in God’s faithful provision. We learn to let go of the things of this world for the purpose of inviting others to join us in the next one. Giving, at its core, is a discipleship issue. When we give more often, we bear fruit of growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The second reason to give more often is for the good of the church. Those “big” once a year gifts are nice, but they are awful, from a practical standpoint, in helping the church budget. A cash infusion can be a nice boost, but I don’t know any church (or any other non-profit for that matter) that prefers big gifts over regular, ongoing gifts. It is those faithful, regular gifts that allow the church to budget well for its ministry to the world.

Having discussed the first two of give more and give more often, tomorrow’s post will address the mostly frequently asked question on this point, “What does it mean to give more strategically?”

Interact: What steps have you taken in your own life to give more or to give more often?

I start my review of Radical Together by David Platt with that precursor for this reason. Even the good, honorable and God-honoring task of caring for the orphan – one in particular in this case – is just one small action that flows from our adoption as sons of Holy God.

Picking up where his wildly popular and bestselling Radical left off, Platt calls us not to just nice, good little tasks, but to individually, and as a church, trade in our lives for the sake of the gospel among the nations.

Filled with stories from his own experience, from that of members of his congregation and from others who have taken the Radical Experiment, Platt paints a picture of the church unleashed to fulfill God’s purposes in the world by the renewing work of the Spirit in the world as the God’s Word goes forth into the world – and all for the glory of God.

At this point, let me offer a word of caution. I am afraid that the idea of trading our lives for the sake of the gospel will be appealing to us all – just so long as it remains talk and not practice. Radical Together, like Radical before it, will probably be a bestseller. But to be sure, that is neither the purpose of the content of the book nor of the author, David Platt. My challenge for you, if you dare to read it (and I mean this – I put off reading Radical for months and months because I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with the implications personally), is to read it slowly and purposefully. Don’t rush through it. Read one chapter a day and give yourself time and space to reflect on the words. And then go before Holy God and ask him to make your life a radical testimony of God’s redeeming and sending grace to the nations.

Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Radical Together

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their Blogging for Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”