2) The Financial Lesson, or, "Kingdom Economics"
The budgetary realities faced by leaders of large churches like Hybels must be incredibly complex--and doing so in the midst of economic havoc many times more bewildering than that. Willow Creek had made the commitment to BE the church even through a recession--that decision must have some very complicated ramifications. He said that when it comes to making budgets work in crisis, "the math makes no sense" to the human mind. They have had to walk more by faith than by sight. He drew a graph on his flip chart, which showed church revenues declining. A second line represented the needs of the church and community--that line was getting dramatically higher. As those two lines cross on the graph, he admitted, it gets to be quite tense. How to plan in such volatile conditions? Hybels said it feels more like guesswork than a plan. They've attempted to use many sorts of economic forecasting to anticipate revenues and expenses, but there are too many variables in times like these. He admits that he and many of his leadership team feel unqualified for some of this complex economic management, and that they'd much rather focus on winning souls for Christ than on spreadsheets. However they knew that the Bible provides God's expectations for them in this area. Luke 14 says that before a building project is undertaken, costs must be clearly understood and planned for. If this isn't done, serious embarrassment is sure to take place. So it's important for all churches to see to it that the church's financial house is in order as much as its doctrinal house.
So how to lead the economic aspects of church ministry in times of crisis? Ever in learning mode, Hybels had the great opportunity to interview Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric. He asked the question of leading in crisis, and Welch replied, "In a crisis, cash is king. It is absolutely king." Now, I have a problem with that philosophy when applied to a church context, and Hybels said the same thing, that actually Christ is King. So with that disclaimer, was there merit to Welch's point? Other than the "king" thing, Hybels' answer was yes. Here's why: "when an organization is hit broadside, it helps to be sitting on healthy cash reserves" NOT because it is good to rely on money instead of God, but BECAUSE "it gives leaders what leaders need in a crisis, which is time." A lot of tough calls need to be made in crisis times, and having a bit of money stowed away assists the leader in making those decisions slowly, thoughtfully, and in the right way. New plans can be made that are well thought-out rather than rushed. New ways of raising revenue can be thought up. There is time to redefine priorities on which ministries are vital, versus which ones must necessarily be set aside. Staffing levels may have to be changed as well.
That led to Hybels' exhortation that if staff has to be reduced, churches should follow the Golden Rule. Lots of notice should be given to the whole church; there should be no surprises. Advance notice should be given to staffers MONTHS ahead of time, not weeks or days. He also said that churches should be crystal clear about WHY staff must be reduced. If the reduction is wholly motivated by the need to reorganize because of money concerns, that should be clearly stated. I would think that any staff needing to be let go would therefore be spared of torturing themselves mentally, thinking "I must have done a horrible job!" No, Hybels emphasized. Churches must be honest and gentle. They should give GENEROUS severances...in other words, "be Christian about it. Be the church." Seems so basic, doesn't it? Scary that this would even have to be said...but believe me. It does.
Back to the subject of reserves, briefly. In the wake of the havoc wreaked by the recession, lots of pastors have been forced to look for practical advice on subjects NEVER covered in seminary. (That's me; I can discuss postmodernism with you at length, but don't look for guidance on annuities, grant-writing, investments, etc...that stuff is alchemy to me.) Several pastors have asked for guidance about what percentage of income to hold as long-term cash reserves. Many are gung-ho about telling families to hold six months of income as reserves, in case of job loss, but it never occurs to them to hold reserves at church for difficult times. Hybels stated that they are attempting to keep about 25% of annual revenue as reserves...once again to give them time to strategize properly. (Hybels loves to make jokes about his Dutch ancestry, and didn't miss the chance here..."Being Dutch I could stand to have much more than that...")
Hybels then moved to give some really good advice, I thought, on how to set priorities during tough times. Too often the moment of crisis brings paralysis; something needs to be pared back, but what? It is helpful to know in advance what your plan is in certain contingencies. Thus, Hybels gathered his leaders with three buckets: A, B, and C. He also had the names of Willow's ministries and programs on slips of paper. He then began to discuss various "what if" scenarios with the leadership. First: what if Willow's revenues were to drop by as much as 50%? Hopefully that would never happen, but they were considering worst-case scenarios so that nothing would take them by surprise. If revenues were to be dropped 50%, which ministries would they stop doing first? They decided together and put those in bucket C. Now to get really nightmarish: what if income for the church were to drop by 75%? What would they drop then in order to stay afloat? They came to consensus and put those slips of paper in bucket B. Last, what ministries did they commit that they would NEVER stop doing? What would they go out and work nights so that they could maintain? Those core ministries' slips of paper were put in bucket A. He said that this exercise brought amazing clarity to him and his team. It also prevents paralysis: when certain contingencies arise, they know in advance what to do.
Even in the midst of all this craziness, Hybels has seen the opportunity for a fresh start. Thinking ahead to sunnier days, he has had his leadership team brainstorm what their budget planning would look like if they were able to start again from an absolute clean slate. How would they apportion their income into various areas of priority? Not only have they come up with an ideal picture; even now they've begun moving in that direction. Imagine a pie chart, if you will, for that is exactly what Hybels drew on his flipchart at this point (I suppose I could draw something with Paint and put it here, but I'm too lazy. Draw out your own if you like). The new budget structure they're moving toward is as follows:
- 50% (and no more than that) to staff and benefits. This will force them to keep stressing the need for volunteer ministry to step up and do their part to serve the Body of Christ, and for the leadership to prioritize training and mobilizing those volunteers. This would go a long way in keeping the church from becoming addicted to staff members whom they could pay to "be Christians" on their behalf.
- 10% of the budget would go to missions and charitable work around the world. Willow has taken a place in the forefront of ministering to those in extreme poverty around the world, alleviating the AIDS crisis, providing life-saving vaccines, medicines, etc. This budget item would keep that commitment vital.
- 10% of the budget would be earmarked for what Hybels called the "Winds of the Spirit." He explained that this item was for those times when you're well-into a budget year, expenditures are locked in, and YET a ministry or new initiative has really begun to flourish and people's lives are being impacted. If the budget is locked, there's nothing you can do about that. If, however, there are funds set aside for that very purpose, you'd have the resources to "pour on that fire of the Spirit." If some part of that fund doesn't get used in a given year, you could place it into long-term reserves and, as Hybels said, "pray for the Spirit to work next year." He said this with levity; obviously the Spirit is working all the time--it's just we mortals that are sometimes too thick to figure out how.
- 15% of the budget to ministry budgets; that is, funding those ministries already up and working.
- 15% to utilities, facilities and any debt service. I suspect some churches use much more than 15% on these sorts of expenses; designating 15% only would certainly encourage churches to live within their means, wouldn't it?
The last thing Hybels had to say on the "Kingdom Economics" lesson was, in my mind, the most encouraging of them all. He gave us leaders the firm assurance that EVEN during recession times, "people will still give sacrificially to a white-hot vision." In case you doubt consider these mind-blowing anecdotes offered by Hybels.
- After the recession hit hard, they knew they needed to seriously ramp up their support of their food pantry. They gave the church a big challenge: let's see if we can restock the pantry for the entire year of 2009. This challenge was met and FAR exceeded.
- They put on a "Celebration of Hope": a three-week drive to give sacrificially to those suffering poverty and AIDS. During this time, they were dared to eat only subsistence diets and drink only water. (I assume this was to both raise their awareness of what people in poverty have to put up as a way of LIFE, as well as to free extra funds to give!) A goal was set for this offering (I don't recall Hybels mentioning the amount), and the goal was surpassed THREEFOLD. Need I say it again? This is in a recession.
- Right at the time where so many had lost their jobs, the church had begun to try and raise interest in ministries to improve the quality of drinking water in impoverished areas. In the lobby of the church they placed an enormous water filtration system. A business man saw this huge contraption and asked Hybels what it was. He explained that any village with this system could purify 10,000 gallons of water per day. This would supply the needs of 5,000 people. Out of the blue, and completely deadpan, this fellow told Hybels, "I think I want to pop for one of those." I can imagine Hybels stopping in his tracks. He asked the fellow what "pop" meant to him--did he mean he'd pray about it? No, the man said, he wanted to BUY one of those systems for a village somewhere. Hybels cautioned the fellow that the system carried a $25,000 price tag. The guy shrugged and said, "yeah, that's ok." Can you imagine Hybels' surprise? It gets better: the next day at church Hybels told the story (I suppose he kept the man's name anonymous), and after the service FIVE people came up and said they wanted to "pop" for one of those systems as well. In fact, by the end of their "Celebration of Hope" emphasis, 22 of those systems were "popped for!" Amazing! Now obviously, I absolutely cannot relate to a context in which people could get inspired and simply produce $25,000 at will. That's never been my reality, and it's never been a reality anywhere I've ministered. But instead of envying folks that could do that, the right thing to do is rejoice! Yes, this world is full of rich, money-grasping people. But isn't it great to know that God has some people out there whom He's blessed with resources, knowing that they will be open-handed, loving and compassionate with those resources? You bet it is! At any rate, Hybels' point was that we should not become demoralized in a downturn. Give them a vision, and people will still be very generous. And that's fantastic!
Thanks for sticking with me as I type out my notes from the Leadership Summit 2009 long-hand. It's just as much for me as anything, as I try to get all this down in my own words so I can process it and perhaps put some of it into practice. But for anyone kind enough to read my ramblings, thank you! In my next post, I'll begin with covering Hybels' third lesson for Leading in a New Reality: The Relational Lesson.




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