What Then?

Let’s face facts, the topic of money dominates most church council meetings. “How many fundraising activities will it take to balance the budget this year?”, or “How much money can we withdraw from church investment accounts?” are typical discussion starters. Suppose for a moment that a new whiz-bang stewardship program unlocked our wallets, and the money overflowed our cups. Imagine for a minute that you have more than enough money. All the bills are paid and you even included a handsome raise for the staff this year. What then? 

I’m not sure if we would know where to begin to answer this question. I can imagine the person who might have worked on the mission statement back in 2003 dusting it off and proclaiming, “I knew this would come in handy someday!,” while the mission committee folks would be busy identifying mission trips. The trustees would be making to-do lists as excitedly as school kids writing letters to Santa, and the treasurer could get his first good night’s sleep in years (not to mention dropping Tylenol and Maalox from his daily routine). The Pastor would be a rock star with her DS, while colleagues are calling for advice, and a tall steeple church is certainly in her future.

But the question still lingers like a nagging conscience – “What then?”  

We are celebrating the Easter season, basking in the resurrection glow. Maybe we had thought our church movement was over. We huddled up in our conference room deciding the best way to walk away, all the while heartbroken over what could have been, but we just ran out of money and energy. But then suddenly Jesus appears to us, first saying, “Peace be with you,” and then again he appears in the breaking of bread. Wait a minute! We are not done – we have all that we need – Jesus! But “What then?” “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”   

So, sure, waiting for enough money to balance the budget might be a good diversion for avoiding our mandate to go and make disciples. But, if we never have enough money, “What then?”