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Question: What do
college students standing in line at the
dining hall have in common with a group
of Christian ministry staff sitting around the coffee shop?
Answer: They’re all
complaining—one group about the food
and the other about finances.
Many Christian ministries are infested with
people who are constantly whining about
how much things cost, what they don’t
have, or how tight their budget is. They’re
drowning in an ocean of discontent and don't even realize it!
This pity party called “poor talk” surfaces in
the form of joking (“Maybe we’ll finally get
to go out to dinner at the marriage feast in
heaven!”), in hinting (“We’re hoping to get
the air conditioner fixed when our support
increases”), and in comparing (“Sure would
be nice to send our kids to a Christian school like the Newtons do").
I giggle when I hear a poor talker respond to
compliments with their brand of disclaimers.
They feel compelled to tell us their new shirt
was on sale, their new camera was bought
with tax refunds, and their vacation was because
of an internet coupon!
And instead of using our ministry newsletters
to communicate vision and changed
lives, we’re tempted to manipulate the
sympathies of our donors by sneaking poor
talk into the “Prayer Request” section: (i.e.
Pray that God would provide for our kids’ dental needs. Pray someone would give us
a computer. Pray our mission funds come in by December 1st, etc...).
This “poor me” attitude robs us of the dignity
of our position and casts us as beggars in our
supporters’ eyes. Instead of just going out
and inviting others (face to face) to invest
in us and our ministry, we rationalize, blame
our circumstances, and slip into denial. This
is usually when the credit cards come out!
Other toxic consequences include:
1. Poor talk poisons ministry morale:
When people are more focused on saving pennies
at the grocery store than they are winning the
world to Christ, they have lost sight of the vision.
2. Poor talk poisons our view of spirituality:
The opposite ditch from the health and wealth
gospel is the “being poor is more spiritual”
perspective. This kind of theology is why some
Christian workers are still driving that broken
down ’69 Subaru—and bragging about it!
3. Poor talk poisons staff recruitment:
The fastest way to drive off potential staff
candidates is for them to get a small (yet
lethal) dose of poor talk from your co-workers.
Most people want to join a team that is strong
spiritually, emotionally—and financially.
I know there are stresses and pressures in
living on support, but the solution for you and
your staff is to set a healthy budget and then
go out and raise 100% of the funds in order to
fully support your family and win this spiritual
battle we are engaged in—and then do away
with all poor talk!
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