By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse

We have an excellent Finance team and I have enjoyed working with them on some of the organizational tasks Interim Pastors should initiate. Teresa, Dawn, Angela, Casey, Shelley, Brett and Ashton have great backgrounds, skills, and a ton of combined knowledge to bring to the party. On top of all that, they have good hearts for Jesus and for this church. I could take the rest of this Weekly Word to describe all the non-financial things they do to serve the Lord and you all. 

Recently, we hired an outside firm to look at our financial procedures and make recommendations. Some of their findings are already being implemented, such as having two counters and shoring up credit card usage policies and procedures. More good practices are coming in the near future. I’m happy to share that many operational procedures are fine and don’t need much adjustment. You’ll get a better report from Finance once the review process wraps up. 

One of our biggest headaches is the combination of a convoluted, complex account structure and scant funds documentation. Quite frankly, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what we have in terms of finances. You aren’t a big, complex organization and it’s hard for me to figure out why the finances are so complicated. My financial analyst friends tell me they usually see this complexity when someone’s trying to evade scrutiny. I doubt that’s the case here. You’re good people, I’ve come to see that very clearly!

You did go through a period in which you had unfortunate budget issues and difficult discussions about how to pay for items. There were other tough circumstances that made things here feel chaotic and uncertain. At the same time, you had several large bequests and donations creating a significant windfall. You also went through a capital campaign. Any one of these factors would be challenging, but you had a perfect storm. It’s hard to make decisions in the middle of such a storm, and it appears that’s when things began to get complicated. 

I won’t go any further on the pathology, I’m mainly interested in helping you all go forward in better shape. In partnership with Finance and the Session, along with the Foundation, I’m drafting a three-part project. First, we need to get a handle on what assets we have. Second, we need to de-complicate our account structure. Third, we will work on better reporting and communication so you and ministry leaders have a clearer financial picture. These are all good steps the folks on those teams are taking, and I appreciate your patience and support as we do the work. You can help too, especially by giving freely. As your leadership teams work to rebuild trust, reducing restricted or designated giving really helps. Not only does unrestricted giving make easier accounting, it also frees you up to respond to changing circumstances and emerging ministry needs. You become a more agile church ready to serve God. 

You have great people here, and great resources for expanding the kingdom of God. I will pray and work to help you make the most of what you have.