MC USA funding system not working
by Everett J. ThomasPrint Article Email to a Friend
In a July 8 delegate session at Pittsburg 2011, delegates heard that the funding system in Mennonite Church USA is broken. MC USA leader Marty Lehman said the first fruits concept, established at the beginning of Mennonite Church USA in 2001, was good, but the implementation of the theology behind was not.
Lehman listed numerous problems with the implementation:
1) Not all MC USA agencies and groups are included.
2) It required that area conferences would change their funding patterns; only two conferences made that transition.
3) The plan assumed financial health for each church-wide agency, but many have struggled during the recession [and couldn’t fulfill their obligations to fund the Executive Board]. There is no Plan B.
4) The Executive Board relies totally on gifts from the church-wide agencies and area conferences, and the EB has not been allowed to do direct fundraising.
“The fundraising system,” Lehman said, “was supposed to reduce direct solicitation [to individuals]. But, in fact, it has increased. There is a tension in the way we do fundraising.”
After a period of table group discussions and open mic comments, the delegate assembly voted on whether the Executive Board should launch a review of the funding system. Delegates voted overwhelmingly for such a review.
Reader Comments
Add CommentsCurrent Stories
Articles
- 10 years later ...
- Q & A: Dorothy and John
- To obey or not to obey
- A witness to war
- The power of nonshootout
- Love the church
- Blessings
- Stewards of grace
- Rain
News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer
- EMM board appoints Nelson Okanya as new president
- Digital bridge at Pittsburgh increases participation by 42 percent
- Theologian Gordon Kaufman dies at 86
- Kidron pastor threatened with note and nooses
- Pittsburgh Mayor still talking
- Opinion: Confessions of a white anti-racist
- MC USA funding system not working
- Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship launches
- Conversation rooms help to build a strong convention bridge
- Pittsburgh 2011 delegates decide to experiment
- Children collect money for day care
- When bridges lead to a 'new creation'
- Q&A between young adults and Executive Board
- Film provokes discussion of immigration
- Gospel challenge: 'Be all you can be'
- Pink Mennos focus on healing and hope
- Ted Swartz reconciles loss of acting partner
- Hipps calls for reconciliation over promoting justice or purity
- Executive Board hears immigration concerns
- Banks first Mennonite woman ordained in NYC in 100 years
- DNA connects Swiss, Puerto Rican Mennonites
- Unflagging patriotism
- For the Ordination of Minister Addie Sanders Banks
- Fewer churches leaving Mennonite Church USA
- Second accident for Bluffton bus accident survivor
- 'Peace Pastor' blog reaches thousands
- Noticed and welcomed or invisible and lonely?
- South African elder celebrates learning
- Endowment to expand pastoral development
- Official account of Spaulding dismissal
- MCC Binational to disband in 2012
- Mennonites speak at peace convocation
- Especial de Meno Acontecer Julio 18, 2011
- Iglesia Menonita Hispana - Julio
- AMBS busca registrador académico
- Proyecto La Voz
- Pittsburgh 2011
- ¡Bienvenidos al Meno Acontecer de Agosto, 2011!
- Joven ¿esperanza, futuro, educación?
- Retiro anual de estudiantes de IBA - Septiembre
- Conferencia Femenil Hispana Menonita
- Educación Continuada 2011 ...
- Recursos de estudio para la congregación
- Nuevo recurso de Dionisio Byler
- Reflexión pastoral - Agosto
- Del Dr. Nuñez
Columns
- Our good idols
- Investing in hope: Desolation and consolation
- Death makes me angry
- Christian mission is not exotic
- Freedom Riders remind us of racism
- There is a time for departure
- The Pittsburgh experiment
- July book and film reviews
- Determination and perseverance
Readers Say
- Pink Mennos and conventions
- Pink Mennos and conventions II
- Pink Mennos and conventions III
- Spaulding dismissal
- Spaulding dismissal II
- Supports Spaulding dismissal
- Mennonites pay for war
- Gets choked up, too
- Subscript, not superscript
- Thanks for MPH story
Subscribe
Maybe we need a unified board structure to match the unified funding system, eh? ;-)
It's the temptation for those at the top of hierarchy to seek funding from subsidiaries. Administrators in mission agencies prefer to have their support as a percentage cut from workers who have to raise their own support. Why should ministries—including denominational offices—not need to raise their own support by communicating the value of their function to those they serve?
This sounds like DC! The funding system in MC USA isn't broken. It's just the victim of a time honored Mennonite tradition. When you don't agree with the direction the church is going, you tighten up on the old purse strings.
While many seem to be attacking our current system, I will attempt to support it. Congregations and conferences need to step up to the plate to support our leaders. They are working for the entire denomination. They will never be able to please everybody in the denomination with every decision they make. If we do not support them collectively, certain wealthy individuals or groups will be called upon to meet the need. This will put greater pressure on our leaders to look out for the needs of those who are financially supporting them and their staff members. While I do not think decisions are made based on this type of pressure, not supporting them financially does carry this potential. It also carries the potential for false accusations to be made against our leaders for "looking out for specific groups of people who are supporting them financially." For this reason, funding for our national leaders should be handled differently than for that of our missionaries. If you do not agree with the direction the church is going, get involved. Learn how our church structure functions. Sometimes our leaders are limited by this structure. We need to begin supporting our leaders financially, as well as spiritually. Not doing so will not make things better, only worse.