May 16, 2006
Volunteer Janitors
A relatively new part-time staff position at my church is ‘Facilities Director’. The newsletter just informed us, “… (The) primary role with us will be to build teams of people within the church who will work together to maintain and enhance the facilities. For the time being, we will continue to have a cleaning company come in three times a week to keep up with the heavy demand in that area…” As I read between the lines this quote says: We’re looking for additional ways to cut expenses. We will keep our present cleaning service just until the Facilities Director finds volunteers to work as janitors. With well over $600,000.00 in tithes and offerings in 2005, wouldn’t you think we could afford to pay a full-time janitor?
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2 comments:
Gail;
----I think reading between the lines is much of what Jesus meant by "eyes to see". Reading what the leaders have planned for grounds maintenance would lead one to think maybe they are catching on to the spiritual healthiness of a volunteering congregation. I believe that, for most individuals, a small amount of services rendered in the community of believers is highly beneficial to spiritual health. Even more beneficial is the situation where one or a few individuals in dire financial straits are paid by the church to do some work - a great way to meet two needs. I think that this perspective is certainly in the thinking of the leaders in this instance. But eyes to see leads one to ask himself, "Would this perspective have been held by the leaders if there was not first within them a mind to save some money?"
----Jesus said you can tell the tree by the fruit, and Lt. Columbo could always tell the crime by the evidence. This situation is without neither fruit nor evidence. Several years ago mothers were honored on Mothers' Day with a rose and a trinket. However much or little the expenditure, the church felt it necessary to incur a bit of outlay to carry the honor to Mommy. I was struck last Mothers' Day by not only the absence of the roses and trinkets, but even more by the absence of floral arangements on the "stage". The "stage" was completely barren of floral life! So moving into the Fellowship Hall, still pondering that, I now pondered how much a cup of coffe might cost. Being a CPA my mind thinks like this: maybe eight ounces of coffee at $12 a pound (I haven't bought or brewed coffee for some time, please allow me the inaccuracy)is used to brew a 64 cup pot of coffee. That renders a ten cent cup of coffee. Certainly a small price to pay to say, "Let us buy you a cup of coffee from the grace of our hearts because this place is different than those places you patronize in the world."
But that is not the message beside the coffee pot. Beside every pot in the building sits the "alms for the poor" cup, pinching for your contribution. And Travis probably willingly pays his dime knowing that that money-cup is a tiny fleecing just like the giant fleecing the leaders ask of the congregation for his baby grand piano dream. The leaders ask the congregation to cough up this special offering without informing them that the church sits on enough banked up funds to buy twenty-five baby grands! So if we get frustrated at all this and storm out the door to our cars, we will walk over a parking lot that in many places has deteriorated beyond the point of repair. Looking at that highly cracked piece of expensive pavement (which a moderately expensive chip-and-seal job a few years ago would have greatly helped), one has to wonder what all that money is being saved for if not to take care of the grounds we already have.
----Yes, Gail, I think you are reading so exactly, square in between the lines on this one. Eyes to see observe a growing empire where leaders who do not pay heed to the hurts or feelings of those who disagree, do not pay money for simple ministries to the common sheep, either. Those eyes see leaders who push aside the "socially clumbsy" to romp in pomp with the socially graceful. Eyes to see see hearts not given to the hurting, but ambitions given to the supporting. However, slowly the socially clumbsy can be transformed into the "lonely supporting" by placing a midnight mop into their hands.
When we observe the preachers doing some after hours chores, emptying wastebaskets - washing windows - we will consider volunteering for such duties again.
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