God Will Provide Is Not a Financial Plan

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast discusses the importance of financial planning for ministry leaders. Host Todd Rhoades highlights the misconception that relying solely on faith without financial awareness is adequate. He stresses the need for honest conversations about salary expectations and financial literacy, arguing that spiritual decisions should also be informed decisions. Rhoades encourages church leaders to guide ministry staff in making wise financial choices to ensure sustainability and prevent future stress. • Many ministry leaders have a misconception that financial planning shows weaker faith. • There is discomfort around discussing salary expectations. • Financial literacy is not typically taught in Bible colleges or seminaries. • God often provides through planning and systems, not blind faith alone. • Failure to address financial realities can lead to stress and job dissatisfaction. • Churches should help ministry leaders understand and plan for their financial needs. • Honest and early conversations about compensation are crucial. • Church staff should be encouraged to consider long-term financial decisions like retirement.

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Transcript

When “God Will Provide” Sounds Vague

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Okay, this happens sometimes. You're sitting across from a really palate of the most career. They're passionate, they're gifted, they're clearly called by God and omniscient. And then you mention salary expectations, and their response is, Oh, if I really don't think about money, God will provide. And your heart sinks a little bit because not because they trust God, that's a beautiful thing. But because you've just discovered that they have no idea what provide actually looks like. We're going to talk about that today because we encountered this from time to time with candidates when we ask them, hey, how much money do you need to take care of your family? And that's we've never ever talked about money or really been concerned about it. God's always providing. And today's title of the podcast is God Will Provide is not a financial plan. Okay. So we're going to talk about that here. I'm glad you found us. We are the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name's Todd Rhodes,

Why Salary Talk Feels Unspiritual

SPEAKER_00 1:05

and I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffing.com. Somehow we've convinced ministry leaders, at least some ministry leaders, that financial planning shows a weaker faith, that asking about salary is unspiritual. It's always one of those things that's uncomfortable. But some candidates, some people that you talk to, almost look at any kind of salary talk as unspiritual. You know, that good Christians are just supposed to trust God and it'll all work out. They'll figure it all out. And we've made budgeting feel like the opposite of faith. So a lot of times, sometimes anyway, people enter the ministry with zero financial literacy. Matter of fact, they don't teach this in Christian Bible college, they don't teach this in seminary a lot of times. Not only personal finances, but how to actually manage and run a church budget. So today I want to kind of pull back a few of those layers and talk about what I think the problem is with that thinking.

Biblical Examples Of Practical Planning

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Because here's what I think when we say something like God will provide, what that actually means. When God provides, he usually uses systems and planning. And yes, God uses budgets too. Joseph didn't just pray during the season of famine. He actually stored grain. Nehemiah in the Old Testament didn't just trust God for the wall. He calculated all the materials. And you know what? Even Jesus had a treasure. Judas carried the money bag for a reason. God providing doesn't mean that you have to stop thinking and just throw it all over to God. It means that you think perfectly and that you plan wisely. Now, I'm not attacking anyone's faith here. And if you've said this in the past, I've probably said this in the past as well. It sounds like a Christian nicety. But we really do have to connect calling with reality. And that begins with an honest, really honest conversation. So we need to help these kind of people when they say this kind of think through the actual numbers before they say yes. Because if you're interviewing a person that says, hey, God will provide, uh, and you're not providing a salary where God actually will provide, just the numbers don't the math, as we said before, math doesn't math. Help them with an honest conversation. Help them think through the actual numbers before they say yes. Because if they say yes and things don't work out, it's a different problem. Okay.

The Questions Every Candidate Must Answer

SPEAKER_00 3:33

So what does your question? What does your family actually need to live on? Not survive, but to live. Have you thought about retirement? Are you giving anything to retirement? Have you thought about your college's or your kids' college? Do you have any kind of an emergency fund? I sound like Dave Ramsey here, but let's look at what this role actually pays and let's see if it works. This is not unspiritual, it's plain and simple stewardship. You're helping them make sustainable decisions. And you say, Todd, I don't ever have this problem because when I go to hire somebody, they always want more than what we can pay. That's sometimes the case, but we do see this happen often as well. Maybe you just haven't encountered it yet. But if we don't, in this situation, kind of take these steps, here's what

What Happens When Nobody Does The Math

SPEAKER_00 4:19

happens if we skip it. Okay. They will take the job without understanding the financial reality. And maybe six months in, they're stressed about money. They're still doing the God will provide mantra, but they're stressed. And 12 minutes in, that stress turns into a little bit of bitterness about the compensation. Yeah, sure, God's going to provide, but he might not be providing through my salary or through the church. I gotta look for something else. 18 months in, they're look they're looking for secular work or a side gig. Not because they lost their calling, but because they never did the math. And you didn't help them do the math. You didn't help them fail, but you didn't help them succeed either. Now, this isn't just about paying people less or justifying low wages, but you do need to have this money conversation early and honestly and don't assume that they've thought it through. Some know to the penny how much they need, others don't know within $10,000 of what they need. Don't let them spiritualize away basic financial planning by saying that God will provide. Help them see that trusting God includes being wise with their resources and with their money and give them permission to ask really hard questions about compensation. Make financial literacy part of their ministry development. One of the things that was frustrating to me being on an elder board is that we offered matching retirement and hardly anybody took it. Most of the staff were in their were young in their 20s and their early 30s starting a family, and they were not even thinking financially about retirement. And it could be that the pay was, in some instances, they just didn't figure they had the extra money that God would provide when we get to retirement.

Loving Leadership Means Clear Money Talk

SPEAKER_00 6:02

But here's your bottom line for today. Your job isn't to convince someone to take less money. Your job is to help them make really informed decisions. Some people can live on less because their spouse has income. Others need more because they're the primary bread miner, and both are fine. Both are fine. But both need to know the numbers up front. And faith-based decisions should be informed decisions. God will provide. Ultimately, God will provide. Often through your planning, though, and through your preparation and through your honest conversations about money before anybody anywhere signs anything. Your people deserve honest conversations about money. That's not unspiritual, that's loving leadership. An interesting topic for today. I hope it's been helpful for you. If you have any questions about your church and compensation issues and how we might be able to help you get maybe those back in line or think through uh kind of a difficult situation, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me, podcast at chemistry staffing.com. I'd love to hear from you. All right, that's it for today. I hope you have uh if you're listening to this on a Friday, which is when it comes out, hope you have a great weekend. We'll be right back here every Monday through Friday on the Healthy Church of Death Podcast. Hope you'll join me then.