Prudence or Fear? Rethinking Why We Hold Reserves

There is a definite need for net fences around the edges of trampolines in the backyard. When I was a kid, in the days before safety nets, our summer neighbors had a large rectangular trampoline that could fit upwards of eight kids on it at a time, leading to shenanigans and poor decisions. Landing flat on your back on the ground nearby and having the wind knocked out of you is not a pleasant experience.

Ask me how I know. And ask me how grateful I am that nothing more serious ever happened.

Safety nets serve a purpose. But we would look askance at a neighbor who put up a safety net in their backyard with no trampoline. A safety net is not an end in itself.

“So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours,” (Matthew 25:25). It is our habit to interpret the Parable of the Talents either regarding spiritual gifts or, when we do give it a financial interpretation, it seems to be, “Endowments are commanded by God.” After all, the first two stewards invested, right? They increased the gifts. Blessed are they!

Good financial management for churches does include prudence. Investments can be a solid contribution. Additionally, it is prudent to set aside funds as a reserve against a sudden, unexpected expense or a time of transition.

But fear-based accumulation is clearly not biblical. The first two servants invested the funds not to just hold on to them in case they needed to be used at some unknown in the future; rather, they invested them and gave them back to God for God’s use in the world. Note that there isn’t a next verse in Scripture that says, “Great, servants—now take this first part back and keep it invested in perpetuity and we’ll only ever work off 5% of a five-year rolling average.” And, of course, the servant who, instead, buried the talents (whether in the ground or in an endowment) out of fear of the future came to a bad end.

Make no mistake: Endowments can be a good thing if viewed from the correct, discipleship-driven perspective. If, however, they are based on fear-based accumulation, they are no longer discipleship.

It is our job as Christians wanting to do mission and ministry to be able to prayerfully discern the difference.

When discussing your reserve funds (endowments or otherwise) in your congregation, name the anxiety honestly: Are we afraid of running out, afraid of asking for more, afraid of what happens if the institution fails?

For Survivor fans: What do we all think when a Survivor gets voted out with an idol in their pocket; an idol they were saving for some unnamed time in the future when they thought they might be in an even more difficult spot?

Let’s be frank: It is not at all unusual to see churches close their doors when they still have significant funds in endowments. Our region has benefited from some of those situations, of course, for which I’m grateful. We put those funds to the use that the church has requested. But even as I write the thank-you note and make arrangements for the continued use of those funds, I also grieve for a church that could’ve used them for mission and ministry years before.

What is the congregational “idol” in your pocket? If your church has invested reserve funds, have those funds become an end to themselves? What are you saving for? What would be the criteria for using those funds at something higher than the standard (and generally conservative) 5% of a five-year rolling average? What would be the criteria for the intentionally off-putting, violent term, “invading the capital?”  

In short, have your reserved funds turned into a security blanket rather than a tool for active ministry and mission?

Recommended activity

Have a discussion with your finance committee, trustees, congregation, or whatever group you think needs to explore these questions.

·         Has “just in case” become a permanent strategy for us?

·         Have our reserves become a refuge?

·         Under what circumstances might we release more than usual from a reserve fund? Are these circumstances in tune with our mission and vision statements as a congregation?

Key takeaway:

Hold your church reserves with open hands rather than white knuckles.