Everywhere I go, I meet pastors who complain that they don’t have enough money. They can’t afford to go to conferences, take classes, or host events. Many pastors can’t even afford books.
For every pastor who has succumbed to the excesses of the prosperity gospel, there are 100 (or 1,000) pastors who don’t have enough money to function properly, both in their families and in their congregations.
Scarcity mentality is an epidemic in too many churches. Scarcity mentality occurs when everyone in the organization is focused on what is lacking, whether it be time, money, staff, or other resources.
A tribal mindset fosters unhealthy cost-cutting competition, obsession with numbers, stinginess, and cost-cutting within organizations.
Another way to refer to scarcity mindset is: Broken mindset.
The prevailing mindset in too many churches is a bankruptcy mindset, and that is not only frustrating, it is killing the potential and future of the church.
The dominant mindset in too many churches is one of bankruptcy. Share on X
I personally understand the bankrupt mentality
I began my ministry in three small churches that were struggling with a broke mentality.
Two churches had it, and the third church was in crisis. When I started in ministry, we were a young family with little savings, two children under the age of five, and my salary was technically just below the poverty line.
Fortunately, our church provided a housing allowance, and my wife worked part-time, which helped, but we were still living paycheck to paycheck.
I got paid on the first of every month. However, for several months, my paycheck didn't arrive even after the first of the month.
I waited a day or two, then called or visited the accountant's office to see if there had been a mistake or if someone had forgotten, and then asked for it (we needed it).
As if that weren't enough, the agent would often tell me the check wasn't ready and to come back in a day or two.
I don't know what kind of power play it was, but I can promise you that it made me 100% committed. The people I eventually hired were paid a living wage and were paid on time. No one had to beg for a paycheck.
While discussing money in church, I started thinking about the difference between a mindset of scarcity and a mindset of abundance.
So, if your church is struggling with a broken mindset, I understand. I have fought for years to get rid of that broken mindset in our church and to keep it from falling into prosperity gospel excess.
Most healthy leaders embrace the abundance mindset. Don’t get me wrong, the abundance mindset still means there are limitations. You embrace very healthy limitations and break away from the excesses and unbridled greed of the prosperity gospel.
But when you embrace an abundance mindset, you break free from the shackles of scarcity, which is born of fear and generally means living a meager life with less and less of it each year.
The question is, how do we break the empty-handed mentality in our churches? Here are five keys.
Most healthy leaders embrace an abundance mindset. Share on X
1. Point out and stop the empty-headed thinking disguised as “wisdom.”
As soon as you start talking about money around the leadership table, some people will justify their broke thinking by using phrases like, “I just…”
- frugal
- Wise
- Responsible
- Good steward
- attentive
- sharp
- Careful
- faithful
- reasonable
The people who most often say in church, “I’m just being responsible with my money,” are usually irresponsible. They’re stingy.
The people who most often say in church, “I’m just being responsible with my money,” are usually irresponsible people. They are stingy people. Share on X
Truly wise people realize that saving money is not their only goal. Sure, they don't waste money, but they don't get caught up in fear or pettiness either.
The difference between a scarcity mindset and a wisdom mindset is simple: a scarcity mindset is motivated by fear. And the default answer to spending money is “no.”
When you encounter broken thinking patterns, recognizing them, pointing them out, and naming them for what they are will help you make progress.
The difference between a scarcity mindset and a wisdom mindset is simple: a scarcity mindset is motivated by fear. And the default answer to spending money is “no.” Share on X
2. Eliminate stingy people from leadership.
Once you've learned how to recognize bankruptcy and tribalism, the next step is to remove the stingy people from your leadership.
Having a stingy person in the senior leadership of a church is like having a car with brakes but no gas pedal. It will get you nowhere.
You certainly don’t want people in your senior leadership circle who say “yes” to everything. But even one stingy person can ruin the mood. Creating vision, dreaming, and imagining a better future becomes very difficult when there is one person who constantly shuts everything down.
It's fantastic to have ~. Careful People in senior leadership positions. But having people with a scarcity mindset in your internal decision-making circles is almost always fatal.
When you build a senior leadership team of responsible, yet resourceful thinkers, the landscape opens up.
Having a stingy person in a church's senior leadership position is like having a car with brakes but no gas pedal. It's not going anywhere. Share on X
3. Remember that vision comes before resources.
So, you've named the language that surfaces broken thinkers. You've eliminated scarcity mindset people from senior leadership. What's next?
Believe it or not, resources don’t magically appear overnight. But now you have a foundation on which to build your future. And it starts with dreaming and envisioning together.
As much as leaders wish otherwise, vision comes before resources. Almost every successful startup and church plant has vision before people and resources, and you are no different.
As leaders wish otherwise, vision comes before resources. Almost every successful startup and church planting has vision before people and resources. You are no different. Share on X
So start with a vision.
The vision answers the following questions:
- What problem are we solving?
- What does a better future look like?
- What do you think you need to accomplish?
Then something will start to stand out. Once your vision is clear and compelling, resources will start to come in.
If you wait for money to start a new future, you will wait forever.
People give more to vision than they give to needs, so start projecting your vision.
People give more to vision than they give to needs, so start projecting your vision. Share on X
4. Invest meaningfully in unexpected places: personal and team development
In a growing church, personal development is seen as an investment, not an expense. And it's the last thing to be cut.
Here’s why individual and team development is important: You can’t solve a problem at the same level of thinking that created it. You simply have to move to a new level of thinking, which means you and your team have to think in new ways.
Early in my leadership, as we began to remove the tribal mentality from leadership and build new teams, we began investing in road trips, conferences, books, and coaching to help us figure out how to build a new kind of church.
It helped me combine a new vision with a new strategy, and it turned hopes and dreams into plans.
Senior leadership was kind enough to send my wife and me to a conference that was a center of thought, but we didn’t stop there. We packed a busload of elders, staff, and volunteers, attended conferences, and visited successful churches together. I read as much as I could and interacted with coaches and mentors.
Realizing that it takes years to develop this as a church, I started a leadership skills academy for church leaders.
The Academy has a growing library of comprehensive courses on everything from preaching to team development to personal and team productivity strategies. Plus, you’ll have access to a private online community with ongoing discussions, Q&As, and live coaching.
If you are still having trouble getting your elders to spend money, my team and I can come up with a proposal for the Academy and present it to the board to convince them that it is worth investing in. If they agree, it will break the ice about investing in the future.
5. Minimize your costs and maximize your investments.
Adopting an abundance mindset doesn't mean you can spend what you want, whenever you want. That would mean you'd be broke (seriously).
But as a team, try to break your spending down into two categories: expenses and investments.
Expenses are things that cost you money but don't add much value. Of course, theoretically, everything wouldn't be in your budget if it didn't add some value. But things like electric bills, carpets, flooring, and even soundboards won't make your church grow exponentially.
But people can do it. Skilled people can do it. Strategic people can do it. Training, consulting, or moving to a new facility can also help you increase your influence.
When you spend money, it's worth investing at least 20% of your budget on things that will bring you big returns, and those should be the last things you cut.
Googley Eye for Children's Ministry is usually available at a lower price, but the Next Gen Director must be paid a decent living wage. She has the potential to see your children grow up to be more than just craft supplies.
Invest wisely and generously. Be careful with your spending.
This will help your church prepare for the future and ensure that it does not succumb to excess in any way.
When you spend money in church, invest wisely and generously. Be careful with your spending. Share on X
Abundance vs Scarcity
Breaking free from old ways of thinking in the church is a moment of change.
An abundance mindset focuses on what you can do. A scarcity mindset focuses on what you can't do.
It's the difference between having a future and not having one.
An abundance mindset focuses on what you can do. A scarcity mindset focuses on what you can’t do. It’s the difference between having a future and not having one at all. Share on X