A strange thing is happening.
The debate about allocation of resources is being framed in terms of generosity – in this case, the call for the parishes to be generous to the central Diocesan ministries.
This is a mistake, for 2 reasons.
pic from flickr by Jim in Times Square
The first is that the call for generosity applies absolutely equally to both sides of the equation; it applies as much to the central organisations (‘be generous to front line parish ministry by not asking for as much for your own operations’) as it does to the parishes. In other words, these 2 calls to generosity cancel each other out as far as decision making is concerned.
Which leads to the second point, which actually is more important. The fact is that the 2 groups of ministries – parish and central Diocesan – are not equal partners. It is our evangelical understanding of the doctrine of the church which says that the heart of the Diocese is the parishes, and the central Diocesan activity is there to support and serve the ministry of the parishes. In other words, the default is that resources belong at the front line; we only divert resources from there to do things that will enhance that front line work, and we try to keep that to a minimum.
Think about, say, World Vision, or Compassion. The goal is to get resources to those who need it most, the under-reourced kids. But to do that, there needs to be a structure (CEO, web-designer, fundraisers, etc) that raises the money – and that structure will chew up some of the money that is raised. It’s one of the things you take into account when you decide who to give to – how much they use for admin. My understanding is that 5-10% is about the right number.
As it turns out, we allocate about 10% to central Diocesan activities – around $8M (adding up both the Endowment of the See – the Bishops – $3M; and the Synod expenditure – $5M), and total parish offertories are around $80M. The $8M goes towards funding terrific support structures, like Moore and Youthworks Colleges, the Synod itself, the bishops team etc.
In sum, the issue is not generosity, it’s strategy. And the crucial thing about strategy is keeping the goal crystal clear. The way to win Sydney for Christ is only ever going to be through the front ministry of the parishes.
Plus, it isn’t generosity when you are giving to yourself!
A few months ago an older missionary preached at our church and made just this point.
When you put money in the plate to pay a minister who serves you, you are not being generous, you are paying what you should.
When you put aside money to build a new church building to sit in, or more comfortable chairs, you are not being generous, you are simply buying yourself chairs.
Generosity is when you give something to someone else, with no expectation of return.
Do we see the central organisations as ‘not us’?
Or do we think they give us nothing in return?
Andrew. The principle of subsidiarity applies here, I suspect.
Subsidiarity comes out of Catholic social thought.
Subsidiarity “every social activity ought [to help] the body social, and never destroy and absorb .” Pius XI, para 79 – http://goo.gl/YnUE7
“a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co- ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.”