A Pivotal Week At PCC

No one has ever accused me of being brief. There are many times when I can say something with fewer words than I choose. But this is one instance when it is important for me to tell you a rather lengthy story. I ask for you to bear with me, as what I have to say here is exceedingly difficult, but incredibly important - all of it.

My Heart...
In 1 Samuel, we learn that God chose one of Jesse's sons to be the new king - to lead God's people into the future. He sent the prophet Samuel to be His ambassador, but there was a problem: Samuel didn't know which son God had chosen. So, Jesse paraded each son in front of him. The first son was tall, refined...Kingly. Samuel thought, "This has to be the one!" but God spoke to Samuel these words, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b, NIV, emphasis mine)

For my entire life, I have always thought this scripture was about how we see other people's outward appearance - how we look at their size, color, shape, build, hair (or lack of hair), etc. But this week, for the first time, I saw what I hadn't seen before. It still means those things, but I saw another angle. I saw it also pointing to the reality that people look at the outward appearance - the raw facts - of hard decisions that are made by other people, and don't always see the heart that is behind those decisions. God assured me as he brought 1 Samuel to my mind that, while people sometimes only see the outward appearance of the decisions we make, God always sees the heart.

I so badly want you to know my heart right now, so let me share a little bit of it.

I love every member of our staff.
I pronounced some of them husband and wife.
I declared some of them an ordained minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was there when some of them graduated from college.
I was there when some of them when through the most difficult seasons of their lives.
I have seen them grow, transition, fail, persevere, succeed, triumph, despair, doubt, trust, and experience the power of community.

For their part, at times they have carried me.
They have laid their hands on me.
They have cried with me.
They have stood with me during my darkest days.
They have made me better than I am.
They have encouraged me, grown our church, believed in our mission, trusted in God when no one else did, given from their hearts even when it hurt, sacrificed time with their families and time for themselves. They have proven their loyalty in many ways.

There is not one member of our staff for whom I do not deeply care or whom I do not indescribably love.

My heart also bleeds Powhatan Community Church. There is nothing in my life about which I am more passionate than our church. In spite of our challenges, we are healthy - reaching tons of people, changing lives, and helping people find a better way to live. We are making a difference around us. We are obeying God's call upon our lives, and I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life.

That is my heart. God knows my heart; and I'm hoping you will, too.

A Little History...
On October 1 of last year, I sent a letter to every family on our church's mailing list, telling you that the struggling economy was clearly beginning to affect our church's giving. At that time, we didn't really know how much, but we could sense it was happening. I made this statement:

We also have to consider cutting back on our staff expense – either by laying off folks or reducing already below-market salaries…or both. Every staff member is aware of what is happening. This is not where we want to be, but it is where we are.

I plead with our church to step up and help, but giving did not improve. In fact, while attendance continues to climb, so does unemployment. We are not failing, but we had to make adjustments. Our commitment was to keep PCC out of financial trouble, and the only way to do that was to cut our expenses.

Our Current Situation...
The 4th Quarter of 2008 was extremely difficult for PCC - as well as for many other churches. Those around us and around the country are hard hit and considering their options now, too. But that's little consolation. Here's our situation:

We passed a very reasonable budget of $1,081,600 budget for 2009. At the time, this was conservative. However, given what we know today, we are forecasting that we will fall short by $113,000. That's an estimate based on what we know right now. The economy is very unpredictable.

Further, we are approximately $300,000 behind our our building fund. We have been very creative in raising money. A few months ago, this number was half a million dollars. But we thought outside the box, prayed, were open to creative solutions, listened to people who had ideas and empowered them to implement the best ones and we've cut that number down considerably. I have every confidence that we will continue to chip away at this shortfall until it is zero by the end of the project. However, today, the shortfall exists.

So, let me be clear and concise: what we need to find in 2009 is $413,000, based on what we know right now, in addition to the income we already expect. We can find it in increased income, decreased expenses, or a combination of the two.

What We Could NOT Cut...
We tithe our budget. That means that we give away 10% of the money we receive to people in need in our community, missions projects oversees and in the US, church planting, etc. Tithing is a Biblical concept about which we feel very strongly. We cannot ask our people to do something (tithe) that we as a church are not willing to do. Since our first day, we have tithed on every dollar we have received through our offerings.

We also could not cut the mortgage payment. We are now in the middle of our building project. Expected completion is sometime this summer. When it's done, we'll owe about $3.5 million. The payment on that debt is required. It's not an option.

When you take out our missions budget (which is our tithe) and our mortgage, there is only one place left to cut for significant reductions, and that is the staff expense. So, for the past few weeks, I have been agonizing over this, looking at every option imaginable. I thought about falling on my sword and finding a way to go with no salary at all, but it would render me unable to do what I do for our church. We considered letting someone go, but this is the worst job market in 26 years. If I can find a way to avoid leaving any staff member without a paycheck right now, I'm in favor of it.

We thought about an across the board equal pay cut for all staff, but in order to get to a high enough number, we would have to place every single staff member in a position where we'd all have to go out and find part-time jobs to supplement incomes. That would be extremely detrimental to our church.

In the end, I felt that, given all the circumstances and facts, the fairest and most loving thing we could do for our staff, while still producing a major reduction in our expense, would be to cut everyone's pay and take three of our full-time folks to part-time status. This may seem harsh, but at the end of the day, everyone still has a paycheck and everyone still has a job. In an era when people are being laid off left and right, I felt like this was a silver lining in a difficult situation.

Who?
If anyone was going to go from full-time to part-time, my home would have to be affected, too. So, though our children's ministry cares for 200 children, I insisted that Susan Hughes be one of the three. Angie Frame and Kevin Salyer are the other two staff members whose status changed from full-time to part-time. This was the hardest decision I have ever made. Yesterday, Dennis Green and I gathered the entire staff together and relayed the news to them individually, then as a group. We prayed, cried, vented, then went to lunch together. They all received it well and made it far better than it could have been. Still, it was the most difficult day in my 6 1/2 years here as the Senior Pastor of our church.

The outward appearance was that we eliminated roughly $85,000 in staff expenses. But I hope you are able to catch a glimpse of my heart. The heart of it was one of the most painful things I've ever done. You see, the folks who serve you on staff don't do it for the money; they do it because they believe in the cause. They believe in what we do, in the mission of our church. They serve you with great passion and great sacrifice. And this decision impacted everyone in a way that will be deeply felt; even those who retained full-time status had their salaries cut severely. With salaries already on the low end and most staff members providing their own health insurance with private pay policies, my heart broke to have to ask them to give even more.

How Did We Decide Who Would Go Part-Time?
This is the most difficult question, because everyone has a passionate attachment to some ministry or staff member. It was a terribly difficult choice to make. Instead of going at it from a negative perspective ("Who can we live without?"), I came at it from a positive angle: "Who can we NOT live without on a full time basis?" I know you can make a case for every person on staff remaining full-time. If we didn't have a money challenge, I'd be right there with you, but we had to trim some money, so I had to draw a line. I started with Beth and Chauncey, and for days I prayed, yelled, argued, cried, and prayed some more. Finally, I took a plan to the Steering Team (who was well informed that we had to act).

We met together on Tuesday night until midnight. We also cried, prayed, debated, struggled...and finally agreed. There was no great plan...but this was the best one on the table, and we had to do something.

How Will This Affect Us Now?
We all count on our leaders to guide us into the future safely. Good leaders navigate difficult waters so that we arrive at our destination together, without harm, and in a position of strength. Your leadership has been proactive to keep our church strong, effective, and on task. As difficult as this season is, we are as focused as we've ever been - and just as healthy. We have no crisis because we have been smart and acted ahead of a problem. That's what good leaders do.

Specifically, Susan will continue to do what she has been doing. PCC's children's ministry is simply too big to be managed and led from a part time commitment. But PCC cannot afford to hire someone else, so she can't quit (and Susan loves what she does, so she wouldn't want to anyway). Therefore, my family is going to have to make some additional adjustments and I've got some things to figure out, but I believe that God will provide a way, and I trust Him for that.

Kevin and Angie were also dependant on their incomes to support their families. So, while they are unsure of exactly what lies ahead, they certainly are going to have to do something to replace the lost income.

The other staff members also have to make adjustments and plans to answer the question of how they will live on significantly reduced income, too. Every one of our staff had their incomes reduced.

We are committed to shouldering this challenge together; we are no different than many of you who are struggling with similar financial challenges. We are committed to the vision God has given us for this community; we know that many of you are just as passionate about PCC, about the work God has done in your life and in the lives of some of your friends and families. Let me repeat: our church is healthy. And we remain fully committed to the vision to which God has called us - to reach people who have been unaffected or untouched by traditional churches and lead them to become fully devoted followers of Christ. We may have to be more creative, more careful and more intentional - but that just might be a good thing!

What Can You Do?
First, I realize situations like this can produce heated emotions. There is a natural human tendency to talk amongst ourselves, to worry the issue to death, to allow drama and adrenaline to fuel the fire of conflict. Honor the process, your leaders and the staff members that you love by refusing to contribute to the drama. If you have questions, ask them - of me or of any staff member or steering team member. We welcome dialogue with you, as we try to learn from this situation. Remember Paul's words in Romans 12:

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Let me be very clear: I'm here and I'm available. Email me or call and we'll schedule some time to meet. The only time I'm not willing to sacrifice is message preparation time; other priorities can be pushed or rearranged each week until every person who wants to meet with me has done so. Dennis Green will do the same. The staff member that you want to speak to would also be glad to engage with you, as well as a member of the Steering Team. Let's have constructive, open dialogue that honors the future of our church and the prayerful process that we have been through.

Secondly, at the risk of appearing to manipulate the situation, I will challenge you in this way: Does your life of obedience to God include consistent giving? You see, if everyone at PCC was giving, we would not be faced with these difficult decisions. Ultimately, this issue is between you and God; however, it's not prudent of me to neglect mentioning this fact. The number of people at PCC support the size of our staff and our budget - but when people do not give, we cannot continue to do ministry effectively. Of course, you may not feel as though you are in a position to give due to your own personal financial situation. However, I encourage you to remember God's promise in Malachi, when he says:

"Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." - Malachi 3.10

Not so that we can restore our staff salaries; not so we can build a bigger budget - but so that you might continue to grow to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. That is our responsibility and our call from God, and we remain committed to that.

You see, the outward appearance here is that we have a financial shortfall...that we don't have enough. The outward appearance is that our church is in a situation of great need that has resulted in some difficult and painful decisions regarding staff salaries.

But the heart of the matter is this: God always provides. And I believe that the rest of this story remains unwritten. I believe that God is going to use this situation - and the personal situations of many of the individuals at PCC - to draw us to a deeper knowledge of him, a greater understanding of what it means to be a fully devoted follower. God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8.28), and this situation is full of opportunity and potential.

As difficult as this season has been, I remain as committed and passionate and excited about our church as I have ever been. I hope you are, too.

Until tomorrow...

(Special Note: One of the hats that Beth Brawley currently wears at our church is that she is coordinating our Communications efforts. To that end, she frequently edits my posts for me and helps me refine them. But she did more than that this time, and I need to give credit where credit is due. Her words were used a lot here. She didn't just edit, she wrote some. She helped shape this post and its tone, and the hours spent ensuring that I communicated what I really felt and what was really in my heart were reflected more accurately becasue she was there during part of the process, made herself available to hear my intent and then helped me write. I am grateful for her extra, beyond-the-call of duty effort during this difficult week.)