Hello, everyone. Today, I want to talk about some important questions that every church member should ask their church board. These questions will help you to evaluate the health of your church and its leadership.
First, ask yourself if your parish is being crushed under the weight of its affiliations. Is your church a part of a larger organization that is draining resources and creating unnecessary bureaucracy? If so, it may be time to consider a new path.
Second, consider the salary of your pastor. Is your pastor one of the highest paid people in your community? While it's important to compensate our church leaders fairly, we should also be mindful of the message that it sends to the community when our pastor is making a disproportionately high salary.
Third, has your church consistently had to dip into funds and endowments to keep its general fund afloat? If so, it's important to ask yourself where this money comes from and where it might end.
Now, I want to bring up the spirit of Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, and his fight against corruption and the overreach of the central church regarding individual church polity. Luther fought for the rights of individual churches to govern themselves and make their own decisions.
That spirit could live on today through a League of Rural Lutheran Churches. This organization would be dedicated to empowering local churches and allowing them to make decisions that are in the best interest of their own communities.
So, I urge you to ask your church board these important questions and to consider whether a League of Rural Lutheran Churches might be a sensible alternative for your church. Let us be mindful of the stewardship of our resources and faithful to the mission of Christ. Thank you.
Pastor Loren
Danish Countryside Chapel
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