Walked into my sunday school classroom this morning, and on the table was a schematic for the church's new building project, phase I on one side and phase II on the other. As I began to talk to the teacher of the class, a finance/banking professor at my institution, it became clear that the financial pieces do not fit together at all. The project will cost, when all is said and done, in the neighborhood of $9 million. This church cannot afford that kind of debt burden.
What's worse: it's completely unnecessary. We do not need a 1100-seat facility. We are not situated in a metropolitan suburb--we are just about as rural as it gets. Furthermore, if the local economy tanks any worse (i.e., if the Goodyear plant closes down for good, or if Tyson is forced to make changes, or if my institution's budget situation worsens, etc.), the money just will not be here.
But here's how it's going to play out: those who vote 'yes' on the project will continue to give at the rate they're giving now, hoping that someone is going to come along with big bags of money to take up the slack. Meanwhile, we will be exhorted to "trust God," to "have Faith," to "remember that all things are possible with God" while we knowingly stick our hand in the bear trap. Infuriating. Though you may try to CYA with pious rhetoric, God too knows a fool when God sees one.
Meanwhile, the preacher is continuing his series on Revelation. I've missed all the sermons--and hope to keep that streak alive.
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