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Foreword
A rabbi who was intent on fostering his congregants’ relationship with God was asked, “Rabbi, how can we think of God while we are doing business?” The rabbi responded, “You think of business while you are praying, so you can think of God while you are doing business.”
How much more, when we are doing the business of our congregations, do we need to think about God. Rabbi Shawn Zevit has given us a manual for doing just that.
Most congregational boards spend more time discussing issues related to money than anything else. In a parallel universe, money is the most frequent subject of biblical commandments, teachings, and parables. But rare is the congregation board that makes a connection between these two worlds. As a result, boards’ decisions about money are frequently not informed by the values they profess. Here is a valuable teaching moment about the relevance of religious values to the decisions we make about money.
We live in a society where money is glorified, where many people judge their own and others’ self-worth by how much money they have, and where money connotes power. No wonder it is difficult to have honest conversations about money in our congregations. It is often said by sociologists and therapists that most people would rather tell you intimate details about their sex lives than tell you how much money they have in the bank. A congregation that can create a safe place to talk about money has made a significant step towards creating a holy community.
Healthy congregations seek to build sacred community. Running a congregation requires dealing with money—collecting and allocating resources—and although many attempt to deny it, there is no way around this reality. Therefore, we need to learn how to infuse our financial decision making with a consciousness of God. Rabbi Zevit has provided us with a methodology and tools to bring God into the business of the congregation.
The beauty of this book is that Rabbi Zevit opens his heart to us by sharing his own feelings and thoughts about money while at the same time giving us very practical steps about how congregations can learn to incorporate religious values into all levels of their relationship to money. His very method of presentation models the various sensibilities that a congregation needs to bring to its financial decisions. He writes in a personal style, anchored in his relationship to God, and offers a values-based approach based on traditional texts. He addresses the concrete work of a congregation making decisions about dues, organizing money (i.e., raising funds), and budgeting for priorities.
In my twenty years of congregational consulting, I have often observed how a congregation’s myths and stories obscure issues about resource collection and allocation. As living organisms, congregations change throughout their lives, and frequently stories about the past prevent them from developing an accurate perception of who they are now. I once worked with a congregation that prided itself on its level of Jewish knowledge and the quality of their adult education programs. That “golden age” had occurred 20 years prior, but a careful examination showed that during the time we worked together, the congregation allocated minimal resources to adult education and a majority of the congregants were brought up with little or no Jewish education. Engaging in the visioning, values, and mission exercises in this volume will help readers uncover the myths of their congregations and allocate resources to match congregational needs.
This book can be used by congregations of all faiths, even though it is told from a Jewish perspective. Years of congregational research has shown that congregational dynamics are very similar, regardless of denomination. All congregations deal with money and budgets, all try to root their decisions in their faith, and all congregational boards operate in similar fashions. Yet I think it is of particular importance for Christians to learn about Jewish values regarding money. Despite years of sincere work on the part of significant numbers of Christian clergy and laity, centuries of anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money still live in our culture. In fact on the day that I write this, a student in one of my classes recounted the following: Several years ago, while playing on a sports team at an affluent Northeast suburban high school, a teammate made a remark about “Jewing someone down.” My student remarked that it was an offensive phrase. The following day, during a game, the teammate began pitching pennies at her while saying, “You’re a Jew! Don’t you want to pick them up?”
A deeper understanding of Jewish values about money will help Christian leaders educate others and counter anti-Semitic stereotypes. Studying Jewish values about taking care of the poor and tithing will give Christians a better understanding of the deep connections between Judaism and Christianity.
The Bible teaches us that the job of human beings is to be responsible stewards of the earth’s resources and that as such we are God’s partners. Responsible stewardship of resources is the guiding principle of every congregational board. Far too often responsibility is understood as keeping things the way they are, not making changes, not taking risks. Congregational leaders sometimes need to take risks, and at times, the responsible choice is to experiment with a new program. Sometimes, however, leaders need to stop and ask, “To whom are we responsible?”
A traveling preacher once arrived in a town and proceeded to teach at the synagogue. One man asked him, “Who do you work for?” The preacher hired that man to be his traveling companion for one purpose: to ask him throughout the day, “Who do you work for?” By examining our values and our hearts, we remember what the work of our congregations is really about.
Offerings of the Heart: Money and Values in Faith Communities is a unique and important book. The title conveys the synthesis that it achieves. It brings together the four realms of existence: the practical (money), the emotional (heart), the intellectual (values), and the spiritual (faith). Reading the text and then engaging in the study and exercises found in each chapter could transform congregations. It will help everyone become a partner to God in the work of building congregational community.
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling
Torah of Money Director
The Shefa Fund
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