Fund-raising drive raises hard question
for parishioners
For the past three months, I've had the portrait of the great
reformer Martin Luther on my computer screen. When I rest from writing, Luther's mug pops up on the screen.
They call it wallpaper in computer language. He is not smiling
and not frowning. He simply peers into the future - the look of
a great reformer who senses the future will be hot. Now that All Saints Day has passed, and Lutherans have celebrated
the memory of the 500-year-old Reformation of the church, it is
time to get new wallpaper. It may also be time to get a new church. I hear people talking
about their search for an authentic church, one that does not
tell lies and never, ever falls victim to that age-old quest for
money. Oh, yes, that is still a problem in some churches. For instance, the local church fathers and mothers may want
to build a new worship building, and they need 2 million bucks
in the bank before they can proceed. So they ask the faithful
for donations. They tease and cajole the loyal believers, and
the money begins to flow into the coffer. But then the begging cycle continues, and the money absolutely
stops. Flabbergasted religious fathers and mothers gather for
a confab. Perhaps, they wonder, the most wealthy people should
have been asked first, before the hoi polloi were allowed to take
over the fund drive. Someone volunteers to contact the rich people, and the money
race begins in earnest. A fellow offers a field of grain, worth
perhaps $5,000 in a good year. A woman says she will give a month
of profits from her tire company, about $15,000. Another donates
interest from his bank account, about $1,000 a month for a year.
Suddenly sweet money comes from all sides, flowing like honey
from a beehive. But then, one woman, a fairly new member of the flock, calls
the parson and invites him for a cup of coffee and money talk.
They chat like old friends until Mrs. Bankroll suggests a change
in conversation. She asks what she would have to give to have
her late husband's name on the outside of that new building. How
much would it take to christen the building the "Harry Bankroll
Memorial Chapel"? The pastor mentions that $1 million could buy a brass plate
with just those words engraved in the shiny finish. They shake
hands, the fund drive is over and the building project begins. Everyone is happy until reports begin to circulate that Mr.
and Mrs. Bankroll earned their money as proprietors of a notorious
beer joint in another state far away from the church building
project. Someone on the church council decides to make some phone
calls and sort of confirms that the Bankrolls not only sold beer
but may have dealt in drugs, illicit sex and illegal gambling.
In people's minds, it takes very little time for suspicions to
become the absolute truth. The real truth, of course, is somewhat modified from the coarse
garbage circulating in the rumor mill. The real truth is, Mr.
and Mrs. Bankroll owned a quiet little roadhouse on the edge of
town where they sold big steaks and pitchers of beer. Once a week
they brought in a dance band and the place rocked for a few hours.
But for the rest of the week, it was a rather quiet and dumpy
roadhouse. After they found out Mr. Bankroll had terminal cancer, they
sold out to some suspicious strangers who had $5 million dollars
and a limp handshake. Before the Bankrolls left town, the quiet
roadhouse had become a notorious joint with strippers, drugs sold
under the table and a hot poker game in the back room. Mr. Bankroll
died before the truth was known, and Mrs. Bankroll was left with
a broken heart. But no one on the building committee knows the whole truth,
and the pastor is so embarrassed he's ready to leave town before
the congregation drives him out on a rail. But I ask, what would an authentic church do with that money?
Is it tainted and, therefore, useless? Should it be given back
or kept to build the sanctuary? Should the building project be
abandoned? What would the ethical path be for the church? I'm eager to hear how you figure out this tragic situation.
What should an authentic church do in this situation?
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For November 13, 1999