This is the note I shared with our staff when we made the decision this week to cut $630,000+ out of our spending plan. The cuts were in program costs, staff and outreach. All of our paid staff took at least a 5% cut, some positions were eliminated and others were cut in half. The reductions affected one-third of our staff positions.
These are some of the most difficult days I’ve spent in ministry. Balancing vision, financial realities, teamwork, personal friendships and leading a church in tumultuous financial times is hard. You know that if you are leading in your own areas of ministry. You are not alone. It is painful at times but the priority of our mission requires we be at our best when the challenge is greatest. Fortunately, God says when we turn to Him in our weakness we are strong. Let’s do that.
The income we have at Indian Creek doesn’t support the budget we have today and today’s changes may not get us all the way where we need to go when we consider that we likely will have a mortgage payment in the 2010 budget. I’m grieved that we are where we are and I replay the decisions of the last three years over again and again in my head. Hindsight is 20/20 and obviously we had choices to do things differently. But I can also promise you that at the time we made the best decisions we knew to make and we made the decisions we thought were God’s will. Not all of those have been validated by the results that followed. It appears we missed in the timing or the appropriation of how we understood God’s will. It is also true that we are a community of faith and the obedience of our congregation is another variable. When you add it all up there is an accountability that goes with the lack of the desired result and we accept it.
This process of right-sizing the budget is complicated. Your Leadership Team has worked on this as top priority from the day after Easter through today. We’ve held a couple of full day retreats and more meetings than I want to count. The Elders have been involved too, albeit at a higher level. When it comes right down to it there is no easy way to say thanks and really mean it when you also know that everyone is taking a financial hit--some positions are being reduced and others eliminated. It helps to know that the thanks and the value I have for our paid staff is sincere. But it still hurts for me and for you. Please know I love this team, paid and unpaid, and I always will. What we’ve shared no one can take away.
Please know that we make decisions in community here and I didn’t make any of these alone. At the same time I take the weight of my leadership seriously. What I can promise you is that every day I’m giving my best to God and to you. As far as I know there hasn’t been any sin involved, or financial mismanagement. I am human. I’ve exercised faith and continue to do so. Honestly I don’t regret choosing faith, God is using this for our good, but I do regret when our choices adversely affect you. I know that leadership requires this kind of stewardship and I accept it even though it comes at a high price.
If I were writing the story at Indian Creek my chart would always have us going up and to the right. But God is authoring the story and it has some twists and turns. It has some level places and some dips. I’m confident that if we keep loving Him with all our heart and we keep living out His love He will use this to bring glory to His name. God continues to show me how this refining process is meant to draw us closer to Him. I find the need to surrender daily and to humbly invite Him to have His way. I also know He is pointing me toward loving my neighbors, those who know Him and those who do not, in ever increasing ways. He doesn’t waste any crisis and often reveals Himself in more intimate ways as we follow His path of obedience to the will of the Father.
Please know you can reach out to me and/or Belinda. We will make ourselves available to you to talk, to pray, to counsel or as a shoulder to lean on. I believe God is saying to us that He wants us here and we want to be here. We will ride out the storm and I believe God will fulfill the vision He has given for leading 5,000+ back to God and starting a network of 20 neighborhood reproducing churches. I believe He is with us and leading us through this re-org to build a church that can and will do what He wants us to do. It will be built with volunteers and equipping, empowering and releasing will be at the heart of who we are.
We will do our best to help with placement, counseling, time off to interview, resume prep, community building among paid and unpaid staff. We want to turn up the support during these trying days both for those who are remaining in paid positions and those who are transitioning out of a paid position. I know that the support I offer here personally is also true for the Leadership Team and for the Elders.
I pray you will stay engaged at Indian Creek. I know that when there is pain the temptation will be to isolate or to avoid, it is human nature. Please choose to push through the awkwardness of the situation for your good and for the good of the community. Please pray for one another and for Indian Creek Community Church. What the devil means for harm God will use for a testimony of His prevailing grace. People will take their cue on how to handle this from you. Please display the attitude of Christ and set a good example.
Never forget that God is the One who calls you and He is your Sustainer. We are followers of Christ who look a lot like the biblical followers; sometimes they got it right and really looked on top of their game. Other times, their humanity showed. There is one part we definitely can control and that is our attitude in response to what happens to us. We can choose to take a Philippians 2 attitude where we put the Father first, others next and trust that if we do that He will take care of us. I believe that is always the best choice and it is my choice today.
It is not hype or sentimentality to say that I love you and I thank you for this part of the journey. It is leading us to a better place. I hope and pray we walk together longer. I also respect your needs and your choices. Know you are valued and honored in my esteem. I pray God’s best to you.
Sincerely,
Gary Kendall
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