Three Questions for Mike Little, Executive Director of the Faith and Money Network
For forty years, the Faith and Money Network has equipped people to build honest, just, and community-centered relationships with money. Several years ago, my spouse and I participated in a Sabbath Economics Household Covenant Group, one of the Network’s online offerings. Meeting monthly with Christians from several different denominations across the U.S. and Canada to reflect deeply on our spending and saving practices in light of our faith was a transformative experience.
It has long troubled me that most congregations only talk about money during their own fundraising efforts, when Jesus had so much to say about giving, spending, saving, and investing. I decided to ask Mike Little, who has been shepherding this ministry since 2007, how leaders can begin to host more robust conversation, teaching, and reflection on money in their congregations.
-Regina Walton
RW: Mike, how can clergy and other leaders begin to talk about faith and money in their congregations, outside of Stewardship season and the annual pledge campaign?
ML: Find ways to move stewardship from a season to a way of life. Don’t wait for the fall campaign to bring up money. If we talked about money, wealth, and possessions as much as Jesus did, we would hear a money sermon every three weeks. Of course, that wouldn’t fly in a church, so we must find ways throughout the year to connect our faith with our money.
Frankly, it’s not easy. The good news is that those called to serve Christ’s church don’t have to do it alone. The first step is to better understand your own relationship with money. We have all grown up in this culture of silence around money that pervades the church, and we can’t lead spiritually until we’ve done some work ourselves.
Because we are taught to think of money almost exclusively as individual, the Sunday church offering is one way to challenge our normal way of thinking about money. This makes it the perfect moment to connect money and faith. Resist the temptation to spiritualize it or only talk about giving. Instead, for example, tell the story behind one of your budget lines. Ask a question that prompts people to think about some specific aspect of their financial lives. Ask a parishioner to share their experience in giving or how they connect their faith and money. You could also share a quote from one of the many religious thinkers who write about sabbath, consumption, giving, debt, or other money issues.
RW: What is a “money autobiography,” and how do you do one?
ML: A money autobiography is a simple process of answering a few questions that help you remember the events and attitudes that have shaped your relationship to money, then reflect on how you think about money today and the role it plays in your life. It allows us the opportunity to wrestle with our needs, wants, and desires and helps us understand the lifestyle choices we make. It can even help us set some priorities and goals for the future.
Self-reflection is especially hard for some of us, and there is a real temptation to skip the personal work and jump right into learning about the best and latest stewardship models or programs, or to keep reading millions of books. No financial strategy can outsmart your subconscious mind. Until you understand why you spend, save, or fear money, even the perfect budget or investment plan will fail.
As we discern the ways we earn, inherit, borrow, invest, spend, give, or waste money, often without conscious choice or a deliberate faith stance, we will be enabled to respond more fully to God and our community.
RW: For you personally, what energizes you in your work helping Christians reflect on the relationship between their faith and their money?
ML: I love seeing people change how they view money and faith. Often, participants tell me after a retreat or workshop that they didn’t want to come at first, but now realize that talking about money isn’t so intimidating. It is incredibly rewarding to watch people shift the conversation away from fear, self-interest, and blame, toward gifts, generosity, and abundance. Watching that collective wall of resistance melt away into openness is deeply fulfilling.
The Rev. Dr. Regina L. Walton is the Editor and Content Developer for Discipleship Initiatives at Forward Movement, and a member of the Cedar Team.