Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and well in Church today :(

Ebenezer Scrooge by Baz Gascoyne

( Taken from the book Cut To The Chase – www.leeandbaz.com )

Job interviews are always an experience. They can be the most daunting thing in the world or the most exciting, depending on your personality type. Over the years, I have had various interviews but there are two that stand out in my memory. In one, I was not even aware that the interview had begun. I had just arrived in the room to face the panel of five when tea, coffee and biscuits were brought in. They helped themselves and asked me what I would like and as I drank the tea and chatted to the panel I thought we were having a tea break. Forty minutes later, I was thanked and that was that. It went great and I answered all the questions freely because I was not nervous. Two days later I was offered the job.

Another interview I recall was on the south coast in the mid-eighties. I had been asked by a church to go down and meet the minister and leaders with the possibility of becoming their youth worker. So I caught a train from Darlington and headed down to meet these people to see what the church was doing and what the job entailed. They were doing a great job among teenagers, with a thriving church youth group and a massive youth club. They had great links with the local schools, both junior and senior, and altogether had something like 250–300 young people coming through their doors weekly.

The meetings went well and I was impressed with their activities and vision. They informed me a decision would be made after a church vote, and the next day I was back on the train, excited about the prospect of working for them, and hoping the vote would go in my favour.

In the end I turned the job down, even though the vote was unanimous. Why? Because of that age-old problem in the church: money. Why is it that anything to do with money and the church is like Ebenezer Scrooge has come back to life, shouting ‘Bah, Humbug!’ They were going to provide accommodation for me and then pay me £15 ($27) a week. However, it had cost me over £60 ($90) for a return ticket on the train to go for the interview. Whenever I wanted to go home to visit it would cost me more than a month’s salary. I would have to save two months’ salary with out spending a penny to have enough for the train fare and spending money.

After speaking to my friends, I was sure I was making the right decision but, for obvious reasons, the discussion with the church was not easy. At the end of the telephone conversation, I heard those famous words, ‘You are not doing it for the money, but for the love of the Lord.’

Oh how I wanted to say, ‘Well you live on what you want to give me and I will live on what you receive,’ but I didn’t. And it’s possible the minister’s salary wasn’t much better. God is not tight so why does the church behave like it at times?

Some of the funniest evenings I have had are drinking and laughing with a group of men, all of whom have been shafted by churches and Christians, but when I hear their stories I hope one day we will learn.

I remember one evening after a great concert in Sheffield for about 1,000 people, the band, PA guys and organisers all went out for a curry. During the evening, two of my mates stood up and made a toast to a gentleman who ran a Christian management music company, nearly causing a riot by their actions as some of the band members started swearing, shouting and even throwing food. Why? Because they said they had been cheated out of thousands of pounds owed to them.

I once spoke at a church in Sheffield where a small brown envelope with the words ‘For the preacher’ written on it had been placed in the pulpit. I discreetly placed it in my pocket and carried on with the service. At the end of the service I left to go home. As I walked home, the sky turned grey and the heavens opened – thunder and lightning, the works. I got drenched but decided it couldn’t get any worse so carried on home. How wrong I was. After about three minutes walking, I stood in a massive load of dog poo covering not only the sole but also the laces of my shoe. How blessed I felt. This must be as bad as it gets. Oh no, the end of my trousers caught the big dollop on my shoe which rubbed itself in nicely. I eventually arrived home, wet, smelly and cold and desperate to get out of these clothes. After showering and warming up, I decided to open the envelope that was given to me by the church. How much had they decided to bless me with for the preparation, the service I had taken, plus costs incurred? I opened the envelope and a £1 coin fell out on the floor.

My friend Steve and I were asked to go and speak at a university some years ago, approximately 70 miles away. So we drove there, spoke at the event and then were invited out for a drink by some of the members of the Christian Union. On the way we were given an envelope for our services with £25 inside. I know that students don’t have much money, but what happened next still brings a smile to my face. We entered the pub and approached the bar where we were asked by one of the students what we were drinking. We both replied, ‘A pint of lager, please.’

All the drinks came, including the students’; the students disappeared and we were left to pay the bill of £23. On the way home we stopped and bought ourselves a Mars bar each and a bottle of water which left us £1.27. Our payment for the evening – fantastic.

Friends of mine who did a concert were given a cheque at the end of the evening which didn’t cover the amount agreed at the time of the booking. When questioned, the organiser replied, ‘Oh don’t worry, we have got you something else, seeing as it’s nearly Christmas.’ He then produced a box full of 200 mince pies. That’s really going to help pay the bills! I asked my mate what they did with them. His answer made me laugh and still does today: ‘We threw every bloody one out at the cars on our journey home.’ Merry Christmas everybody!

Another friend of mine did a whole weekend for a church and they paid him with a small amount of money, some toilet rolls and a big lump of cheese!

I heard this week that someone who was asked to work at an event in Harrogate this summer for a whole week was paid £10 in a gift voucher. I am sure this covered all their expenses, the preparation work they put in before the week and what they did during the week. I am also certain that the main speakers would not have accepted this so why should someone who maybe is not a household name in Christendom have to? I often want to ask people how they would feel if their secular bosses paid them in a similar manner.

Over 13 years ago, I was asked to speak at a youth event and a Sunday meeting for a church down in Chichester. The lesson I learnt there about being generous has never left me. Even though I spoke badly at the youth event, and only did OK on the Sunday morning, the gift I received covered all my expenses with a generous amount on top as a blessing. I certainly was blessed. I remember saying to my wife Linda if we ever became church leaders I would be adamant that we bless those who came and served us as a church. Well, today we are in that fortunate position and it is an ethos of our church to be generous. We learnt a key lesson from our friends at Revelation church in Chichester that we are determined to maintain.

Why do so many churches find it hard to give generously? Perhaps they have never really experienced the generosity of God themselves, not just in finances but also his love and grace.

Unfortunately, Ebenezer Scrooge is still alive and kicking in many churches and Christian organisations. We need to kill him off once and for all and demonstrate the lavish generosity of God’s love and grace in all our financial dealings.

Let’s make this Christmas and the new year a “scrooge free” one