Subscribe to RSSThe Transparency of Commerce
For over ten years I have been an outspoken advocate for ministries expanding their revenue models beyond the confines of a donor-based model.
Some time ago, when I was President of a publicly traded company working in the faith-based space, I was chided by many for “enriching the pockets of shareholders at the Lord’s expense.” This really bothered me and I spent a lot of prayer time seeking discernment in this area.
Soon after, I found myself waiting to meet the President of another well-known national ministry. While in his assistant’s office waiting to see him, I noticed that her office was about seven times larger than my own. Her office walls were lined in cherry wood, while mine had plasterboard walls. I am for or against one wall treatment or another; my question is regarding the practices of a nonprofit ministry versus a for-profit company. Where is the stewardship in expensing high costs using donor dollars, then being critical of a public company when they run leaner than you?
This experience helped me learn a lesson. It occurred to me that the principles of stewardship are mirrored in traditional free market economics – perhaps much better than the stewardship forces of traditional non-profit organizations. One area in which the free market forces are shown is in the International Christian Retail Show, from which we just returned.
Another example on the opposite side is that several prominent ministries are choosing to not cooperate with governmental probes into their finances. Their decision to resist financial transparency casts a shadow on all of us working in the faith-based arena.
When that is compared to the requirement of for-profit companies to show their financial status each and every quarter, it creates a stark distinction. For-profits are accountable both to the government and to their shareholders; such access requires both transparency and excellence for continued survival.
This is not a discussion about the pros and cons of one tax status over another. It is about the larger question of stewardship, and what that actually means. As for me, I prefer the transparency and market forces of traditional commerce found at ICRS conference to the old school non-profit model.