DAY 415: ROI – THE COST OF SEPARATED BISHOPS

I should be writing about the “Fees must Fall” campaign which is spreading across our country like a South Easterly gale. The winds of change are blowing hard and the experience is life-giving. I back the students.

They are exposing the deep concerns that we all have about governance and the misappropriation of resources. The account is coming in … fast.

Stripping down to the bare essentials, I have left my biggest concern in this Trilogy about RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)  in the Methodist Church ’til last. THE COST OF SEPARATED BISHOPS has always disturbed me. We cannot afford the luxury and something needs to be done … fast.

The concern is easier to illustrate than explain. A financial advisor told me a story about his boss who was reflecting on his years of service. He remembered the day when he became a District Manager. One month later, he found himself with the Managing Director travelling in the lift at the company’s high rise headquarters in Johannesburg. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, he seized the moment and proudly told his CEO all that he had done since taking up his new position. He thought it would be good for him to know how busy he was.

The CEO did not say a word. As the doors opened and they headed on in their separate ways, he then looked at the smiling mover and shaker and said: “That’s good … now what are you going to do next month to earn your salary?”.

We need to hear this kind of tough business talk in the church. Examine the EXPENDITURE. The office of each of our Bishops costs approximately R 1.2 million per annum,. If we broke it down to 90K per month, we are looking at around R3000.00 per day.or R 21,00.00 per week. The financial boffins will be able to present exact figures of THE SEPARATED BISHOP’S hourly rate. They will also be able to tell you the basic minimum wage in this country and more or less, how many people are unemployed. I have to ask the question: Where is the money coming from?

Here’s the rub. That money is coming from people in the pew. Talk to Church Treasurers.  Ask the stewards to look carefully at the offerings (plate and pledge) each Sunday and get them to draw their own conclusions. Some of us serve congregations where it is a struggle to raise R3000.00 per month – and the journey is not going to get easier.

Here’s the ghost of Demitris Palos (pictured above left) again. Whilst in Germany, he met someone who called himself a PROVOST. “What’s a PROVOST?” asked Demitris. “One seventh of a Bishop” came the reply. Maybe this is the arena we should be investigating as we begin to do our research in the quest to find alternatives. By starting with a time in motion study, something life-giving may surface as we learn to consult and delegate. That’s hard to do when you are separated from local community.

Somehow, we’ve lost the genius of connexionality and the Spirit-led gift of bringing out the best in people. Maybe the “Fees must Fall” will awaken us (ring the bell) to a new understanding of the role of the church.

What am I saying? That “SEPARATED BISHOPS MUST FALL”. They are a serious cash drain on an institution that is no longer sustainable. Wesley remained an Anglican clergyman throughout his ministry. If we want Episcopalian governance, why duplicate the office? Has not the time come for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa to join up the with the Anglicans and become an order (movement) within the ecumenical family towards the greater good for all.

THE COST OF SEPARATED BISHOPS is huge. I honestly think that there must be another way.

In our Bible Study this week, we examined the hidden treasure contained in the Book of Proverbs. Yet again, one of the life-giving texts in my ministry jumped out at me: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (29:18). Or better still “when there is no revelation, we remain foolish!”. John Vincent reminds us that all we do is related to our images and visions of God.

Wesley taught us that we only come to know who God is, by joining in God’s work in community (not SEPARATION) with others … especially those on the margins. As we enter into relationships in solidarity, listening and respect with people and the planet, light from the edges begins to surprise us. We enter into a New Dimension. Change lives here. The strong learn to let go and the weak gather strength. May the One who is the First and the Last continue to keep us on the move.