Pastor's Pen

A monthly message from the hand of Vacancy Pastor Renstrom
October 2026

Nickels and Dimes

 

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

       We are entering the time of the year when congregations typically start looking at the next year’s budget. When we do so, we often ‘FREAK OUT!’ about the costs of doing God’s mission work. And it’s reasonable to do so. (After all, I’m the guy who still picks up pennies in the parking lot.) But it brings to mind a couple of thoughts for this month’s letter.

       First, the phrase “nickel-and-dime”. Grammarist.com says it beautifully: “[The phrase] typically comes with a negative connotation. It describes insignificant amounts of money that are small when taken individually, but when they keep trickling in, they add up to become a substantial sum. It’s like death by a hundred pokes in the eye but for your wallet.”

       Second, the phrase “Death by bean counters”. It describes the corrosive effect of prioritizing financial costs over mission driven values. It’s a warning that when our decision making is focused only on the cost of things and ignores the mission of the congregation, the people and causes we’re meant to serve can suffer significant harm, sometimes so slowly that it seems unnoticeable until it’s too late. Remember Sears Roebuck and Co.? I could argue that that once large company lost sight of her vision and fell prey to the army of bean counters.

       We want to stay away from both extremes. We don’t want to be killed by all the little bills that keep coming in and piling up. And we don’t want to die because we aren’t seeing and doing our mission because we’re afraid of the costs.

       In Luke 14:25 and following, Jesus talks both about counting the cost of building a tower or going to war. It’s important to know what we are getting into and what we have with which to engage. But in the same section, he talks about salt losing its saltiness and becoming fit only for a manure pile. The lesson for us: staying salty while watching our costs
or, not getting so focused on our navels that we aren’t watching for and seeing the mission opportunities that God is placing around us all the time.

       And that takes faith. Faith to use the resources that God has put in our pockets—faithfully. Faith to trust that he will provide. And faith to receive God’s forgiveness when we start gazing at our navels and fall short of listening to him. (And the observant reader has noticed that I’ve brought in a third phrase here: “Navel-gazing”—excessive focus on myself to the point of ignoring those around me.)

       A little bit of “how” might be of value here. The first step in decision making is to visualize. I often ask a question like, “What picture of God’s ministry would you draw, or do you see, for 2027?” Then, when considering individual pieces, it’s important to visualize how each piece fits into the whole of the ministry. Individually, the opportunities may be good. But for 2027 one piece may not be the piece that fits right now and another does fit. For example, I like peach pie. But, if when I’m at the grocery store, I buy peaches to bring home and Char is making pumpkin pie—it wasn’t very helpful, was it?! Both are good, but the peaches don’t fit the picture—and if my budget is limited so that I now can’t buy pumpkin, I end up doing a poor job of either.

       After getting the vision focused, then we start working on the “how” all the time keeping our eyes on the picture. After the “how” we “do”. But it starts with the picture—with a picture we can throw out the “nickel and diming” AND keep the “bean counters” at bay, counting the cost and staying salty in God’s mission through Zion.

 

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Tim J. Renstrom

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