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If you want to talk about
transparency, let's do it here and now. I am speaking of
transparency in how the collective black community of church
goers and worshipers do not make a demand on their
respective houses of worship to get their pastor or board of
elders or deacons to at least undertake baby steps in
galvanizing their weekly monetary resources into
community-funded projects that build up and enrich their
memberships.
I know...I know...No one
wants to grab the bull by the horns and hold a
community-wide discussion on the weekly and monthly monies
that black churches accumulate each Sunday, Wednesday and
special events (Men's Day, Women's Day, Church Anniversary,
Pastor's Birthday, "special offerings" and other events that
generate moola).
I know...I know...No
church wants to make known their weekly or monthly takes for
reasons of possible embarrassment (e.g.: "Is that all THAT
church takes in!"....or..."Man, that church is loaded and
they don't do a thing in the community!").
Let me back up for the
uninitiated as to this discussion (one sided as it is) that
I have been espousing for over twenty-plus years and that
is: the black church is the single wealthiest institution in
the black community both here in Toledo and across the
nation.
When black folks attend
church throughout the week in Toledo, they drop in the
offering plate or the passed basket, tens of thousands of
dollars PER WEEK!
But yet....where is the
collective racial consciousness that some of those funds
should do "double duty" and go out and seek and find their
fellow brother or sister five dollar or 50 dollar bill and
woo them into the fold?
Question: In Toledo, when
is the last time you have seen a church or preferably a
collective of churches linking both arms and their
respective offering plates to do sustained economic
development?
The kind of development
that creates both full time and part time jobs and causes
structures to be erected and assembles a competent
managerial team that will invest and manage the collected
monies?
Times Up! Answer: You have
not!
Now, if you are a
thinking man or woman, you should be, by now, wondering what
is it with some of our local pastors that they flee from
collective economic development as if they are being chased
down by a hoary demon?
I daresay that between a
decision between pastors gladly giving a weekly 10 percent
of their gross income gathered from their church coffers or
that of appearing on the television series, Naked and
Afraid, and taking their chances with heatstroke or eating a
fried snake, my vote is for Naked And Afraid!
What is it that causes
some pastors to refuse to release their death grip on that
gold or silver-plated offering plate?
Would it be an
exaggeration to say that if there was a fire during a Sunday
morning worship that instead of running out of a burning
building, some pastors would make a life or death dash to
the counting room to make sure that the offering was
protected from the flames?
It is now time for me to
let you in on a closely guarded secret that I have been
privy to for many, many years and that is: The local pastors
may LIKE each other but they may not LOVE each other!
There...I said it! Oh,
it is all right to fellowship together around a chicken
dinner or a community-wide sing-along service or the giving
away of turkeys before Thanksgiving, but to ask them to
systematically set aside each week or each month a finite
sum for economic development and enrichment would be
tantamount to asking them to confess (through gritted
teeth!) that Jesus is their support and their provision!
I know...I know...money
is needed to pay church's expenses and overhead but consider
also that the pastors who would refuse to support collective
economics and self-determination are in fact telling their
congregations that marginal living, a financially anemic
black community and a lack of financial foresight is "OK"
with them.
How many times have I
heard from black people carping and blowing off steam about
how "other" ethnic groups come into their community, buy up
the corner stores, rehab houses; and are turning a profit
while the black church mutely sits on the sidelines
apparently content with just counting the hymnals in their
pews.
The proposed economic
plan is so simple to craft and develop: (1) A community call
for ALL pastors to convene an economic summit (2) Each
church brings in the last three years of their financial
records (3) Ten percent of those averaged amounts are
projected as the future yearly goals to be donated to a fund
that is both licensed, insured and managed by financial
professionals (4) At the end of four years, investment
decisions are made by and for the local community which will
cause job growth and provide grants and loans for business
start-ups.
How hard is that?
I know...I know...you
will say that such a thing has never been done before!
You are right...it has not
and it is long past time to do it. This should have been
started in the 1950's...we have lost decades due to being
financially scared!
By the way, the local
sororities, fraternities (yes, even Boule could
participate!), professional groups and black businesses
would be invited to be part of this grand but woefully
needed financial undertaking.
Toledo, if not
now....then when?
By Lafe Tolliver at
tolliver@Juno.com
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