If you’ve ever bought a car, you’ve had the sales person ask you, “So what kind of payments are you looking for?”
As if the bottom line price of the car and its options doesn’t matter, only what you have to shell out every month. Every month for the next four years. Or five. Or six. You can be convinced that you can “afford” the car since you can afford the monthy payment . . . if it’s stretched out over a long, long time.
What a crock.
You end up having “affordable” monthly payments for so long that you move right into the next car and its new monthly payments. Money you could be using for long term gain goes instead to fueling short term desires.
It’s so short sighted. It makes plans based on the now instead of the then.
Ministry can be the same way. Those of us in church leadership make decisions on short term results rather than long term impact.
It’s why many of us make ministry decisions on who we want to keep rather than who we want to reach.
So whether it’s buying a car or leading a ministry, forget the monthly payments.
Focus on the long term goal.