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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Day Care Dreams":
At my present tiny WELS congregation, we have had our first full time pastor since its formal charter was signed way back in 1974. He has been with us for four years now. After his first year, the synod cut off our home mission subsidy. I consider that to be a blessing. Within the past year, there has been something here called long range planning. Being a member there for three and a half years, I know most of the members well enough to know that this effort certainly did not come from the laity. Buried in the long range planning presentation was all of the usual tripe Kelmed from business methods. One detail raised a red flag right away. One of the goals was a day care center. I wondered if that was not part of the agenda from synod HQ. After all, we can barely support a full time pastor. Hmmmmm.
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GJ - The concept of day-care being a money maker is absurd and dangerous. When everyone is in the business, the prices are beaten down. But why should a congregation be in the market place, competing against legitimate business while using its tax-favored status?
As I showed in the ELCA post, the motivation is money pure and simple.
WELS Circuit Pastor Steve Spencer is in a position to know about a lot of congregations. He wrote me that day-care is most often the death of a congregation.
Besides the obvious problems of stealing from the congregation to support jobs among a favored few, there is the alienation created by day-care versus the congregation. The members are not supporting a ministry to others but part-time and full-time jobs for a few. So who benefits? The favored few and the non-members who get subsidized baby-sitting.
Questions to Ask in the Parish
Is the day-care above all criticism?
Do people really know the total cost of the day-care business?
Are the day-care costs and contributions separated from the rest of the budget?
Are non-day-care staff allowed in that part of the building - or do they have their own domain?
Is it called a Christian academy when it is just another day-care business?
