Like my indigenous forebears, I do not set fees for the spiritual work I do. Instead, I do the work when asked in a good way, leaving it to the person to make a free will offering after the work is completed.
Many times I have been asked why I don't set fees in advance. Today, I'd like to offer an example to illustrate my reason for not doing so.
Just a few minutes south of me is a small congregation that has been together for decades. Recently the parent organization - I hesitate to call it a church - decided they could make a pile of money by selling off the church. They had already closed others in the area, at least once barging into the sanctuary in the middle of a Sunday service, forcing everyone out of the building before the service was completed. On one building, they supposedly made almost a million dollars on the sale of the land.
These hypocrites have shown their stripes. They don't care about anyone's soul as much as they do money. If they did, they'd never stoop so low.
The good news here is that this particular congregation is not going away quietly. It seems that the parent organization had deeded the church and the land to the actual congregation and so do not have a legal claim to the property anymore. The bad news is that the lawyers are now involved, so it will be some time before the congregation can pray in their own house of worship.
All because of money. And that is the problem. When spiritual ministry becomes a service for profit, the spirituality itself becomes lost. When the value of a building is greater in one's eyes (or several persons'!) than the value of the spiritual well being of the congregation, that person is no longer religious, much less spiritual. Unless, of course, they worship money.
I much prefer the way I do things. I do the work and leave it the person or people for whom that work is done to offer what they can... what they feel is fair. Often, I won't even open the envelope for many days. And the money always goes to support more work.
So, if you ever ask me for spiritual support, know that money is not, and never will be, a part of my motivation. I do what I do because I feel called to the task. I do it because it's one way I can live a life with Spirit. May it always be so!
In peace,
Lane
Many times I have been asked why I don't set fees in advance. Today, I'd like to offer an example to illustrate my reason for not doing so.
Just a few minutes south of me is a small congregation that has been together for decades. Recently the parent organization - I hesitate to call it a church - decided they could make a pile of money by selling off the church. They had already closed others in the area, at least once barging into the sanctuary in the middle of a Sunday service, forcing everyone out of the building before the service was completed. On one building, they supposedly made almost a million dollars on the sale of the land.
These hypocrites have shown their stripes. They don't care about anyone's soul as much as they do money. If they did, they'd never stoop so low.
The good news here is that this particular congregation is not going away quietly. It seems that the parent organization had deeded the church and the land to the actual congregation and so do not have a legal claim to the property anymore. The bad news is that the lawyers are now involved, so it will be some time before the congregation can pray in their own house of worship.
All because of money. And that is the problem. When spiritual ministry becomes a service for profit, the spirituality itself becomes lost. When the value of a building is greater in one's eyes (or several persons'!) than the value of the spiritual well being of the congregation, that person is no longer religious, much less spiritual. Unless, of course, they worship money.
I much prefer the way I do things. I do the work and leave it the person or people for whom that work is done to offer what they can... what they feel is fair. Often, I won't even open the envelope for many days. And the money always goes to support more work.
So, if you ever ask me for spiritual support, know that money is not, and never will be, a part of my motivation. I do what I do because I feel called to the task. I do it because it's one way I can live a life with Spirit. May it always be so!
In peace,
Lane
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