We Aren't Broke
Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry
Author Mark Elsdon Foreword by Craig Dykstra ISBN 9780802878984 Binding Trade Paper Publisher WM B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Publication Date June 01, 2021 Size 140 x 216 mmWhat if everything you need is already there?
Many Christian churches and related institutions in the United States are struggling or, in some cases, facing imminent crisis, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance is down. Funding is harder to come by. People are no longer drawn to traditional church services and programming in the ways that they once were. Often, we feel broke and powerless to do much about it. We settle for doing more with less: Less money. Fewer people. Fewer churches.
But if we reexamine our perceived limits and our assumptions about how resources are supposed to be used, then something remarkable and beautiful comes into view: we aren’t broke at all but have enormous resources at our disposal. Church and missional organizations nationwide own billions of dollars of prime property and investment assets, which, when combined with social enterprise and new expressions of mission, can be put to work for innovation and transformation. And these resources are often available to us right now.
This book is an invitation to envision a different way of putting God’s gifts to work in the world. It draws upon a remarkable story of rebirth at a Presbyterian affiliated campus ministry center at the University of Wisconsin, along with profiles of other creative social enterprises, to describe how church property and investment assets can be put to work for innovation, transformation, and financial sustainability. Theologically rooted but practically minded, it provides guidance and tools for church and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors of all kinds who are seeking new ways to fund and participate in God’s work in the world.
— Shane Claiborne
author, activist, and cofounder of Red Letter Christians
“This book packs a wallop—it could not be timelier or more important for congregations today. Elsdon calls churches to reckon with the impact of their finances—not just whether they can make bank—and turns impact investing into something mighty close to a spiritual practice. Given the tectonic shifts in giving and the global hand-wringing over the future of the church, We Aren’t Broke isn’t a moment too soon.”
— Kenda Creasy Dean
author of Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church
“Mark Elsdon knows what he is writing about: a capacious Christian vision of the common good. What he proposes is not abstract but grounded—a tested way of perceiving and acting that reorders the power of money and property for the sake of a more just and thriving neighborhood or town. Elsdon points a way to a comprehensive transformation of the church and the community.”
— Mark Labberton
author of The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor
“Wise and eminently practical, We Aren’t Broke is a timely, much-needed book. Elsdon’s transformational story is inspiring, and his lessons and insights provide wonderful ways to reimagine mission and ministry in diverse contexts. Take, read, and put into practice!”
— L. Gregory Jones
president of Belmont University
“I’ve long questioned the traditional model of the church’s role in the context of today’s society. I believe innovation has been somewhat lacking in approaches to disrupt systemic issues in our community. However, now more than ever, we are in a moment to change the narrative around this, and we are seeing more and more examples of new and effective models popping up around the world. We Aren’t Broke does an excellent job of digging into these challenging topics and highlighting new ways for the church to utilize its assets and reclaim its position as the transformational agent of change in our communities.”
— Derrick Morgan
retired NFL linebacker and managing partner at KNGDM Group
“This is a book the likes of which you have never read before. Mark Elsdon has written a book on money in the church that is both smart and wise. The smart part of his book is that he opens up important specific resources for good money management and investment. The wise part of his book is that he appeals to faith in order to imagine afresh the uses of our resources. Elsdon proposes nothing less than that we ‘recalibrate our relationship with money’ in order not to keep reiterating old practices. This book is a must-read for any part of the church that fears it lacks adequate resources. Elsdon’s own life experience provides an elemental case study for his exposition.”
— Walter Brueggemann
Columbia Theological Seminary
“We Aren’t Broke offers an insightful, first-person tour through the challenges of funding church-based ministries and exploring our relations of faith and finance. By combining reflections on his own journey with discussions of the best thinking and practices of innovative finance, Elsdon offers a solid vision of how money and mission may be integrated to advance the critical work of the church in the current century. A must-read for deacons, preachers, parishioners, and laity leading today’s religious communities!”
— Jed Emerson
author of The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being
“We Aren’t Broke is a welcome resource that so many churches need now, and Mark Elsdon is jus
Table of Contents
Foreword by Craig Dykstra
Introduction: We Aren’t Broke
Part One: Reimagining Mission and Money for Innovation and Transformation
1. Uncovering Abundance
2. The Way We’ve Always Done It
3. Highest and Best Use—Bigger Barns or Something Else?
4. Open the Barns, Don’t Build More
5. All Investment Has Impact—What Is Ours?
6. Creating a New Future by Repairing the Past
7. Reimagining Assets—a Higher and Better Use?
8. So Much Property!
9. Barriers That Hold Us Back
Part Two: Ingredients to Make It Work
10. Ingredients to Make It Work for Redemptive Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises
11. Ingredients to Make It Work for Investors
12. Where Do We Go from Here?