This past winter, my wife and I finally broke down and rented Moneyball. Its rave reviews and Oscar nominations eventually overcame my reluctance (but if Jonah Hill had won the Oscar the year after Christian Bale, I would have lost all faith in the Academy). It's the mostly story of an overrated draft pick turned MLB General Manager, Billy Beane, who, with the help of a young sports economist, experiments with a new and cost-effective method of team-building and coaching the Oakland Athletics, otherwise the league's poorest franchise. It seemed quite counter-cultural and controversial from the norm, which was (and still sometimes is) to use big money to get big-time players (more wealthy franchises like the New York Yankees are stereotyped with this, but I don't want to open that can of worms).
It got me thinking, though, are they ways to do money-stry?
One of the faults, in the film, of spending big money on bigtime players or hyped-up draftees is that they sometimes (or often) didn't pay off. Do churches do that with hires, programs, facilities or equipment? Are we investing our money and energy in things and people that are effective and resilient? Or are we, like the ol' managerial staff of the Oakland A's, looking at the wrong measurements?
I'm not wanting to be critical of anyone or start up a heated discussion. This goes beyond a church's financial committee. I'm thinking this over for both my worship arts ministry and my family's financial life. Are there ways we can do money-stry and better ourselves as stewards of all that God has given us?
I'm not wanting to be critical of anyone or start up a heated discussion. This goes beyond a church's financial committee. I'm thinking this over for both my worship arts ministry and my family's financial life. Are there ways we can do money-stry and better ourselves as stewards of all that God has given us?
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