Recently, there's been a lot of talk in the news and around the dinner tables throughout the US and the world for that matter about the term: Bail-out.
It is the word of the moment.
The government bailing out AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
Stock, financial institutions and banks got bailed out because of the foreclosure debacle and now the big three automakers have their hands raised asking for the government to bail them out of their misfortunes.
Who Should We Be Bailing Out? More and more, the question isn't "Should we bail them out or not?".
People are starting to ask if we do bail you out, how are you going to change your model to insure that this isn't going to happen again? Since the $25B (yes that is billion with a "B") auto bailout (with some provisions just a few months ago, automakers have come back and said we need $25,000,000,000 more! Actions Not Matching Their Requests The CEOs of the big three automakers flew in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.
Well, that certainly was the lead story across the land.
People were indignant at the audacity of their actions.
On the one hand they had come to tell Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that had not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.
Anger and Indignation Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste take on the situation was similar to many both in and out of government.
"This is a slap in the face of taxpayers," he said.
"To come to Washington on a corporate jet and then asking for a hand out is outrageous.
" When Diane Sawyer of ABC's Good Morning America interviewed Alan Mulally of Ford, he took exception to charges the company had been badly managed, saying that "if everybody can remember, we had gotten back to profitability in the first quarter of this year ...
None of us ever anticipated that we'd be in a world where our sales in this industry have fallen by 40 percent in the first nine months.
" Can They Turn It Around Is The Question Sawyer noted that the big 3 were losing money when the economy was good indicated that there was an increasingly long list of folks who are opposing the bailout asking, "If they lost money then, why does it make sense to bail them out now?" Mulally's response was, "I think the past is the past," he said.
"This discussion is about the future.
" Many people are coming to the thought of, "I understand you want/need bailed out.
Show me the plan.
Tell me when this is going to turn around.
Many folks are asking when the big 3 can guarantee that they can return to profitability!" That just doesn't work for us When asked why Ford just doesn't file bankruptcy, he responded, "That just doesn't work for us!" By the way, Chrysler just paid out about about $30 million in retention bonuses to keep top executives while the company cuts thousands of jobs.
Is It Time For A Symbolic Gesture By Executives? Mulally's response to the question of not only his pay, but that of other big 3 auto executives and higher ups within his own company.
"We have stopped all merit increases and bonuses, because cash is absolutely critical at this point.
" "On the other hand, you want to have a skilled and motivated team, so it is really important that we compensate people for the hard work they do'.
What Does This Have To Do With Me and My Church? My church is looking for a bailout of sorts for the financial situation it currently finds itself in.
No, they didn't term it a bailout.
It came under a different mantle, but the request is basically the same.
And if this was the first time that the church had said they needed help, this article wouldn't have had a need to be written.
But this is the third or fourth year in a row (I have lost count, so this may actually be the 4th or 5th year in a row) that circumstances are so dire that:

• Utilities such as phone and light are about to be shut off
• Creditors are 90+ days in arrears
• Staff and Minister have had to hold their paychecks before they would clear the bank

There was a congregational meeting recently.
You would have thought that the answers might have come from the big 3 automakers CEO's.
Instead, they came from the minister and the Board of Directors...

• Salaries - While the Minister has taken a forced pay reduction (not a symbolic gesture, but one that was forced on her), other positions have actually had a 300% increase.
  Talk about audacity!
• They Would Rather Cut Services Than People - Somehow, there is this "artificial need" to retain staff with the hope of growing the church.
  Church growth has been mostly stagnant over the past 5 years (see a relationship to the financial issue timeline?), yet continually more and more staff have been added.
  And I am not even talking about tasks that have been outsourced that were previously handled by volunteers.
  Rather than re-adjust till times get better and attendance regularly increases, the response was "That just doesn't work for us" Hmm..
  ..
  notice the similarities? Meanwhile, there is question of whether certain programs or service offerings are worth the energy/light costs.
  Do you really believe that offering less services is going to grow the church?
• No plan - No plan may be harsh here, because a drastically reduced budget was offered by the Board as a solution to the congregation.
  But by only focusing on where to "stop the bleeding", both the Board and the Minister have not provided a long term solution to what is seemingly an annual event.
  Each side is pointing at the other and saying they are responsible.
  At any rate, the reaction you receive is analogous to Mulally's, "I know there's a problem, but it isn't my fault"
• Not Living By Their Principals - The church, (Minister, Staff, Board and Congregants) as a whole have not fully realized their conscious behaviors.
  They focus on the lack.
  So what do they get? More lack.
  Which causes a conundrum of sorts.
  The church is asking me to tithe to it regularly, yet it has recently come to light that because of its' financial situation, the church doesn't tithe regularly, if at all.
  
• Accountability is lacking - When the question is asked; "How did it get to this point?" The Board points at the minister.
  While it happened on their watch, they don't feel responsible.
  

The minister is looking towards the congregation.
Somehow the minister rationalizes that it is the congregation who is not stepping up to grow the church, and to generate more funds.
On the other hand, the average tithe at this church is twice that of other churches.
So, where is the disconnect? The membership is left to themselves to ascertain the situation because communication from both the Board and the Minister are in short supply lately.
As such, congregants are not focusing on where they can be of service to the church.
The question they ponder is whether or not this church is right for them.
Many of them didn't wait for the congregational meeting to come to this determination.
They left a long time ago.
So, automakers, this church and probably many more churches find themselves in a similar position.
Asking for a bailout.
I want to help, I really do.
However, like you, I keep asking myself this one question...
"What is the definition of insanity?" Doing the same thing over and over, while expecting a different outcome.
I am not sure I am willing this time.
Not for the automakers, Not for this church.