3. PROPUESTA: HERRAMIENTAS ADMNISTRATIVAS PARA LA TOMA DE
3.2 Análisis de las relaciones costo – volumen – utilidad
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Also, the lack of proper monitoring in our places of work today is also a contributing factor. When no one monitors or assesses a person at work, he or she will not be committed. There is no one to emulate and even the real and genuine Christians whose conscience are alive may become objects of ridicule for doing the right thing in their places of work. It is time to teach the Osun Baptist members to remember that whatever is not laboured for does not stay long in one’s hand. The leaders of the individual churches must not use their leadership positions to mismanage the Church fund but rather there should be the practice of prudence. To the Calvinist Protestant Capitalism, donation of money to the poor or to charity is frowned at, because it is seen as furthering beggary and the social condition is seen as laziness and a burden to their fellow man. To them, failure to work means failure to glorify God which is also an affront to Him.6 We can conclude with Munroe statement that work is a blessing because it affords us the opportunity to give generously out of what we have and the type of person we are is generated.7
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individuals to demonstrate what the code defines as professional behaviour or conduct.
For instance, when patients visit the hospital to see the doctor, they expect a certain form of behaviour and if their expectations are not met in that hospital, they feel disappointed. Thus, the professional code of conduct often has legal and financial implications when breached.10
The above statements about professional conduct are eye-openers to the Osun Baptist Ministers as these serve to remind them of the necessity of good behaviour in their places of work. The ministers (clergies) should prove to the members that they are called by God and that they are trained for the work. They must not neglect their duty as shepherds. Their messages must be well-defined and true to the Bible. They must also lead by example. Kolawole gives three levels at which the Baptist Ministers are operating in tithe and offerings. He calls this “the three categories of Baptist Ministers”. The first group is those who never see tithe as something they are to pay as they are like the Levites in the Bible who were the recipients of the tithes. The second group is those who believe that whatever they will give as tithe may not be given to the house of God. They can sometimes give tithe to charity or through any other method that appeals to them. The last group is those who are highly committed to the payment of the tithe regularly. Kolawole estimates this last group to have taken just 50%. To him, 50% of Baptist pastors are tithe payers while the rest half are not. These attitudes of the pastors have great impact on their members. He estimates the tithe payers among the Baptist church members to be between 30-40%. The rest arbitrarily give anything they like. They see this giving as donating to social group. They never see it as an act of worship.11 To buttress Kolawole’s assessment of pastors payment of tithe, Akin-John stated that churches where leaders meet the standards expected of them raise more money and more easily than where the leaders either do not possess the abilities or failed to convey the abilities to their congregation. He stated that the giving habits of Christians generally revealed that:
Only 1/3 of Christians pay tithe regularly
One out of every three Christians doesn’t give at all.
Only 1% of Christian give to missions
People give more to a special offering than a regular one
10 Ibid.
11 Paul, Kolawole, personal interview at Union Baptist Church, Odi Olowo, Osogbo on 28/08/2010.
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People give more to what they will see physically.12
It therefore behooves the Baptist pastors to lead by example. To buttress the above point Brattgard stated that though the stewardship idea has been interpreted primarily in relation to laymen and their duties to the congregation, the New Testament reminds us that this applies first and foremost to the clergy. If the idea of the biblical form of stewardship is not an existing phenomenon in the lives of clergies, its chances of taking ground in the congregation are very thin. The church of God on earth would experience dramatic change and impact on society if the clergies understand the total dimension of implicit in the biblical concept of stewardship which affects everybody in the congregation. Therefore, a pastor who fails to set good example when it comes to being generous with his own money cannot ask others to do so. The pastor who does not place all of his natural gifts in the service of the gospel cannot demand that other do so. He states that “only he who practices stewardship can preach it rightly”.13
The pastors who teach their members to give should also show it in their giving. Oladejo suggests that it is not biblically appropriate to merely treat passages of the scripture on prosperity without adequate exegesis. To him, when a pastor keeps asking impoverished worshippers to sow monetary seed while he himself lives in luxury such pastor is doing the wrong thing. Pastors should not be milking the poor members without commensurate way of showing them how to be transformed and so becoming responsive to economic improvement. The pastors should be aware of the fact that there are many underprivileged people in their churches who can avoid being poor if they are well guided on how to improve themselves economically. For example, a graduate of agriculture or animal husbandry who keeps seeking for jobs for years could be guided on how to start practicing his profession privately.14
The Church could loan money to such undergraduates with close monitoring.
The pastor must use his office to challenge the indolent to start thinking of doing something worthwhile. Those who sell must make sure that they put in enthusiasm and honesty that will always attract customers to them. Fake items must not be sold in
12 Francis Bola, Akin-John. Secrets of Financially Strong Churches: How to Secure more Money for Ministry Expansion. Lagos: Church Growth Service. 2001. 33.
13 Helge Brattgard. God’s Stewards: A Theological Study of the Principles and Practices of Stewardship. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House. 1963. 52 – 53.
14 Olusola Oladejo. “Leading other Believers to set Economic Captives Free” a Paper presented at the N.B.C 2010. General Workers’ Conference with the theme Kingdom Leaders: Vessels of Liberation (Luke 4:18-19). 48-49.
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place of original ones. The civil servants must not be late to work and must carry out their jobs putting their code of conduct in mind so that they discharge their duties responsibly. This chapter, which is the penultimate one, has suggested ways to enhance tithes and offerings in Osun Baptist Conference and these include integrity, transparency, honesty and accountability in financial matters. Furthermore, the chapter suggests that ascetic behaviour and the spirit of hard work be inculcated into the lives of the membership of the Baptist Church and that the ministers abide by their professional code of conduct.
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CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION