SAN ANGELO, Texas (ABP) — When church leaders fail to identify and manage risks in areas such as legal liability, health and safety standards, and compliance with civil-rights laws, they neglect an important aspect of biblical stewardship, risk-management consultant Dick Baggett has concluded.
God calls church leaders to be good stewards, and their stewardship obligations extend beyond issues of giving and money management, Baggett asserted.
“These obligations call for protecting [God's] assets and people entrusted to us,” he said.
Baggett owns a human resources consulting firm in San Angelo, Texas, that specializes in risk-management consultations with churches. In his experience, he has discovered church business administrators typically understand the importance of discussing risk-management issues, but he has found it “more difficult to connect” with pastors.
“With many of these church leaders, the conversation that frequently must take place is more on the biblical and spiritual dimension,” Baggett explained.
Discussions about risk management need to be addressed from the position of stewardship, and stewardship needs to be understood in the full biblical sense, he insisted.
“Stewardship consists of our realizing the ownership of the world belongs to God and that our activities are simply in response to his gift of occupancy,” he said.
Church leaders have a stewardship responsibility to protect their congregations the way shepherds protect their flocks, Baggett said.
But few churches understand that it's possible to analyze and identify risks, respond logically and professionally to those risks, and then manage them in a way that eliminates or at least seriously reduces liability.
“I have not yet come across a church who understands that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has 100 percent jurisdiction over the church,” he noted as an example.
Many church leaders — both ministers and laity — mistakenly assume that because churches are nonprofit religious organizations, laws regarding safety, health, civil rights, accessibility, labor and transportation do not apply to them.
“I have never understood how successful, informed people who are leaders in their industry, the business world and their local business communities can become totally ignorant when they link up to work with a nonprofit organization,” he observed. “It is a truly sad phenomenon to witness. But I have seen it repeatedly occur.”
That attitude represents not only ignorance of the law and good business principles, but also a flawed theological understanding of Christians' relationship with government, he said.
“The churches and their leaders are supposed to be exemplary citizens,” Baggett said, pointing to the Apostle Paul's teachings in Romans chapter 13 and in the writings of the Old Testament prophets about justice and righteousness.
“A significant part of church risk management is being in compliance with the government's laws, regulations and monitoring agencies that exist to ensure compliance, equality, fairness and justice.”
From Moses' dealing with the Israelites during the Exodus to Jesus' handling of the multitudes who followed him, the Bible offers examples of spiritual leaders who understood the importance of giving attention to detail, gathering good information, planning effectively and “counting the costs,” Baggett insisted.
Christian leaders need the discipline and intelligence to see threats their congregations face and find a way to deal with those threats and resolve confrontations, he determined.
“They must possess the ability and talent to teach others about the necessity to become informed, obtain proper instruction and manage threats,” he said. “As part of their job, they must be church risk managers.”
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