{"id":2937,"date":"2013-04-03T05:06:32","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T12:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=2937"},"modified":"2013-04-03T05:07:30","modified_gmt":"2013-04-03T12:07:30","slug":"why-if-just-one-person-reasoning-is-false-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2013\/04\/03\/why-if-just-one-person-reasoning-is-false-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"Why \u201cIf Just One Person\u2026\u201d Reasoning is False & Dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally posted December 16, 2011<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n

There is a growing trend among many churches to apply a false formula in many aspects of the budgeting process. I call it the \u201cIf Just One Person\u201d false logic.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve found yourself falling into this trend you need to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Be aware of the trend,<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Recognize why the logic is faulty,<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Know how to respond.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"dollar<\/p>\n

    1.\u00a0\u00a0 Be aware of the trend<\/strong>
    \nThis trend typically unfolds in this manner. During the budgeting process someone will notice an unusually large dollar figure attached to a new or unproven outreach initiative.<\/p>\n

    The defender of the line item will then apply this logic. \u201cHey, if even\u00a0one person<\/strong>\u00a0makes a decision for Christ, then every penny will have been worth it!\u201d<\/p>\n

    While I\u2019m using outreach as an example, the same reasoning pops up in other budget discussions too, such as:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • If just one person\u00a0takes a big step towards God\u2026<\/li>\n
    • If just one person\u00a0starts reading the Bible regularly\u2026<\/li>\n
    • If just one person\u00a0invites someone far from God into their home\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      2.\u00a0\u00a0 Recognize why the logic is faulty<\/strong>
      \nIn reality there is a dangerous false economy at work here. Suppose, for example, the outreach line item is for $20,000 and it is being justified on the \u201cIf Just One Person\u201d logic. But could there have been a far more effective outreach initiative which, for that same $20,000, could have seen 10 people come to Christ? Or 20? Or 100?<\/p>\n

      3.\u00a0\u00a0 Know how to respond<\/strong>
      \nWhen this logic is raised in your budgeting circles the key is to match the sincere value with a discussion of equally valid competing values such as the stewardship value and the wisdom value.<\/p>\n

      Have the courage to point out that even in an abundance economy (recognizing that God does indeed \u201cown the cattle on a thousand hills\u201d), there is still a leadership responsibility at play which requires a maximum return on each Kingdom dollar.<\/p>\n

      Why is this a big deal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      As a church leader you have a responsibility to ensure that each dollar is being applied for maximum Kingdom impact.<\/p>\n

      So be on the lookout for the \u201cIf Just One Person\u201d false logic. If you speak into it in a timely, gracious but clear manner the Kingdom win can be huge.<\/p>\n

      How do you respond to the \u201cIf Just One Person\u201d logic?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Originally posted December 16, 2011 There is a growing trend among many churches to apply a false formula in many aspects of the budgeting process. I call it the \u201cIf Just One Person\u201d false logic. If you\u2019ve found yourself falling into this trend you need to: Be aware of the trend, Recognize why the logic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,738,478,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2937"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2941,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2937\/revisions\/2941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}