In my
youth, I aspired to be a baseball umpire. Trained by a former minor league
umpire, I pursued that aspiration for many years in my free time, umpiring
hundreds of games, up to the college level—although not willing to give up my
day job for the joy of making decisions on balls and strikes, safe or out.
Like any sport, rules are the backbone
of baseball. Without them, the game would quickly turn into chaos. The rules must be so thoroughly understood by
an umpire that they are applied instinctively—often in a split second.
Each of us lives by rules. In his
marvelous new book, Crafting a Rule of Life, my friend Steve Macchia says “All of us have an unwritten
personal rule of life that we are following, some with great clarity, others
less knowingly. We wake at certain times, get ready for our days in particular
ways, use our free time for assorted purposes and practice rhythms of work,
hobbies, worship, vacation, and so on.”
He
continues, “Your personal rule of life is a holistic description of the
Spirit-empowered rhythms and relationships that create, redeem, sustain and
transform the life that God invites you to humbly fulfill for Christ’s glory.
Rather than being a set of laws that forbid us to do certain things, a rule of
life is a set of guidelines that support or enable us to do the things we want
and need to do.”
Just as individuals need a personal rule
of life, so churches need a biblical rule of organizational life. As a trellis
offers support for a plant, guiding its growth in a certain direction, a church
needs to adopt a rule to articulate its intentions (via rhythms and
relationships) and identify the way it wants to function best to fulfill its
mission.
The word
“rule” derives from a Latin word, regula. In the ancient sense of the term, regula or rule meant “guidepost” or “railing,”
something to hang onto in the dark, that leads in a given direction, points out
the road, or gives us support as we climb.
We minister so we can make known Who He
is—so the excellency of God can be seen in us. Churches need a guidepost or
railing to ensure consistent practices which glorify God. When financial or
other pressures come like a flood, a church needs to stay the course following
its biblical rule of life.
Throughout its history, ECFA has provided
key elements of a biblical rule of organizational life. It does this through
its high standards in the areas of governance, financial management, and
stewardship.
While the word “rule” often has negative
connotations, following ECFA’s “rule” enables an accredited church to focus on
what it needs to do. It allows a church to function with intention and purpose
in the present moment. Compliance with the law is a fundamental expectation of
churches. Many of ECFA’s standards go far beyond the law. In turn, many ECFA-accredited churches have
created their biblical rule of organizational life based on these standards,
but they have taken their rule to an even higher level.
Could a church follow its own rule which
is similar to ECFA standards without being accredited by ECFA? Yes, this is
possible. But how does a church convince others they are following these
standards if only a few insiders are privy to whether and how the church
complies with its own rule. It calls to mind the old fable about the dangers of
the fox guarding the henhouse.
The strong benefit provided by ECFA is
its third-party accreditation. The accredited church is the first party. Givers
and others entering into transactions with the accredited church might be
termed the second party. And, ECFA is a third party, not involved in the
interactions of the accredited church.
It is the third-party oversight of
compliance with high standards which sets ECFA apart. When a question is raised
concerning whether an accredited church is in compliance with the standards, an
objective decision can be provided by ECFA.
The
combination of the standards and the third-party oversight, evidenced by the
ECFA seal, is what sends a strong message to givers and enhances the givers’
trust of the church.
ECFA does not give an accredited church
integrity. Churches have their own integrity based on following their biblical
rule of organizational life. ECFA’s biblical rule of organizational life lends
its significant credibility to churches that already have established
integrity. The trust of givers is enhanced, providing more resources to carry
out the Great Commission. Craft a biblical rule of life, follow the ECFA standards of integrity, and rejoice as
your church flourishes under the guiding hand of God.
