Mark Elsdon - We Arent Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry

Wise and eminently practical, We Arent Broke is a timely, much-needed book. Elsdons transformational story is inspiring, and his lessons and insights provide wonderful ways to reimagine mission and ministry in diverse contexts. Take, read, and put into practice!

L. Gregory Jones

president of Belmont University

We Arent Broke does an excellent job of digging into challenging topics and highlighting new ways for the church to utilize its assets and reclaim its position as the transformational agent of change in our communities.

Derrick Morgan

retired NFL linebacker and managing partner at KNGDM Group

Mark Elsdon has written a book on money in the church that is both smart and wise. The smart part of his book is that he opens up important specific resources for good money management and investment. The wise part of his book is that he appeals to faith in order to imagine afresh the uses of our resources. Elsdons own life experience provides an elemental case study for his exposition.

Walter Brueggemann

Columbia Theological Seminary

An insightful, first-person tour through the challenges of funding church-based ministries and exploring our relations of faith and finance. By combining reflections on his own journey with discussions of the best thinking and practices of innovative finance, Elsdon offers a solid vision of how money and mission may be integrated to advance the critical work of the church in the current century.

Jed Emerson

author of The Purpose of Capital

We Arent Broke is a welcome resource that so many churches need now, and Mark Elsdon is just the right guide. With wisdom and expertise gained through years of working alongside religious organizations as well as entrepreneurs, investors, and community advocates, Elsdon provides the perfect mix of practical advice with hope, creativity, and theological imagination.

David P. King

director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University

Mark Elsdon asks us, If the purpose of capital is to make good in the world with what God has lent us, and the way we go about growing that capital makes a difference, how then are we to think about the role capital plays in perpetuating or eliminating injustice in the world? This is a critical question for consideration, one of many that Elsdon so thoughtfully reflects upon in this important book.

Morgan Simon

author of Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change

Drawing deeply from the worlds of business, mission-driven organizational leadership, and personal experiences of transformational college ministry, this book is part leadership workbook and part theological/ethical reflection on the value of investing in doing gooda must-read for pastors, social entrepreneurs, and people of faith who want to change the world.

Frank M. Yamada

executive director of the Association of Theological Schools

Ive read the parable of the rich young fool from Luke 12 over a thousand times and never noticed how conventional wisdom about money is the very thing that Scripture tells us is foolish! Im thankful for Mark Elsdons theological, economic, and practical road map that shows us how to be wise according to the Kingdom of Gods standard.

David M. Bailey

founder and CEO of Arrabon

Mark Elsdon masterfully shares his experience of making faith-focused impact investments from the early stages through the long term. He reminds us that there is great power in the current economic state of religious institutionsthe question is, what impact will they seek? You will finish this book feeling motivated and guided on how church assets can be directed to seek positive impact.

Kate Walsh

Global Impact Investing Network

The author, Mark Elsdon, does not offer specific investment recommendations or advice to the reader of this material, which is general in nature and should not be considered a comprehensive review or analysis of the topics discussed. This material is intended to be impersonal in nature and does not take into account the individual circumstances of readers or any institutions they may represent. The author is not an attorney or accountant and does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice.

A reader should not make personal financial or investment decisions based solely upon reading this material. This material is not a substitute for, or the same as, a consultation with an investment advisor. Investment strategies have the potential for loss, and investment advisors cannot offer any guarantees or promises of success. Despite efforts to be accurate and current, this material may contain out-of-date information; the author will not be under an obligation to advise the reader of any subsequent changes related to the topics discussed in this material.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

www.eerdmans.com

2021 Mark Elsdon

All rights reserved

Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America

27 26 25 24 23 22 211 2 3 4 5 6 7

ISBN 978-0-8028-7898-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Elsdon, Mark, 1977 author.

Title: We arent broke : uncovering hidden resources for mission and ministry / Mark Elsdon.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: A guide for churches and missional organizations in using hidden assets, such as property and investments, to transform communities and thrive in the face of financial difficultyProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020051824 | ISBN 9780802878984

Subjects: LCSH: Missions. | FinanceReligious aspectsChristianity.

Classification: LCC BV2063 .E455 2021 | DDC 266dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051824

For Emma and Sophie, who are the reason we must do things differently and who will show us how

T he good news here is in the title: We Arent Broke. The church is not broke financially. Nor is it broke spiritually or missionally. It is, however, ripe for renewalin many ways and on many levels. And this fine book provides superb guidance toward these ends. It is a book of wisdom born of experience. And the experience and insight Mark Elsdon provides here will be of great value to all who read and learn from the gifts it has to offer.

Right out of seminary, Mark Elsdon and his spouse, Erica Liu, got started in ministry as copastors at Pres House, the Presbyterian campus ministry at the University of Wisconsin. At the time, the ministry there was on its last legs. The building in which it was housed, once a large, beautiful one, had fallen into serious disrepair. So had the ministrys finances. And worst of all, the students had abandoned it.

Even so, the campus ministrys board of directors was eager to give it one more try. Fortunately, the board called Mark and Erica, who had just recently graduated from Princeton Seminary, to be their new campus ministers. Aware of all the difficulties, they nonetheless decided to accept the invitation and give it a shot. It took time and patience, but step by step and with a lot of thought and experimentation, they and the Board together found ways to cultivate a whole new communal reality and spirit at Pres House that has also infected the larger UW campus.