Here’s a question: How many days of reckoning does it take to straighten out our lives? Whatever your count, you can add one more: a day of reckoning in Christian stewardship. That’s right. The subject hardly anyone wants to talk about can be added to recession woes. Why? Well, because hardly anyone wanted to talk about it. With jobs lost or endangered and discretionary cash evaporating, charitable giving by individuals is declining. How does all this affect churches? From a pastoral and program standpoint, this is when faith communities earn their stripes. People need care. Now we face relentless pressure to cut church spending at the very moment when our constituents and neighbors need us the most.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)