#4: Najuma Smith-Pollard: Starting With No Budget

In today's episode, Nick Warnes has a dialogue with Najuma Smith-Pollard.

As program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, the Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard combines her experience as a pastor and expertise as a community leader to run programs that train pastors to take on civic engagement work. Rev Najuma is the founding Pastor of Word of Encouragement Community Church, in Los Angeles.

Smith-Pollard also is a motivational speaker and trainer, author, radio personality and community activist. Her areas of expertise Preaching, Women Clergy, Sexual Violence, Faith Leadership, Black Church and Civic Engagement.. Here are some quotes from the interview:

""I'm hearing y'all say you want church. If that's what you want, we need to see that you're consistently attending, growing and giving for a year.""

""Tithing is about showing God that we want this.""

""I had no budget, no pastor's salary, no praise and worship team, no choir. It was just a vision, the handful of people that were committed to Bible study, and that's it.""

""God showed me a dream about a big building, and I was like, 'yeah, right.' I pulled up to the building and it was the same building as the dream.""

""I know I'm not gonna see 80% of y'all next Sunday.""

""Here's the things we are about: Service to the community, growing spiritually, reaching out to the unchurched and those who have been hurt by church, and civically engaged.""

""You don't have all the answers. Listen to the wisdom of others who have done this before.""

""Make space for a lot of mistakes.""

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