The Corinthian Plan draws from 2 Corinthians 8–9.

Scattered throughout the letters of Paul are references to a collection he initiated for distressed believers in Jerusalem. In 2 Corinthians 8–9 Paul appeals to the Corinthians and other Gentile churches to respond to the material needs of their fellow believers in Jerusalem.

In giving to the needs of the church in Jerusalem they would not only respond to their material needs but would also bear witness to the work of Christ in breaking down the wall between Jew and Gentile. In Paul’s view, this collection was a sign of God’s work in the world.

Paul begins his appeal in chapter 8 by lifting up the example of the believers in Macedonia who, he says, gave beyond their means in the midst of a “severe ordeal of affliction” (verse 2a). He says that “their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity” (verse 2b).

The juxtaposition of abundance and joy with poverty and affliction is striking. How is it that those with little often seem more generous and joyful in their giving than those with more?

Apparently the Corinthians had made a commitment to give but were finding it hard to follow through. Paul uses the example of the Macedonians to challenge the Corinthians to give generously—to finish what they had started. He wants them to excel in their giving even as they excel in knowledge, speech and faith.

In verses 13-14, Paul talks about fair balance, or equality. “It is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.”

He reinforces this notion with a quote from Exodus 16 that recalls the daily provision of manna in the wilderness, when people received what they needed for that day. “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”

Equality here does not mean that everyone has the same. It does mean that everyone has what they need—no more or no less. According to Acts 4, this was the witness of the Jerusalem church, where it is said that “there was not a needy person among them.”

Paul also says that in their giving they will also receive. The poor in Jerusalem also have something to share with the Corinthians. This is not one-way charity—it is mutual aid, material goods in exchange for nonmaterial benefits.

In chapter 9, Paul says he does not want the Corinthians to give out of a sense of obligation. He wants them to want to give. He wants them to give cheerfully, believing God will be honored by their giving and will bless their giving. Their giving glorifies God and will advance God’s purposes in the world.

This Scripture has become a source of guidance and inspiration for those of us who have been working on ensuring health-care access for all Mennonite Church USA pastors in response to the will of the delegates to the Mennonite Church USA assembly in San José in 2007. The delegates passed a resolution that said: “As a denomination, we are committed in principle to providing basic health insurance for all eligible pastors. [And] we request the Executive Board to oversee the development and implementation of a plan whereby all congregations of Mennonite Church USA participate together in an arrangement that covers all of our pastors with basic health insurance.”

This action was in response to the awareness that we have pastors serving Mennonite Church USA congregations that do not have adequate access to health care, partly because they do not have health insurance, the gateway to health care that most of us depend on. Delegates decided that together we needed to find a way to correct this inequity.

Of course there are others besides pastors who do not have health insurance, which reflects the huge and growing gap between those with abundant material resources and those who have much more limited access to material resources and health care.

It is estimated that there are between 80 and 100 pastors currently without insurance in Mennonite Church USA and more who are at risk of losing the coverage they have.
This poses serious risks for many of these pastors and their families and in many cases compromises their ministries and the mission of their congregations.

We have heard about a pastor serving in Philadelphia who died some years ago because he could not get the care he needed. We know of several pastors in Los Angeles who did not have insurance who have been tested for prostate cancer and another who could not get the medical tests he needs because he did not have insurance.

We have met a Dallas pastor who incurred a large debt he is still paying on, in part because he had no health insurance. We know of pastors with preexisting conditions who will find it hard to find coverage if they lose the coverage they now have.

These stories seem to contradict the vision in 2 Corinthians 8 for a fair balance. This Scripture and others suggest that God did not intend that some have almost unlimited access to health care while others live off the crumbs that are left over. God did not intend that some easily access health care while others have to jump through a myriad of confusing hoops and go through interminable delays to access minimal health care. There was inequality in the early church that Paul was trying to redress, and there is inequality in the church today that we need to address.

The problem of unequal access to health care is related to the problems in our nation’s health-care system. Some ask why are we making an effort to address a symptom of this problem—uninsured pastors—and not advocating for an overhaul of the health-care system in our country?

Some delegates in San José said the fact that we have not been able to address the problems in our church compromises our witness on public policy related to health care. We have a problem that has a solution if we are willing to work at this together and if we are willing to share the cost.

In one sense, the problem of uninsured pastors is a microcosm of the problem we have in our country. The solution to the problem of uninsured pastors requires that we together share the cost of providing them with health insurance.

Addressing the larger problem of the insured in our country will also require a new way of sharing the cost of providing health care for all. Doing something about uninsured pastors could be a springboard to doing something about the needs of others in our church and beyond the church that currently do not have adequate access to health care.

Can we act together and go beyond our narrow self-interest to address the health-care needs of our pastors? Will we follow through on the commitment made by the church in San José in July 2007?

In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul makes his appeal primarily in terms of opportunity rather than obligation. He wants them to want to do this and to give cheerfully. He wants them to know they will be blessed both by the gifts of the Jerusalem believers but also by God. At one point (9:6) he says that as they find the grace to participate in this project they will be like farmers who sow bountifully and then bountifully reap the harvest of what they sowed.

We hope Mennonite Church USA congregations will catch the vision and take this opportunity to link arms and share health-care risks with other congregations. This is an opportunity to link arms in a tangible way to ensure that all our pastors have adequate access to health care. This is an opportunity to be the church in a new way and an old way.

And what harvest might we reap if we can find a way to do this? How might this create a new sense of connectedness and community? How might this help enliven our witness for justice and reconciliation, for breaking down barriers between those with abundant material resources and those with much less?

Imagine a church about which it is said there is not a needy person among them, or at least a church where it is said there is not a pastor among them without adequate access to health care.

May we catch the vision and embrace the challenge that Paul presented to the Corinthians. May God bless and guide our consideration of this opportunity.

Keith Harder is director of The Corinthian Plan.