Real case: someone comes to the church door asking for money. As a Christian, do you hand over whatever they want when they want it, or, do you discern and meet the need?
A street couple arrives at church door right before Christmas - she's pregnant and in her teens, he's in his 20s and intellectually challenged.
Minister puts them up in a motel at own expense because there's not enough in church coffers to do the job.
Congregation rallies - locates apartment, raises funds (within 48 hours) to pay deposit on apartment, collects household goods, etc. ONE single day later, girl moves back in with her mother. Congregation is tied into apartment lease for a year
Result: 1) compassion burnout 2) word got out on the street that church and/or minister are a soft touch - minister and administrative assistant face a daily lineup of a dozen or more people waiting for their arrival at work. Congregation has to walk the gauntlet on Sunday mornings. Takes two months for the flood to stop - three years later, there are still more folks knock on church doors than there were before that "Mary and Joseph story"