Finding courage to talk about money in church.

In the back woods and swamps of Florida there is a method of predicting a child’s career while they are still very young.   A toddler is placed in a room alone while his parents and grandparents watch through the window.  In the room on a low table are left three items, a Bible, a stack of money and a bottle of wine.  If the child picks up the Bible it indicates he will become a godly man perhaps a minister or a leader in his church.  If he picks up the stack of money it is evidence that he will become a capable man of business.  And if he picks up the bottle of wine it is an indication that he will become a man who dedicates his life to pleasure.

Voted most likely to be a Televangelist

On one such occasion a young couple called the family together, arranged the requested items on the coffee table and left their toddler in the room alone.  With great anticipation the parents and grandparents watched to see the little fellow’s future.  The little fellow without a moment’s delay walked over, picked up the Bible and then looking around the room secretively picked up the money and put it in the Bible.  He then put the Bible under his arm, walked over, took the bottle of wine and toddled off.  The parents were perplexed wondering what this would mean for their child, but the grandmother began to cry.   She looked at her children and with tears running down her cheeks said, “This is bad!  This is really bad.  He is going to become a televangelist.”

We laugh at this because of the stereotype associated with televangelists and their scandals.  The dirty dealing, corrupt, disingenuous conman on TV with big hair, a big Bible and promises of God’s blessing has become a cultural icon of American popular opinion. Jim Bakker and the PTL scandal of the mid 1980’s had a profound impact on you and your ministry.  You may have never read his books or attended his conferences or watched his TV shows, but what happened 35 years ago reshaped the way the church has thought, talked and addressed the questions of stewardship.

In the backlash of the televangelist indignities, preachers and churches have become reticent to talk about money.  I recently surveyed preachers asking how often they specifically preached about stewardship.  On average there is one sermon every 16 to 18 months.  The people in our congregations handle, use, spend or earn money every single day.  But as Christian leaders we only talk about the subject every year and a half on average. 

The typical church member gives, on average, 2.5% of their income to the church.  Sometimes as ministry leaders we complain when we see that our congregations make decisions about ministry based on self-centered agendas rather than on mission or ministry focused vision.  Additionally we, as leaders, complain about our churches not having the will and resources to take our ministry to the next level.  Perhaps our people are selfish about the vision of the church because we have failed to teach them the practice and discipline of self-sacrifice. 

 

The real value of teaching faithfully, Biblically and boldly about giving is not the resources that come into our ministry.  The real value is the spiritual maturity and change that happens in our people when they learn to sacrifice and give.  We can’t complain about the failure of our people to practice a spiritual discipline we don’t talk about. 

We have become so afraid that we will be labeled as a moneygrubber or that we will be charged with “preaching for the money”, so we steer clear of the subject almost entirely.  That is neither Biblical nor wise.  When we fail to speak frankly, passionately, and Biblically about stewardship we rob our people of the specific relationship they can enjoy with God.  We become focused on pleasing men rather than God.  We perpetuate a church that is crippled by the vices of selfishness and greed.  We restrain the work of the Holy Spirit, as He would confront us with our sin of loving possessions more than the lost.  We weaken our ministries and limit their effectiveness.

It is past time for us to speak Biblically about stewardship.  There will be people who will be offended.  So let them be offended.  There might be people who will leave and find another church.  We are better off without them.  People may say ugly, untrue things about our motives and us.  If our motives are pure God will not be bothered by their comments.

God has blessed the Church (Christian people) in America with resources unlike any time in the history of the church.  Why did God give us such great resources?  No doubt it is so that we can use these to advance the gospel around the world.  To those of us to whom much has been given much will be expected.  Call your people to give for the change it will bring in their lives and for the purposes of the kingdom around the world.