I had a conversation with a friend the other day about her
experiences exploring various Christian churches, and in listening to her I was
reminded of many similar experiences of my own. This woman believes in God, and
in Jesus; yet she has chosen to avoid Christian churches for the same reason
that many other people I know have decided to do so as well. Our discussion
confirmed for me many things I have perceived over time about the modern day
American Church but have been afraid to fully admit to myself or come out and
say until now.
For most Christian churches in America, especially in the NYC
area, church has become a business. It seems to have been invaded by the false values of
those more interested in self gain than serving those in need. Many people turn to churches and pastors during times
of crisis, seeking help from Christian leaders and teachers only to be turned
away or simply ignored. Many people go to churches open-mindedly, seeking
guidance for getting close to God, only to be told that they must give 10% of
their income to the church leadership in order please God or be socially
included in Christian fellowship. Many have obliged these demands despite their
financial limitations, only to find that they are left to suffer the
destructive consequences of over-giving alone by a church community that
abandons them in their time of material and/or emotional need.
Meanwhile, many church leaders put a great deal more energy into
promoting tithing during “service” than into giving financial support or
emotional support towards those who came to them for help when they were in need.
Their repeated use of church service time to advertise the importance of
tithing, their use of the tithe for things it was not originally appointed for
in the Bible, their poor treatment of the poor and oppressed among their own
community, and their posturing to care for the oppressed outside the community
in ways that don’t cost them much in the way of money or social approval among
their financial supporters- all of it points to an agenda to use the
activity of church as an income-generating business for themselves and their
friends. It’s enough to disillusion anyone, and many people have been
disillusioned out of even believing in God because of this gradual but glaring
corruption of values in this culture’s Christian churches.
Some might say this is too harsh. Actually, the writings of the
prophets of Ancient Israel demonstrate previous instances in church history
where faulty priorities among religious leaders misled the community; in these
instances, the prophets of Israel were vigilant and upfront about communicating
God’s lack of tolerance for pastors or leaders using their position for
monetary self gain and prestige while neglecting the needs of the oppressed
within the religious community:
“The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and
leaders of God’s people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the
plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by
crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?”declares the Lord,
the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 3:14-15
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit
all your workers. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your
voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:3-4
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the
sheep of my pasture!”declares the Lord. Therefore this is what
the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people:
“Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not
bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you
have done,” declares the Lord. , Jeremiah 23:1-2
“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy
for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the
wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when
there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:13-15
Not to mention what Jesus had to say about the
proneness of leaders to this problem and the seriousness of its consequences:
“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of
your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and
the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the
former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important
seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.“Woe to
you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without
knowing it.” Luke 11:42-44
“Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you,
because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you
yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. Luke 11:46
“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away
the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered
those who were entering.” Luke 11:52
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against
the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6
Although small business start ups and their marketing
strategies may work well for the economy, there are many reasons why such a
model is inappropriate for “planting churches” or populating Christian
communities. For one, Jesus himself tells us “My kingdom is not of this world”1,
and “you cannot serve both God and money” 2.
One of the negative effects of bringing business practices into
what was originally the practice of Christian discipleship has been an
over-dependence on tithe offerings as a source of income due to a misuse of
these offerings for what they were not originally appointed for. Many church
leaders apply the principle of “tithing”, which can be interpreted as requiring
10% of a believer’s financial income, to the practice that non-profit organizations
have of requesting donations from supporters, which are then used to pay all
church leaders’ salaries and maintain overhead costs.
However, there is a vast difference between requesting donations,
or “freewill offerings”, from supporters, and claiming that all “members” owe
the organization the full amount of the “tithe offering”; a freewill offering
can be any amount and is based on people’s disposable income, whereas the
“tithe” is set at 10% of people’s entire income, an amount that is usually much
more than people’s extra monthly spending money. Furthermore, the tithe
offering is meant to be given specifically by those who can afford it to
relieve financial hardship for others in the community; it is not meant to be
extracted from members of the community who are already at risk of hardship to
the effect of causing financial hardship for the givers. (See BibleGateway's commentary on 2 Corinthians 8)
The tithe was designed to
prevent poverty and financial hardship among
the most vulnerable of the community, not
cause financial hardship among
disciples in order to support religious leaders.
