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Money Myths In The Church False Assumptions About Money and Giving
by Rev. Richard A. Borg
George Barna writes in his book entitled How To Increase Giving In Your
Church "One of the most deceptive and insidious barriers to advancing
good stewardship within churches is the vast array of assumptions we
possess and act upon regarding money, ministry, giving, and givers."
Many pastors rarely challenge the false assumptions and the myths about
money held by their own people because they trust the people who hold
them, or they don't have a Biblical Stewardship Theology of their own.
Falsehood thrives when the truth is unknown or suppressed.
What is a Myth? A myth is an unfounded or false notion; a popular belief
that has grown up around something, even a fragment of truth. This
fragment of truth can give the myth a life of its own. Myths are
assumptions that are rarely challenged because they've been given power
by people of influence.
These myths have made the church financially unhealthy. Often Christians
embrace a myth because it excuses them from Christian giving and
Biblical stewardship. To restore health we need to recognize the myths
that well-intentioned pastors and lay people believe and then construct,
teach and practice a Biblical Stewardship Theology. A sound theology
dispels falsehood and brings health to the church. God's truth is always
liberating. (Psalm 119: 97-105; 125-128)
1. "If only God would provide, we could get his work done."
Truth: God has already provided. All that is needed by way of material
and financial resources to accomplish the purposes of God in the world
is already in the hands of God's people. While the pagan world under
Satan's domain controls the vast majority of God's wealth, the mission
of Christ is not hindered for lack of resources, God's people control
what is needed to underwrite his work. God does not run a heavenly bank
from which he disburses funds upon request like manna. David understood
the truth of God's ownership and man's stewardship when he prayed
following the offering received for the construction of the Jerusalem
Temple, "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to
give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given
you only what comes from your hand." (I Chronicles 29:14) God owns
everything--we are only stewards--and he wants his wealth released to
build his kingdom.
2. "If we just had enough faith, we could pray the money in."
Truth: Faith has its place in Biblical stewardship, but so does
sacrifice and obedience. A lack of corporate faith within the church is
often the excuse for a lack of personal obedience and sacrifice. A focus
on faith alone is a focus on God in which he's perceived as
uncooperative or hard to please. The truth of the matter is simply this:
The saints pray with their pockets full to a God whose pockets are
turned inside out. He has given all he can give. Our prayer should
always be, "Lord what would you have me give" and, "Lord, touch the
hearts of others that we will respond to you with obedience and
sacrifice."
What is the place of faith? Trusting God to meet our needs after we have
given. This is the life of faith that pleases him. (2 Cor. 9:13)
"Because of the [offering] by which you have proved yourselves, men will
praise God for [this] obedience that accompanies your confession of the
gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with
everyone else."
3. "We're already a tithing congregation."
Truth: There is no such thing, nor has there ever been, a tithing
congregation. In order for this statement to be true, several
unbelievable conditions would need to be present. First, every saint
would have to be on the same page of spiritual maturity and vitality,
and secondly, everyone's income would have to be known by the
leadership. This myth wrongly assumes that the believer's giving
potential ends at the tithe. In fact, the Lord may ask the steward to
give more than a tithe or perhaps give everything. We are stewards of
all we possess--not just a tenth of our resources.
4. "Our people can't give anymore--they're giving all they can give."
Until everyone in the church has given like the widow of Luke 21 who
"gave all she had to live on," there will always be more to give to the
Lord than what is presently being given. The grace of God can empower
the people of God to give heroically as in the case of the Macedonian
Christians who "gave beyond their ability 'after' they gave themselves
first to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:1-5). This is the myth perpetuated by
people who refuse to give anymore than they're presently giving. The sad
truth is that giving as a percentage of income among U.S. Christians is
on a disheartening thirty-year decline. The American Church is far from
being a generous church, and much less, a sacrificial church. As long as
greed, idolatry, and consumption grip the hearts of believers, the
church will resonate with poor talk--"We can't give anymore--we're
giving all we can." Like Ananias and Sapphira we will say, "That's all
there is" (Acts 5:4).
5. "If we minister to people effectively, they'll give generously back
to the church."
The problem with this myth is that it teaches and creates passivity in
the church toward steward discipleship. This myth excuses the timidity
of church leaders to make stewardship a vital component of discipleship.
Jesus was never this passive about money--he was direct and almost
confrontational in both his teaching and in his person-to-person
ministry (Matt. 6).
While it's true that gratitude is one of the motivations for Christian
giving, we all must be discipled in the practice and grace of Christian
giving, just as we are in all the other practices and graces of
discipleship. (2 Cor. 8:7) "But just as you excel in everything--in
faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love
for us--see that you also excel in this grace of giving."
6. "God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supply."
In a perfect world this would be true. But living and ministering in a
fallen world, it's unfair to conclude that every short fall in funds
means that we are not doing God's work in God's way. We would be hard
pressed to make that judgment. If all the money needed to do the work of
God is in the hands of God's people, God's people need to be discipled
in stewardship and challenged to give. This myth also appeals to a timid
passivity. If the apostle Paul is a model of Christian leadership in the
church, we would do well to imitate his directness in the area of
financial stewardship. (2 Cor. 8-9) Paul doesn't sound very passive, yet
it was God's work being done in God's way, but it was under funded. He
called God's people to accountability.
7. "When the economy is down, we can't expect people to give."
Truth: When financial markets sour and when people feel squeezed, they
prioritize their spending and giving. They tend to honor God in their
giving when they are trusting him to meet their needs. The research also
tells us that the less people make, the greater percentage of their
income they tend to give away--i.e. The widow’s mite was "all she had to
live on."
8. "We can't afford to do this-the numbers don't add up."
When church leaders meet to discuss a financial challenge or a new
ministry opportunity, the issue of "affordability" is inevitably raised.
This almost always leads to "poor talk." Poor talk should not be in the
language of God's people. Poor talk is godless and faithless talk. When
the word "afford" is used, the discussion gets derailed and heads in an
unproductive direction. The most important questions that need to be
discussed are: "Is God in this? Is this God's will? Does this fit into
the mission or vision God has given us?" If God is in it, affordability
becomes a moot point. Spiritual leaders know they can trust God to touch
the hearts of his stewards when the vision is cast. Will everyone
respond and support it? No, not everyone in the congregation will
follow, but that doesn't mean God isn't in it.
9. "People don't want to give."
Truth: The research indicates that Christians are not satisfied with
their giving and believe it to be a weakness they want to improve. Many
are entangled by debt and need help. They will welcome the help the
church offers. Did you know that Christian Financial Concepts receives
over 500,000 calls on their hotline each year? In a recent survey in
Harper magazine--82% said they believe they have too much.
10. "Baby boomers do not give much to their churches because of their
achievement orientation and selfish nature."
The truth of the matter is that boomers are the most generous givers our
nation has seen in this century. Boomers have retained their desire to
influence the world and make a difference. They are also the wealthiest
generation we have ever had. They have different criteria for giving
than prior generations, but they remain unchallenged to give.
11. "Parents of children under 18 are not as generous as empty-nesters
because of the high cost of raising children."
Truth: They are more likely than empty nesters to fund missions,
missionaries, evangelistic ministries, youth ministries, and children's
ministries. Their motivations for giving are different than the builder
generation, and they simply need to be challenged to give to these
ministries. Church leaders should know the generational differences in
giving motivations and values.
12. "When our people are given well-documented budgets, they are
compelled to give. If we just tell our people what the need is, they
will give."
Well-crafted budgets are needed to establish credibility for the
ministry and comfort for the giver. If such documentation does not
exist, people will hesitate to give; but budgets do not inspire
generosity. People give to people and for people. People give to vision,
not need. Rick Warren writes in The Purpose Driven Church, "If need
motivated people to give, every church would have plenty of money. It is
not the neediest institutions that attract contributors but those with
the greatest vision."
13. "Givers want to stay at arms length from the church's decision
makers and are not interested in expressing their ideas about things
they don't understand."
Givers sometimes want to meet the people their giving helps, but they
often love to get to know the people who lead the ministries and offer
views and insights into how the ministry should be conducted. Decision
making input is one of the tangible benefits of giving. Strings are not
usually attached.
14. "As long as a fund-raising event includes a free meal, givers are
excited about attending."
There is little truth to the notion that Christians like to attend
events that include a meal. However, the research by the Barna Group
indicates that when people attend a fund-raising event, they want a
"night out" kind of experience--enjoyable and professional.
15. "Givers are on information overload, so the last thing they want are
more facts and figures regarding how the church uses their money."
Givers appreciate access to information regarding how their
contributions are used and what effect their giving has had. They want
to know, "Is my giving making a difference?"
16. "I can't afford to give any more than I do."
Truth: The scriptures never make giving an "economic" issue. Giving is
always a spiritual issue of faith, obedience and sacrifice. Giving is a
Lordship issue. Compare and contrast the rich 9 young ruler and
Zaccheus. (Luke 18-19)
17. "If I made more money, I would give more to the Lord."
Truth: The research indicates, the more
people make the less by percent of income they give away. Those who
claim this myth have not made giving a part of their discipleship. Good
and faithful stewards don't make this kind of statement because they
don't think this way. A Related Myth "The wealthy people of our
congregation will see us through this crisis." Not necessarily because
they may be the problem and reason for a lack of funds--they may be
irresponsible and need discipleship. (1 Tim. 6) "Command those who are
rich"—strong language directed to people who need to face their
responsibility before God. Making money is quite different from
Christian stewardship.
18. "If I had more money I would be happier."
This is the myth of prosperity. In his book The Pursuit of Happiness,
Dr. David Myers, a professor and researcher in social psychology,
concludes that there is no correlation between money and happiness,
between wealth and well being. Once the basic human needs of freedom,
relationships, purpose, and food and shelter are met, increased wealth
does not make any appreciable difference in one's sense of well being or
happiness. Contrary to the myth of prosperity, the Apostle Paul
instructs Timothy that wealth can be hazardous to spiritual health and
ones happiness quotient. (I Tim. 6:9, 10) "People who want to get rich
fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful
desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money
is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Jesus
said, "...a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions... [be] rich toward God." (Luke 12:15b)
19. "It's unspiritual for a pastor to be involved in the fiscal
responsibilities of the church."
Another reason pastors are fearful is that money is viewed as necessary,
but unclean, ungodly, and unmentionable. Perhaps money is viewed as
unspiritual because so many Christians are having a spiritually
adulterous affair with it. Jesus said, "You can't love both God and
money." Perhaps those who yell the loudest about the uncleanness of
money are the hypocrites who love it the most.
Truth: Since there are so many condemning warnings in Scripture about
the love of money, pastors and people have confused the love of money
with the stewardship of money.
20. "Money is a necessary evil and shouldn't be talked about from the
pulpit."
Pastors are fearful to preach on money because money is a taboo topic of
discussion in our culture. A pastor once told a guest speaker whom he
had asked to preach on stewardship, "I always let someone else do my
dirty work." The Ronsvalles in their book, Behind the Stained Glass
Windows, state, "We spend endless hours discussing budgets and how to
spend the money, but we say little about how to raise it. Christians
resent anyone knowing what they make and how much they give.
Privatization contributes to this secrecy."
Another reason pastors are afraid to preach on the subject of money and
giving is because they themselves have no stewardship theology; have
never been trained how to preach it--what to say and what not to say or
when to say it. They haven't made the connection between faith and
money, stewardship and discipleship.
21. "If I preach on giving, people will get angry and may leave the
Church."
A pastor once said that he asked his elders if he should preach on
stewardship and giving, and several told him not to because they thought
it would anger some people. His first mistake was to give away his
authority, as the servant of God, to well intentioned but misguided
elders. Secondly, when do angry people set the agenda for the preaching
and teaching ministry of the pastor? The Pastor's calling does not
include the making of friends by compromising his calling. The research
indicates that people are hurting in this area and appreciate that God's
Word offers help and hope. Members who are angered are more than likely
the Achans in the camp and the Ananiases and Sapphiras in the church.
A. These are
people who do battle with the sins of greed, covetousness, and idolatry.
Too often they choose love of money over love of God. These are the
people who need to repent and be disciple to follow Jesus in this area
of their life.
B. These
people should not become members of the church with this known problem.
Stewardship must be a requirement for church membership.
C. These
people should not become leaders in the church or they will oppose every
faith filled risk that has a financial component. Everything that
requires additional financial resources requires the Ananiases and
Sapphiras to give more.
D. These
people should never become treasurers or they may become the Judas in
the church. Church financial health begins with pastors and leaders who
are committed and faithful tithers. Raising the bar for church leaders
might be step one toward church financial health.
22. "If I preach on giving, people will think I'm trying to `feather my
nest.'"
Another reason pastors are fearful about preaching on giving is that it
will appear to be self serving. To avoid such an accusation, pastors
over react and ignore the subject just to stay on the safe side. Being
underpaid doesn't help matters either. But while the pastor is huddled
in safety, the people remain immature in their stewardship. Pastors must
live and labor in the tension between personal godly contentment and the
discipling of God's people in financial stewardship.
23. "If I thank my congregation for their generous giving, they'll get
lazy and full of pride."
Truth: We all need positive reinforcement, a sense of belonging, of
feeling needed and appreciated--that's what family life is supposed to
be like. Appreciation usually lifts people to greater achievement.
(Phil. 4:10, 14) "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have
renewed your concern for me Indeed you have been concerned, but you had
no opportunity to show it.... Yet it was good of you to share in my
troubles." (II Cor. 9:2) "For I know your eagerness to [give], and I
have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since
last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has
stirred most of them to action."
24. "If we keep our pastor on the edge of poverty, it will keep him
humble before the Lord."
Truth: The Biblical tradition and mandate is this: "The elders who
direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor,
especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." (1 Tim. 5:17)
"Honor" here includes pay. The church that embraces this myth will
neither enjoy the blessing of God, nor the blessing of a contented
pastor who cares for the people without distraction. The churches that
undervalue and underpay their pastor will experience pastoral turnover
every two to three years. These pastors feel that the only way to get a
salary increase is to leave for a better paying position. Churches with
revolving front doors on the parsonage will never have a chance to grow.
Churches can break this destructive cycle by giving adequate pay and
regular increases.
25. "Pastors should never ask for a raise in pay."
Truth: Until a church learns to value its pastor by giving him an
adequate wage that meets his need, that church's future will consist of
a succession of short pastorates. The pastor who loves the church enough
to confront her will do some research and educate the leadership,
ignoring the tension that that creates. A properly developed
compensation package and review process will lead to:
A. Freedom
from guilt on the part of the congregation about the low salary and
inadequate compensation they give their pastor.
B. Freedom
on the part of the pastor to disciple the congregation in financial
stewardship and giving.
C. Longer
tenures of pastors who are undistracted by financial problems and cared
for by loving congregations.
D. Respect
for pastoral leadership and authority.
26. "I have lay people in my church who understand more about money than
I do."
Truth: I hope not. If the pastor has a well-conceived Biblical
stewardship theology, he will know more about money than anyone else in
the congregation. This has nothing to do with good accounting practices
or bookkeeping software--those are important and can be delegated, but
rather about the stewardship of God's wealth and how to use it for God's
kingdom and glory. The church is not a business--it's a mission. The
pastor must also give leadership to the spiritual decisions and
faith-filled risks that include financial stewardship.
27. "We have an honest treasurer--we don't need a lot of checks and
balances."
Truth: All the more reason to have checks and balances. We must protect
the reputation and integrity of an honest treasurer and build confidence
in the minds of congregants. Without safeguards, controls, and systems
that are functioning, we endanger the treasurer and the congregation. A
treasurer who won't be accountable can't be trusted.
28. "If we build it, they will come."
No one in their right mind would build a major league ballpark for a
little league team. People might come to a new church facility out of
curiosity, but they stay for other reasons. Facility development works
best when growth is creating space problems, and new space will enhance
the vision and mission that's already in progress.
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