Keep the Money Happy, or Cha-Ching in the Pew

My main beef with the institutional church (i.e. the modern church, or church as usual) is over the issue of money. Not that I want more, but that money is what makes the whole thing hum.

Here is an example: At a church where we pastored, we had few visitors. One Sunday we actually had two families visit. One was a "respectable" late middle-aged couple. She wore a dress, and he wore a suit and tie. The other family was a mom with two teen-aged children. They wore blue jeans and t-shirts and had multiple piercings. One man in the congregation did his imitation of an Olympic hurdler gliding through the small sanctuary to drool all over the "respectable" couple. He barely acknowledged the existence of the other family. Sad.

Churches are encouraged by denominational officials to watch the bottom line. Raise more money. Keep the existing money happy. When I was pastoring, I was handcuffed by the big shots in order to keep "anonymous" donors happy.

What are we trying to do? Keep money happy, or do the work God wants us to do? This is a sad state of affairs. Serve God. Do as he wants us to do, regardless of what the money wants.