Everybody’s least favorite topic. Ministers don’t like bringing it up since a portion of it goes into their pockets. Members don’t like hearing about it, because they know they can always give more. But possibly no topic is as central to the daily life of a congregation—so let’s talk about it.
A lot of money goes through churches—in the United States, it’s over $300 billion a year. And even though church contributions have declined nearly 50% in the last three decades (despite a rise in general charitable giving), congregations are still receiving a lot of cash. As you would expect, the vast majority of that money comes from donations, contributions by members. There are, of course, some members giving more than others—people who tithe (giving 10% of their income) make up less than a quarter of most congregations, and the average member gives around 2.5% of their income to the church.
With so much money coming in, a lot of pressure is put on churches to deal with their finances responsibly—not only to avoid corruption but to efficiently use its resources to serve the Kingdom. What exactly does that look like, though? We must remember that the individuals leading our congregations are rarely picked for their shrewd management skills but, more likely, for their generous hearts. That’s why we see most congregations spreading their budget thin in order to serve as many people as possible.
Is this best? Does it most reflect the love of Christ? Or should we challenge our church leadership to balance their budget, invest in the future, and give more selectively to those we think will best demonstrate Kingdom work? Honestly, when in any of the congregations I’ve attended, I hear an elder or deacon stand at the front and talk about a tight budget, I want to sit down with their books and slash some expenditures. It doesn’t seem that the Church out to be the source of more anxiety. But maybe those are the inclinations of someone who hasn’t developed their own sense of generosity.
Perhaps, we’re looking in the wrong place—perhaps, we need to focus on the lack of giving that is straining the budget. Our statistic a few paragraphs above is 2.5%—that’s a far cry from the 10% I was told to give growing up. Do Christians need to be giving more? Almost certainly yes, but ought it be a full tithe? I suspect for some, the answer is again yes. But for others, no. I’ve heard before that Christians should give first to the Church and then build up their finances around that. I sympathize with this radical assertion, but it seems foolhardy. The poor benefit so much more for every nickel they hold back, and the rich vice versa. There are plenty in this country who could stand to give upwards of 20% to their church while others are better served to drop in their change as a reminder to continually be giving.
Relatedly, does all of a Christians giving need to go into the collection basket? Everything up until that 10%? The alternative is for individuals to give straight to charities or projects of their choice. Some are reluctant to give in such ways, either because they believe that the Church of God is the only institution deserving of our money, or because they trust the church’s leaders to take care of giving their funds to the needy. That, I think, is nonsense. Certainly you ought give to your congregation and its members first—a few reasons being: you take advantage of the church’s resources, the ministers rely on your generosity, its more effective to give to those around you before looking outward—but throughout Scripture, the call has always been to give to the needy, to the orphan and the widow (a theme possibly more common than giving to the temple). It’s a worthwhile exercise to actually consider the plight of others and to give of our resources, rather than passing that responsibility on to a minister or deacon as we do with so many other things.
Giving is a powerful spiritual discipline, something we are all called to and something we could all improve. It is not, however, a Christian sacrament alongside the Lord’s Supper or baptism. It’s merely something we do every week to make sure our churches are funded and our hearts softened. Give more, but worry about it less.