A new vision for the church - money

 Some of this post draws on ideas explored in "Unintended Consequences" by Andrew Brims. Worth a read if you are serious about challenging church structures, or seeking to justify them.

The thing is, we all know the teaching and material on tithing, that we should give 10% of our incomes to the church. The truth is that this doesn't happen, but as a starting principle of giving a proportion of our money to the church, it works. The proportion is not important, what is important is the principles.

The problem I have with this is that 95% of this giving goes to the church systems and structures. Even those churches which give away a proportion of their income tend to give it to systems and structures, where a good proportion of it will go to the system and supporting it - maybe including fund-raising activities.

The real question is how much money churchgoers give to other organisations. I know that this varies greatly, but I would suggest that for many, this church giving represents a significant portion of their total giving to Christian work and ministry.

There are a lot of variables involved, but I would like to suggest that something like 90% of the financial giving of churchgoers is used for the support and maintenance of the church systems and structures. That is a vary large proportion of the money, and a lot of money.

It makes me wonder what could be done if that money wasn't given to the church systems, but used for other purposes instead.

If instead of giving money to the church, 3 or 4 people were to put their money into supporting a small local business, as seed money, I wonder what difference that would make.

Or running a craft session for all who are interested, bringing in people from outside, making a real event.

Or getting a mini music festival for local bands, or for a musical style that is not often heard.

Or, or, or. That is the point. The possibilities are limitless, because a few people - even one person - can invest in their local community.

Ah, but how is this part of Christian Mission, I hear you say? A good question, which I will answer further in another post. However, if you find engagement with God works for you through embroidery, for example, then a craft fair might be an idea opportunity to share with others what you do, why you do it, what it means to you.

If you meet God through music, then working with others to bring music will help you to explore why you like music.

Supporting a local youth worker can say more to the local youth than any amount of church services. The question is, how much does supporting the local church structures contribute to Christian Mission? The money stays within the organisation, and to those outside - who might engage with these others forms of "mission" see very little of the impact often.

It has been said that, if you want to know what is important to a person, look at their cheque stubs. That might not literally work these days, but their money says a lot. It says, far too often, that the Church is important. Not people, not community, not others, but their own little club.

Maybe it is time to leave.