Maybe I must begin by asking this question, is the Gospel ministry expensive; does it demand a lot of money to run a church? Here is a quote from one sincere Christian soul, “The Gospel is free but to take it to the people is expensive.” My response: if the Gospel was that expensive then the apostles “who had no silver and gold in their hands” could not have managed to faithfully preach this message as they did. In fact, do you know that the early brethren met in their homes? It's only in our time that we think ministry requires a large auditorium with a thousand-dollar PA system and glass pulpits. But, are these the only things that are contributing to the financial demand of the modern church? No, there is more…
Worldliness from the leadership
My idea of worldliness is a desire for the things of the world; a desire to look like worldly celebrities and musicians. This is what has contributed to the shift from the normal Pastor we used to know (who had no problem with riding a bicycle to preach) to the modern mafia type, “man of God” who wants to travel with a private jet, a Rolls Royce, red carpets and bodyguards on his side. That kind of worldly ministry is extremely expensive. It needs the congregates to dig deep into their pockets to support him with seed envelops every week.
Too many Programs/Conferences
The second reason for the modern church’s financial demand is that we have too many programs and conferences; too much for the regular church members to keep up with. I understand that God’s people do these retreats with a genuine desire to serve the Lord, yet I think if we compare the financial expenditure of these programs to the supposed spiritual benefit, it’s not worth it. I say this from experience because I have been to countless conferences and retreats to this day. And they all have something in common: high anticipation, and high emotional hype but nothing to write home about in terms of a lasting spiritual fruit.
Too many offerings
This is not true with all churches of course, but it is quite fashionable these days to have the regular church offering, the conference pledge, the building fund offering, the first fruit offering, tithe offering, pastors’ appreciation, love offering and God knows what else. Am I the only one crazy enough to think there is something wrong with all these multiple offerings, especially considering that it is the same people who are expected to give all that money? I mean, where must they get it? Remember those people also have life expenses and responsibilities; including taking care of their extended families. And speaking of offering, I have noticed that there was only one type of offering in the New Testament. And it was a collection to support the poor Believers among them. Maybe I read a different Bible, I don’t know.
What about paid staff?
I will answer this with another question: what for? I mean why should we pay you for serving the Lord? The church has always been running throughout history through the voluntary service of its members. This all changed when we started to regard ministry as a business cooperation; to enrich the “senior prophet.” That is when members felt that they also deserved (rightly so) to be paid for playing the keyboard and singing because they noticed that the whole service was designed to make money, rather than to sincerely worship the Lord.
Are we also aware (maybe we are not) that there are people who find no joy in coming to church because they genuinely do not have the money for the Pastor’s appreciation? Do you know that there are people who would rather stay at home during month ends because they can’t contribute to the church rent? Do you know that there are people who give lots of money in church, not because they are doing it for Christ, but simply because they are trying to impress the leadership? Above all, do you know that there are souls that have lost total interest in God and the Church because of the financial abuses and traumas that we ministers have subjected them to? It’s true and it's time to talk about the things and correct them – now!
I remember one of the criticisms I got from my family the day I got saved was that I would always be broke in my life as a result of the church. Their point was that today’s church life is so financially draining such that it's impossible to have a sustainable budget to improve your life. Mind you, some of us are still young parents who are still dreaming of buying permanent homes for the future of our children. Especially now that things are more expensive, opportunities are more hard and everything in life seems to be harder than it was when our fathers were growing up. Therefore, the last thing we need is for the church’s expenditure to add to that burden.
Conclusion. Brethren, the true Gospel is not that expensive at all. Therefore, there is no need to financially stress Christ’s Sheep the way we are doing these days. Actually, the fact that today’s Church is so dependent on money is proof that it has left the Gospel hence it is using money as the means to draw carnal men to the house of God. Yet, if we could get back to the old-fashioned simple preaching of the undiluted Gospel, we would realize that we don’t need all these other things that demand a lot from the poor widow’s pocket. Thank you sit down.
Sinothi Ncube
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