69% of the average church budget goes to supporting its own existence.   That’s pretty typical of a business…but a church isn’t a business. 

Supporting the ever rising cost of running a church is why I believe tithing is made to be such an issue. It has nothing to do with obeying the law or legalism, it’s about paying the bills.  And there are a lot more lower income people, call it the middle class, then there are rich people coming to church.  And given that most people don’t give ten percent of their money to charity let alone just their church, tithing is an easy mark on the wall to browbeat churchgoers with in order to boost church revenue.  I know that sounds cynical, but we need to acknowledge that Christians are neither perfect or altruistic.  The church has chosen to maintain power by turning itself into a business – one where the key performance indicators are Sunday attendance and revenue.  So, why has the cost of church been going up in recent years?  Because of its business model. 

And that leads us to the second point I want to discuss: how churches operate using the money given to them.  Churches in many places have become glorified social organizations.  And the “tithes” that people give to their church are really nothing more than dues for membership.  You essentially pay for a service; a coffee shop, great programs, exciting worship service, free child care during events, etc. What we need to do is ask ourselves what is the purpose of the physical organization of the church?  I submit to you that it should be that of a rally point.  It should be a place of meeting and coordination for the efforts of individual Christians and a place to worship.  When a church gets so big that it needs paid staff and janitorial services and sound people and on and on and on it becomes a social club.  You are no longer paying to do God’s work but paying to provide yourself with the service – the church experience.  Folks will be quick to point out that a church has to pay its bills. And of course, they are quite right. However, I am contesting the need for many of the bills in the first place. Trim the fat and excess before looking for revenue. 

I say all of this not to steer you away from giving to your church, rather to get you to take ownership of your giving and to call your church to account with its finances. Don’t export your luxurious habits to church.