Myth Buster: The church is only concerned with money

 Pastor Burcham's Sermon

 Sunday, July 24, 2005

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thomas Wheeler, CEO of Massachusetts Mutual Life, tells a rather amusing story about himself. His wife and he were taking a road trip and they were taking some of the back roads and they needed to get gasoline. They ended up pulling into a small town and, believe or not, there was still a gas station that just had one pump at it. He pulls into this station with just one pump at it. He pulls up. It's not self serve. The attendant comes out. He looks at the attendant kind of surprised. He says, “Well, would you mind filling it up? And why don't you check the oil while you're at it?” He decides he's going to take a break and just kind of stretch his legs, so he goes for a short walk. When he comes back, he finds the gas station attendant is in an animated conversation with his wife. He thinks that's rather strange. He pays the man. They get off down the road and, as they're pulling out of the parking lot, the attendant yells after them, “It was great visiting with you.” Well, Tom's curiosity is up so he looks at his wife and says, “So do you know this man?” And she confesses, “To tell you the truth, yeah, I do. We went to high school together, believe it or not. In fact, we dated rather steadily for almost a year and a half.” At this point, Wheeler says in his most boastful voice, “Well, aren't you glad that I came along? If you had married him, you'd be the wife of a gas station attendant. Instead, you're the wife of a CEO.” She looked at him and said, “My dear, if I had married him, he would be the CEO and you would be the gas station attendant.”

It's all a matter of perspective. It's how we see the world. And our perspective becomes reality to us, and we believe that perspective even though it could be totally wrong. We've been looking at the different perspectives that people have about the church, how they view the church, and what they believe about the church or about God. We've been calling it a Myth Buster series because we've been taking a look at some of them simply that are wrong. And so we've been busting the myths that are out there about church and about God. And this morning, we tackle the one that maybe is the touchiest of all of them but it's probably the one I've overheard the most. And that is the idea the church is only concerned about money. Or the crude way I've heard it is the church is only after my wallet. What does that mean? The church is only concerned about money.

This morning, let's take a really open and honest look at that. And the first thing we need to do is we need to understand what does it mean when you say that? What are some of the implications when you say the church is only concerned about money? One of the implications is this, whether it's realized or not, when you say the church is only concerned about money, you're saying there's a hidden agenda, that the church has a hidden agenda and that hidden agenda is they're out to get your money and put it into their coffers. Now you don't want to say it that crudely, but that's the hidden agenda which is implied in that statement.

You see, the church starts out talking about God. And it starts talking about spiritual things and then, whammo, before you know it, they catch you off guard and they ask you for a donation. Or they take the offering. You see, they have a hidden agenda. They didn't really want to talk about God and spiritual things. What they really were after was the offering, what they wanted to get.

Along with that, the implication is there is a mistrust. There's a mistrust between people and the church. The mistrust is that someone is trying to trick you, someone's trying to guilt you, somebody's trying to play on your emotions so you'll write the check and make the offering out to the church. If the church is only concerned about your money, there are some implications there.

You see, there's a belief behind that. The belief is that when we talk about God and we talk about money, they are two separate subjects and never shall the two meet. One has nothing to do with the other, that God has nothing to do with my finances and my finances have nothing to do with God. So along with that is the belief that the church should never talk about money. At this point, I've lost you if you believe that because I'm already too deep into it by now.

But this is part of the belief. It's part of the implications. If the perception is that the church is only concerned about money, then at best the church is a charitable organization. At worst, it's a bunch of charlatans trying to bilk you out of your hard-earned cash.

The perception comes out in a variety of ways. I am guessing in some conversation you have heard somebody talk about their church saying, “All they talk about around here is money. Money, money, money. Every time I go to church, the only subject I hear about is money and I'm tired of them talking about money.” Some people will even skip church during the annual stewardship drive because they just don't want to hear it. That's just not supposed to be discussed from the pulpit. That's the perception, whether we've looked at it that deeply enough or not, those are the implications behind the statement. The church is only concerned about money.

Let's test the perception, shall we? And before we get into testing the perception, can I take a time out? The time out is this. Now let me see. Where do you think I'm going to come down on this one? Is this a myth or no? So let's not play games and let's not be silly as far as what my opinion of what I believe Scripture is saying about this. Instead, can we have just an open discussion, one-sided as it may be, about some major points Scripture makes on this? There are a variety of ways I could have come at this subject matter, and I'm trying to come at it this morning just being honest with you, in a way we haven't thought of it before. Right? So this is a little bit different from me and my style, but let's just look at this a little bit differently than what we have before.

The first thing we need to get settled, though, is terminology. When we say the church, the church is only concerned about money, what do we mean by the church? It's an important distinction. And what I believe is meant by that is we're talking about a congregation. We're saying a local congregation or many congregations are only concerned about money. But understand in Scripture when it uses the term church, it uses it in a variety of ways. Sometimes, when Scripture talks about the church, it is indeed talking about the local congregation. Sometimes, though, it's talking about the church, that is, the universal church, that is, all those who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. So, to be more accurate, the statement really should be not the church is only concerned about money, but congregations, the local church, the congregation is only interested about money.

Is that true? Is the local congregation only concerned about money? I don't know. You may have been part of a congregation where that's all they were concerned about. I don't know that. I don't know the congregations where you've been members at. I can imagine in my mind that there may be a congregation that is so strapped for cash that their budget is in such a giant deficit that really, their motivation, everything they do is because they're trying to generate funds, they're trying to keep the doors open. There may be a congregation out there where all they're concerned about is money. I personally have never been involved in a congregation where all they were concerned about was money. That was never the motivation, that was never the purpose for their existence; but I will freely admit it is possible there's a congregation out there where that's all they're concerned about.

But to make the sweeping generalization that all congregations are only concerned about money is unfair and it's inaccurate. In fact, I believe it's grossly inaccurate to say congregations are only concerned about money, that's their main purpose, that's what drives them. I know that's not the purpose of this congregation, and I know that's not the driving force behind this congregation. If you want to know the purpose of Gloria Dei, pick up your Weekly Word , it's there on the front page. Look at any of the brochures that are put out by the congregation. It's right there in print. The purpose of this congregation is bringing Jesus Christ to people for the first time and for a lifetime. That's what we're all about. It's about bringing the gospel message to people who haven't heard about Jesus, of showing them of the forgiveness and the love God has for them, introducing them to the life-changing power of the gospel, not only for this life but for an eternity. It's the purpose of this congregation to take those who are believers and to foster that faith so they can mature and they can grow in their relationship with Christ. That's the purpose of this congregation.

But, you'll say, the church needs money. You'll say take a look at the annual budget. Take a look at the weekly offering. The church needs money. Now the usual answer to that is the one that says God does not need your money. God doesn't need your money to fulfill His mission or the plan He has for His church and I would wholeheartedly agree with that. God will accomplish His ministry. God will accomplish His mission for the church with or without our money. But if you were to say the congregation and mean the church by that, needs money, you're right. Let's be honest this morning. You're right. It takes money so we can sit in about 70 degrees this morning instead of the 90 degrees with the 90% humidity outside, so we don't have to focus on our sweat. We can focus in on God's Word. It takes money to pay that electric bill. MidAmerican doesn't give it to us. It takes money to heat the place. It takes money to send people off on a mission trip so we can share the gospel to people in Honduras or in Mexico or in Kentucky or in L.A. It takes money for the curriculum for the Sunday School kids so they can learn about Jesus. It takes money for the adult bible studies. Yes, it takes money to run this congregation. In fact, last year, because of your generosity, over $1 million was given to the ministry of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. So in answer to the question, does the congregation need money to survive, the answer is yes.

But the important question, the real question is what is the motivation behind the congregation? What is the purpose of that congregation? If the purpose of that congregation is just to raise funds, that's not God's church. You see, from the beginning, when people got together and formed congregations, it took finances to run those congregations and to run that ministry.

Let's go back to the gospel of Matthew. Jesus is sending out His 12 disciples. So in Matthew 10, He's sending out the 12 disciples to preach the message of the kingdom. And this is what He says to them. I think it's important. He says, “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts. Take no bag for the journey or extra tunic or sandals or a staph. The worker is worth his keep.” What He's saying is you're going to go out and you're going to spread the news and you're going to have this ministry among the people and that ministry needs to be supported by the people. So they're going to take care of your needs while you're out there among the people.

The first congregation that came together, Christian congregation, it's recorded for us in Acts 2. This is after Peter gives his speech, 3,000 are baptized, and they form this small congregation. And it says all the activities of that congregation, we're just going to pick out here where it talks in Acts 2:45, “Selling their possessions and goods, they gave anyone who had a need.” And at the end of that chapter, it says, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” They pooled their resources together so they could function as a gathering of God's people, so they could gather as a local congregation and, using their resources together, they did the ministry God had given to them. And God blessed that ministry and added to their numbers daily. What? Those who were being saved. The purpose of that congregation was to share the good news of Jesus. The purpose of the 12 going out among the people was to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It's the purpose, the reason they exist. That's what you focus in on.

Does it take money to run a church? Yes, it does. But the real issue is the purpose and motivation for that church. If the purpose and motivation is just to be another charitable organization, that's not God's idea of church. That's not God's idea of a congregation. The purpose and the motivation is to bring people into a relationship with Christ, to change their lives, change their lives in this world and the next. The purpose for a congregation is to point out the simpleness of mankind, plainly, clearly from God's Word and then immediately to show the awe-surpassing forgiveness that comes through the blood of Jesus, to point people to the cross and to say that the man who hung upon that cross, He died for you and He shed His blood so you could be forgiven, so your guilt could be washed away. You can be freed from all that shame. That's the message of the congregation.

And then for those who believe, to grow in our relationship with God, to mature in our faith, for us the way we put it is bringing Jesus Christ to people for the first time and for a lifetime. That's why we exist. That's our purpose. Is the church only concerned about money? No. It's concerned about souls. Or the way Jesus put it in the gospel, He's concerned about your heart. You see, when God talks about money, and God talks a lot about money and we need to know that, God isn't after your wallet but God is after your heart.

I'm sure you've heard me say this before, but let me say it again. Did you realize that Jesus talks more about money and possessions than any other topic He spoke on? Than any other topic, more than about heaven, more than about prayer, he spoke about money and possessions. The question is why? Why did Jesus focus on that? Why did He talk so much about that? And again, let's just be realistic about this? How much of your life is not affected by money or possessions? I'm not saying it's bad. Don't think this is a negative comment, but how much of your life is affected by money and possessions? How many days go by that don't have something connected with either cash, your checkbook, or your credit card? You see, on the way to church this morning, maybe you had to stop and fill up with gas so you had to pay for that. Maybe tomorrow after work, you're going to have to stop at the grocery store and you're going to have to buy some food. Maybe later on this week, you're going to have to pick up some clothes for vacation. There really is very little in our life that isn't somehow affected or connected to money, finances, and possessions. If that affects so much of our life, doesn't it make sense that Jesus talks about it, that Jesus addresses the topic plainly, clearly so we can understand?

Side note here. One of the most important messages Jesus talked about as far as our possessions and our money is that they're not ours, they're His. And that's the one we don't like hearing the most because we work so hard for it. But God gave you the skills you have. God gives you the life you live. God gives you the food and the air you breathe. God enables you to earn a living. This world belongs to Him and everything in it. But He gives it to us and He entrusts it to us. That's the first message that Jesus wants us to know about money and possessions. Well then, why does He ask for part of it back? To me, that's the next logical question. Because God does. God says give a portion of it back to me. Why does He do that? Because He wants to make sure we keep our priorities straight, to make sure we know what we should hope and put our trust in and it's not in our wealth or our possessions.

Again, think about your money again for a moment. Do you not set your priorities according to how you handle your finances? What I mean by that is if it's really important to you to have a nice, comfortable home, you may sacrifice other things. Maybe you don't drive the nicest of cars. Maybe you don't buy the suits and the dresses you really want because your priority is your home. Maybe your priority is you like to take the family on a nice vacation each year, so maybe you didn't buy as expensive a home. Maybe you didn't buy as expensive of a car so you can take them on a family vacation. Maybe it's retirement. Do you see what I'm saying? We all make choices, and we set our priorities. Again, it's not a negative. I'm not making a judgment call. We set our priorities by how we handle our finances. So Jesus jumps into the mix. He wants to be part of that, to make sure we have the right priorities, to make sure we're trusting in the right things. That was the whole point of the gospel lesson for today. When we read Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says, “Don't store for yourselves treasures on earth.” He's not saying you shouldn't have a savings account. He's not saying you shouldn't make money. That's not what He's saying. He says, “Because moth and rust can destroy.” What He's saying is don't put your trust in that. Instead, store for yourself treasures in heaven. In other words, your spiritual life, your faith, your relationship with Christ, that's more important than anything else. That's where you invest your heart. That's where you put your trust. Because He says where your treasure is, that's where your heart would be. If you value your relationship with God more than anything else, that's where your heart's going to be.

And so in relationship to our wealth and possessions, not that it's wrong to have wealth, not that it's wrong to have possessions, but to make sure they're in the proper place, to know that no matter how large your portfolio is, no matter how much money you have in the 401K, that's not where you put your trust for the future because all of that can and will fail you. But your relationship with Christ will not. God's not after your wallet. He's after your heart. And if God is after your heart, shouldn't His church be after your heart also? And if Jesus spends so much time talking plainly and clearly about money, so shouldn't His church talk plainly and clearly about money?

It's not about finding how much we can collect, but it's all about hearts given to Christ. It's all about touching people with the gospel message and changing their lives in this world and the next. Is all the church concerned about is money? Not this church. Not this congregation. We're about changing lives, about sharing the message of Jesus, about bringing him to people for the first time and for a lifetime. Amen.