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How to Respond to “Churches Only Want Money”

“Churches only want money and don’t care about people.” No doubt at some point we have all heard that familiar accusation from a critically watching world; particularly when a conversation about the gospel inevitably turns to church experience.

You may have heard the phrase “perception is reality”. Sometimes in order to change perceptions, we need to examine the reality, and…

  • Make adjustments ourselves, or,
  • Work very hard to ensure the perception more closely resembles the reality we know to be true.

Although there is no doubt that the church has been guilty of financial abuse throughout history, we don’t need to dwell on that.
Here are three succinct points that, used together, could effectively help address the issue and accentuate the very nature of the gospel.

1.  The reality is, local churches need money to survive and it’s the responsibility of the members, not visitors or unbelievers. That’s why they take an offering. Rather than take offense, suggest they consider what it takes to operate a local church and how much most churches offer to their community.

2. Admit that churches are far from perfect. Some do abuse their influence for financial gain. After all—they are a human institution. This is a great point to acknowledge that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. There is no pretense about churches being free from corruption or bad motivation. People are selfish and greedy—that’s one way that we know we are in need of a savior. Which brings us to point three…

3. The gospel is not about the church, it’s about Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 says that Christ died for our sins—not the local church died for our sins. Before one should even consider the complex and various ways in which local churches use or abuse money, an unbeliever has to first consider Christ and Him crucified. Jesus is the only example we should be lifting up and the central theme of redemption. What those who follow Him, or profess to follow Him do in this life will, unfortunately, have to be addressed. However, it can give us an illustration to help us explain and demonstrate the power of God’s grace.