Author Tim Barnett
Published on 12/14/2020
Announcements

Churches Do Want Your Money...and Here’s Why!

Some of you really value the work we’re doing through Red Pen Logic and want to see that work continue. Up to this point, we haven’t asked for a dime. That’s because we follow an important principle: We always give before we ask to receive.

We don’t make these videos for the money. We make them to make a difference in your life. If RPL has helped you, if you want to support this project, then I’m asking you personally—me, Mr. B, your RPL teacher—to help us create more videos by sending us a gift. No complicated Patreon commitments. Just a simple gift to Stand to Reason—the sponsor of RPL—here at the end of the year to help us continue to produce great, free, content for you and for lots of others.

Click here to support the work of RPL.


Transcript

We often hear about how churches want your money. Well, they do, and here’s why.

This is Red Pen Logic with Mr. B, where we help you assess bad thinking by using good thinking. And we try to have some fun while we’re doing it.

In today’s tweet, Nathan makes an accusation that all churches care about is money. He says, “All churches are after one thing, your money, nothing else. It’s a business just like any other business.” Now, here are some thoughts you can take to the bank.

First, how does Nathan know what all churches are after? How many churches has he been in? I’ve been in hundreds of churches, and here’s what I’ve seen. In virtually every case, I’ve seen churches sacrificially serving the overwhelming needs of their communities. They’re serving through counseling services, and substance abuse programs, food banks, and summer camps, marriage seminars, and community service programs. They help women with crisis pregnancies, they help stop sex trafficking, they pay for overseas programs that are bringing food, water, and education to terribly impoverished people. Not to mention providing Christians with a place to worship, and fellowship, and receive spiritual mentorship. And they do it all for free. Did you get that? For free.

Now, how can they give away so many valuable resources for free? Easy. Other people pay. Other people give. So, do churches want your money? Sure, but it’s not because they’re trying to get rich. They’re not. It’s because they want to serve people.

Now, are there some bad apples out there? Yeah.

“You will receive your money tonight in Jesus’ name.”

 “God said, ‘Tell her if she’ll plant a seed equal to her house note, I’ll give her a house debt-free.’”

And those churches characteristically have a twisted gospel message that’s easy to spot. You give me your money so God will give you money. But most churches like the ones in my neighborhood, in your neighborhood, aren’t like that. I mean, drop by a few of them and see for yourself.

Second, every organization requires money to survive, and that includes churches. This is just common sense. Churches have bills just like you do—rent, or mortgage, electricity bill, phone bills, internet fees, postage, and payroll, and on and on it goes. This is how life works for everyone, and you know it because that’s how it works for you, too.

Third, we all spend money without complaint on the things we value. Every time you buy something on Amazon or give something to charity, you get something for yourself or you do something for someone else. They both cost you money. You value the new iPhone, so you give money to Apple. You value feeding the hungry, so you give money to your local food bank. Helping others both physically and spiritually is especially important to Christians. That’s why Christians ask for help and why Christians give it. Nathan may not care about spiritual stuff. Fair enough. But that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it, and it certainly doesn’t mean that churches are just in it for the money.

I haven’t said anything profound here. We all understand that every organization—Christian or not—needs money to function, and we all understand that everyone—Christian or not—is glad, and even honored, to give money to the things they value. Even atheist YouTubers have Patreon accounts.

“Welcome to the Patreon page for the atheist experience.”

Even atheists ask for money.

“What do you get for donating? Well, you get a warm fuzzy feeling for helping us continue to do what we’ve been doing and reach more people.”

And why shouldn’t they? I wouldn’t just assume that atheists are in it for the money and nothing else, and the same goes for churches and other organizations.

So here’s my practical application of this lesson for you. Some of you really value the work we’re doing through Red Pen Logic and want to see that work continue. Up to this point, we haven’t asked for a dime. That’s because we follow a very important principle. We always give before we ask to receive. We don’t make videos to make money. We make videos to make a difference in your life. If Red Pen Logic has helped you, if you want to support this project, then I’m asking you personally, me, Mr. B, your Red Pen Logic teacher, to help us create more videos by sending us a gift. No complicated Patreon commitments. Just a simple gift to Stand to Reason, the sponsor of Red Pen Logic, here at the end of the year to help us to continue to produce great free content for you and for many others. If that’s you, then click the link in the description, and thank you for your support. Class dismissed.