From time to time, I seem to be hit with a subject from several different angles. Often it takes a few weeks for me to recognize how they all fit together, but undoubtedly, in this instance, I need help sorting through it all.
My good friend, and pastor, Alan gives out daily devotionals every Christmas as an encouragement to constantly be challenged in our lives. It always works. This past year, we were given a book of compilation writings of Aiden Tozer (1897), the “twentieth-century prophet.” Tozer’s entry for March 23rd reads like this -
Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done but by how much I could have done. In God’s sight my giving is measured not by how much I have given but by how much I could have given and how much I had left after I made my gift. The needs of the world and my total ability to minister to those needs decided the worth of my service.
At the heart of Tozer’s entry is that it really doesn’t matter how much we give, we’ll be judged on how much we could have given and we didn’t. Or that we’ll be judged at how much we give to things that don’t need to be given to. Is it possible that we can give so much (time, energy, prayer, creativity, and money) and have it be for all the wrong things, all in the name of Jesus?
This brings me to my next challenging read. I have to give a preemptive apology to this quote because this article has not been published yet, and therefore I don’t want to spill the beans on its entirety and give the title nor the author’s name away. You may disagree with my logic, but just note that this quote wasn’t written by me but it is still very reputable in it’s facts. “WCT” is a very thorough examination of the state of the Church and its annual, worldwide distribution of $270 billion to Christian Causes. WCT is a book of almost a thousand pages called “World Christian Trends: Interpreting the Annual Christian Mega Census.” This quote is from an article based on the thousand page WCT book, not from the book itself.
The WCT research reveals that 97% of all worldwide Christian resources (i.e., money earmarked for Christian causes) are used to minister to those who are both wealthy and/or already Christian. In fact, only one third of one percent (three cents of every ten dollars) of the annual $270 billion raised worldwide for all Christian causes goes to reach those who have never heard of Jesus Christ. Many of these are among the more than one billion people who live on less than a dollar a day, who follow false religions such as Islam and Hinduism. They are the world’s least educated and most malnourished, with the world’s highest infant mortality rate. And yet research shows that they are the most receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ—as much as 700 times more receptive than people in some of the world’s wealthiest and most developed nations… WCT’s research shows that it costs 700 times less in resources to reach this group for Christ, or $2,000 to $3,000 per decision in developing/third world nations–meaning not just a raised hand, but a public profession of faith by baptism. Compare this to the $1.5 million each in the West, $2 million each in Europe up to $3 million it costs to reach each person in Japan.
When I read this, my thoughts were probably similar to that of yours right about now. On average, it costs $1.5 million to win one single individual to Christ in America! Now, keep in mind, it’s not that we literally spend $1.5 million on an individual and then suddenly they become a Jesus follower, but when you break down the amount of money that America raises and spends on ministry and you divide that by the number of new confessions/conversions in a year in America, the figures show we spend about $1.5 million to bring that person to faith. We are spending an overwhelming majority of our money on people who are 1) already Christian and 2) have a whole lot of money already and 3) live in an over Christian-saturated world.
So, bring this back to the Tozer quote. Is it possible that we as a Church and as individuals are doing a commendable thing by giving as much as we do… but that we are spending it all on stuff that doesn’t make a huge difference in the world? Is it not that we are going to be held accountable for what we give to, but that we will be held accountable for what we didn’t give to?
At what point are things like multi-million dollar buildings and several thousands of dollars in lights and sound equipment and decoration a problem? We spend the majority of our money brought in to minister to those who already know Jesus and who don’t need more money poured into them, all in the name of “making disciples”. This would all be great if the disciple were in turn pouring into other people who are not already believers.
Now, please hear me out. I know I’m missing something in my logic. I just need help figuring it out. I understand that there are needs for a place to congregate – and that takes money. I understand that it takes money to pour into ministering. I understand that all the money brought in isn’t for “no purpose at all.” But I need help sorting through the question, “How much money does it take to raise up a disciple.”
12 Comments
April 9, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Joe,
The numbers are skewed. We give $50 a month to Justin and Jenn who are, by all accounts, Christians. So the money we give would go towards that 97%. And in all reality, as they minister in Europe they will be working and living with people who know the name and gospel of Jesus Christ and know where there next meal is coming from. Does this mean I am spending my money in vain and they are ministering in vain. Of course not!
Your post is entitled “The Cost of Discipleship…” Discipleship goes beyond getting people to sign on the dotted line to become a Christian and it can be argued that intentional, communal long term discipleship costs a great deal more money than sending missionaries to third world countries with food pallets and Bible translations.
Both are valid forms of ministry. Both cost huge moolah.
April 9, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Great article Joe. I love your passion and your thinking. What you have delivered is disturbing I am sure we will be able to justify it somehow if we think long enough and don’t mind the world going to HELL.
Initial reaction and I will five it some more thought.
April 9, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Thanks Joe. You’ve given me something to chew on. It’s sickening how much money the Western church spends on itself. Do all the buildings and programs bring people to Christ? I’m struggling with your question of what is appropriate/necessary spending for discipleship. Do we really need anything more than the bible and a gifted teacher? Does the substance get lost in the style?
April 9, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Far be it from me to justify the way the church (small c) divides the financial pie. We, who identify ourselves with Jesus, are a diverse group with a variety of values and sensibilities. I don’t think the question you ask, “how much money does it take to raise up a disciple”, will yield an answer that will speak to the situation you’ve identified.
My question is more basic… Does the church in America even acknowledge that making disciples is our primary objective?
I would venture to say it does not. We need to be brought back to the most fundamental basics. That is what I discern God is allowing to happen to the world with this economic mess we are experiencing.
For me, trying to speak to this on a global scale makes my head spin. I find it much more manageable to look at how Jon Franz is doing, how my family is doing and how my church is doing. And I always find room for improvement.
April 9, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Joe,
You are thinking exactly what we are thinking. How do you spend 90 percent of all tithes on operations and salaries and spend the balance on His people. This is one of the major reasons we are planting a church with the philosphy of going to the people rather than trying to find news ways to package the attractant church. It is difficult to justify pastors making huge salaries and putting on hollywood type productions in church while kids don’t eat. If you want to teach people Matthew 28 you do it by doing it not by talking about it. Sure you will get push back from those who don’t want to change, but they need to understand it is not a critisism of them or they the way they are doing church it is just not the way we do church.
April 9, 2009 at 6:05 pm
We could talk about this for weeks, as we are talking about practically living out the Great Commission and how it is inextricably intertwined with Christian discipleship (or to us a more ancient and appropriate term – sanctification). In my experience, the hardest thing in figuring this out, as with almost any other major issue of our Faith, is balance. We have an absolute call to win souls for Christ, with the caveat for those of us who are Reformed in theology that we really don’t win souls at all but are simply tools God uses (for our growth and development in our walk with Him) to accomplish His work of grace. If someone does not accept evangelism as an unequivocal calling of our Faith, something is dreadfully wrong. The question is not if we are called to be evangelical, it is more how.
Some liberal churches (liberal not in political philosophy, but simply being non-evangelical), say God brings them in, we just clean them up and nurture them as a mother does a child. In this environment, it is not that bringing people to God is not a priority at all, it is just left to a few called to be evangelists. In their minds, this is not the primary calling of the Body of the Church. Moreover, they focus on being a member of the church as the formula for eternal life through Christ. They generally feel God reaches out and then draws folks to the church, as a natural process of coming to faith. The deal is closed when one is baptized, takes communion and is confirmed as a member of the Club.
On the other end of the spectrum are “seeker” churches, or pure evangelicals, which have as a primary – to almost a sole – directive to “seek lost sheep.” They judge themselves and the value of their efforts on numbers of decisions for Christ. Some will, for good measure, count rededications of Believers (if they have “backslidden” enough). They tend not to focus much on what happens once you have the access code to the Pearly Gates. They think we have to bring folks in, no matter how that is done. “Built it, and they will come.” Once they are in, they will experience Jesus and close the deal. That’s it. I think both are missing the point, and therefore have a tough time understanding your angst.
I think the point is that God calls us not to membership or even salvation as an end in itself. The Creator seeks relationship with the created – relationship that was meant to be, designed to be, but lost through sin. The saving of one’s soul and membership in the Family of God are just byproducts of relationship. After all, what else does being “saved” mean? It is not just being saved from the guy with a pitchfork and bad breath. It is, in practical reality, not suffering the horror of being eternally separated from a loving relationship with our Father. So, the point is how do we draw people into that relationship? And this is where I think things get complicated. How much do we pay for buildings, structures, plans, visions, programs, services, etc. to draw people to relationship with Him? I don’t think there is a clear answer. I think the cost is whatever the cost is. Then what do we do about discipleship or sanctification after that, so we grow Believers up to understand, learn, grow and go out to pass on the heritage of relationship and grace through relationship through Christ Jesus?
Joe, I think the simple answer is to make sure we have the goal clearly in focus at all times – bringing people into relationship with God, then helping them grow that relationship deeper until He calls us home. If anything along the way becomes a new God; if we start to build a golden calf (a building, a ministry, an empire), because “everyone else has a God they can see and worship, why can’t we,” then we are off track and need to draw back for a good look. There is nothing inherently wrong with a nice church building – heck, look at God’s own directives regarding the building of His temple. He directed the people to use the best materials and skilled artisans to do the work, and in fact blessed them especially for the task. The problem comes when we start to lose focus on whose house it is and what it is for. When it ceases to be holy (set apart), then there is a problem. The focus needs to remain the focus. If we can do so with a mud hut, great. If we do it in a multi-million dollar building, so what. I think the catch is, listen to the One for whom we do it, follow His direction and go no further. Moreover, know that at some point He will change the plan, model, method and likely place where and how we do His work. He seems to like to mix it up, so we do not get complacent and start to worship the tools instead of the Carpenter. The simplest denominator comes back to, is it building relationship with Him? If that is no longer the focus, cut whatever it is from the Vine – prune it back if you will – so it will produce fruit again. The focus is fruit. We cannot produce real fruit, only God can. That’s good, because if we are in His will there will be fruit. If not, there will not be fruit. And we can’t fake real fruit. I think this is the litmus test we can actually see and not just theorize about. If there is fruit, go with it. If not, stop and look around and find out why and fix it, and by the way, don’t hold too tightly to anything but Him or He will demand its removal – even those things that started out good, of Him and productive.
I think you see and are frustrated with all the money being spent with little result – or little bang for the buck, if you will. I understand and agree. From just a personal observation, there is a large, local church that provides a fairly good example, in some particulars. They want to bring lots of folks in to hear the Gospel (that is awesome), but I know a number of people who go there and there is no evidence of change in their lives and no real fruit. In fact, I have a friend that is a small group leader that has a real problem with marijuana. I mean, hello. How are you a small group leader when you have an open drug problem and aren’t doing anything about it? (Please do not read into this that I am saying that we have to be wholly without sin to be effective or used by God. I am not saying that at all, and it’s a lucky thing or I would be of no use to God whatsoever. We are all still broken, leaky vessels God uses as He sees fit. But there is a difference when leaders are allowed to have an unrepentant pattern of sin that is seen by others who need a shepherd.) They have lots of numbers, but what is going on to bring relationship and discipleship? I am not picking on them, just an example of the focus being lost. It is so relevant, so cool, so “today” that there is no holiness, and you can’t say they don’t spend enough money on stuff. That said, I don’t think spending the money is a problem, if it is leading to real fruit. It’s His money anyway, so who cares how we spend it, if it is how He says. He will ensure that there is enough to pay for other ministries He has in store for us to do, if we follow Him. He does not need bail out money. He has cattle on a thousand hills. I have a hard time sometimes breaking this down to God’s sovereignty, when I see others in need and the church universal is spending millions on fancy buildings or new choir robes, and there are folks down the street that do not have enough to eat. I just have to remember to do what He says and let Him worry about the details. He is sovereign, and I am not. And by the way, even if we did not buy the new robes, there would still be people starving. There always will be – He says so in His Word.
Just walk daily with Him with a loose hold on the wallet and an open heart and mind, so He can use you or whatever He has entrusted to you for whatever He says, when He says, and enjoy the journey.
April 9, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hey Joe
Thoughtful message and interesting quote. I have a little different take on all this. I think the way we (the North American church as a whole) think about, train and conduct our outreach and evangelism is so pathetically weak and for the most part fruitless that a new take on evangelism is what is necessary more than a new way to “divide the pie.”
I gotta look at The Master for a model, rather than the mega-churches and see what he said and did about reaching people. Looks to me like His message was very different than ours- that is “get your ticket punch by saying ‘the prayer’ and then stay busy till He takes us out of here.” Jesus message was I came to do what I see the Father doing and to say what I hear the Father saying. His purpose was simple, as should be ours- “I came to destroy the works of the enemy.” I have found that when we Christ followers latch onto His message of salvation, healing, deliverance and restoration and work and speak accordingly then people take notice- ahhh a gospel with power! Sound familiar? Ask God to bring His kingdom crashing into a person’s reality and set them free from illness, bondage, habitual practices and the like and they are quite ready to hear the Good News.
So, let’s use Tozer’s equation and put our gifts to advance evangelism to the test- lets put ourselves at risk for the sake of the Kingdom and actually invite the Holy Spirit to take over and do His incredible work and see how much that costs. I will help fund it.
April 10, 2009 at 12:15 am
Interesting post.
I have problems w organized Christianity, for some of the reasons you cite.
American churchianity is largely about building trade-name and/or personal empires. Denominations, Willow Creek Association, Purpose-Driven, a pastor and his following, etc. Sadly, most people don’t know these are trade-name type empires until long into their involvement.
Do these have their place or are they completely evil? Yes, they have their place, no they are not completely evil. But to the extent that they manipulate true spiritual things to sustain themselves artificially, then yes, that’s a problem. The irony of celebrating Christ in well-financed worship centers with the sound, ligjhts, bands, gold communion trays, etc is really kind of stunning and we all manage to do it week after week. Heaven help us.
About reaching the world and how much money goes into that– touche’. Exactly the problem a lot of people of faith have w organized Christianity. But– in many cases it takes that organization to sustain the global outreach things. So you can’t condemn one without condemning the other.
The early church expanded w/o much regard for organizations, planning, financial concerns, professional clergy, etc. To me this is always the key to the spread of Christianity into other parts of the world.– that and a peace that allows freedom and civil relationships (ref 1: Tim 2).
You might want to add a discussion of China to your discussion. I don’t know much about it, but word is that it’s the fastest growing part of the world in terms of Christian faith, and yet the church is underground. Maybe there is a lesson there?
Anyway, gotta run.
April 10, 2009 at 1:23 pm
It makes me sad how most of us, myself included, have adopted the attitude of the Israelites. Rather than hear God’s voice themselves, they asked Moses to listen and relay the message. They were too afraid to hear the voice of the living God. It’s much easier to ignore a command coming from someone else.
The amount of money (and I don’t even want to think of time or prayers) invested in the poor, broken, unreached, etc. makes me so sad. But it’s what we see day to day that makes us spend our money as we do. We see that the church “can’t survive” unless we have the new sound equipment, or it has fresh paint on the walls, or whatever, so that’s what we give to. We’ve replaced the fire and passion of the living God in a fellowship with shiny toys to draw people in.
I believe that when each individual is truly consumed by the refining fire of God and has chosen a lifestyle of death, these things will change. When we’re communing intimately with the Love Himself, we can’t help but invest in those He wants to invest in. We fall painfully in love with those who are hardest to love.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
April 10, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Joe,
Good thought progression. I have not read much of Tozer but his questions bring about meaningful reflections on Christian life and each person’s ministry. I don’t really have any answers above the one I have recieved of late which is “go” or better yet, “go for Jesus”. Regardless of what we feel led to give financially or time spent serving in “programs for church” the real point of it all is to live and show the way of Jesus. When we ask the question “what does Jesus want me to do” what answer do we expect? If we are truly in tune with God’s will, the clear answer will come every time and whatever it is should be followed up by “then go and do it”. Stop talking about it;
stop writing about; just go and do it.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s always a place to lead and inspire others in the ways of Christ. Perhaps that’s part of what a church service is for or at least what we’ve made it. Maybe it’s become an I.E.D. (Inspiration, Entertainment, and sometimes, Direction). My hope is that each of us will live it. Change the acronym to L.I.V.E. (Love,
Inspire, Volunteer and Execute what we’ve been called to do). Here’s a quote from Carl that speaks of a specific area of the world but it also applies everywhere…
“I am constantly asked what I think the ‘answer’ is in the Middle East. I always say ‘Jesus’ and then people laugh and say “No, but seriously.” Hmmmm? How about ‘The way of Jesus.’ That’s an even better answer.” – CARL MEDEARIS
That’s the reason I’m going to the Middle East next week. Not to tour the Holy Land or just throw money at people but to live and show the
way of Jesus to others. Is the investment in money and time worth it? How does it break down financially vs new followers? I believe the answers can be found in this… I asked the question, what do you want me to do Jesus? He answered, feed My sheep; serve the poor; show My
agape to those who have know very little of it if any. Now is the time. Go.
I think Cumberland is on a role steering members to live and show the way of Jesus. They are blessed to have followers like you and Alan to
inspire and help direct them in the way of the Master. Keep on doing the work of Christ and steering clear of entertainment and the E.C.
(empire complex). Oh, and don’t drink the kool-aid.
For the sake of the call,
James
April 14, 2009 at 2:25 am
I like the post. The overseas giving is actually higher than the previous figure that I’d seen. The last number I saw was that 98% of Christian giving in the USA stayed here in the states. It gets really interesting when you look at our hemisphere also. Most of our mission work takes place in the Caribbean and South America. There are huge needs in South America. We have friends that work in the slums of Brazil and I know that the work there is vital. I just find it interesting that most of our giving stays on this side of the world.
Have you ever read Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. It is a great book. We gave the shorter version to our students last night. It is called The Treasure Principal.
There is a definite need for work here in the states. I’ve really seen this in working with college students over the last year. Many of them have a relationship with God, but they have no idea how to really follow God. They’ve never been taught to spend time daily in his word, pray for others, or to give. Many of them believe that being a Christian means trusting in God for the forgiveness of your sins and then taking your place in the pews for the rest of your life. God doesn’t need more pew warmers, but unless we really take people into the Word and show them how to study God’s word and follow him on their own that is what they will be. As a chruch we’ve done a great job of creating converts, but we’ve done a poor job of making disciples. There is a need for ministry here, but I believe we can be much more efficient with the way we use our money.
One of my favorite parts about the chruch we attended in FL was that they gave ~30% of every dollar they recieved to something outside their walls. They increase that percentage every year until they reach the % goal that they set when they started the church. I believe Cumberland has a similar plan right?
The reason Rachel and I decided to get plugged into Cumberland was the churches focus on outreach. It is exciting to see a community focused on helping and reaching others. I believe that if we, as the leaders of the body, model spending time in God’s word, discipling others, giving generously, and truly making disciples God will honor that. Over the last year I have become more and more committed to 2 Timothy 2:2. I believe that if we really pour our lives into a few people with the vision of them duplicating that process, then we will see God slowly change us into a much more generous American Church.
April 14, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Joe,
These figures don’t surprise me at all. The old adage of open someones checkbook and you’ll see what their priorities are applies. Society as a whole is wealthier and healthier than any point in history and we give less to others and more to ourselves than ever before.