Gospel.com Blog

There’s a fascinating and disturbing new article by Hanna Rosin in The Atlantic that wonders if popular Christian teaching about money and finances contributed to the recent economic crash.

I’ve read many critiques of “prosperity theology” over the years, and tend to agree with claims that it’s a dangerous and unbiblical twist on the Gospel message. And most of the critiques I’ve read have focused on the phenomenon’s theological merits. But what are the real-world results of applying prosperity theology to your life? Are you more likely to take out a mortgage you can’t afford? Are you more likely to live beyond your means? The Atlantic piece finds some evidence that there’s more than just theology at stake:

More recently, critics have begun to argue that the prosperity gospel, echoed in churches across the country, might have played a part in the economic collapse. In 2008, in the online magazine Religion Dispatches, Jonathan Walton, a professor of religious studies at the University of California at Riverside, warned:

Narratives of how “God blessed me with my first house despite my credit” were common … Sermons declaring “It’s your season of overflow” supplanted messages of economic sobriety and disinterested sacrifice. Yet as folks were testifying about “what God can do,” little attention was paid to a predatory subprime-mortgage industry, relaxed credit standards, or the dangers of using one’s home equity as an ATM.

In 2004, Walton was researching a book about black televangelists. “I would hear consistent testimonies about how ‘once I was renting and now God let me own my own home,’ or ‘I was afraid of the loan officer, but God directed him to ignore my bad credit and blessed me with my first home,’” he says. “This trope was so common in these churches that I just became immune to it. Only later did I connect it to this disaster.”

The article also points out some truly disturbing instances in which banks and churches collaborated to pitch “financial empowerment.” The article is worth reading in full; it does not leave one feeling very positive about the prosperity gospel, but it does give adherents a chance to defend their beliefs.

After you’ve read the article, I also recommend a follow-up post at the Kruse Kronicle blog which cautions that Christians shouldn’t pin all of the blame on prosperity teaching. Mainstream churches too have failed to help Christians discern and follow Biblical teachings about money and finances.

What do you think? Does the church bear any blame for Americans’ poor financial habits and the economic crisis that continues to exact its toll on millions? What could or should the church be doing to help, now that the crisis is here?

I recently heard an interesting statement from a pastor regarding charitable giving. He explained that he only supported explicitly Christian ministries and charities with his charitable giving—no public radio, no Red Cross, and presumably no Girl Scout cookies.

He explained that there wasn’t anything wrong or immoral about those non-Christian organizations and charities. But he felt that the Great Commission obligated him to put his finite funds toward organizations that actively furthered the spread of the Gospel. Other charities might do valuable work, but they were a lower priority than evangelistic organizations. (And since there’s never going to be a shortage of evangelism needs or Christian organizations in need of help, that essentially means never supporting a non-Christian charity at all.)

This was a personal decision for him, and he didn’t try to argue that it was a rule for all Christians. But he clearly felt that this was a natural implication of the Great Commission in the modern world.

What do you think about that? Do you give higher (or sole) priority in your giving to evangelistic ministries?

Unsurprisingly, there are a range of opinions on how Christians should handle giving. Some think we should give as we feel led, others think it’s a strict pretax 10%, others think that 10% is just a starting point.

What do you think? How much money should you give to the Church?

Share your answer!

There’s nothing quite like moving from the spiritual high of Easter right into… the April 15 tax deadline! If you live in the U.S., today is the dreaded deadline for submitting your taxes. And if, like me, you put off your taxes until the last minute, chances are that money and finances have been weighing heavily on your mind for the last few days.

Tax season has a way of reminded us that we probably haven’t been as careful, or stewardly, with our money and possessions as we should. With that in mind, here are a few articles that explore the subject of personal finances through the lens of faith:

• A Christian View of Personal Finance—extensive study of what the Bible teaches us about money and stewardship.
• A massive list of Bible verses about money—a nice way to see at a glance what and where the Bible talks about wealth and finances.
• * ACTS International has a short devotional that asks: have you mastered your money, or has it mastered you?
• …and of course, no tax day would be complete without reading Jesus’ response to a trick question about taxes.

Looking back at the way you handled your finances in 2008, how did you do? What will you be doing differently this year?

What does stewardship mean to you? Christians have long considered that part of being God-honoring stewards of our possessions is giving away a portion of those resources—to the poor and needy, to the church, to worthy organizations and ministries. But with the weight of the current economic crisis pressing down on jobs and personal finances, how are Christians to approach the idea of financial stewardship and giving? Are we under a spiritual obligation to give to the church or other causes? How much are we “supposed” to give? Is the whole concept of “tithing” even relevant to the modern church?

A series of articles about stewardship at Discipleship Tools raises these and many more questions—and dashes some of the misconceptions we have about what financial stewardship means. The series begins by asking you to consider what stewardship means to you and goes on to look at what financial stewardship should look like in our everyday lives.

Whether you’ve been faithfully putting money in the offering plate every week for years, or have never really thought about what God would have you do with your money, it’s well worth working through these questions. (And if you’re looking for more reading material on this topic, these essays tie in well with some of the resources about spirituality and money that we linked to late last year.)

A new year is right around the corner. The New Year holiday is the perfect time to take stock of your life and think about the year to come—with the hectic Christmas holiday is behind us, January 1 offers a chance to reflect on what you’d like to change in your life in 2009.

One of the most common resolutions that people make at the New Year is to get their finances in order. In the current economic climate, that makes more sense than ever. But spending money wisely isn’t just a good, practical idea; it’s an act of service to God! These articles walk through the spiritual aspect of money management, and offer some useful guidelines for making 2009 the year that you get your finances under control:

• Cindy Summer has a good short article at MOPS about making a financial fresh start. There are several other good articles on the topic of money as well, addressing topics like money management for couples and keeping careful track of your finances.
• If you want to jump right into the big topic of stewardship and what it looks like in everyday life, you can’t do better than Ray Porter’s essays about Christianity and personal finances. Porter explains the spiritual angle of financial stewardship, and then provides a lot of detailed and practical advice for creating a financial plan and using your resources wisely. (You might find the other articles about finances at the site useful, too.)

That’s a lot of information, but if you’re thinking about getting a grip on your finances in 2009, these are a good place to start.

While you may not find it interesting, one of the realities of doing church in the United States is the need to have some sort of administrative staff. Sometimes it falls to the Pastor, but if you’re lucky there’s a designated person for the job. If you happen to be in one of these church administration positions you know that it’s not exactly a piece of cake keeping all the legal, tax and money stuff straight and accounted for. And the last time you want to be asking questions like, “Does that income fall under Unrelated Business Income Tax?” is not when the IRS is asking the same thing.

Church Law & Tax Report “exists to provide church leaders, staff members, and volunteer workers with extensive legal, tax, and risk management resources and training at an affordable price.” They offer extremely practical advice and articles on everything from tax status to church safety. It is a pay site, but the resources are extensive.

Check out a few sample articles:

Negligent Supervision Part 2

Preparing For The Unthinkable: Violence in the Church

The Unrelated Business Income Tax and Publishing

How should a church treasurer respond to a donor who demands a refund?

And here’s some more about the services they offer.

For many Americans, this is one of the darkest weeks of the year: it’s the week that taxes are due. If you’ve spent a few hours lately slogging your way through your tax forms (and if you haven’t, you really should get on that), the odds are good that you’ve lamented a few financial decisions, or wondered where all your money went over the course of the year.

As you can well imagine, money concerns and worries top the list of stress-inducing topics for most everybody, rich or poor. Everyone worries about making ends meet—but for Christians, there’s an extra dimension to the whole issue of money and finances. Christians must face the question of how they are to spiritually view the pursuit of wealth, and how they are to manage their money.

The Bible has a lot to say about riches, wealth, and money management, and this week seems like the perfect time to take a look at what God teaches us about money. Whether you’re living from paycheck to paycheck or are swimming in cash, the Bible challenges you to adopt a Christlike attitude toward money. Here are some resources that explore what, exactly, that means:

• The Bible and money: resources for teaching personal money management.
• Jesus’ Parables about money: what does a man who lived 2000 years ago have to say about your money troubles today?
• A Christian view of personal finances: an in-depth Bible study to help you understand and gain control of your money.
• Teaching financial responsibility to Children: how can you help your kids develop sound financial habits in an age of materialism and debt?
• God’s gift of wealth: where does our wealth ultimately come from, and what are we supposed to do with it?
• Managing your money wisely: a short devotional about the place of wealth and money in our lives.

No Christ-follower, no matter how destitute or how rich, is exempt from this call to understand our wealth Biblically. So while finances are on your mind this week, take some time to consider how your financial life intersects with your spiritual life! We’ll be back tomorrow on Tax Day with a few more money-related items to get you thinking. Now, go forth and finish those tax forms!

It’s Black Friday! Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is on the horizon—but unfortunately, it’s easy for us to let this time between Thanksgiving and Christmas become a celebration of materialism and not of the coming Christ child. For Christians, Christmas can be a delicate balance between giving and good stewardship. So how do we manage our spending in a way that honors God?

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