At Central Dallas Ministries, as our revenue and budgets have grown, the percentage of income provided directly from churches has been on a steady decline for many years. The decline concerns me. I suppose my concern is rooted in how I understand the basic values of faith and the priorities of the faith community.
More recently, we've noted a real decline in funding provided, not only as a percentage measured against our budget, but in tems of real dollars sent our way.
Our assumption regarding the more recent trend has been that the economic downturn has affected congregations in a negative manner.
Then, I read a report from the Philanthropy News Digest.
Here's a taste of the article:
Most Congregations Saw Contributions Increase or Hold Steady in First Half of 2009, Report Finds
During the first half of 2009, and despite the deepening recession, more than two-thirds of congregations in the United States saw their fundraising results increase or remain the same on a year-over-year basis, a new report from the Alban Institute and the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University finds.
Based on a survey of more than 1,500 congregations — most of which are members of the Alban Institute — the 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study (53 pages, PDF) found that nearly 37 percent of respondents reported a year-over-year increase in fundraising revenues over the period, 34 percent said their revenues were flat, and nearly 30 percent experienced a decline in revenues. Last year, about 22 percent of congregations reported a decline in revenues over the previous year.
In response, a third of respondents said they had cut their budgets in 2009. . . .
To read the entire report click here.
So, what do you think? Why aren't congregations more involved in urban development and renewal efforts?
17 comments:
I had assumed that churches would struggle as more people shifted their tithes towards ministries that fed the poor... yet a report on overall giving in 2008 showed that charities serving the poor raised less money than in 2007.
From my perspective, this speaks to the fact that people expect their church to be supporting such ministries. If you asked the average member of any church in America how much their church donated to the poor, they would likely answer something like "at least a tithe -- 10%."
How many churches would pass the test?
It seems that "churches" are more interested in the edifice than the poor.
I am appalled at the plan to spend $130M for a new church in downtown Dallas. If churches have that kind of money, they ought to be paying taxes -- and doing what it says to do in the Bible.
I don't know how many churches actual spend 10% on the poor, but I read a few years ago that the average is about 3%.
It appears to me that the lack of church support for CDM is due to;
1. The generally secular nature of your ministry
2. The profusion of extreme left politics in your personal philosophy
3. Liberation Theology advocacy
It appears to me that people like anonymous 1:05 have a lack of understanding due to:
1. The assumption all Christians have to be Republicans
2. the belief that christian ministry and caring for the poor involves beating them over a head with a Bible until you've killed the body and saved their "soul"
3. the senseless demonizing of concepts such as liberation theology, without understanding what they really mean
I agree with anon.1:05.
I have never heard you say anything good about our system of government which has made us, up until now at least, the most phosphorus country in the world. People from other countries risk their lives to get to our shores. But what do you praise? The likes of Van Jones, Saul Rules for Radicals Alinsky and that Liberation Theology guy, Cone, I believe. There are many more.
Our congregation does a lot for the poor, especially in Haiti and other third world countries where there is much less social mobility.
Trillions of dollars have been spent on the poor in the last 50 years and it too many cases it has made them dependent on government for many generations. Perhaps Lyndon Johnson didn't do them a favor.
And by the way, the guy you shed tears of joy over after being elected president is trying his best to tear it all down. He wants everyone to be dependent on government in order to maintain power. It's not about health care.
I always knew there was something illuminating about chris... she's so phosphorus.
But seriously... this is a democracy. People can talk politics and vote to change the government... there's nothing anti-government about it. No reason to be a sore loser -- we had eight years of Our Holy Savior of the Bush ruling this country.
Appreciate all of the comments, even those I don't agree with; but it is true, and has been for a long time, that most congregations (and there are notable exceptions)don't devote much of their revenue to assisting the poor who are just outside their doors.
BTW--this blog is mine, not CDM's. My opinions and statements here are mine and mine alone and don't represent the beliefs or the values of the organization.
One last comment for Anon 1:05; our ministry is far, far from secular--come visit us; my politics are not far left and the basis for any criticism I may have regarding conditions in American cities arises from my love for our nation and our people, a nation where things change via persuasion and honest debate; Liberation Theology has much to offer in terms of how scripture can be read through the eyes of the extremely poor around the world, just as members of my religious heritage read scripture from a largely rural perspective. I'd be willing to wager that you've never read any primary documents from LT.
My question is this: For church leaders that still believe they will face greater judgment when they stand before the Lord and answer "for the deeds done in the body," how WILL they respond to Jesus about the church's response to "the least of these"? In almost all churches, the budget priorities are NOT set by the members (many members regularly complain about this), but by a small group of leaders that speak for everyone else. In the words of the old hymn, "What will your answer be"?
Anon 1:05 and Chris:
The Bible mentions helping the poor and downtrodden over 2,000 times. As John Wesley said: "The Gospel of Christ knows no religion but social, no holiness but social holiness... You cannot be holy except as you are engaged in making the world a better place. You do not become holy by keeping yourself pure and clean from the world but by plunging into ministry on behalf of the world's hurting ones." --John Wesley, Preface, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. I've said it before: P"The Gospel of Christ knows no religion but social, no holiness but social holiness... You cannot be holy except as you are engaged in making the world a better place. You do not become holy by keeping yourself pure and clean from the world but by plunging into ministry on behalf of the world's hurting ones." --John Wesley, Preface, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739: please don't conflate your politics with the Gospel.
(Sorry, previous post got butchered.)
Anon 1:05 and Chris:
The Bible mentions helping the poor and downtrodden over 2,000 times. As John Wesley said: "The Gospel of Christ knows no religion but social, no holiness but social holiness... You cannot be holy except as you are engaged in making the world a better place. You do not become holy by keeping yourself pure and clean from the world but by plunging into ministry on behalf of the world's hurting ones." --John Wesley, Preface, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. I've said it before: P: please don't conflate your politics with the Gosp
As Jim Wallis has said, and as Larry has argued effectively many times, "Budgets are moral documents."
I repeat my question, "How would churches pass the test?"
It's not about donating to CDM. It's not even about donating to the poor. It's about being a wise steward of the funds that GOd has entrusted to you.
Does building an $100MM+ edifice to the theology of a small group of people better serve the Lord than an alternative use of those funds?
Perhaps.
But I would not want to defend that decision before Jesus.
TAKE A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND CLOAK IT IN A CHRISTIAN FACADE AND THERE YOU HAVE IT .... LIBERATION THEOLOGY!
Where is the "facade" part of that if you're talking about taking the side of the poor? The Bible is clear that God does.
I would argue that's what Chris and others do here regularly: take a policital philosophy and cloak it in a Christian facade and you have neo-conservatism from Jerry Falwell to "W".
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