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June 27, 2008
Are institutional costs squeezing out ministry?
Those who are critical of the established church believe that too little of the donations received by members goes directly to ministry. Steve Atkerson writes in The Ministry of Giving:
But consider that perhaps it is not the best use of your giving resources for them to be spent on special church sanctuaries, janitorial fees, landscaping, fancy throne-like furniture for pastors to sit in, or eighty thousand dollar pipe organs. Primarily, God intended: to help the needy and to support church workers (missionaries, church planters, apostles, evangelists, qualified elders, etc.).
I think Steve's point of view represents a reactive movement that believes institutions are inherently inefficient and cost too much to operate. From a church perspective, just keeping the building functional is often a significant amount of money. When you add salaries and benefits into the equation, the situation seems to get worse.
I can appreciate where Steve is coming from. I can also make room in my mind to accept the fact that every organization or institution must fight the eternal struggle of escalating administrative costs.
The weakness in his argument comes in the assumption that those administrative costs don't produce any ministry. Yes, ministry staff costs money. Salaries and benefits are always the largest part of any organizations operating expenses. And with the rising cost of health care, this situation won't remedy itself soon....if ever.
But each staff member represents an area of ministry. It's the staff members who visit hospitals and nursing homes, provide counseling and benevolence distribution. It's the staff members who perform weddings and funerals and plan Bible Studies and mission trips.
If just any average person could do these tasks, then we wouldn't have to pay staff members. But as the demands from the people in the pew continue to grow so will the administrative costs of the church. The result is the church's ability to meet the needs of the people.
As churches continue to become more complex organizations, their administrative costs will continue to rise. But so should the church's ministry to the community. The accountability of a church doesn't lie in its ability to limit the growth of adminsitrative costs. The balance of those rising costs is in the results of the ministry of the church itself.
More money really does mean more ministry.
Posted by bstroup at June 27, 2008 1:38 AM
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