Another Myth Bites the Dust
by the Rev’d Quintin Morrow
"The church is always asking for money." That apparent truism has been proclaimed loud enough and long enough by enough people that many take it for gospel truth. It isn't. It is a myth. And it is a myth that's about to bite the dust.
It is in fact the world that is always asking for money, not the church. When did you last go to the grocery store and the checker failed to ask you for money? Your mortgage company asks for money with unfailing regularity. If you are like most people. each month brings with it a new collection of bills. Are any from the church? Who withholds a percentage of every dollar you earn? Your Uncle Sam does that. Your heavenly Father does not.
There is no free lunch-except at church. You can attend worship services every week and no admission fee is charged. If you are sick, one or more of the clergy will visit you in the hospital and no bill arrives for services rendered. Where else can you get free counseling when you need it? Several hundred of you receive a church newsletter each week. Not one receives a subscription notice asking for money as with other publications.
What do yon do when a loved one dies? The funeral home will certainly charge you for its services. Your church will not. The church building will always be there when you need it-clean, heated and with kitchen and nursery provided. You make full use of all the church's facilities and rarely pay a dime. No one will even know whether you contribute or not.
You have to pay taxes to provide your children with ''free'' public education, but your church operates a Sunday school that gives a quality Christian education with absolutely no cost or obligation. The church requires no membership fee and no annual dues. It never sends its members a bill. Is there any other organization in the world that functions this way? I don't know of any. You see, the truth is the church asks for money LESS than any one else you can thinker.
Consider this paradox. Compared tithe government and bill collectors, the church almost NEVER asks for money. Yet of all the things your money might be used for, very few are more important than what the church provides.
The church is here to share the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. Our money goes to serve Him. And we will continue to provide ministry in Jesus' name to everyone. whether they can afford to contribute or not.
“The church is always asking for money." Phooey. That myth bites the dust.
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Taken from Saint Andrew’s MESSENGER (Volume 21, Number 28), Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, Texas, September 7, 2001.
