The Scriptures teach that materialism is risky, and can cause many harms. See, e.g., Eccl. 5:10-12 ( “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” [NIV]). Sermons about the risks of materialism are not uncommon. But is it possible for churches to become so materialistic that, like individuals, churches can be harmed by their own materialism? In our society, if we can comfortably prosecute corporations for criminal acts, if we can accuse corporations of greed, then is it so hard to believe that a local church, or even a denomination, can spiral out of control into materialism?
Even though the salaried clergy in a given church might not be materialistic in an individual sense, and might even preach against greed with great fervor, churches can still become both acquisitive and aggregators of wealth. One wag claimed that all church budgets are approved by voice vote. How often are larger sanctuaries bypassed in favor of ministering to the poor? How often are church budgets themselves tithed to missions and to aid the poor?
Isn’t it a fact that most evangelical church growth results in the abandonment of neighborhoods in a quest for the larger church on larger grounds? Why doesn’t church growth spawn new churches rather than larger buildings and grounds? It is because it is easier to raise money for brick and mortar than for programs and people.
I am not suggesting that expanding church facilities is always bad. But I am suggesting that it is always bad if the growth is accomplished at the sacrifice of higher values, like duties to needy people, evangelism and missions. The church, no less than its members, is commanded to be rich in good deeds, not assets (1 Tim. 6:18). Jesus condemned the false righteousness of those who fail to care for their own parents by claiming that the money that should have been spent to care for parents was unavailable because it had been dedicated to God (Luke 7:11-13). No less would Jesus condemn an expensive church building erected and “dedicated to God,” while needs of members, the community and the world are disregarded and unmet.
If finding the balance is hard, then the church should make the equation easy by erring in favor of meeting the needs of others and disregarding its own desires. If it is a close question, it is because of hard-heartedness brought on by materialism, rather than any desire to glorify Christ. If a church needs a cathedral to glorify Christ, the church will never glorify Christ and will never worship Him in the cathedral built of brick and mortar, because they have not first and foremost worshipped Him in spirit.
There may be some objective tests. Terry and I discussed some possible indicators of church materialism, although I take full responsibility for what follows.
1. If the church budget is not public, and less than 10% of the gross is devoted to the poor and less than a second 10% is devoted to missions (foreign or domestic), the materialism is probably rampant. A church that cannot even tithe should not be asking its members to do so.
2. If the church mortgage exceeds 25% of the average monthly income of the church, then the church has probably emphasized brick and mortar over people. Individuals are rarely allowed by the financial services industry to have a mortgage that exceeds 25% of their monthly income, so why should a church be different?
3. Most charities live and die by the rule that administrative expenses must not exceed 20% of income and that 80% must be used for the charitable purposes. Churches should live and die by a similar rule. Each church must develop its own version, but it would seem that an 80-20 rule, where 20% is devoted to missions and the poor, would seem to be a reasonable minimum standard. Should churches seek and receive “certification†of their stewardship, just as charities are certified as legitimate charities? Someday churches will seek such voluntary certification because highly mobile members will demand it.
4. Materialistic churches will confuse vacations with mission field ministry.
5. Materialistic churches will be prone to being personality dependent, focused only on the worship service as the main expression of their faith, and will count numbers but names and lives will never be fully known.
