Greedy "Holy" Men
Religion can be big money for the elite, but does it have to be that way?

by Benjamin Cheek

Modern-day prophets make me uneasy.  Too often it seems their message eventually comes down to the bottom line: "Give me your money, and God will bless you."  Not that they're just God's tax collectors -- they promise amazing blessings to those who comply in full faith.  In a consumerist society, their message seems to sell surprisingly well, as evidenced by huge complexes, expensive media ministries, fancy suits, and private jets.  But, on the other hand, the real cost might be in damage done to trusting but less fortunate followers and credibility for the rest of the religious world.  In an age where people are increasingly skeptical of religious institutions and clergy, especially concerning soliciting and handling donations, any hint of greed could turn people off from the church and the Christian message.

I'm not the only one casting a skeptical eye on these contemporary prophets. J. R. Taylor columnist for NY Press recently attended a $500-a-plate breakfast thrown by Manhattan prophet Bishop E. Bernard Jordan ("How the Prophets Profit," NY Press, vol. 17, num. 42: http://nypress.com/17/42/news&columns/jrtaylor.cfm).  The breakfast featured Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.  Hansen was promoting his new book, Chicken Soup for the African-American Soul, alongside his One Minute Millionaire detailing how to become instantly wealthy by purchasing tax liens.  Also at the head table was Reverend Run, former DJ of Run-DMC, who recently pledged his support of Bishop Jordan with the gift of a $325k Rolls Royce (see a photo essay about Bishop Jordan on the Times Herald-Record website: http://www.recordonline.com/photo/bishop/pages/ejgbhom1.htm).

Taylor labels Jordan, senior pastor of Zoe Ministries, a "pay for pray operator" who is willing to intercede in prayer for the bargain donation of $150 or more.  Even through the internet, Jordan will "prophecy to you" in streaming audio for only $50.  Or you can have the entire "script" of your life revealed for $365.  Who's buying?  According to Jordan's website, "businessmen, political officials, celebrities and churches are numbered among the thousands who have consulted Bishop Jordan for counsel and direction."  In fact, "thousands of people attribute their success, prosperity, health and happiness directly to the master teachings of Bishop E. Bernard Jordan."

Reading Taylor's column brought back memories of when I spent time in Hendersonville, TN, working for a large church just a few miles from Trinity Broadcasting Network's Music City compound.  Trinity has a reputation for preaching a "health and wealth" gospel, with miracles always on tap to convince the audience and solicit donations.  The preachers call donations "sowing seed" for your "harvest of blessings," which is explained to be guaranteed miracles, financial or otherwise.  Frequently, weary travelers would arrive in our church office on their way back home to trailer parks and low-budget apartments.  They had been to Music City and had "sowed" all they had in one of the boisterous shows.  Now they needed gas money to get their rag-tag vehicles home.  It made me feel sick to think that someone could be taking advantage of the poor in this way: promising miracles if they held nothing back financially.  I was even sicker when I found out that the information desk at Music City was referring out-of-luck individuals down the road to other churches.

I have felt that sick feeling before.  Once on a weekend visit, my brother-in-law took me through some of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Memphis.  I couldn't help but notice several Casino buses trolling along the main drags.  I asked him about it and he said, "Yeah.  It's Friday: payday.  The Casinos always send out buses on payday."  Visit the Casinos at Tunica, and you won't be surprised to find they offer check cashing on the premises.  Some Casinos even cash welfare checks or have ATM's where welfare recipients can receive benefits instantly -- and walk a few feet to slot machines or game tables.

"Health and wealth" TV-evangelists might just fit the category of other cons like Casinos that feed off the poor.  Both could be capitalizing on poverty's "cycle of hopelessness."  This cycle causes many in situations of poverty to believe that nothing short of a miracle can change their situation.  The fact that some make it, either through the "health and wealth" gospel, the lottery, or the even professional sports, only makes matters worse.  Most people are willing to ignore that their chances are slim because it's easier to hope for the miracle than work yourself free.  That's why there's no shortage of inner-city teens on the basketball court perfecting their shot and long lines at convenience stores when the jackpot's high, while job training centers in the 'hood struggle for pupils.

Over and over, as I've worked with people in poverty, the "cycle of hopelessness" and easy-money cons have taken their toll.  Many people are unmotivated to work on real solutions because they feel like their day will come.  Some were dissatisfied when I would pray for God to bless them with work.  They wanted "miracle money" just like the TV preachers promised.  One single mother was on church support, which covered her rent and utilities, but she kept falling further behind.  Eventually church workers discovered she was squeezing every penny just to play high-stakes Bingo -- a strategy she thought would work better than the church's offer to help her find employment.  It wasn't surprising to find out she was also "sowing seed" into a TV preacher as well.  What could be better than Bingo?  Gambling with God!

In defense of "health and wealth" preachers, some may point out that it's not only the poor that respond to their messages.  They may argue that the demographics of their churches and audiences are representative of the broader culture in general.  Also in their defense, "health and wealth" has worked for many people, and there is no shortage of testimonies to this fact.  Similar arguments are used by lottery boards and Casinos.  However, opponents of gambling state that the highest cost may be in people making easy-money their "economic message."  The American infrastructure was built largely on a strong American work-ethic.  People understood that hard work paid off.  Easy-money like gambling sends an entirely different message that may have huge ramifications.  In the same way, the higher cost of "health and wealth" is not people getting ripped-off.  Instead, the cost is a growing cultural skepticism that equates "health and wealth," and greed in general, with the Christian message.

Skepticism is also rising of the less theatrical side of Christendom.  Churches and charities are trying to cope with a smaller base of support and more competition for donation dollars as American society continues to secularize.  In a given year, almost two out of five adults give nothing to churches or religious charities.  Even in churches, Christians are giving less: only 2.6% of their income on average.  Although complicated by higher living costs and greater personal debt, this trend signifies that people are finding more reasons not to give.  If they do give, people prefer giving to causes that directly benefit needy people, rather than giving to support aging institutions with big property and staff bills.

Churches and institutions struggling to make their budgets often respond to the shrinking support base by pleading for donation dollars on a moral basis.  The Bible contains no shortage of sermon texts on giving, and the negative consequences of holding back.  Using these texts, preachers and church leaders remind congregations of the responsibility to give, the blessings promised for giving, and the judgment waiting for those who do not give.  These messages, combined with an overall "greedy" image of Christianity, have lead some to remark, as one nominal Catholic non-church-goer, "all churches want is your money."  This leads many to discount church all together, and see Jesus' message of love and hope to a hurting world as a recruiting slogan to rope in more mindless cash-cows. 

Many skeptics would be surprised to find out that Christianity didn't start this way.  In the beginning there were no money-hungry power-preachers and no needy budget-driven institutions.  Jesus, founder of the Christian faith, was a poor, homeless, wandering preacher.  True, he lived on financial gifts from friends, but he never in any teaching in the Bible solicited funds.  Not that the people of his day would have thought such a message was unusual: it was common place for teachers and public speakers to ask for or even demand donations.  But Jesus was radical.  When he talked about giving, the message was almost always to give to the poor and needy, and never to receive a cent himself. 

Jesus' tradition was continued by many of his followers into the first century of Christian history.  Paul, the missionary who helped to spread the message about Jesus throughout the Roman Empire, worked to pay his own way on most of his missionary trips.  He was a tent-maker who earned an honest living and even supported missionary workers he brought with him.  Some churches did give him financial gifts, but these were always voluntary and Paul was not dependent on such income.  In fact, Paul, who mentioned he had a right to be paid for his work, refused to make demands for money in order to not place anything in the way of the Christian message.

Churches who require or encourage regular giving to support the institutions and programs of organized religion often use Paul's letters to churches as justification.  These letters contain references to practices of Christian giving and collections.  However, the only recorded collections of the early church in the Bible were to help the economically devastated population of Jerusalem.  Search the Bible, and you can find no New Testament texts on tithing for church membership or any kind of required giving to support religious institutions or clergy.

The principles of the Bible combined with contemporary culture are calling for wide-spread reform in religious finances.  Religious workers should have absolutely pure motives when they work with people: money should never enter into the equation.  Grace, the central concept of the Christian message, was freely bought, not with devotee dollars, but with the sacrifice of Jesus.  Therefore, grace, in all its forms, should still be free.   Religious institutions should regain a mission-driven attitude and should streamline budgets so more dollars go to doing good and not supporting the institution itself.  Both workers and institutions need to listen to church-goers and non-church-goers alike as to what they deem is good and honest use of funds and appropriate ways to ask for help.

Some current reforms are already underway.  Many Christian movements are calling for a resurgence of bi-vocational or self-supported Christian workers.  These workers receive only part-time church support, or no support at all.  They fund their ministries by working full or part-time jobs.  They may be supported during times of intense training or during start-up periods which require more time-investment, but eventually they transition to paying their own way, at least in part.

Hand-in-hand with this idea is a current trend to get believers directly involved in ministry.  This idea, sometimes termed "lay-ministry," points out that the Christian message makes every believer a missionary.  Rather than requiring "elite Christians" who are religious professionals, this system transfers the work of ministry back into the hands of everyday individuals, saving on salaries and giving eager Christians a chance to "get their hands dirty."  Often, such "lay ministry" movements free up personal finances to be spent directly on helping people.  Instead of giving to a church or institution that will use up to 90% of funds on self-maintenance and administration, believers are trained to use their own money to directly effect their needy neighbors in lasting ways.

Where full-time workers are needed, many movements are requiring them to be sponsored by outside individuals and organizations.  This "missionary-type" support system benefits Christian workers and the individuals and churches they work with.  This system removes the conflict of interest that occurs when workers are dependent on their congregations or clients for support.  Most of these workers are salaried to prevent such problems as greed and to protect people from donations-for-grace or "health and wealth" arrangements.

One of the most advanced movements employing these types of reforms has been termed the "organic" or "simple" church movement.  Organic or Simple churches are generally people-based faith communities, rather than building-based, institution-based, or program-based.  These churches keep full-time religious professionals to a minimum; they may not use full-time workers at all.  Most churches meet in homes or public spaces eliminating the over-head of buildings or rental spaces.  This equals a maximum of funds available to do what they were originally intended for: helping those in need.  Even when organizations or combined approaches to problems are needed, organic churches form minimalist networks to handle the job -- keeping bureaucracy, institutional dependence, and wealth-seeking leaders out of the equation.

For the sake of the Christian message -- which in it purest form is about giving to the world, not taking from it -- such reforms should continue and intensify.  As contemporary culture continues to hunger for grass-roots, servant-leadership and opportunities to effectively do good in the world, churches and church workers should feel free to selflessly reconsider how they ask for and use money.  They should follow in the footsteps of Paul, who would let no self-interest get in the way of the message.  And they should ultimately conform to the image of their leader, Jesus, who above all, came to give grace freely.