1 Tim. 3:14-15 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
What is “the Church?” What is a church? When was the last time you gave that question much (any?) thought? These days, most people don’t give the idea much, if any, thought at all. And that’s not just people in dead and dying denominations like the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, USA, or the Presbyterian Church, USA, who close thousands of churches a year because they jettisoned the Bible half a century ago or longer. This includes so-called “Bible Teaching Churches” or “Evangelical Churches.”
Many confuse “Christianity” or Christendom with the Church or a Church. College students think that attending a Bible study on campus or participating in CRU, InterVarsity, is “church.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. In reality, these should be, or once were, evangelistic organizations trying to reach college students. Now, these parachurch organizations act as if they are the church, or they are churches. They are not… not even close. For one, they are often student-led, which means no one is qualified as an elder or spiritual leader. Second, they have to be so broad that they don’t stand for much “convictionally” except the gospel, and most aren’t sure what the gospel is particularly CRU.
Parachurch organizations… What does that mean? Supposedly, they are supposed to “come alongside the church.” That’s what is implied by the Greek word “para.” In reality, most do not. They have bloated bureaucracies. They have “staff.” They need money… lots of it. They have boards and donor relations (like a museum). What once began as associations of churches coming together for a common cause morphed into something that was unaccountable to the local church, siphoned off resources from the local church, and competed with the local church for people, resources, etc. They are almost like denominations. All these once served the local church, but now, in some odd way, the local church serves them.
What they don’t realize is that as they drain off the blood supply from the local church, they are sawing off the limb that they are sitting on. Where do their administrators come from? The local Church. Where do seminary professors and denominational officials come from? The local church. Where did their seed money come from? The local church.
Who makes this sad state of affairs possible? The local church. What is the local church? People who confuse it with a charity like the United Way, Compassion International, or the Humane Society.
The Church is something else according to Paul, according to Jesus. It is the pillar and support of the truth, it is Christ’s bride. All too often, people “rob Peter to pay Paul by diverting their giving to parachurch organizations that are not the church but maybe Christian charities from the church. Buildings fall apart, staff is underpaid, ministries are understaffed, and people become frustrated because the church isn’t doing enough.
You give to ministries through the church. You don’t give to ministries and the church. Each local congregation prioritizes its missionaries, its outreaches, etc. These priorities are approved or rejected by church leadership. And the church supports ministries outside the church in this way. Why? Because they have access to more facts and real needs than you do as an individual. The aggregated giving makes a greater impact than your individual giving can. We call this storehouse giving.
If you can’t trust your leadership to do this, then you should diligently find a church whose leadership you can trust and move your ministry there. If your church isn’t making “budgeting giving” and you are giving outside the church, then you’ve clearly misunderstood the church and your responsibility to the church. When your church is running surpluses, then you can give above your support (tithes, offerings, etc.) if you must give outside the local church.
When the church doesn’t know what it is, people neglect their support of the local church (that’s financial support). Invariably, the 20% carries the ball for the other 80% in giving. If you’re in the 80% it’s time to do your part, giving wise. If you are in the 20%—don’t give more. Let these others do their part.
An old pastor friend of mine, a mentor, really began making it a practice to check the service and the giving of chronic complainers. What do you think he learned? 90% of the time, those most dissatisfied (those who complained the most) served the least and gave the least, if at all. I was aghast and challenged him on this. He asked me for chapter and verse for my position. “Well, I said… it just seems wrong!,” I said.
He smiled and said something about the squeaky wheel. Then he told me to try it. I employed this practice once only to find this individual I was dealing with who could not be satisfied: (1) did little in the way of service; (2) had lifetime giving over 15 years of under $300. He clearly didn’t know what the church was. He thought the church was there to serve him, not realizing that, as the church, he was here to serve others. The Church is not a country club. It doesn’t belong to you. You belong to it as a slave of Christ. Jesus gives us the proper mindset in Luke’s gospel:
Luke 17:7-10 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Take some time to read your Bible and understand the Church. Want to read a book about a healthy church? Read “9 Marks of a Healthy Church” by Mark Dever. And when you’ve done all you can as the church to understand the church, realize that at best, you and I, in Jesus’ eyes, are unworthy servants who have only done our duty (see above). But by His grace we are saved to serve, give, and sacrifice in your local church. Think about it.