Why Christians (Don’t) Give
Reformed Theological Seminary’s Ministry and Leadership has an incredible interview with Notre Dame sociologist, Dr. Christian Smith, about American Christians and giving (or the lack thereof). Smith, along with Michael O. Emerson and Patricia Snell, have written a book titled, Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t give Away More Money. When asked “How would you summarize your conclusions? He says,
If American Christians gave generously, they could generate unbelievable amounts of resources and make a huge influence in the world. But for the most part they don’t. Most American Christians give very little; a significant minority gives nothing. The vast majority of the entire American Christian enterprise, organizationally speaking, is funded by a small minority of generous people. If the number of generous givers was expanded to include most American Christians, they could virtually change the world.
Why do American Christians give so little?
For one, many people have little perspective on how wealthy they are, and view themselves as just getting by. They objectively have the resources to give generously, but subjectively think they don’t. Part of this is that most Americans are not great with finances generally — most people just spend and get into debt. Giving generously requires principled decisions up front, rather than saying, “Let’s just live our lives, and if there’s anything left over, maybe we’ll put it in the offering plate.”
The second factor is that a lot of churches are not as forthright and bold about teaching about these matters as they could be. A lot of pastors are incredibly uncomfortable with the topic, partly because their own salaries are being paid by what’s being given, so it’s seen as selfish fundraising. Some pastors have uneasy consciences about how much they give.
Also, a significant minority of American Christians don’t trust where their money’s going to, or if they do, they never hear what it has accomplished. For people to give generously, it helps them to know, see and hear what they are helping contribute toward. There are so many scandals, so the more transparency and accountability, the better.
In our culture, money is sacred; for some people it can replace God. This is exemplified by a cartoon I’ve seen where a person being baptized by full submersion is all the way under the water except he is holding his wallet above the water. The idea is of somebody becoming a Christian in every part of their life except for their money. But if you read Scripture, the sacredness of money and income in our culture is something that Christianity challenges.
Another question: “What are the implications of your findings on the fulfillment of the church’s gospel mission?”
If American Christians gave generously, it would produce more than $100 billion a year to do whatever the givers wanted to do with it. Any number of things could be done that are not being done now because it’s being spent on other things, some of passing value.
Whether they realize it or not, American Christians have been blessed with unbelievable amounts of wealth compared to Christians throughout church history and the world today. It’s clear scripturally that money matters for people’s lives of faith, and God calls people to good stewardship for His kingdom and not just their own pleasure. There’s a lot of falling down on the job and failing to be faithful, which is a matter of people’s hearts and their basic life commitments. This isn’t a peripheral issue for the soul of American Christianity.
