Sixteen years ago Bill Clinton rode into the White House on the strength of this slogan: “It’s the economy, stupid!” What this meant to Clinton campaign workers was that if they focused on the “worsening” economy, the Presidency was theirs. Because Americans can usually be counted on to vote their pocketbooks, the strategy worked perfectly.
It is not exactly breaking news, but in recent months many churches experiencing a significant decline in tithes and offerings are repeating the Clinton campaign mantra: “It’s the economy, stupid…” (Most of them leave off the stupid part.)
While this is true in many cases, I recently read a book that indicates that a poor economy is not the only culprit behind declining giving.
The premise of “Passing the Plate”, (Smith, Emerson, Snell; Oxford University Press) is that American Christians are rather stingy with their money. The authors make their case with six facts uncovered during a survey taken of pastors and church members across the country:
1 – 20% of all Christians give NOTHING to their church.
2 – The vast majority of American Christians GIVE VERY LITTLE to their church
3 – A small minority of generous church members give most of the support churches receive.
4 – Higher income Christians give no more on a percentage basis than others.
5 – In spite of the increase in income over the 20th century, giving has declined
6 – The vast majority of funds received are spent on local communities and not those in need.
Without question the economic downturn has hurt churches. But it appears that maybe we already had a problem before the bottom fell out. What do you think?
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