Christian Book Notes

Stroup, Ben. Church Giving Matters: More Money Really Does Mean More Ministry. Bloomington: Crossbooks, 2009. 110 pp. $12.99. Purchase at Amazon.

Introduction

Ben Stroup has pastored in a small, rural congregation where he learned first hand the importance of having a holistic church giving strategy.  Currently, he serves at LifeWay Christian Resources as the Chief Broker of Opportunity at LifeWay Envelope Service.  He is most gifted in helping them develop and achieve fully-funded working budgets with a long-term sustainability.  You can find more of his thoughts on church giving at his website, Do More Ministry.

Synopsis

While this is a short book (110 pages), there is quite a bit of information packed into the pages.  He divides the book into five chapters.  The first chapter details how we should be aware of the need for stewardship in the area of funding the church.  Chapter two leads the pastor to think “outside the box” in order to build a sustainable funding model which will allow the church to minister in the same community for many years to come.

The third chapter is perhaps the most sobering of the five chapters.  Stroup challenges the pastor to better relate to the congregation in the pew.  Unfortunately, the church has become simply one more option for a monetary donation.  Why should Joe Christian choose to send his money to the church instead of charity X?  In today’s climate, and in most churches, the pastor cannot simply say “the Bible says so” and that be the end of the discussion.  A quote from the book that strikes to the heart of the issue in many churches is

Many people who see their pastors and staff members driving nicer cars and living in nicer neighborhoods than they could ever dream of affording themselves struggle to adopt the worldview that they must give their tithe to the church.  So these people respond in silence to the pleas from the pulpit to give, give, give.  (43)

Chapter four offers a crash course on “what they didn’t teach you in seminary.”  Ben shows how the pastor is not just called to preach and shepherd, but he is called to be a fund-raiser out of necessity whether he is ready or not.  The concluding chapter is chiefly concerned with stewardship and how we need to do more than just hope and pray that the money will come.

Critique & Recommendation

Ben Stroup tackles an extremely sensitive and tough subject in a short amount of space.  He swiftly dispels of many myths regarding the raising of money and sustaining your church’s mission well beyond your years.  He also offers many tips on how to improve your ability to raise that money.  Look, I realize that many in the church today think that all the church wants is money, but truth be told, the church needs the money of the person sitting in the pew in order to have a pew to sit in!

While it seems that at times Ben leaves no room for God to work in all of this, he is actually offering advice on how God is working through the various methods of raising money.  We know God is a God of means (Romans 10:14-15) and it is high time that we apply that same theology to the importance of giving to the local church. This book is recommended to all in pastoral leadership as it forces the minister to take a hard look at a subject that he normally tries to avoid like the plague.