I have a question about how the Lord's money is spent; why do we spend it on the upkeep of a church building?  I don't really see any example of that in the Scriptures...

 

Sincerely,
Maintenance Crew

Dear Maintenance Crew,

The Bible never specifically addresses a congregation having a building, but it does command them to assemble together (Heb 10:25).  Whenever God commands us to do something, anything necessary to fulfill that command is also authorized.  For example, if you ask a child to go and get a glass of water, they are automatically authorized to go into the kitchen where the water and glasses are kept, even though the kitchen is never specifically mentioned in the command.

The church is commanded to assemble at least every first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1, Acts 20:7).  Every congregation must individually decide where that will be.  They may choose to meet in a house, a park, a rented hall… or they may choose to purchase and upkeep a building.  All of these are viable options that a congregation may decide to use.  The key is that they are required to assemble somewhere – it isn’t optional.  They must have somewhere to meet, and, therefore, must make a decision.  Whatever finances are needed for the upkeep, rental, or purchase of a meeting place for the congregation may come from the church’s treasury.

In answer to a previous question, you said: "The church’s work should be simple. The church of the first century wasn’t involved in every community and political arena. Their work was focused on three things – caring for needy christians (Acts 4:34), preaching to the lost, and teaching the saved (Acts 15:35)."

My church wants to sponsor a speaker to speak (it’s a lecture, not preaching) inside of our church building.  We would charge an entrance fee (or ask for a certain donation) and would pay the speaker for his time, accommodations, and travel expenses.  My conscious is deeply violated by this idea, and I believe it is unethical to have this forum in the church building itself - I don't mind if it is in a convention center or hotel or other location.  I will not be attending this lecture, but I feel like if my church does host this speaker, I can't go there and support them without violating my conscience.  What are your thoughts on this?

Sincerely, Conscientious Objector

Dear Conscientious Objector,

A church doing this doesn’t just violate your conscience; it violates God’s laws. The church of the first century wasn’t interested in the things of this world, nor was it involved in furthering secular education and studies. Jesus even said that His kingdom, the church, was not of this world (Jhn 18:36). The church and any teaching it does should impart spiritual guidance to people (Rom 15:27). This trend of congregations getting wrapped up in earthly knowledge, politics, etc. is indeed unethical.

Furthermore, the congregation is using this speaker as a fundraiser! The Bible only provides one way for the church to garner funds – with a collection made every Sunday from amongst its own members (1 Cor 16:1). Bake sales, entrance fees, garage sales, etc. are not Biblical ways for the church to acquire money. Far too often, churches have gotten so wrapped up in how to bring in more money that they are perpetually holding their hand out, begging, demanding, and selling themselves to increase their finances. “Mega-churches” and televangelists are just an extreme form of the epidemic that is sweeping through religion. Instead of giving the gospel away for free, they are selling it to the highest bidder! Simon was swiftly rebuked for this attitude (Acts 8:20), and any church today that tries to “drum up” funds rather than trust the faithful contribution of its members each Lord’s day should be rebuked just as harshly.

This congregation has a serious problem and has made an obvious decision to disregard some of the most basic teachings on the church; you are right to be upset with them. AskYourPreacher recommends that you ask your preacher where he gets the authority for the choices they are making and then swiftly leave unless they change their ways (see “Finding A Church” for help where to go if things don’t improve).

I am considering joining a particular church, but for some reason, it doesn't have elders.  I understand that elders are being determined, but I have had contact with this place for about a year, and nothing has happened.  I like the church and the people, but I'm not sure what to think about no one being "in charge."  What does the Bible say about this?

Sincerely, Looking For Leadership

Dear Looking For Leadership,

Elders are God’s intended leadership for a congregation, but many congregations are too young or small to have men who meet the qualifications of 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. This happened in the first century churches as well. Paul and Barnabas went around helping set up elders in congregations that had already been in existence for several years - which implies that those congregations had been functioning without elders (Acts 14:23). Paul told Titus to help appoint elders in the congregations throughout the island of Crete (Tit 1:5), also implying that they didn’t have elders.

Prior to that, a congregation would have been led by the men of the congregation because, in other verses, we see that the leadership of the church was their responsibility (1 Tim 2:12, 1 Cor 14:34). That leadership would have been bound to follow the Bible just as much as an eldership. Every congregation is “commended to the Lord and His Word” (Acts 20:32). An eldership has the benefit of being a smaller group that is able to make faster, more decisive, and wiser decisions… but a congregation can hobble along without one for a time. If a congregation doesn’t have an eldership because it is unable to find qualified men to serve in that capacity, then you can feel comfortable worshipping with them. If they simply have decided they want a different leadership structure than the one God has designed (like a board of trustees, a counsel, headquarters back in Salt Lake City, etc.), that is an entirely different matter.

How do you feel about letting the Pastor know that some people he has in leadership - worship leading and youth group - are drinking alcohol on the side while posting their publicly drunken pictures on the internet? Would it be wrong to bring this to his attention? I might add that this couple is in the "Pastor’s clique." This has been something breaking my soul, knowing that these people have been on stage lifting their hands, praising God on Sunday, and teaching impressionable teens who have access to these pictures -- then they are in bars and at parties on Saturday night. Am I sinning knowing it's happening and saying nothing? Pastors shouldn't even have "circles or cliques", right? Please pray and help. I am broken.

Sincerely, Caught In The Middle

Dear Caught In The Middle,

Yes, you must say something about it. For the sake of addressing the main purpose of your question and not getting distracted, we aren’t going to deal with the issue that your congregation is led by a single pastor, but we recommend you read “Elders” to better understand the problem of a congregation being led by one man. After that, ask your pastor where in the Bible he can find an example of a congregation being led by a single pastor.

Back to the topic, though. Your specific question dealt with whether or not to say something when you know someone else is sinning. If you know there is sin in your congregation, you must address it. Paul condemned the Corinthians because they allowed someone to flagrantly live a life of sin and remain amongst them (1 Cor 5:1-2). God tells us that if our brother sins, we must confront him privately (Matt 18:15). If that doesn’t work, bring one or two others with you and confront him again (Matt 18:16). If that still doesn’t work – bring it to the leadership of the congregation, and if he still won’t repent, then the congregation is to withdraw from him (Matt 18:17). You have a responsibility to make the sin known for the sake of the person’s soul and for the sake of the spiritual health of the others that they influence.

Some sins we commit when we act the wrong way, and sometimes we sin because we failed to act. If you know someone is openly sinning (and especially if you have evidence, like in your case), you must act. God requires it of you, and if the congregation won’t act as God intends… I recommend reading “Finding A Church”.

While visiting a congregation in Hawaii, they announced having a birthday lunch celebration in their building after services. They invited visitors. We chose not to take part in this. Is having lunch in the church building right or wrong?

Sincerely, It’s Not My Birthday

Dear It’s Not My Birthday,

It’s wrong unless having the lunch is specifically a part of something the church is meant to focus on… and celebrating birthdays isn’t something the church is meant to focus on. The work of a congregation is a very important subject because what a congregation does tells you what is important to them. Most of us have seen churches that are merely social organizations. These groups talk about Jesus, but they are really only interested in having fun and making people feel good. Christ’s church needs to do what Christ wants it to do. It isn’t about what makes us happy, but about what makes Him happy. We are here to do God’s work (Jhn 4:34). If we want to be God’s church, we need to be busy doing what His church did in the Bible. That means we only spend the church’s time, money (the building is part of the church’s money), and effort on things that we can read about the church doing in the Bible. There are only four things we see the church of Jesus Christ doing.

1. Caring for needy christians. The church has the right and responsibility to spend its time and money to help take care of christians that are suffering financially (Acts 4:35, Acts 6:1, Acts 11:28-30).
2. Teach christians. Any congregation that belongs to Jesus has to teach christians about God’s Word, so they will grow and mature in Christ (Eph 4:11-13, 1 Cor 4:17, Acts 15:35). They also have the right to support preachers and elders who are dedicating themselves to teaching (1 Tim 5:17-18).
3. Preaching to the lost. Perhaps the greatest responsibility of a congregation is to bring the gospel to those who are dead in their sins (Acts 11:26). The church is supposed to preach to the lost because mankind will go to hell without the Bible’s saving words (Rom 1:16).
4. Worship God. The church is supposed to assemble together (Heb 10:25) and worship God. They do this by singing (Col 3:16), praying (Acts 12:5), studying (Acts 2:42), taking the Lord’s Supper on Sunday (Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection on Sunday (1 Cor 16:1).

This is the stuff that Jesus wants His church to be doing. If we aren’t doing that (or if we are doing stuff other than that) – we are no longer His church. His church does what He wants, not what it wants. Everything a church does needs to somehow be specifically involved in furthering one of those four tasks. A church-sponsored birthday party doesn’t fit into those categories. Birthday parties are great, but they aren’t what Jesus’ church is here for.