DON’T PREACH – DON’T EAT!

Since I started in ministry at a very young age (26) I had opportunity to be around a lot of ministers and ministries through the years. I heard more times than not some say, If you don’t preach, you don’t eat!

I understood what they were saying, but I could not grab hold of that concept. I have seen over the years the financial ruin that has come to some ministers, especially those who traveled when sickness or other tragedy hit their lives. These kind of situations seem to justify this statement.

I have also seen what has happened to ministers who have aged or in nursing homes and the church as a whole has forgotten about them, leaving them destitute. I have also witnessed the spouses who were left to fend for themselves when their mates transitioned.

I have a heart and a tender spot people may not believe I possess. In the midst of these situations I am very understanding. Nonetheless, this attitude of connecting preaching with the money is not correct. We have been trained that your job may be running an enterprise, your own business or working for Walmart. The assumption, then is that my job is preaching.

Taking the message of the Kingdom of God to people is my work, not my job. When I heard these statements, especially from ministers I considered mature in the faith, I did not harshly judge them. I just made a decision to find out what was the better way to live. Would I die as a pauper? Should I have a retirement fund? Should I have a savings account. I had heard some ministers preach against all of these things.

I do not believe it is wrong to have a retirement fund or a savings account. I do believe that a lot to do with finances is how we have been taught in the church without understanding the finances of the Kingdom and what that financial culture would look like.

I do not want to challenge how you handle your finances or where your finances come from that allow you and your family to live. That is not the point of this writing. I want to challenge all of us on our thinking concerning finances. I know of no minister that did not start ministry with a great dream, idea and very little money, if any, to get started. Through the development of trusting God many of us are further along than we would have been without it. Few of us had millionaires backing our endeavors and if you were anywhere close to where I was, digging in the sofa for enough to complete a roll of pennies was not uncommon. We’ve had the phones turned off, walked when cars would not run and then ran them on bald tires.

Yet with all that we can say, look at how many of us have done more than survived. I went from living in a rat and roach infested house to living decent and owning my own home for the last twenty years. What we must think about is have we become dependent on the source being our ability to earn the money, receive an offering or own our businesses? Some of you may say no, that you still believe God is your source of economic streams. To be honest most people do not really know where they are until a crisis unexpectedly falls at your door and you have not been steady in faith development because there has been a stream available for quite a while.

The economic times in our world at this writing is quite volatile. It will not remain steady, but will continue to become even more unstable. I began thinking in these terms thirty years ago. Holy Spirit showed me the future of our financial and healthcare system and instructed me to begin preparing the people I was pastoring at the time for the future. I did prepare them to the best of my ability. I taught the word of God concerning finances, health and the necessity for good relationships in the home and in the body of Christ. I attempted to demonstrate in my own life what I was teaching. I knew they would not remember all I would teach, but they could see by example. Over a period of time I became more conscious of my natural health and set out to take better care of my body.

I was not as successful as I would have liked to have been because I had a fluctuating weight problem. When I did have opportunity for sickness I did not deny the sickness, but I denied its right to be there and I stood my ground until I was healed. I never required this of the people, but I wanted to lead in this endeavor so they could see how it could be done.

I never required them to make their children suffer illnesses without the care of the medical profession. However, they learned how to pray for themselves and their children and discovered their sicknesses did not last as long as in the past. We had families with children who were diagnosed with all types of illness to be adults today without those problems Some saw instant healings, while others were gradual. My own son has suffered with a respiratory disease for over fifty years and has been discouraged because he has not seen his healing. Yet he has done much in his life that doctors said could not be done with his illness. So, I take that as a miracle in itself.

I watched people come to the church with a great job and wonderful income and a horrible attitude toward those who did not have as much. I watched these same people, through teaching and experience develop a whole new level of compassion for people and instead of ridiculing them for their lack, they began to step in to help in training them….and sometimes giving of substance. I saw people come to our church on welfare or with low paying jobs and too many children to fit in that budget. They soon learned how to properly sow and with wisdom how to handle what they reaped. I had no special program at the church for the poor. We had no clothing closet or food pantry. We learned what Kingdom culture was without insisting on a commune style of living.

I can only remember teaching on tithing, by itself, maybe twice the entire I was a pastor. Yet we had an almost 100% tithing church. Giving was never over-emphasized. It was just of the Kingdom culture. When people went on vacation or for whatever reason could not come to church, they mailed their tithes. I never required it nor did I suggest it. Everything we could give was what we gave. What do I mean by that?

Once we needed some chairs for the sanctuary. The total cost was a little more than $3,000. We did not have a special campaign or fundraiser. We did not involve people who were not part of the church. I took the $3,000 and divided it among the amount of people in the church. Their responsibility was to bring in their portion literally or pray it in. No one complained and we were able to purchase our chairs in record time. There was not a pressure, because the prayer was as essential as the money itself.

I had no special training program for any of this. It all part of “seek ye first the Kingdom and His Righteousness…and all else would be added.”

Over the years everyone did not totally adhere to the practice because they were no longer in the atmosphere that advocated this principle. Nonetheless most have held on to something because none of those who used to attend my church are in a bad place financially or health wise. They are working on their relationships because their families are growing and that growth requires a constant governing of attitudes and remembrance of covenant.

The mindset concerning finances as a whole in the body of Christ must change to the Kingdom way of thinking. If we are not allowed wherever we live to have a job what will we do? If goods are withheld or food limited, what will we do?

We have to develop into a force that walk in being more than conquerors rather than just survivors.

I have a friend who pastored with her husband for many years. He passed just as they completed the work on their new sanctuary. The building of this sanctuary had been financed by a bank. Out of nowhere the bank wanted the building, a demand was made upon the church to pay the mortgage off immediately. They were not able to do that, so the building was re-possessed and the pastor had to file bankruptcy. It was a horrible situation, but the bank was in their rights. This is what happens when we do not read our contracts. Many mortgages are based this way…and you own nothing until the last penny is paid. Some have to put a special clause in the contract to reassure you they will not call in your loan at their whim.

The attitude of “don’t preach, so don’t eat” is not a good attitude when we look at our ministries as a stream of income. It doesn’t mean God cannot use it that way and bless in the process. It is not the reason you do what you do. If so, you will be disappointed when you have to rely upon the faith you were teaching to others that you did not learn yourself.

How have I survived? I have actually been an over-comer because I have the attitude that, first of all, I own nothing. It all belongs to Him and He lets me have what He wants to. Second, I personally see the tithe differently. When I receive money, my first thought is how much does he want me to keep. My giving of tithes from that perspective is always more than ten percent. Ten percent for many people become a law…and then binds up your stream without you realizing it. Third, I have learned to give without a formula, period. I give according to God’s desires and purposes. If He wants me to give money to someone, even if I do not currently have that amount of money, once I agree with His request, the money just comes. I have discovered that He has you to give to people who cannot give it back to you on many occasions. I have learned to listen very carefully. Sometimes it may take me a day or two to be assured of His voice and desire in the situation. But, once I know, I just obey. I quit counting money by percentage a long time ago.

I am not rolling in dough, but every need is continually met…and He often gives me my heart’s desire as well. I do not let people know my personal needs as a manipulative weapon. I like to know that what I receive has come from Father. I have had to learn to listen and see at the same time those through whom He is blessing me or the ministry. Once a woman came up to me and asked how much did I need. She made no clarifications on her question. I told her a small amount…I think it was like $100. After she gave me the money she rebuked me. She said the Lord told her to ask me…and He was prepared to pay off my mortgage. My own pride stopped me from telling her what I needed…and my attempt at humility left me with a debt that actually cost me on moving from one state to another.

Kingdom finances is not the same as the world system. Even when we rely upon formulas we can easily move into the world system’s way of thinking.