CHURCH WEALTH/Counterfeit Reflection

According to a Gemini Search for all Christian Church giving:

“In 2025 the total giving to all Christian churches in America was $146.54 billion, which would rank it as 66 if it were a country making it, roughly, just below the economies of Kenya and Bulgaria.

Most churches follow a standard expenditure model where personnel and facilities account for over 70% of the total budget:

1.) Personnel (Salaries & Benefits): 45–55% — This remains the largest expense for mainline and independent churches.

2.) Facilities & Operations: 20–30% — Includes mortgages, utilities, and building upkeep.

3.) Ministries & Programs: 10–15% — Funds internal programs like youth ministry or congregational events.

4) Missions & Charitable Giving: 10–15% — This portion is specifically allocated for local, national, and global outreach to help those in need.

5.) Benevolence: 3% of the total budget, roughly equivalent to what a church might spend on postage or basic admin.”

TO SUMMARIZE:

The "Nation" of the American church currently allocates roughly 80% of giving (“GDP") to its own internal maintenance. Which actually makes those who give the primary recipients, or beneficiaries, of the majority of all church giving. Yet, most of us still believe such giving is scripturally based and is being given unto God and kingdom advancement.

Yet, in the early church the majority of all giving was given for the benefit of those who were in need (Gemini Search)

:

“The Early Church Economy (1st–3rd Century)

Because the early church operated without the massive overhead of modern institutions, the "daily distribution" was not a line item; it was the mission itself.

1.) No Building Costs: For the first 250 years, Christians met primarily in private homes or public halls. They aggressively avoided building sacred spaces, meaning none of the $146 billion modern equivalent went to mortgages, utilities, or maintenance.

2.) No Professional Salaries: Clergy were generally not paid a fixed wage as they are today. Many leaders, following the example of Paul the tent-maker, worked secular jobs to support themselves so that community funds remained available for those in need.

3.) The "Poor Fund": Early church writers like Justin Martyr and Tertullian recorded that offerings were purely voluntary and placed into a "common fund" used specifically for the common good. This included supporting widows, orphans, the sick, and even Christians imprisoned in mines.

The Shift to Institutional Spending

The transition toward the modern 80/20 spending model began primarily in the 4th century under Emperor Constantine.

1.) Legalization & Patronage: Once Christianity was legalized, the state began funding the construction of elaborate basilicas and cathedrals.

2.) Administrative Growth: As the church grew, special buildings were justified as necessary to accommodate larger crowds and organize daily teaching.

3.) Clergy as Nobility: By the Middle Ages, church leaders were often paid like nobility, and the church became the largest landowner in Europe, shifting the role of the priest from a "table supervisor" to a high-ranking professional.”

A Counterfeit Reflection:

Beginning with donald trump’s first term in office I asked myself why a majority of evangelical Christians would support him, as well as to so faithfully continue to support him. The answer seems simple, now.

First, much of the church believes itself to be a reflection of Jesus because it claims to possess the truth for the only means of salvation: accepting Jesus as the Messiah. Yet, this same church refuses to admit that it could be wrong about anything. In fact, in this respect, it differs little with donald trump’s own refusal to admit, not only his own sinful nature, but also that he is never wrong about anything he says or does. That to admit wrong doing reveals weakness.

Second, trump is known for being transactional as a negotiator, whose "Quid Pro Quo" mentality, or "fee for service" basis, where he unashamedly expects direct benefits for the U.S./himself/his family in exchange for government actions, and seemingly does nothing without basing it on what he will get in return. The church, in turn, which has become an institutionalized business model, in form and function, has made it a system that has become almost entirely transactional in the way it prioritizes performance-oriented programs, measurable results, and consumer-driven experiences over relational discipleship. This approach often reduces faith to a "give-to-get" formula, where attendance, giving, or service is exchanged for spiritual, material, or emotional blessings.

Third, trump’s desire for wealth, power and control is no secret and works hand-in-hand with his transactional, “Quid Pro Quo” fee for service negotiating tactics, but always justifying it as America first, and prosperity for all. Equally so, wealth, power and control, and not necessarily in that order, seems to be far more of the drive of much of the evangelical church today, with the justification being the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth and the spread of the message of salvation through Jesus.

Is it any wonder that so many Christians are willing to ignore donald trump’s, like pursuits, because the more that he gains in all of these the more the belief that the church will gain in all of these, but with the difference being that it will be for the glory of God and the salvation of many. And potentially, the more converts that are made, the more giving units will be added, thus, insuring both our preservation as well as our ability to replicate our business model.

Perhaps, this would explain why the reflection that the evangelical church believes they are reflecting based on this immoveable belief in salvation through Jesus alone, has actually become a reflection of donald trump, not Jesus, and when donald trump looks at the church the only reflection he sees is himself. And the one, and perhaps, the only thing they both have most in common is that neither one will back down, and see/admit this lie for what it is, and be willing to repent.

For the five and a half years that trump has been in office it originally appeared that Evangelical Christians had successfully elected a king. A king not unlike when Israel demanded a king and God finally relented, and gave to them Saul as their king. Which, ironically, ended their theocratic rule.

That conclusion has now changed. It has not been about getting a king, it has been about seeking a reflection of themselves in the presidency and ultimately the nation. And that appears to be why so many, who claim to be Evangelicals, voted for trump and continue to support him: It is because many actually see and hear the church/themselves when they look and hear his words (or what is being reported as his words).

Ultimately, though, it is the belief in a shared world view that may be what is most important, and not the means for bringing about this view. Because, it would appear that the means, regardless of the harm it causes to others, is justified. That is, as long as no harm comes to them in the process. And transactionally, the justification for the bringing about of this extreme, scripturally baseless world view, is the belief that it will serve as the catalyst for Christ’s return

In Luke 18:1 “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2.) He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3.) And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4.) “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5.) yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’ ” 6.) And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7.) And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8.) I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” The fact that Jesus questions whether he will find faith implies that this is a possibility. In James 2 he says that “faith without works/deeds is death just as works/deeds without faith is death.” Because works/deeds are acts of worship according to scripture, not requirements for salvation. If our worship is not scripturally defined and prescribed then our faith is not recognized by God. Which means that if our faith is not being recognized by God what is being reflected is our cruelty because of the harm that we are actually causing to those God has placed in our paths so we might have opportunities to show the same mercy, compassion and love that we claim God has first shown to us.

Continuing in Luke 18, verse 9, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10.) “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11.) The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12.) I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13.) “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14.) “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

It has been my long-held belief that above the din of all the prayers that reach God’s ears the cries of the widows and the fatherless are heard the loudest, and maybe before all others. Like Job who said that he “made the widows hearts to sing with joy,” Are we willing to ask ourselves who’s hearts we are making to sing with joy?

If God does hear the cries of the widows and the fatherless what is he hearing from them today; praise and thanksgiving or hopelessness and despair? And if it is the latter, why? Who else would be responsible for causing them to feel hopelessness and despair if it is not those who claim faith in Jesus?

Jesus came to take away our conditions of spiritual widowhood and fatherlessness, and apart from him, we have no eternal husband, nor do we have a heavenly father. So, to pass by the physical widows and fatherless is to literally deny what we claim he has done on our behalf. Which literally means our faith has actually become one of idolatry/adultery instead of the “pure and undefiled bride” that we think we are. Is it any wonder that the reflection we see in the mirror is actually that of an adulterer? The only question is, though, why we remain as immovable in our defense of it as we say we are in our faith in Jesus?