We read in Acts 2 that after the church sacrificially cared for the needy in its midst it “enjoyed the favor of all the people.” That popular response to the church’s observable love for each other mirrored Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “That they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me.”1
Sadly, when it comes to how secular American culture views the way churches treat the needy in their midst – specifically their widows – the response today is exactly the opposite. Instead of “enjoying the favor of all the people,” American churches face non-Christians who view the church with skepticism and downright derision. At least, that’s the impression I get when reading the comments I’ve gotten from my recent post on the topic.
I use my blog subscribers as a sort of “focus group.” When you share my posts with your friends at a high rate, I know I’m hitting a nerve. Sometimes I’ll take one of these posts and “promote” it on Facebook.
Facebook, however, is a very different audience than my subscribers. It’s basically the difference between preaching in a church and preaching on a street corner. Almost all of my subscribers are Christians. But many in my audience on Facebook aren’t.
Recently I promoted one such post on Facebook that had been well-received by my blog subscribers: “It’s Time for America’s Churches to Take their Financial Responsibilities to their Widows and Others Seriously.” None of you commented on the post, but many did share it.
As expected, the response on Facebook has been similar in some ways (many people are sharing it) and also quite different (there have been many comments on the ad, most of them very skeptical).
So would you like to see how Americans think about the way the church treats its widows? If so, read on:
” The church is commanded to take care of the elderly and widows, not allow their pastors to live in opulence.”
“Amen to this. I’m tired of churches with basketball courts, bookstores and coffee shops that don’t support their widows and orphans.”
“The church is clearly commanded to take care of widows and orphans. That doesn’t mean basketball. That means taking care of their needs. Feeding them, clothing them, assisting them in their bills.”
“I donated $500 to a church in the past for kids to go to camp that didn’t go into the camp fund. Found out later the pastor was skimming money after he left. I see a lot of pastors driving corvettes and having the finest of homes.”
Of course, the vast majority of pastors aren’t Corvette-driving, offering-skimming, mansion-living money grubbers. The ones I know are dedicated servants of the Lord who live modestly. I’m just pointing out the impression the world has of pastors and churches and the way they treat their widows today.
Maybe it really is “time for America’s churches to take their financial responsibilities to their widows and others seriously.”
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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2 thoughts on “Scathing Comments on My Post Show How Americans View the Way Churches Treat Their Widows”
It is not just how they treat their widows, I think that a decent way the check the spiritual temperature of a church (mine included) is how thriving is the mens ministry. I think you have covered this before, or similar thought.
Thank you for your posts, I try to read when I can, but that is hard sometimes too. Today was what I needed, Again Thank you.
Thanks for your feedback, Carl. And amen to it. A healthy men’s ministry is indicative of a healthy church.