Few things seem to rile people up quite like a church’s finances. How it generates income, what it does with it when it gets it, and so on. It’s one of the things I want to explore next year: Exactly how does each church view its role in the economy; what is the purpose of tithing; how much should clergy get paid; can I get a Benz as an ordination present?

On the one hand, I have been a part of churches that try and avoid the topic as much as possible, except for the occasional offering plate passed around by apologetic-looking ushers. I understand the reluctance to pressure people into giving money; I mean, didn’t Jesus basically travel around in poverty to do his good work, relying only on the hospitality of others? Didn’t the Israelites wander the desert eating junk that fell from the sky for like…40 years? Can’t churches today get by on a little less than padded theatre-style seats and extravagantly designed sky-smacking steeples?

At other times, I have sat through sermons that remind me of the speeches given by my homeless friend, Roy, when he’s at his panhandling, conniving best. Don’t get me wrong, I’m usually on the side of the homeless, but you might expect something different from a man standing in front of an altar in a gold-fringed robe.

It’s a fine line. Any organization seeking to better the world needs money to do its work; that is the joy of capitalism. And churches do good things for the hungry and oppressed – things they need money to continue doing.

There is a guy named John Wesley, the so-called founder of Methodism. One of the cool things about Wesley is that he figured out in college exactly how much money he needed to live by. Anything that he made beyond this amount, he gave away to the poor. So, even though he was making the equivalent of like a millionaire today at the time of his death, he had almost nothing to his name. It kind of makes you wonder.

That being said, as I try to finance this year of service, learning, and growth, I am starting to appreciate the generosity of others a great deal more. I usually can’t stand to accept money from other people, for fear of becoming a ‘charity case,’ but despite my frugal spending habits and responsible saving, gas money is expensive. To be honest, I am in a vulnerable position right now, and it is quite humbling.

Anyway, maybe there exists some boundary where it is acceptable to continue asking for money to do God’s work, and where churches (or lone travelers) need to learn to be more frugal.