This blog is the third in a series by The Rev. Canon Rosa Lee Harden from Faith + Finance. Faith and Finance is “bringing together pastors and impact investors, theologians and social entrepreneurs, and other business and faith leaders to respond with courage and imagination to the most urgent and demanding economic, social, environmental, and spiritual challenges of our day.”
A quote attributed to Karl Barth says that we should preach with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
That is never more true than when preaching about money: both are full of a wealth of references, information AND opportunities.
From the Bible perspective, it’s rather surprising we don’t find ourselves preaching a lot about money since fully 1/3 of the parables are about money, and one in ten verses in the Gospels are connected to money.
Overall, the Bible has something like 500 verses on prayer, fewer than that on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.
Yet in his book “Money and Possessions,” Walter Brueggemann bemoans the fact that when the Common Lectionary was put together, the authors managed to avoid many of the hardest texts, especially for Sunday sermons.
Where do we start?
Look at the verses before and after the assigned texts.
My suggestion, first, is to look a few verses before and after the assigned texts. Sometimes that will yield great results.
Look for the Bible’s “code words”
Many of the stories we have about Jesus are about money but never use that word.
“Orphan,” “widow,” “prostitute,” “leper” and other words tell us the person was unconnected to the system and unable to care for themselves. They didn’t have access. In other words, they didn’t have money.
Look for our culture’s “code words.”
The words are different now, but we have code words, too, and remembering that is important when you are reading the newspaper.
An example: We have read a lot about how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting people of color and particularly Black people. They are dying at a much higher rate than white folks.
What makes Black people more susceptible to the virus?
While it may be tempting to think first about genetics, science has already established that all humans share 99.9% of their genetic makeup.
Think about this: according to the Bookings institute, white people have more money: the average net worth in 2016 of a typical white family in the US was $171,000, compared to that of a Black family—$17,150.
So let’s follow the Money.
Less net worth = less quality food = less quality (if any) health insurance = less access to health care = less health prevention interventions.
Then add in the probability that in a family with a net worth of only $17,150, people cannot afford to stay home from work to avoid exposure to the virus, and they likely don’t even have the kind of job that can be done via Zoom.
So is the fact that more African Americans are dying of Covid about “race,” or is it really about “money?” I’m not a health expert, but I have a guess about it and I think I’m right because, in truth, systemic economic disenfranchisement of Black people cannot be separated from this health outcome.
How many other questions can we ask ‘the newspaper’ just like that one?
Identify who’s being left out.
Jesus was about including everyone, and the thing that puts people outside the circle more than any other is Money.
Where are you reading and hearing today about people who are excluded?
Preach about money regularly so it doesn’t seem so unusual.
When we preach about money regularly – all through the year – it makes Stewardship Season easier. People don’t tune you out when you raise the issue of money for the work of your congregation.
We regularly give to our public radio station, and my husband still reaches for the dial to turn the radio off during pledge time.
David King of the Lake Institute confirmed this for me. Lake has studies that show that giving rises in congregations where money is a regular topic of conversation. Your parishioners think you have something of value to offer, not simply self-preservation.
Preach about money for the good of your congegration’s spiritual life.
Our parishioners’ spiritual lives get better when we preach and teach about money.
How many of you know people who wake up in the middle of the night worrying about their relationship with God? Maybe? But how many know people – ourselves included – who wake up worrying about money? I know people like that, and I AM a person like that.
Getting money situated in its right relationship with our lives, and the world around us, will lower that anxiety. It’s an important spiritual topic. And we need to tackle it.
Explore and use resources for preaching about money.
Use the Bible. And use the Newspaper. And also tune in to other folks who are teaching, preaching and writing about it.
Here are some more specific resources I rely on and you might find helpful, too:
Books
Money and Possessions by Walter Brueggemann
Journey to the Common Good by Walter Brueggemann
Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Brueggemann
Buying God by Eve Poole
Dethroning Mammon by Justin Welby
The Purpose of Capital by Jed Emerson
The Christian Imagination by Willie James Jennings
Free by Lisa and Mark Scandrette
Money & Faith edited by Micahel Schut
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran
Know Your Price by Andre Perry
Web Resources
A guide for thinking about “Just Money” with Eve Poole
Preaching Series and Webinars at Faith+Finance
Yes! Magazine’s section on the economy
Articles
“How to Be a More Conscious Consumer, Even If You’re on a Budget” (Kristen Wong, New York Times)
“How to Become an Ethical Consumer; Or at Least Try to” (Marie Eberle, Medium.com)
“Examining the Black-white Wealth Gap” (Brookings.edu)
Activities
Bank Statement Exercise: recommended in Eve Poole’s book, Buying God. Do your purchases support the good? Or the not so good? Helping us all get better at spending in a way that is in line with what we believe God would have us do.
Asking questions about how all of our actions in the economy help (or not) the flourishing of our common life together.
Perhaps do an analysis of what it would cost to shop locally instead of online?
And what it costs us when we shop online instead of in our own community.
Watch this 17-minute video with Mehrsa Baradaran: The Racial Wealth Gap? It All Comes Down to Black Banks | Amanpour and Company
Lead a conversation about “where your money spends the night.” Matters as simple as which bank you use can have a big impact in your community.
How seriously does your bank take reinvesting at home? Or is it a bank ‘too big to fail’ that deploys its resources globally?
Might your congregation consider banking with a local credit union or a Black bank, if one exists in your town? Check out Hope Credit Union for information along these lines.
Get a group together to do the exercise “What’s Your Money Story” as recommended in Free, by Mark and Lisa Scandrette. This exercise helps folks sort out what truly matters most.
Check the labels — on food and clothing — to make sure you aren’t supporting slavery through your purchasing power: https://slaveryfootprint.org/
As a congregation, use Rooted Good’s creative tool to help make decisions, including decisions about money, in the age of COVID-19.
Intrigued by the possibilities of addressing ethical finance in the Church?
To inspire your own preaching, Faith+Finance has shared full sermons about money from each of these preachers:
Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, Interim Senior Minister, National City Christian Church
Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, Senior Pastor, Bethel Church of Morristown
Rev. Mark Elsdon, Director of Pres House, Co-Founder of RootedGood
The Rev. Canon Rosa Lee Harden, Executive Producer, Faith+Finance
Lisa Sharon Harper, Founder and President, Freedom Road
Rev. Leroy Barber, President and Co-Founder, The Voices Project
Help influence the relationship of people of faith to money and resources by examining:
a theology of economics
how churches can leverage their assets, even as congregations and giving shrink
how to apply “gospel values” to the establishment and growth of sustainable businesses
how to be good economic partners to marginalized neighbors
how to invest in ways that are morally and ethically informed and usher in God’s Kingdom
how to establish new models for funding ministry
We encourage you to sign up for their newsletter to stay in touch with their work.*
*BsP is partnering with Faith+Finance because we believe in their mission and believe preachers have a vital role to play in God’s economy. We’ll be hosting a course together in 2021 on preaching and money, so stay tuned for further learning opportunities.