It's the first day of the new year and I feel moved to respond to something that was posted in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/22/you-give-religions-more-than-82-5-billion-a-year/).
I'm a big fan of free speech. But I think accuracy in reporting is something that we need to expect from our media outlets.
To say that this piece is misleading is an understatement. With a large picture of Joel Osteen as a representative of pastors and churches the point is made that the people of the US subsidize churches through tax exemptions and other percs. The image one takes away is that churches and clergy are rolling in tax payers dough and we darn well ought to start taxing them right away so they don't bleed us dry anymore.
Friends, I have been a pastor for more than three decades and have known clergy and religious leaders across the nation. Trust me in this. It's not an occupation that one takes on for the money. I have lived in one of those "parsonages" most of my life and it's often not a picnic as a whole community thinks your home is theirs. Yes, there are some glaring exceptions that we can all note. Any group of professionals will have their "bad seeds."
The truth, though, is that thousands of clergy people give themselves sacrificially, not having enough money for retirement or to send their kids to school. Thousands of clergy work 70 and 80 hours a week serving their communities in works like pastoral counseling, visiting the sick, prison ministry setting up neighborhood food pantries and more. Indeed, many have literally given their lives to great causes like the Civil Rights struggle (which was led by the religious community).
To assume that the few dishonest clergy among (and it's true there are a few of those) us get to tag the many selfless and loving pastors out there is absurd. Look around. The most effective relief organization on the planet is religious. The United Methodist Committee on Relief. Look around. As our dysfunctional government shirks our mutual responsibility to care for the poor and vulnerable among us, it's the churches and religious communities that are picking up the slack. From homeless shelters to food pantries to child care organizations and immigration services, faith communities in this country are stepping up to the plate.
And they are being led by clergy.
I find it interesting to note that the corporations in this country get trillions of dollars of tax relief while shipping their jobs and profits overseas and no one is falling on them the way they fall on the religious community. The corporations have a vast and immoral impact on the politics and justice of our nation, but let's not focus on that. Let's look at those nasty religious groups who get tax breaks to serve the community.
If you are not religious or involved in a faith community, that's fine. But this notion that the church (and other religious communities) are rolling in cash because of government tax breaks is both untrue and slanderous. In my own Christian community of the United Methodist Church, we are involved right now in raising hundreds of millions of dollars to put an end to the world wide scourge of malaria. We are building hospitals and schools, clinics and day care centers. We are reaching out into our communities with counseling and legal assistance. And, yes, we worship our God as well.
The religious communities in our nation function on precious few resources, doing amazing and wonderful things that many others (including our corporations) refuse to do.
So please, I ask everyone to inform themselves before making comments that are both untrue and destructive. No organization or group of people are perfect, and that is certainly true of us in the faith community.
But from where I sit, the religious communities in this nation are part of the soloution....not part of the problem.
Sending challenging grace, sacrificial love and forgiveness... SR
