Megachurches Like Us

Seeing what makes Catholic churches special

03/06/2022

Lk 4:1-13 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”

Today I want to share a little about our church finances. Many of us approach supporting the church financially like a young man meeting his future in-laws with his fiancée. After dinner the mother told her husband to find out more about the young man. So the father invited him into the study for a drink, “in vino veritas.” The father asked the young man, “So, what are your plans?” The young man answered: “I am a Bible scholar.” The father said: “Hmmm. That’s admirable but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, like she is accustomed to?” He replied: “I will study, and God will provide.”

The father continued, “And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?” The youth said: “I will concentrate on my studies. God will provide for us.” The father went on: “And children? How will you support children?” The young man said: “Don’t worry sir, God will provide.” After more questions and the same answer, the father returned to his wife. She asked: “Well, how did it go, honey?” The father shook his head, saying: “He has no job and no plans. But the good news is he thinks I’m God.” In other words, when Catholics are asked how they will support the Church, they answer: “God will provide.” And to be sure, God does provide, but he does so through the generosity of our parishioners, that is, each of you.

Sometimes people think of I.C. Church as a “megachurch,” when they hear we have about 6,000 parishioners, see all our facilities, especially our magnificent church, and learn of our long history stretching back to 1843. As a result, they think we are rolling in the money, and feel they don’t need to give financially to the church. So, let me compare a few statistics of our church with a real megachurch. Here are a few facts taken from a Forbes magazine article from 2010 on megachurches in America.

First of all, how does our budget compare to the budget of a true megachurch? The largest megachurch in America is Lakewood Church with Pastor Joel Osteen. In 2008 their annual budget was $70 million. By comparison, the total budget of Immaculate Conception is $1.7 million. Now the fascinating thing about that $70 million is Lakewood Church spends half (50%) on salaries, 25% on buildings, and the remaining 25% on missions. By contrast here at I.C. we spend a little over one third (37%) on salaries, one third on Catholic schools (I.C. and Trinity), and the rest on clergy, ministries, charity and administration. Folks, if we are going to be a true megachurch, we need to increase the salaries of our clergy by about 20%! Can you see why this is such a helpful comparison?

Another useful statistic is how much megachurches spend on their buildings. Lakewood Church rented the Compaq Center, where the Houston Rockets used to play basketball, which seats 43,500 people. I.C., on the other hand, seats about 600 people. Pastor Osteen spent $95 million to renovate the Compaq Center so it would feel more like a church. The Forbes article stated: “There is wall-to-wall carpet beneath the seats. The largest of three jumbotron screens is 32 feet by 18 feet. Twin waterfalls book-end the stage that rises and falls before a circling gold globe and a pulpit where Osteen preaches about staying positive.”

Here at I.C. we spend a total of about 25% or $230,000 annually on buildings. That total number includes maintenance, utilities and also insurance. One of the true treasures of our parish is undoubtedly this magnificent Gothic-styled church, and I hope you agree it is worth what we spend to keep it beautiful. But we will never spend $95 million to renovate our church to install a 32 foot tall jumbotron. You don’t want to see my head get any larger. Trust me, I look a lot better from far away.

Let me share one last statistic. The Forbes article acknowledged this generous gesture by Pastor Osteen, who said: “God has blessed me with more money than I could imagine from my books.” The article continued: “Osteen gave up his $200,000 salary about five years ago, when royalties started flowing in from his [book] “Your Best Life Now.” By the way, did you know that I have written three books, too? The royalties from those books have helped four different Catholic schools: I.C., Trinity, St. Joseph in Fayetteville, and St. Theresa in Little Rock. And I decided to give up my whopping $12,000 a year salary too. Why? Well, all the church staff made sacrifices to balance the budget during the pandemic. See, that’s just what we pastors of megachurches do.

My point in comparing I.C. to other megachurches was to provide some perspective, not to criticize other churches. But I also wanted to mention that many Catholics support the Church like that fiancé who was a Bible scholar: we come to Mass on Sunday to learn about the Bible, hear a good sermon, but leave the financial responsibility on God’s shoulders, and say, "God will provide."

I hope you will prayerfully consider how you can give financially to the church, especially if you have never given anything before. You don’t have to tithe ten percent, but you should give something. I.C. church doesn’t have waterfalls, or a gold globe, or jumbotrons, but we do have the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. And no megachurch can offer you that.

Praised be Jesus Christ!