Total Revenue

found at:  Why Women Want Moore

Living Proof Ministries [Beth Moore] is relatively small compared with the ministries of women of similar notoriety. Its total revenue in 2008, $3.8 million, is dwarfed by Joyce Meyer Ministries' ($112 million) and Kay Arthur's Precept Ministries' ($12.9 million) in the same year. (Meyer's ministry says its top priorities are evangelism and social outreach; Arthur's ministry mainly supplies resources for women to study the Bible inductively on their own; Moore's ministry is grounded in her unique gift of teaching.) Living Proof employs only 16 people, including Moore's two daughters and son-in-law.

Kent comments:

I am not opposed to people who teach the Bible making their livings from that work.  (Note:  some of the things I have heard from some of those listed above might not qualify as “teaching the Bible.”)

And yet, I can’t help wondering.  What was Jesus’ “total revenue”?  What was Peter’s total revenue?  Paul traveled the world preaching the word.  He sometimes took along a helper or two on these trips.  Were these helpers “employed” by Paul?  What was his total revenue?  Timothy did a lot of teaching, it seems.  I wonder what was his total revenue?  I wonder if any of these individuals even thought about such things as “total revenue.”

Recently, a big “ministry” devoted to what appears to be holding revivals for high school students sent a representative to speak at a church I attend.  They made a point of the fact that they accept credit cards for donations.  I suppose that would help their “total revenue.”

I become a little uneasy when ministry becomes a big business, or perhaps even a “business” at all.  There is nothing wrong with “business” as we use the word in our culture.

But when “ministries” become multi-million dollar “total revenue” enterprises, I have to wonder – just wonder.