“We Have Become DJs and Salesmen”: A Minister Warns the Church Against the Pursuit of Profit

• A letter writer says pulpits now echo with “business strategies” and “prosperity teachings”
• Rising costs, falling attendance and the need for modern buildings are pushing ministers towards money
• He calls for transparent finances and ethical fundraising
• Congregants, he says, deserve to know how their contributions are used

A letter to the Jamaica Observer from Ryan Reddie argues that the 21st-century church has let the pursuit of money creep into its pulpits, and that congregations must push back.

Reddie writes as a minister himself. He says the weight of keeping congregations going and paying the bills has led some clergy “into dangerous territory”, with the pulpit now echoing “business strategies, prosperity teachings, and profit-driven agendas”. “Instead of preaching the gospel of Christ, we have become DJs and salesmen,” he writes, and he calls on ministers to “get back to basics”.

He is clear about where the pressure comes from. “Rising costs, dwindling attendance, and the need for modern infrastructure,” he writes, can lead ministers down “a treacherous path”. His central question is a practical one: “How do we balance the practical realities of running a church with the purity of our spiritual mission?”

His answer starts with openness. Churches, he says, must deal with financial sustainability without giving up their core values, and transparency is “crucial”. Congregants deserve to know how their contributions are used. Fundraising should meet ethical standards, and he points to Jesus overturning the money changers’ tables in the temple. He asks whether churches are “investing in programmes that alleviate suffering, promote justice, and foster compassion”, and urges members to hold ministers accountable so that they “prioritise souls over spreadsheets”.

Reddie names the need for modern infrastructure as one of the things tempting churches to chase money, and that deserves attention. Roofs, halls, sound systems and parking all cost real money, and the pressure to pay for them is real too. The healthier answer is the one he points towards: a published budget, a building fund with its own accounts, and fundraising that tells givers exactly what the money is for. Congregations planning a building project, or diaspora members asked to support one, can use his test. Before giving, ask to see the plan, the cost and who will account for it.

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