The real fact of the matter is, churches cost a lot of money to run. Their only real source of income is from the congregation, in the form of donations, fundraisers, etc.
Many people see church as a social event, with actual worship being secondary. Thus, they are payin dues to belong to a 'club'. Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself.
When the message become "pay your way into heaven", that's when it gets ugly.
There's a Roman Catholic church in St. Louis, founded by polish immigrants. It's finances have been managed by a board of directors since the 1800's. A new Archbishop was installed recently, and his take was that all of the church's assets belonged to the Roman Catholic church. He told them if they didn't surrender everything they would be excommunicated. They didn't and he did. This only strengthened their resolve. As it stands right now, they are in a lengthy appeals process.
No, it's not about the money...
