Should Christian businesses only ever give ‘private’ contributions to Christian ministries and events? Would it be a bad move to tell potential donors that you would recognise them on the back page of the program or a sub-page of the website?
On the one hand, it makes sure the giving is truly giving, rather than a cynical ploy to get PR/advertising. It might free us from seeming like we are under the thumb of business.
But on the other hand:
- We need not interpret it cynically. If they truly are good Christian people in these companies, could we want to see this as a truly meaningful partnership that we want to recognise publicly and we want to invite them into?
- We need not apply principles about individuals in the same way to groups. We might be more open about publicly recognising and showing appreciation for a local church that contributes to an event or ministry, mightn’t we?
- We might beware of too strong a sacred/secular divide. Is there not room for meaningful cooperation between business and church? Do we need to hide it in the background? A poor proof text could be Paul’s ‘shout out’ to Gaius in Romans 16 😉
- We need to see a spectrum here. A passing reference on a sub-page on the website or back page of a program, is very different to putting up a banner, or setting up a stall or giving them platform time, isn’t it?
I may be clutching at straws here and strolling down a dangerous road. No doubt most organisations and ministries have thought long and hard about this in the past. It seems that very few choose to offer any form of public recognition and they probably have good reason for this.
But it’s an interesting question, isn’t it? What are your thoughts?
