The smartest kid in school, Carol Howard Merritt, asks us some very simple questions in her latest post:

Can we imagine a church where we can share resources? Where our definition of “church” does not depend on financial independence? Where a community’s status as a “congregation” is not based on how much money it has?

In her post, she wants to establish that financial stability is truly the measure of whether a church is a church. And then she dismantles it. Here’s the deathblow:

The problem is, in our church and in our society, there’s a huge financial crisis negatively impacting full-grown adults and churches. Complete financial independence is no longer possible in our current economic climate.

I agree with most, if not all, of her argument. Yes, we are connected. Yes, we should support one another. And yet, I want to quibble on one point.

This still assumes a particular model and function of the church: An organized non-profit corporation with tax-exempt status providing goods and services from a centralized hub.

My question is, “Is that what I got ordained for?” Cause… I didn’t learn that in Hebrew Exegesis.