Naomi Raine Challenges Church Culture: “Ministry Is Also a Business”
Naomi Raine Challenges Church Culture: “Ministry Is Also a Business.” Grammy-winning worship leader Naomi Raine is speaking out—and not holding back—on the unspoken tensions between faith, finances, and fairness in the Christian creative world.
In a candid and passionate moment that’s sparked conversations across congregations and creative circles, Raine addressed what many in the faith community often dance around: the uncomfortable but necessary truth that ministry, particularly worship music, is also a business, and artists deserve to be compensated like professionals.
“Yes, we’re worship leaders, but there’s an aspect of entertainment in this,” Raine said. “It’s not just ministry. It’s a business as well, and both require money.”
Naomi Raine’s remarks shed light on the often-criticised pricing of Christian concerts, albums, and merchandise, highlighting the double standard where faith-based creatives are expected to give everything away. At the same time, churchgoers routinely spend thousands on lifestyle luxuries.
“We need art, we need music, we need to make sound,” she continued. “So there’s nothing wrong with people who make their living making art.”
Then came a striking comparison: “Some Christian people would pay $100,000 for a painting… or spend a bunch of money to go see the Sistine Chapel—and that was created as a work of art. That was worship. What’s the difference?”
It’s a compelling question—and one that’s uncomfortable for many. Raine argued that if believers were more generous and consistent in their giving, the burden on Christian artists and even pastors to monetise their gifts through books, tours, or speaking engagements would be drastically reduced.
“Your Christian artist might not need to charge as much on a ticket if people gave in church and if we had everything in common,” she pointed out. “Y’all mad that your pastor is writing a book? He has to write a book because he now has six kids, and he has to feed the babies!”
Raine didn’t stop there. She called out what she sees as hypocrisy: “Y’all don’t wanna give, but y’all go on a vacation. That’s the stuff that irritates me. It doesn’t work.”
She compared church hesitance to support its own to the unquestioned support people offer to secular organizations: “Y’all join a country club and pay your membership dues, no problem. You’ll be in a fraternity or sorority, pay your fee and all that, and nobody’s mad at that.”
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