A Good Idea that Would Never Work but Also Might but Probably Not but Maybe?

Jun 06, 2025

A buddy sent me this video, and I’ve been thinking about it all week.

A post shared by @jonzie__1

tl;dw: churches and religious institutions should be taxed if they’re not willing to let houseless people sleep in tents on their property.

Dude says if every church lets people put tents on their property, it’ll end homelessness.

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I have some thoughts. A lot of thoughts actually.

I’m probably going to spend a few weeks on this.

There’s a lot here. A little more than one post can contain.

But here’s some preliminary thoughts:

I don’t really give a s—t if America decides to tax churches or not. Maybe we should. I don’t really know. I used to worry about it. I went to school for eight years to be in professional ministry, and doing ministry full-time requires a church that makes enough to pay a pastor.

I don’t care much about that now. I don’t really think professional Christians are necessary. I don’t think a church on every street is necessary.
And if the church is supposed to survive, it’ll happen with or without tax breaks.
With or without a paid pastor.
He’s certainly right that churches can solve homelessness. Or at least put a huge dent in it. There’s plenty of churches that can open shelters or housing of some kind.
It’ll never happen. Never ever. There’s no way.
Let me show you just four of the more than a hundred lawsuit threats that our church received when we were working on housing for houseless folks on our property. Note that these buildings are tiny homes, built professionally, with a large community building that has a kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms, with a large wooden fence around the whole facility, a no drug policy, and case workers on site.

Not tents.

Professionally built homes.
(there’s quite a bit of misinformation in these threats, but the threats would come even if the neighbors had all of the info correct)
The quotes around “tiny house village” are *chef’s kiss*
The children’s playground thing was news to me.
And everyone who’s been a part of our church for fifty years.
*shrugs*
I have over a hundred more of these.
One person actually came to the church and told me that she and other neighbors would sue our church, and if they didn’t get all of the money they were looking for, they would start suing individual attenders.1
That’s what we received for making a small village of tiny homes with bathrooms and a kitchen and case workers on site and policies that get a person kicked out if they don’t follow them.
Imagine trying to allow a meeting of tents on your property. How would the neighborhood react?
Actually, you don’t have to imagine it. A group of people set up tents on our property and it made the news.
"Our worst fear."
The tents were there for five days.
WORST fear.
Worst.
Five days of tents.
"But David, that was just one example."
Um,
By the way, can you guess what these same neighbors love? The farmers market that meets in our church’s parking lot.
Build housing on your property, we’re going to sue the church and the people who attend.
Give a neighborhood of Portlanders with a decent income a farmers market and you’re a hero.
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So yeah, “let people put tents on your property” would never fly.
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(To be clear, I also love our farmer’s market)
We should probably try anyway.
Like, who else is going to? Honestly?
Anyone who does is going to get all kinds of crap from their community.
Might as well be the church that gets crap, right?
I’m scared to.
Like, really gun-shy about doing more housing things for houseless people.
Our church might do it in the future, and I’ll 100% be all in if we do. It’ll probably age me another ten years but I’d do it.
But just reading through some of the threats again brought up a lot for me.