Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus and the early Church advocated a Daily ministration for the needy. Jesus called out His ekklesia. The Church as we say today was institutionalized by Christ, Institutionalized means "established in practice or custom." Jesus spent years training His disciples which means "students" to be the ministers of His kingdom at hand, His government of God, which He took from those who were not bearing fruit and appointed to His "little flock". The problem today is most Churches are descended from the institutional Church of Constantine which was "established in practice or custom" in a different way. Constantine funded his new Church with tax money which provided for the poor. The modern institutional Church does the same. While there are many people who "say they are Christians" and many who are charitable people most of the care of the needy among the Churched and unchurched alike is provided by the state who merely takes from your neighbor to provide those benefits. These "covetous practices and customs" are contrary to the teachings of the prophets and certainly Jesus, James, Paul the Apostle and Peter and the "new covenant".
