The 21st Century Church--Haven of Horror? (Part 2)

This past weekend, our internet service went out, and I had to do some fast talking with our internet provider to get it back on. (The issue was a bill that the company said I hadn't paid.) I got our connection restored, but I'm afraid my bargaining powers weren't up to par--the best I got for us was a free reconnect (I still had to pay the bill to get the service back on).

This reminds me of something I said a few days ago--that the church runs on a corporate business model created by the world, the flesh, and the devil. I know this is a shocking statement, but let me explain it a bit. It all begins with the pastor--the man whose livelihood depends on the job of preaching in front of a church every Sunday. When people pay their tithes to the church, they are helping, in essence, to pay the pastor's salary, since that salary is part of the church budget (which depends on member offerings). Hence, it is in the pastor's vested interest to (1) grow his church, (2) make sure his church members understand the concept of tithing, and (3) get his members as heavily involved in church activities as possible. This is fine, and I'm sure that many of you out there have pastors you believe in (and would gladly support with your treasure). However, it is a far cry from the first century Christian church.

Where is the church the depended on the Holy Spirit to expand, rather than on a specially-paid recruiter?

Where is the church that held all possessions and treasures in common, in which brothers and sisters would sell everything they had and distribute it to their brethren in Christ as they had need.

Where is the church that devoted its offerings to helping out poor believers in Christ wherever they had need? (See 2 Corinthians if you want to know what I mean here.)

It's gone, ladies and gentlemen--and in its place is a church that shuns people in need, that (for all intents and purposes) may as well put a sign on the door saying, "For middle class or upper middle class Americans only." Is this the same church that was made up of lepers and blind men and prostitutes and poor beggars who Jesus healed on the streets? Is this the church that is supposed to feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, clothe the naked, and visit people who are sick or imprisoned? Is this the church that bleeds and dies for souls?

Of course not.

What we see in many churches throughout America is a classic corporate business model--complete with a CEO, a board of directors (elders and deacons), recruiters, and workers--designed with the purpose of benefiting . . . itself. I'm not saying that your church or your pastor isn't interested in your well-being--I don't know your church or your pastor--but I AM saying that many--far too many--churches in America operate on this model, and as a result, too many people look at Christ, His ministry, and His Word with a veil of cynicism over their eyes.

If we want to be effective (and all believers want to be effective), then we need to consider that there will be a cost for us to pay in order to obtain that effectiveness. It might mean that we don't organize ourselves into legally recognized units. It might mean that in order to be a pastor, a man has to have some sort of trade (like Paul did) so that he doesn't have to depend on other believers for his livelihood. It might mean that we stop building monstrous buildings with in-house theater systems in order to look good to potential converts. It might mean that we become obscure, unnoticed, and unremarked. Only a PURE heart can win the lost, my friends, and only a pure heart can KEEP the lost won.

We live in a society that says, "We have money as our god." We dare not adopt that society's values as our own--or we risk becoming a source of grief in the eyes of OUR God.