"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’” - Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV)
One of the bigger issues facing modern Christianity is how our culture is affecting the body of Christ. You see this battle raging in everything from musical styles to youth oriented ministries that walk the tightrope of compromise in the name of attracting the unchurched. Undoubtedly one of the biggest cultural wars the Body of Christ is fighting today is the marketing and hyping of ministers and their ministries.
Culturally speaking we are an over-marketed, over-hyped society. If you doubt that just go to a movie theater thirty minutes before the movie starts. Back in the day if you got to the theater early you were treated to a few movie trailers before the feature presentation. Today we're treated to 15 minutes of a lovely slide show full of advertisements (with a sprinkling of movie trivia and quotes just to keep us interested) before the 5 or 6 car/coke/military/cell phone service commercials roll. We live in a society that is looking for more and more ways to intrude upon our daily lives with advertisements for the billions of products and services available to the American consumer.
This culture of selling and advertising has infiltrated and (in my opinion) contaminated the Body of Christ. This isn't a new problem, of course. The verse quoted above indicates that buying and selling in God's name has been around for a very long time; it also shows God's opinion about it. You don't have to be a degreed theologian to see that God isn't a fan of moneychangers in his house.
So, what exactly is a moneychanger? Is it wrong for a pastor/preacher/minister to make a living from the services he/she provides? Jesus' instructions to his disciples includes a statement concerning the "wages" they would be earning while in service to him:
"Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. - Luke 10:7 (NIV). Apparently pastors and ministers have to eat too.
But, do they need million dollar mansions, private jets and the perks and benefits that comes from celebrity? Does God's desire to "bless" us equal the rock-star lifestyle that many of our more prominent celebripastors enjoy? The questions I'll be raising on the radio program this week (assuming we haven't been blown off the map by Hurricane Ike) are fairly simple:
Have we been guilty of elevating the messenger over their message in our modern church culture? How much is too much marketing? When you go to a Christian "book store" and find more trinkets and nick-knacks than you find books is that a sign that we've lost something? Have we tried too hard to model "the world" in our attempts to get the message out to everyone we can?
One could argue that Peter and Paul didn't use clever church slogans, vision statements or pandering gimmicks to get people to attend church. On the flip side one could argue that what we're seeing is a natural progression of the Church in modern times. After all, what worked for Paul in first century Asia minor wouldn't work in 21st century America.
This is a broad subject that covers a number of issues and I know we won't cover all of the facets of this issue in one 90 minute radio program. I also know, from what I've seen and experienced in the church over the last 20 years, generally speaking we've lost the culture changing power that was on display in the book of Acts. I'm not referencing tongues or healing, I'm talking about the power of the plain spoken word of God without compromise, without Burger King style spinning and without modern marketing tactics.
There are more churches and more professing Christians on the planet than Paul ever dreamed of. We have more technological advancements at our disposal than ever before. Most assuredly the church needs to make use of the tools and technologies available to us to get the word out. After all, you're reading this on a computer and listening to me on the radio; two things Paul couldn't have imagined of on his best day.
But, how much is too much? Where is the line that we need not cross in the name of getting the word out? Can we return to elevating the message instead of the messengers? This weekend (the Lord willing and the creek literally doesn't rise) we'll be discussing these issues on a special Hurricane Edition of CHURCHQUAKE!
Stay tuned true believers...
