Budgets, Programs and the Gospel-oh my

If

A nice lady, at a table next to me, wanted to share my outlet for her lap top. As she was "plugging in", her cell phone rang. I soon realized that she was pouring out her heart to a fellow church attendee about the mismanagement of her Church and its incompetent Pastor. A conversation I was well accustomed too-unfortunately.

"The Pastor has no 'business plan' for the Church" the lady said. She then exclaimed "the people with the power, who run the church, will not tithe if their agenda is not met." This is, sad to say, a common attitude of the disgruntled and misguided Christian. The lady next to me was hurt because of this "political power" struggle in her beloved Church. At one time or another, all of us, who are involved in Church, have experienced this "ugly side" of the Christian community.

These "power struggles" are not new and illustrate the corruptive power of "the love of money" as Paul say's in I Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."(NIV)

Using tithes as a "protest" is sin, plain and simple, so the lady next me was right to be upset. But this attitude is also reflective of a "consumer" mindset that has permeated the Church-the Body of Christ. (I wrote about this also in my post: "CEO" Pastor: http://thepirateway-bob.blogspot.com/2009/05/ceo-pastor.html)

In the Organizational Church (OC) the paid Pastoral staff put together a "religious service" and delivers it weekly. Most believers are blessed by the ministry, but in this "religious event" there is an expectation, that lingers just below the conscious level, that the "service" meet the needs of the parishioner, since the people putting it on are paid professionals.

It is from this un-biblical expectation we experience "attitudes" like this lady was discussing with her friend. How many times have you heard people say "the worship was too loud" or "the sermon was long"-as if the worship or the sermons are products? This "consumer" mindset put's the focus on programs and the paid professionals. It takes the focus off the simplicity of the Gospel where the ethic of love rules.

The Organizational Church must fight this "consumer" mindset. The Church-in all its forms-is first and foremost the body of Christ and we are witnesses to His Gospel. I no longer attend the organizational church. I lead a simple church-a house church. I'm not foolish to believe the HC is superior to the OC. Those of us in House Churches must fight a prideful attitude that this is the "true way" to do church. But all of us-OC or HC-who are under the headship of Christ must be diligent to live a kingdom life of love and not a consumer life of mammon.