On a radio programme, atheist Prof Andrew Azzopardi of the Catholic Church Media & Woke & Co. “praised the artistic director [Thomas Jolly] for doing such a good job, and I quote him, for “putting Catholicism on the map of the world,” adding that this was ‘art.'” Please read here.
Christianity is not a product that is to be sold to a target demographic. Quite the contrary.
It is not the church’s responsibility to tailor its services to suit the tastes of the populace. Rather, the people are called to become more like Christ by the grace of God. Everyone. Every country. Not a few, not a primary group.
The church is not meant to offer services. The church is meant to serve. People aren’t called and born to be consumers but to repent, believe, and follow Christ. What they have freely received, they are called to freely give.
The Bible describes the church as a body, not a business. The business of the body is to turn the faithful into disciples not happy customers. One way of turning the faithful into disciples is to have priests who point out at sin instead of loosening a bit here and loosening a bit there so to make sin look good and sinners feel good so that they feel safe in their sinful state of being.
Murdered Monsignor Salvadoran Catholic Priest Oscar Romero who was considered a bishop who defended the “preferential option for the poor” within the Catholic Church, had stated “The mission of the Church is to identify with the poor, thus the Church finds its salvation” (November 11, 1977) and “A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of things on the earth – beware! – Is not the true Church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.”
Catering our product to the preferences of our customers may be good business but it has no place in the church.
(2 Timothy 4:1-4, bold added) “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
Why does it matter to Christians what kind of leadership made businesses successful? Why do we adhere to a leadership paradigm that originated with the Apostles and was based on the Roman political system? Is it not the case that the church founded by Christ has been around for longer than any Fortune 500 company? Did we lose sight of the fact that the church continued to thrive even after the Roman Empire fell? The church will also last far longer than any of our contemporary businesses.
In spite of this, we witness models of leadership around us that are based on materialistic ideals. We observe churches that are based not on the Scriptures but rather on prosperous companies and the long-gone Roman administrative structure.
The pastor serves as the church’s chief executive under the business-church paradigm. Numerous members are disposable. By contributing or being counted as attendees, the throng of onlookers takes part. The congregation and the leaders are very different from one another. There is frequently little connection amongst the members as well. The rest of the congregation is mostly unaffected by the misery of many. Individuals come and go, frequently unnoticed by others. The ushers or the financial crew are the ones who spot them first since they see that the numbers don’t add up.
Is this appropriate? Can we accept a model in which the contributions of a large number of members are limited to counting them as if they were simply numbers rather than actual people? Does God get honor and glory from this arrangement? Does the Bible have anything to say about it? Being a passive Christian is scandalous, if we are being honest. It is better to oppose passive Christianity than to embrace it.
Companies emerge and disappear. Some things appear to last a lifetime. They do enjoy a season of incredible success. Then, they vanish with the shifting breezes.
On the other hand, the church’s aim is eternal.
Refuse to accept a church with a business model. Aim for the actual deal. It could be disorganized. It could feel awkward. It will undoubtedly be anti-cultural. And it will certainly be magnificent.
The church is not meant to be a place where you make purchases. You have been given the ability to edify the body if you are born-again. The body’s purpose is to edify you. The body as a whole will expand as each of us performs our share, and we shall all be qualified to exalt our God to the highest altitudes on the planet.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
One of the problems of the Roman Catholic Church is that it was modeled on successful businesses and on the Roman System of Administration
On a radio programme, atheist Prof Andrew Azzopardi of the Catholic Church Media & Woke & Co. “praised the artistic director [Thomas Jolly] for doing such a good job, and I quote him, for “putting Catholicism on the map of the world,” adding that this was ‘art.'” Please read here.
Christianity is not a product that is to be sold to a target demographic. Quite the contrary.
It is not the church’s responsibility to tailor its services to suit the tastes of the populace. Rather, the people are called to become more like Christ by the grace of God. Everyone. Every country. Not a few, not a primary group.
The church is not meant to offer services. The church is meant to serve. People aren’t called and born to be consumers but to repent, believe, and follow Christ. What they have freely received, they are called to freely give.
The Bible describes the church as a body, not a business. The business of the body is to turn the faithful into disciples not happy customers. One way of turning the faithful into disciples is to have priests who point out at sin instead of loosening a bit here and loosening a bit there so to make sin look good and sinners feel good so that they feel safe in their sinful state of being.
Murdered Monsignor Salvadoran Catholic Priest Oscar Romero who was considered a bishop who defended the “preferential option for the poor” within the Catholic Church, had stated “The mission of the Church is to identify with the poor, thus the Church finds its salvation” (November 11, 1977) and “A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of things on the earth – beware! – Is not the true Church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.”
Catering our product to the preferences of our customers may be good business but it has no place in the church.
In spite of this, we witness models of leadership around us that are based on materialistic ideals. We observe churches that are based not on the Scriptures but rather on prosperous companies and the long-gone Roman administrative structure.
The pastor serves as the church’s chief executive under the business-church paradigm. Numerous members are disposable. By contributing or being counted as attendees, the throng of onlookers takes part. The congregation and the leaders are very different from one another. There is frequently little connection amongst the members as well. The rest of the congregation is mostly unaffected by the misery of many. Individuals come and go, frequently unnoticed by others. The ushers or the financial crew are the ones who spot them first since they see that the numbers don’t add up.
Is this appropriate? Can we accept a model in which the contributions of a large number of members are limited to counting them as if they were simply numbers rather than actual people? Does God get honor and glory from this arrangement? Does the Bible have anything to say about it? Being a passive Christian is scandalous, if we are being honest. It is better to oppose passive Christianity than to embrace it.
Companies emerge and disappear. Some things appear to last a lifetime. They do enjoy a season of incredible success. Then, they vanish with the shifting breezes.
On the other hand, the church’s aim is eternal.
Refuse to accept a church with a business model. Aim for the actual deal. It could be disorganized. It could feel awkward. It will undoubtedly be anti-cultural. And it will certainly be magnificent.
The church is not meant to be a place where you make purchases. You have been given the ability to edify the body if you are born-again. The body’s purpose is to edify you. The body as a whole will expand as each of us performs our share, and we shall all be qualified to exalt our God to the highest altitudes on the planet.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)