Is Your Church a House of Merchandise?
[Personal note: The article below was written for the church newsletter of our local church, United Christian Church, Cleveland, TN. After being previewed by several individuals, I decided to float this article here first. To get response from some other readers. Questions, comments, and critiques are welcome and requested.]
The Church today is at a crossroads. We can continue to go down the path of commercialism or return to the Apostolic faith of the Word. The media is plagued with reports of fallen ministers, televangelist hucksters and open deceivers; all led by greed. Christianity has been infected with the marketing and sales schemes of these deceivers. Churches have become places of fund-raising and pledge-partners instead of vehicles of the Truth.
The world is taking notice. Sinners are watching the actions of ministers and churches. I speak to sinners and Christians all the time who a wary of church because they feel that in the end, it is all about money. We need to take heed to the admonition of Paul, “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” (2 Cor. 8:21)
Is money itself bad? Don’t ministeries need money to function? Shouldn’t pastors and evangelist get paid for what they do? We need to return to the Bible to determine the correct relationship between money and ministry. We should watch over our lives that we are supporting Godly prophets, not ungodly profits. In this series of articles let’s examine merchandise in ministry.
The first place we need to look for examples of ministry are the ministers Jesus raised up. When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He said,
“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses.” (Matt. 10:7-9)
Jesus then commissioned seventy others to go and preach saying,
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” (Luke 10:3-9)
When the Lord Jesus Christ sent out the twelve and the seventy, He gave certain principles concerning those who would minister in His name. All eighty-two were clearly taught that they should not minister for money. The Gospel of the Kingdom was not to be sold. They received the teachings of Jesus freely and they were to deliver that same message freely as well.
Jesus tells us that “the labourer is worthy of his hire.” This scriptural passage has been stretched to allow for many ministerial excesses (mansions, luxury vehicles, exuberant incomes, etc.) Taken in its context, this passage reveals that ministers should have their needs met: “eating and drinking such things as they give…eat such things as are set before you.” Ministers should not live above the people to whom they minister. Minister means to serve and servants do not live a higher class lifestyle then the ones they serve. Jesus further warns against going “from house to house” for greed and gain.
Just what type of ministry was Jesus annointed for:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
If our ministries are led by the Spirit, we will “preach the gospel to the poor.” There is seemingly no possibility of financial gain for ministers to preach to poor people. People from nursings homes, prisons, orphanages, housing projects, low-income neighborhoods, and other poverty-striken areas need the Gospel. These individuals need to see that they can be part of ministry without paying for it. When ministers sell products in the house of God, they are preaching only to those that can afford it. Some ministers will say, “If anybody asks and says they do not have any money, I will give it to them.” What a cop out! Do they want poor people to beg them for tapes, cds, dvds, and books? Poor people do have money: money for bills, food, their children, and other needs. Poor Christians pay their tithes and support ministries through offerings. But believe it or not the Word of God is important to some who cannot afford to buy the products that ministers claim will help them in life.
Preaching the gospel to the poor includes poor churches. Ministers have their bare minimum that will make a revival “worth their while.” That minimum is different for all ministers, but all pastors have been asked by individuals before they come, “Well, how many people do you have?” or some are more straightforward, “I need X amount of dollars each night, a first class plane ticket, and a 4-star hotel.” Yeah, and I need a different evangelist. What happened to faith in ministry? Ministers, God will provide.
These ministers not only sell merchandise, they treat the people of God as merchandise:
“There shall be false teachers among you…(who) through covetousness shall with feigned words make merchandise of you.” (2 Peter 2:1b, 3a)
When Jesus visited the Temple, He should us how important these issues are to Him:
“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” (John 2:13-16)
Jesus warned against making the house of God into a house of merchandise. The temple was to be a place of prayer, not a place of commerce, buying and selling products and services.
Many ministers believe they have a message that can help people. It is for this cause that they tell themselves and others, that they produce products. I am going to tell you the truth about ministers buying and selling products. Ministers sell products for supplemental income. It is another revenue source. Now I am not saying this to condemn them, I just think we should tell the truth. If a minister wants to sell products, I do not think that is wrong. Selling products or services from the pulpit or in the church is wrong. I personally believe that if a minister needs supplemental income from selling in God’s house, he needs to either: (a) cut back his own personal budget or (b) get a part-time secular job. This would be the response all working-class people who need extra income. Why should ministers live above and ask more of the sheep?
The problem is not just the ministers. Take a look at the cleansing of the temple again:
“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Matt. 21:12-13)
Jesus did not just drive out those who sold. He also drove out those who bought. If you as a child of God continue to buy the products, the ministers will continue to sell them. I say stop buying. Stop buying their trinkets, tapes and videos. Stop accepting their “hundred dollar envelopes.” Stop listening the long, drawn out offering appeals (especially if they spend more time on the offering, then they do in the alter call.)
Pastors, stop accepting the demands of evangelists who put money and crowds above the preaching of the Word. Pastors, take account of your self that you are not living above the sheep and taking advantage of them because of your place of spiritual authority.
Ministers, believe God. I did not write this to condemn you, but rather to encourage you. Have faith in a God that controls the situations of your life. He knows your needs and will meet them. Stop begging. Stop selling in God’s house. Make sure you do not turn the house of prayer into a house of merchandise.
The house of God and other Christians ministries are supported by the tithes and offerings of the ones to whom they minister. There is nothing in the Bible about fundraisers, bake sales, car washes, pledge partners, planned-giving(will-writing), telethons, government support (faith-based programs), etc. Christians should pay their tithes and give offerings to God’s work cheerfully. We shouldn’t sell or beg anyone for money. We should establish our ministries on the giving of those who feel part of the ministry.
If we want to do business, we should start a business. If we want to win souls, we should preach the gospel freely.
Remember this: the Word of God is right and everyone else is wrong. Don’t take my word for it, look it up in your own Bible to see if there is any precedent for what is occuring in churches today. Of course, if you would rather complain or make excuses, you can reach me at anton@antonburnette . If you don’t like what the Word says, take that up with Jesus; He wrote it, I just preach it.
