Can I rant? I mean, of course I can, it’s my blog after all. But I want to tell you something that really bothers me. It really bothers me that the Christian retail industry is this massive money-making machine. Have we not ever read what Jesus did to those who were the first to corner the “God market” in the Temple? If my memory serves me correctly Jesus threw them out and was furious at the distortion of what God had always intended.
Having said that here is my plea. If you’re not making a living off of something (not a killing, but a living) that could be considered as Christian materials (whether books or teachings or clothing or whatever) then quit selling it!!!
If you have something that can help people mature in their walk with the Lord and it is God Himself who gave you the ability (and all too often the concepts, structure, or truths that you present) then why don’t you give it away? If it wasn’t your idea in the first place (and if it has to do with God, faith, Jesus, theology, ministry, etc. and it’s biblical…that means it isn’t original) then why are you selling it to your brothers and sisters for profit?!?! I don’t have a problem with selling things. It costs money to print books and make CD’s and DVD’s. But it makes me angry to see someone teaching God’s word and letting you know that you can purchase this “special teaching on DVD for only $25.00″! WHAT!?!?! Can you imagine if God charged us to read His Word, or Jesus expected a “love offering” before or after the Sermon on the Mount?
So here is what I am asking. If you have something worth sharing…SHARE it. Don’t take advantage of and put barriers up for people who can’t afford these things. “Freely you have received, freely give.”
This is the premise of The Xapis Project Resource Network…if something is made for God’s glory and the strengthening of the church…then let’s give it away to as many people as we possibly can. Chances are we were paid for it when we created it. If not God will bless us for sharing with the kingdom in ways that an employer could never do so.
Jesus FREELY laid down his life for us only to take it back up again as our triumphant Savior and Lord. Let’s not slow down the work of the Kingdom by trying to make a buck to help others. Let’s give it all away. Wouldn’t it be great to stand before God someday and be able to say that we were thankful for the opportunity to bless many people and to give all that we could to the cause of Christ? That’s where I want to be.
Are you selling things like these to make a living? I don’t have any animosity towards you whatsoever as long as you do so in a God-honoring way that brings others to him and growth to the Kingdom.
What do you think? Are you tired of others selling stuff in the name of Jesus? Join the quiet revolution…give it all away.
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Well, of course George Fox, the early Quaker, beat you to it. He went into the “steeple houses” of his day and scolded the ministers — paid to preach — for selling the Gospel. Does your concern for the constant obscenity of the Christian business establishment, with its TV programs, books, music CDs, DVDs and assorted knick-knacks go as far?
That is an interesting point. No, my concern does not go as far because I can see in Scripture the concern that those who dedicate their lives to the ministry should be “supported” (in this case paid) so that they can more effectively dedicate themselves to the ministry (1 Timothy 5:18).
I do on the other hand think that there are some ethical issues when a minister is making $100,000 dollars a year. I don’t think there is anything wrong at making a living. It is when we do so at the expense of others that are less fortunate that I think we may have issue to Jesus Christ for on that final day.
Hope this answers your question!
1 Timothy 5:18 mentions that those elders, especially those laboring in preaching and teaching, are worthy of “double honor.” It says nothing about their being paid for preaching and teaching. In the accompanying metaphors, the unmuzzled ox gets some “grain” and the laborer gets his recompense, but it seems that the recompense spoken of here for teaching and preaching is greater honor, not money.
A similar attitude is found in the early Christian manual, the Didache:
“Let every apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord. But he shall not remain more than one day; or two days, if there’s a need. But if he remains three days, he is a false prophet. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet. ”
Quite a different picture from “TV” and “Christian Book Store” religion, isn’t it?
*Ahem*
I think that Scripture is talking about money.
Want to send me some?
What is double honor, I don’t understand, if you already hold someone in honor, how can you double that? Explain that to me and then Ill see it as simply honor. I think the point of those two sayings is simple. Give them what they need to do the work. Especially with the Ox, he needs to eat, he is doing the work to produce the food, let him eat. It is simply talking about giving those people what they need to live. It is 2 different things here one is “Payday” the other is support. A church supports a minister they don’t pay him, They simply give him what he needs in order that he can continue to do what he is doing, devoting himself fully to the work. Now this may sound crazy to people who don’t have families, but as one who does I see the need. It would be simple enough for me to be a poor traveling preacher when it is only myself to worry about, but now I have to look out for the needs of my wife and children. The church family supports, they don’t cut a pay check. They provide for the congregations needs, both spiritually and physically, and that includes the minister or ministers. That is just the way I see it.
Of course there can be levels of honor, greater or lesser, just as one respects some people more than others.
As for ministers being “supported” instead of paid, that is, I think, just a semantic play to make it seem they are not “selling the gospel.” To quote the IRS:
“For income tax purposes, a licensed, commissioned, or ordained minister is generally treated as a common law employee of his or her church, denomination, or sect. There are, however, some exceptions such as traveling evangelists who may be treated as independent contractors. If you are a minister performing ministerial services, you are taxed on wages, offerings, and fees you receive for performing marriages, baptismals, and/or funerals.”
I think that makes the true situation quite clear. Being paid to preach is exactly what George Fox called it — selling the gospel, which ought to be given freely.