The Business of Religion

He sounded betrayed, angry, disappointed...tinged with a little guilt.

It was all too familiar the emotions and questions I had experienced working in churches and for Christian ministries over four decades. Though my friend is 20 years younger and half a world away in a different culture, the parallel of our life tracts had given him a freedom to share the questions and doubts he was experiencing working in a large ministry.

"I have no doubt about their sincerity," he said. "I know they love God. But everything seems so formalized, so contrived at times." I waited as he paused on the other end of the phone. "Sometimes I think the services have to be entertaining to keep people coming back. They're pressured to coming up with ministry ideas so the believers will stay busy and not fall away."

He took another long pause, as if testing to see if my response would be a rebuke of his dedication to the ministry which signed his paycheck.

I waited for a long moment, gathering my thoughts. What he shared had been a common experience for me during my active years in ministry. The struggle between what I read in the New Testament about church administration and all of the additions, exceptions and excuses for "contemporary church growth" was an all too familiar conflict in my heart. For most of my career, I had just gone with the flow and accepting the status qou as "that's just the way it is" - why fight it.

"You still there?" he asked, after the long pause.

"Yes. And I think discernment is one of the gifts the Holy Spirit has operating in you. What you are encountering is an all too common deception in churches, large and small, that has passed down through the centuries. It's called the Business of Religion."

I could tell he was rolling this around in his head. "Yes, I think you're right, but why? I mean, they hold the Bible up as a standard for life and living. They practice the full freedom of the Holy Spirit."

I pushed him a little further. "But in the staff meetings, are they more like business evaluations, progress reports and solving management problems? How is the unity in the Spirit?"

"Not so good at times," he admitted, "even with me. Everyone seems to be trying to sell their own ideas and agenda. Oh, we pray at the beginning and end of each meeting that the Lord will give us wisdom and insight, but more than once someone goes away with feelings hurt or a sense that no one has listened to what's on their heart if it doesn't fit the corporate big picture."


Man has a driving passion to organize rather than wait. We aren't good at inactivity. Often we're told  doing something is better than doing nothing; that it's easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

WRONG! Not so in the kingdom of God.

God never intended His Kingdom or His church to be run on "sound business principles." He never picked out committees based on person's financial stability, intelligence, life or ministry experience to make choices for Him.

From the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (which should have been titled the Continuing Acts of the Holy Spirit), Jesus instruction to the disciples was to "wait and listen" for the Holy Spirit. He had promised this was the One, "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13) For three and a half years Jesus had modeled before the disciples that "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, . . . but the will of the Father which hath sent me," under the power of the Holy Spirit.


In the book of Acts, as the disciples were waiting for the Holy Spirit to arrive, the first thing boredom gave birth to was to form a committee and hold an election. Peter decided, since Judas had committed betrayal and suicide, another disciple needed to be added to complete the band of twelve. Oh, they "prayed about" the list of candidates, and they "prayed" before the vote was taken. And I'm sure Matthias felt honored to be named among the men who walked with Jesus.

BUT...that wasn't God's idea. The twelfth man God wanted to add wasn't even a follower of the Way at that time. In fact, he would become their greatest enemy: The radical, purist, conservative Saul of Damascus.

We never hear anything about Matthias beyond his election, but Saul would become Paul and write the majority of what we have as the New Testament today.

Running ministries and churches like a business is the substitute for wait and listen. It is the alternative to Holy Spirit birthed and led organizations. The business of religion is men coming up with their best ideas and asking the Holy Spirit to tag along and bless it.

And sometimes He will . . . because He will build His kingdom regardless of our rebellion and self-will.

How do you recognize religion run like a business? Look for the discord, the problems, the constant repackaging of the ministry to make it attractive to the masses.

It's hard not to miss. And it's even rarer to find the New Testament example of administration. They are probably the one not advertising!

Business of Religion - Advertising (Part One)

BUZZARDS IN THE BALCONY

There they sit . . . all in a row! They’re hiding in the shadows, but you can’t miss their  red leathery, featherless heads and necks sticking out of black and white plumed shoulders. Beady black eyes scan their surroundings, inches behind claw-like beaks meant for ripping and tearing flesh?

But . . . they shouldn’t be inside, roosting in the balcony of the church -- these carnivores snuck in by their human counterparts. These vultures would smile, if their menacing beaks allowed it, for we mortals are fowlers to these pests; our pets, a reflection of our own hungry hearts.

What are they waiting for, these custodians of death and decay?

I was pondering a reference to these birds of prey in a story by Jesus . . . then an earlier mention of them in a obscure story about Abram from the book of Genesis.

Jesus was sermonizing about a tiny mustard seed. Intended for healing and flavoring food, this small bush grows to tree size where the birds of the air come and roost in its branches. (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 13) This is no feel good parable by St. Francis of Assisi where God takes pity on songbirds by growing them a nesting place. This was Jesus' choice of birds -- predatory in nature -- same reference to the birds whom gobble up the seeds a sower was spreading in a different teaching story. By comparing the kingdom of heaven with the mustard seed, Jesus was warning that which was designed to be something of healing and flavor to the nations will grow up to be something governmental – agenda driven – with all sorts of ravenous fowl roosting in it’s branches.

Vultures roosting among Christ-followers in the future? What could they be waiting and watching for?

NOW Abram’s encounter with Father-God in Genesis 15 began to make sense. In this little-known story about the father of the Jewish people, God made some incredible promises to a wandering sheepherder and his barren wife. Unable to wrap his head around them, Abram asks how God was going to pull them off. He was given instructions to prepare a series of sacrifices, lay them out in parallel and wait for God’s return visit.

Obedient to the minutest detail, Abram sat down to wait when the fowls (vultures) started gathering, ready to enjoy the easy buffet laid out before them. Faithful to his instructions, Abram drove them away . . . the original Hebrew says he “puffed them away with his breath.” As dark fell, sleep overtook Abram. He awoke to find a column of fire and smoke (the shekinah-glory presence of God) and a lamp (the mind of God) passing through the sacrifices.

I got me to thinking of all the times . . . I confess the majority of the time . . . as a Christian, I have attended gatherings with other Christ-followers where something was missing other than regimented social routine. We told ourselves we were meeting to worship a living, powerful, risen-from-the-dead, supernatural God . . . there was beautiful music, moving audio-visual presentations, even a challenging sermon or mass.

But . . . but . . . where was the Kingdom of Heaven on display? There had been activity, skilled activity, on the stage, yet a barrier of sameness, status-quo, deadness denied dynamic transformation in the pew. What had happened to our sacrifices of praise?

 Perhaps, like Abram, in our spiritual grogginess we allow the roosting vultures Jesus referred to in his parable to gobble up our time and attention. Allow me to suggest five of these pests we accommodate and coddle.

Worldly-wise Buzzard of Trust Yourself – From our cradles we’ve been bombarded with the obsession of how we look, how we are perceived, comparisons of status and intellect, ad infinitum. We impose the same standards on our worship, our ability to sing, play or express ourselves. Churches look for a talent pool to stock the music and platform. After all shouldn’t we be offering the BEST to God? How seductive the World-system’s -- the harder you work the better you produce.

The praise and worship is designed to showcase the skills, talent and abilities of those on stage – while “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”  (1 Cor. 1:27) Worship becomes how well we can perform, how perfect the music is practiced and how polished we are. The result? We experience a disconnect between the music, the message and the ministry time.

Buzzard of Comparison -- The World is infatuated, makes its stock and trade each day, by passing judgments about other people. Humor is often a disguised attempt to criticize, denigrate, or compare yourself with someone else. While it is expected in the World, this vulture should leave a stench in our nostrils and minds. Even when unspoken, comparisons with others will disrupt our attempt at worship.

Vulture of Anxious Thoughts – If you listen, it doesn’t take long to learn many Christ-followers seem to build a personal theology based on the perceived failures of God in their lives. Most preface statements about Him with “I feel . . .” or “I think God . . . “ Transferred to the sanctuary, these fledgling fowl feast on our feelings: Fear  - There’s not enough. Fear – I’m not going to be taken care of.  Fear – Of betrayal. Fear – My circumstances are bigger than God can handle.

What does that tell the God we are about to worship? We don’t trust Him . . .  He’s not enough.

Predator of Annoying Thoughts: Since nibbling on the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity thinks it is his God-given right to be . . . right! We have a NEED to be right. Out of our vanity and pride flash a comparison with others even before our mouths are set in motion. Our elevated sense of self-worth has no place on the level ground where we are sinners drawn and redeemed by the One who chose to drop His heavenly self-worth, lower himself to our level, and die for us, while we were still in our arrogant ignorance.

Anything of these sound familiar? I wonder what would happen if next meeting time, dialogue balloons popped up above everyone’s head, filled with the thoughts actually tumbling over in their minds. Either there would be a rapid exit of folks and/or a determination to shoo the buzzards out of the balcony.

We have to, like Abram, drive away these vulturous thoughts. They have no place in personal or public worship. To chase these buzzards away there are some key attitudes that  are guaranteed to ruffle the fowls’ feathers and put them to flight. They are good to practice individually, but more effective when full congregation can in unity say “YES!”

Rest in The Rest of God: Fear and doubt give off a stench of death that draw the vultures to a feeding frenzy. The presence of these PREY birds indicate our living in UN-rest with God rather than the REST in God He intends for us. Our present reality says we must work harder for Him . . . He wants us to rest in His ability, power and plan. Our part is to see and hear what is the reality in His Kingdom.

An Authority of God: Buzzards are among the wild birds are protected by state and federal laws. You cannot shoot at, trap, poison, or otherwise kill, capture or possess one without a permit. In the spirit world they have no such safeguards. Each Christ-follower has been given the authority to speak to these vain vultures and they must submit to our will. They do not have to be tolerated or placated. Their appetites are never sated. Speak to them, out loud if necessary . . . it will be the spiritual gunshot to pry them from their perch.

An Expectation of God: For years I went to church to see what was going on in relationships between people, to hear a message, watch the platform performance, but no anticipation that something dynamic was going to happen in the pew in the supernatural power of God. My schedule, what’s for lunch, how’s my week look, and how good I thought the message was, jockeyed for my heart’s distraction. When was the last time you anticipated God showing up with supernatural power. Like the anticipation of welcome company, it’s easier to fight off distractions in our minds when we have an expectation God is going to show up – my attention shifts from management of my little world to His eternal kingdom realized in this world.

For most of my life I’ve gone along with the dry ride. Call it obligation . . . social interaction with people of like belief system . . . habit . . . a place to belong. Those God Memorials gatherings were so formulated it made little difference if He were there or not. If He had shown up, it would have been as shocking as a corpse sitting up and speaking at it’s own funeral.

As I see it, it’s time for the dead to rise up and scare those vultures away. When Abram did the glory (shekhinah) of God showed up as confirmation of what God had promise to do in his life.

When the Stones Cry out

This generation -- call it Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, or whatever -- is impacted spiritually more by movies, music, and television than by sermons, Bible studies, or crusades. Since the mid-1950's, America has experienced a shift away from Judeao-Christian principles to a plethora of religions: IE. Existentialism, environmentalism, ego-centrism, globalism, multi-culturalism and down-right paganism.

I am live in the first generation of Americans who are "biblically illiterate." No longer can I use Christian-ese, like salvation, regeneration, or repentance, and expect people younger than 60 to understand what I am talking about. With basics of the Ten Commandments removed from public schools, basic terms like adultery, coveting and stealing have been so grayed, they've little meaning to the average high school graduate. The individual form the center of the universe around which all life must revolve. Right and wrong is determined by personal preference and relativism.

Having grown up in a conservative Christian background, oral-preaching and teaching was elevated to the pedestal of THE technique to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Music and holiday drama's were tolerated, but never allowed more than secondary to the spoken word. The infrequent movie was shown if it contained an obligatory 10-minute Billy Graham sermon segment and invitation.

While being accused of everything from "diluting the Gospel" to being "tools of the Devil," seeker-style congregations have learned that some sacrosanct methods of traditional Churches are ineffective in today's media-wise generation. Critiques have forgotten that most of their sacred ways of doing things were once cutting edge, contemporary evangelism tools, decried as evil by the traditional church leaders of the day.

Sunday Schools were pioneered by Dwight Lyman Moody, a shoe salesman turned preacher, to reach the spiritually illiterate children on the streets of Chicago.

Another enterprising Christ-follower mounted his steam powered organ on the back of a wagon, traveled through inner-city streets, attaching children to religious ervices. We associate the sounds of the calliope with a circus, but it first was a tool of evangelism.

In the 15th century dramatic enactments of Scripture were banned from cathedrals because they were more popular than the Latin masses, which the church attendees could not understand.

Reformer Martin Luther set doctrine to the tunes of popular drinking songs so the illiterate could memorize the principles of Scripture.

Sunday Evening Services were started as a drawing card so people could marvel at the invention of gas lighting while hearing the Gospel presentation in public buildings.

This generation is as eager to fill the God-void in their souls as any time in history, but they are drawn to methods which entertain while educating. They want their senses, as well as their minds satisfied. Entertainment has that appeal.

By definition, entertainment is an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention. It is a tool of education, information and indoctrination. It has no morals--it is neither good nor evil. The world system has long known entertainment disarms the individual, opening the heart to concepts the mind would normally reject.

When Christ-followers abandoned their salt-and-light roles in Hollywood during the 1950's and 1960's, the talent void was filled with directors and producers who effectively waged war on Bible-believers. We have been portrayed as ignorant, sadistic and mindless robots. Scripture-quitting characters are narrow-minded and intolerant at best. At worst, we are the anti-heroes from Pulp Fiction, or vengeance-obsessed villains who use the Bible to justify evil acts portrayed in print, on the tube, or on the movie screen.

While Christ-followers may never dominate the artistic worlds of the stage, silver screen, and television, there have been encouraging events of recent days.

Amazing Grace -- Well-produced, well-acted recounting of what it took to stand against public apathy, opposition, and an Empire to get slavery outlawed.

The Nativity Story -- A well-scripted retelling of the first Christmas with high production values and good marketing.

Facing the Giants -- A church funded and produced football drama, well received by movie goers.

End of the Spear -- A revival of the inspiring deaths of five missionaries in Ecuador during the '40's

A Night With The King -- A classy retelling of one of the Bible's most thrilling stores of murder, intrigue and faith.

Bruce Almighty -- Perhaps not entirely Biblical, but a comedic look at what a modern day Noah might face.

Saving Grace -- While urging caution, because of the language and infrequent nudity, this TNT crime drama looks at the raw life of a sinner who, asks God for help, gets an angel (nothing like Touched By An Angel), and fights the drawing grace of God on her road to redemption.

As I See It, it would be easy to become paranoid and discouraged over this generation's seeming godlessness. Being a Christ-follower, I could rail at the Darkness, throw stones at these bastions of wickedness, or take my God-given gifts and re-format my presentation in terms this society understands. God is still in control of the affairs of men. Jesus said if his followers would not speak up, "the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40) -- even if it's the stony hearts of the entertainment industry.