Are We Missing the Point? by Brady

The latest news gathering headlines for Christianity has some TV ministries and televangelists reporting earnings upwards of $69 million dollars for one year in response to a Senate investigation. One particular minister was given a Rolls Royce by the organization (or “church”) and this group paid close to $30,000 for a conference table alone. This is probably just the beginning of such reports dominating news stations in the following weeks in light of the ongoing investigation.

I have always been a little suspect of televangelists begging for money when they are jet setting in personal, private aircraft all over the world. But before we jump all over these preachers of the prosperity gospel, I think we need to see how deep this mentality actually runs in our own personal theology.

Christianity is enamored by the mega-church movement and has been for decades now. We use popular trends and demographics in order to create the next big thing. Using demographics alone is not wrong or evil, but usually our mentality is to be the biggest and the best amongst our Christian brothers and sisters rather than to reach the lost. I do not know the statistics and I am not George Barna, but I would like to see the health of local churches that are in areas around mega-churches to see if they are still thriving. It would be my guess that most of these mega-churches are growing by people joining the congregation from other churches because they have better programs, more elaborate buildings, and the infamous celebrity factor. Also, these churches allow people to slip through the cracks when it comes to discipleship and growth in the other direction, which is deep rather than wide.

But the prosperity gospel reaches my personal theology even more than having the desire for the best graphics on a screen during the praise singing portion of a worship service. Even people who I know are exactly opposite of what we would call “prosperity gospel disciples” still have a form of this belief in their personal theology. The culture has never been more aware of hurting places in the world such as countries in Africa. Many people believe that we are closer than ever to wiping out world hunger and extreme poverty, which is an amazing thing to think about. But the common assumption when Thanksgiving and Christmas rolls around is that we will minister to others by bringing them toys and other trinkets.

This Christmas I will gather with my family, never go a second without access to food, and will receive more presents than I know what to do with. I will give thanks for all of the things God has blessed me with. I will even pray for people who are not as fortunate. Does this sound close to the prosperity gospel to anyone else? What I am saying is that I am more fortunate in worldly terms this holiday season, but am I better off spiritually? Why is our common assumption that the people without toys are worse off than we are? Why do Americans haughtily believe that we need to bring Africa into the 21st century with technology (ironic side note: many churches, including my own, will sing worship songs with graphics of the sky or a river in the background, while we could just go outside and see the real thing.) Why is the mentality present in most of us which believes we do not have anything to learn from the way people in 3rd world countries live their lives? Or even a better question is why verses such as Matthew 19:23 do not scare us as Americans, no matter what tax bracket you fall into? Why do we not truly believe Jesus in Luke 6:20 (NRSV): “Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”? Why do I push back at the thought of selling all I have in the name of Jesus? Is it because I want to give my kids more than I ever had (as if that is possible), or is it because I believe in the practical, American Christianity diet that people have been selling me my whole life over Jesus’ demands in Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58?

The truth is, when people see Christianity today, they see the prosperity gospel in almost all of us. They see churches like the one which a friend of mine affectionately calls “Six Flags over Jesus” because of its similarities to an amusement park. We are inadvertently, or maybe purposefully, portraying Christ as an American CEO rather than the humble, impoverished Rabbi which he actually was. I am as guilty of this as the televangelist driving the Rolls Royce.
Is it wrong to minister to a child this Christmas season via buying him or her toy? I don’t think so. It is however wrong to believe that we have it better off than they do. I don’t believe Jesus or Paul were as tied to here and now as we are. We would certainly not call Paul of 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 “healthy” by any stretch of the imagination. He would need at least two episodes with Oprah or Dr. Phil to sort out his unhealthy lifestyle choices. So would Jesus. We would be offended by the demands Jesus of Luke 18:18-29. So the question is: Are we missing the point?