me|Church

Recently I went with a groups of friends to a church, that will remain unnamed (and if you’re one of those friends and decide to comment, please allow the innocent to remain unnamed) to observe how they “did church” with the end goal of hopefully taking something home that we use at our mid-week gathering. In retrospect, had I had more options, I would’ve probably chosen to visit another place of worship that was closer to, among other things, our size, style, demographic, etc.

Anyway, I knew what to expect and to be honest I didn’t approach the service with the usual, “I’m going to worship/church” attitude. I was there to analyze, critique, and evaluate. This particular church was one of those .tv churches. You know, where everything is “hip” and “edgy.” The music is involved, the lighting looks more like something you’d see at a rock concert, and all the pastors wear trendy long sleeve shirts, faded jeans, and cool looking leather bracelets. Like I said, I knew what to expect.

A lot of the elements of the service were executed very well. The music was polished, the media was relevant and the speaker was dynamic. And, for the most part “the message” and the overarching agenda (for lack of a better word) were to my surprise, agreeable and sound. But the attitude and proposed application of these ideas were to me, contradictory at best, hypocritical at worst.

For example, this particular church placed a great amount of emphasis on tithing. More so than most churches I thought. The pre-tithing motivation speech was awkwardly long, but made some good points. Things like “We’re blessed to be a blessing to others” and “Everything we have belongs to God” were mentioned, which in and of themselves were good things. At this point I was pleasantly surprised. But not for long. Right before the plates/buckets were passed the congregation was asked to recite a “litany” that blatantly negated everything that had been previously said. Think of a Joel Osteen prosperity gospel and prayer of Jabez hybrid. It made me sick. These people were praying for wealth, real estate, job promotions, six figure salaries, you name it. In essence they were being coerced to “give” so they could receive whatever is was they wanted. Tithing was nothing more than a bribe to get God to give me ____________. To hear this and the idea of being blessed to bless and serve others being uttered in the same breath was…sickening.

That was just one example. They were a few others, but after that incident I was really ready to go home. To be frank I have very little need or tolerance for churches that preach individualism and affluence. It really tries my patience and, in my view, has very little, if anything to do with the central message of Jesus. I understand these types of churches are a part of the body and I’m sure they do some things very well, but I have no use for the “good news” of prosperity, materialism and greed. And to hear it presented in such a nuanced and subtle way under the guise of serving others really, really irritated me. If you’re about service fine, be about service. If you’re about the gospel of prosperity fine, be about that, but don’t try to disguise it as something else, as if no one will notice. I believe that is hypocrisy of the ugliest kind and, according to the gospels; Jesus was diametrically opposed to it.

Yes, the gospel message is individual and it demands personal transformation, but to elevate that particular aspect above the rest to the point of endorsing affluence, materialism, and complacency; and turning a blind eye to exploitation, oppression and tyranny, is a great disservice. The gospel is an all-encompassing narrative of God’s cosmic process restoration and renewal of which we are called to participate and reciprocate. How did something so beautiful, good and true ever get twisted and perverted into something different? Why is it no longer “we” and “us” and only “me” and “I?” And, most importantly, why do we allow it to remain what it has become? Why?

~bh ><>