In today's society, there is a segment of Christianity that touts itself as one whose members never get sick. They never suffer any lack. They have nice cars, clothes and all of the entrapments of worldly riches because of their "faith". Many have written about it, talked about it, dissed it or loved it but there are a number of Christian brothers and sisters caught up in some form of "prosperity" ministry. In these churches, you are "required" to sow a seed in order to be blessed of God. If you really want to show your faith, you sow your "biggest seed" when you are down to nothing. I heard Rod Parsely actually get on television and say that in order for you to get out of debt, send him your biggest seed. Wouldn't that money be better spent paying down your debts versus sending it into a ministerial black hole? I have heard many from Creflo to Paula White to the up-and comers that are being trained in this foolishness to admonish hard working people to go above and beyond to sow into a ministry. There is something missing here however. Biblically, it is a good thing to sow into the ministry of a man or woman of God. Paul was blessed by many that gave to his ministry so that he could continue to preach. Biblically, if the model set forth in Acts 4:32-37 is used, the missing piece of the puzzle is the church actually giving back to the congregation to help supply their needs. There is no pyramid scheme in the kingdom of God. What the people sowed into the church, they had access to.
Acts 4:32-37
32And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. 36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Prosperity preachers take verse 35 and 37 literally without understanding several key things, the most important being that the apostles distributed what they collected according to the needs of the people. The early church was, for all intents and purposes, a commune that was overseen by the Apostles. Verse 35 says that the goods/ money was distributed as "any had need". They didn't distribute based on who gave the most, they didn't distribute based on who was the best dressed or who gave the nicest things. They gave according to need. Can you imagine Benny Hinn taking the proceeds from one of his "revivals" and giving it back to the people that came to church that night according to their needs? Can you imagine any of these prosperity players doing this? The scripture says nothing about the share that the Apostles took (although we know that they had a share because they are human and had basic needs as well). It says nothing of their helicopter fund, their private jet fund, their honorarium collection, their mansions or their Bentleys. The Apostles' main concern was the people. Many have this equation wrong. The main concern in many instances is the money generated from the people and not their welfare.
Can this model be successful in today's church? With God all things are possible! Do I think that it would work? I see several problems that would cause this model not to work. First off, many preachers have been conditioned that they must have the best of everything and that they must be paid according to their "skills". The bible speaks of a worker (in the gospel) deserving their wages and in 1 Corinthians 9:8-13, Paul makes the case that a minister of the gospel should be compensated. However, he also uses that same illustration to talk about how he took nothing for his work in ministry which was a testament to his love for the Corinthians and for God and an indictment against those that used "godliness as a means of financial gain (1 Tim 6:5)". If a minister would be content with having enough, it could definitely work. Hebrews 13:5 (NRSV): " Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." If you are doing a great work in the Lord, He will provide for you. 1 Tim 6:6-8 (NRSV): "Of course there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these."
Secondly, the bible speaks of the people being of one heart and soul in verse 32. In our capitalistic, self-centered economy I think that it would be very difficult to get anyone to buy into a model such as the one set forth here. We are focused on our things and we take pride in having more things that others. We don't follow Matthew 6:33, we follow the "build a bigger barn" strategy. If we could truly as a body of Christ get on one accord and put aside our differences, this could work and be a tremendous help in the community.
Could a man or woman of God be trusted to oversee this? If God so chooses, there could be someone out there. The problem with money is that once you fall in love with it, it becomes something that consumes you. The prosperity preachers need to take a long hard look at their ministries. If your parishioners are struggling and you are living high on the hog, you need to re-evaluate your ministry. If you feel that it is a necessity to drive a luxury automobile, check your priorities. If you must live in a house on the hill because you are a pastor, the mirror of self-reflection is waiting for you. I will end this as simply as I began it...the prosperity preachers have it all wrong.
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