Is The Church a Business?

Lately, I have heard very well-educated churchgoers make the statement - to a congregation within a sermon or other corporate discussion - that the Church is a business. At least one of those who said such graduated from a seminary with a doctorate. Not only does the statement: the Church is a business - unsettles me, but that it was being taught to vulnerable Church members - vulnerable in that many are Biblically illiterate - riles me. On one of the occasions, the gathered worship community had incorporated into the worship service discussion of the congregation's dire financial status. Persons mumbled, then one courageously and boldly, rebuked the Pastor, saying that he took offense to having the discussion of money and finance disturbing "the worship". Bible illiteracy in neon signs.

They do not understand - even though they seem very certain that they have Bible knowledge, that in the Bible, money and the offerings have always been a part of worship. Money/ currency of whatever type is referred to in the Bible over 2300 times!  Discussion of such also was nearly always related directly or indirectly to how to worship God.The Sovereign of all things, Creator of the universe and man himself has never been caught unawares by persons making statements that malign God and His provisions.

One of the more outstanding accounts of this is in the New Testament at Acts 5. The new movement called The Way, i.e., followers of Christ and believers of His Gospel, were calling forth testimony or offerings during a worship service from members of the worshiping community, as there was a strong impetus within the worship community to support one another that was borne out of the wondrous miracle of Pentecost. There was an overflowing of joy and love among the newly baptized community members so that sharing between and supporting one another in whatever way needed was the fruit or product of their growing faith. The support would become a necessity as the community of believers grew and the antagonists - Judaizers and nationalists stirred up by the religious authorities - grew in disapproval of this movement.  The worshiping community had gladly accepted the responsibility of caring for one another. (Acts 2:38-47; 4:8-37) 

On the occasion in Acts 5, the apostles were together with the worshiping community during its gathering when a man named Ananais brought his offering to the apostles. He and his wife Sapphira were wealthy enough to sell personal property, which would have been known by all and would cast a spotlight on their "charitable", supposed divine, act. Divine in that many who had done so prior to Ananais and Sapphira's offering, had been moved by the work of the Spirit, had acted in faith, to offer monies raised from the sale of property and possessions to support the worship community. However, Ananais and his wife, in selling off their possession did so in a deceptive spirit - they wanted to appear to be giving an abundant offering to the gathered community saying they were giving the full sum of money from the sale, when they were actually only giving a portion, thus lying to look superior and worthy of praise before man, and to benefit themselves with such a deceptive act. Here is the account in verses 1- 11 (NRSV):

"But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2/ with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3/ 'Ananias,' Peter asked, 'why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4/ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!' 5/ Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6/ The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

"7/ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8/ Peter said to her, 'Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.'  And she said, 'Yes, that was the price.' 9/ Then Peter said to her, 'How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.' 10/ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11/ And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things."

What a worship service that was! While money was the subject of that portion of the service, the primary matter at hand was faith and obedience. It always should be.

The "business" of collecting monies to support the saints that was taking place within the worshiping communities was an act of faith and humility. The business aspect of that act consisted of collecting, tabulating, and reporting to the congregation the totals that were collected, no doubt expressing what those funds would accomplish. If the members had been stingy, or lax in giving, leaders would need to encourage further giving during the time the community gathered for worship as their giving was an act of worship and faith, a faith that knew God would also supply their needs in their obedient sacrifice. As Peter's message inferred, God has a strong interest in how we express our faith or lack thereof, whether it is during worship, or during an act of worship and prayer. What is our heart engagement with our giving? Where is our faith in our giving?

In His Sermon on the Mount, with regard to our attitudes about money and wealth, Jesus had this to say to those who would follow Him, and who would worship Him and His Father, as recorded in Matthew 6:19-21, 24:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ...No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." He did not stutter, He did not slur the message, but rather, spoke clearly to those who were listening.

Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church, in chapter 8, is another example of the topic of ministry financial matters taking place within a worship service. Paul had cautioned the church on many things - its moral conduct, its celebration of the Lord's Supper, its abuse of Spiritual gifts, its dissensions and divisions, and the list goes on. In the second letter - both of which would have been read and discussed during gathered worship, Paul addresses the Corinthians' failure to support God's people in Jerusalem where extreme famine had greatly impacted the followers of The Way and which, at that time, was the "home office" of The Way. He contrasts the Corinthians' failure - a community that had an adequate financial capacity at their disposal, against a sister community of worshipers - their sister church in Macedonia, whose members were very poor. The Macedonian church did not have "excess" savings to fall back on, yet, through a sacrificial act of faith, gave above and beyond from their "pitiable" finances to ensure that the church at Jerusalem would not starve, while the Corinthians were holding on to their comparative "wealth" and putting faith in their coffers.

In our modern times, where emails and printed publications are created to communicate to church members what the state of finances are, sometimes these forms of sharing information on financial status are ignored. There is a lack of concern on some level about the financial condition of the church, under the supposition that since God says He will supply all of our needs, we don't have to sacrifice our monies. What this way of thinking disregards is that God has promised to do so by His grace. They do not understand that neither God's grace, nor His mercy are unlimited. They fail to ask themselves: How long will God's grace extend to disobedient children? Do we want to test God like that? How long will a congregation keep the mindset of taking, getting a perceived benefit from the worship service, and yet refuse to give their tithes and free will offerings? Does Malachi 3 carry any significance for those who make those choices? 

Giving and the stewardship of church finances indeed are a matter of worship, as the essence of worshiping God is found in obeying and trusting Him. Worship isn't about coming into a building with others and getting our "praise on", eating and drinking, then walking out oblivious to God's command to serve Him and others. But many churches have adopted that style, leaving all the serving to the leaders. They make worship about themselves, what makes them feel good. They put on the blinders and choose not to know that we are called to be stewards of the manifold grace of God, and that includes stewardship of financial provision. Stewardship is an act of ministry and worship - obeying God's purpose for His Church. He observes and holds us accountable for acts of disobedience. Remember God's words to Moses when the nation of Israel rebelled against God in the wilderness? They disregarded God's commandments, they disregarded the proper management of the gold and silver they had acquired from the Egyptians by Yahweh's grace and salvific act. Because of that, God said to Moses said that He would destroy each and every person, and create a people through Moses. Stealing from God is a sin, a blatant act of disobedience. Need I continue?

In the United States, for a church or house of worship to be able to transact business, it must have a legal entity within its organization, which means in many states, following the rules set up for "charitable nonprofit organizations". In Maryland, in order for a church to transact business, it must be registered with the state as a house of worship and do so through filing as a charitable nonprofit corporation, identifying its "board" as its legal entity by state standards. Our church's Vestry is the legal entity representing our church. Other denominations have trustee boards and similar structures that act as the legal presence under state law. The church itself is not intended to be recognized as a commercial business, but as a charitable nonprofit organization that conducts business through its legal entity. Within that legal structure, the church's legal entity files with the IRS to be recognized as a tax exempt organization. Thus, under that structure, the church conducts business under the auspices and authority of its "board", or in our case, Vestry, to transact business to supply the house of worship with services such as water distribution, gas and/or electrical power, to be able to purchase supplies used in its ministries, to make donations, pay salaries and fees, and employment taxes, to obtain required insurance coverages to protect its property and staff, to follow regulations and statutes applicable to commercial buildings and properties, to enter into contractual relationships and obligations with firms, etc. The legal entity is responsible for accurate recordkeeping and its financial status is subject to audit to publicly ensure that it is above reproach and not operating illegally on any level, and that it is still able to maintain and sustain the properties. In the first century, the elders and deacons and the appointed treasurer or "caretaker of the money bags" would have been the "legal entity" so to speak that would act on behalf of the church or worship community.

God explains very clearly what the Church is and what it is not. It is not a building - although a church may meet in a building. No - He tells in scripture that the Church is the foreordained called out people of God in Christ, chosen by God. It is a "people" created by God for Christ. (Ephesians 1; Colossians 1:15-24; Acts 12:5; 14:27; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 12:27-29; Revelation 19:27; Revelation 21:2,9; 22:17) As God did in the Garden of Eden when the perfect man Adam was given by God a perfect Bride created for him, namely Eve, God has given to His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Church - Who is His Body and His Bride. The Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:20-33 allegorically uses the relationship of husbands and wives to illustrate God's provision of the Church to be the Bride of Christ. This Bride, this Church, has been the plan of God since before the foundation of the world. God's choosing it makes it a sacred, divine entity. So, to describe as or confer the designation of business to the Bride of Christ, His Church, may be just a hair short of blasphemy. It dishonors the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - the sacrifice that in purpose would follow God's plan of the creation of the Church. Common sense would lead us to ask: so did Christ die on the cross so that God could create a business and call it Church?

The Church is not a business. Let me say it with even more emphasis: The Church is not a business! However, there are those religious organizations that belie this truth by their actions and harloting themselves - using the church as a basis for financially enriching its leadership and others, sometimes even telling members that they must mortgage their homes or give their rent money to the church so that "God will bless them a number of times over when they give such monies to the preacher for material goods." These greedy deceivers will pay a dear price for such blasphemy, and for causing weak people to stumble. (Romans 14:13; Matthew 24:4,5,11; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Revelation 2:12-29; Amos 5:6-27)

Pray that those who believe themselves to be Christ's followers will indeed come to a saving knowledge of God, will cherish all of the utterings of God, His words, as found in scripture and study them and apply them so that they will not be ignorant of God's purpose and will. That they will not be those persons who hear this from God, as recorded in Hosea 4:6 -- 

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge! Because you have rejected knowledge,     I reject you from being a priest [rejects their worship] to me; and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."

Pray that they will obey God with their whole heart, minds and strength. Pray the prayer in Colossians 1:9-14 regularly, personalizing it as needed. So that when persons hear preaching that doesn't sound right that they will be like the Bereoans in Acts 17 who sought verification in the scriptures for what they were being taught, to ensure it wasn't falsehood that kills, but truth that brings salvation.

Mini Series on Ephesians - The Holiness of God and Who We Are In Christ. Chapter 1: Awareness

May the LORD bless you and keep you, may the LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Awareness of Who We Are 
One of my favorite passages in the Bible (there are actually quite a few favorites!!), is the one we were blessed with in the Bible reading from Paul's epistle to the church at Ephesus. According to Bible scholars, the ancient Greek manuscripts show that the passage in Paul's letter we identify as verses 1 through 14 was a single sentence (no grammar police back then!). To me it is as if the message contained in those few verses was a singular reassurance to the church, some members of which were new to the faith and/or persons who were experiencing trials and uncertainties. The letter would have been read to the church by an elder, and no doubt exegeted or expounded upon by a leader or leaders based on Paul's two-year visit with them and the evangelism/Gospel teaching he shared. I wonder how I would have responded if I were with the believers at Ephesus hearing this letter: would I have hung on every word, or at least try to commit to memory as much as I could? How would you have responded?

Even now, reading and re-reading this passage is so encouraging - especially in the midst of a dark valley or path that does not seem to have an exit ramp. On this 'visit', let us read out loud the opening words at least a couple of times, slowly. Listen to them, and let them soak in: "To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus." (Ephesians 1:1, NRSV) 

Contrary to what some of us may have been told or taught, a Biblical saint, that is, what the Bible calls a saint is not defined as a heroic Bible character or highly pious person who has practiced good-deed-doing, or some other extraordinary act. A Biblical saint is a person made a saint (or regenerated) by God's will to become a saint - a person who He has set apart from the world culture to be holy and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not because he or she has done something extraordinary, or has earned special merit by some other act. All who are saved and sanctified by God are saints. To be a person He has "called out" to "come in".

Yet, as early church history has shown - and even unto this day, the Roman Catholic Church has overwritten Bible theology, and in and of itself, has appointed a Roman Catholic-based group - the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (originally called the Congregation of Rites) tasked by the Roman church with the responsibility of determining if a person is worthy of canonization – i.e., the formal process to declare such person a "saint." Because of this human intervention, the church has adopted such a nonbiblical premise for awarding humans it has deemed worthy the title of "Saint."  The Bible, never uses the word saint as a title, but rather as a "position", a salvific identity, given true worshipers as those God has indwelt with His Spirit and who God has redeemed by the blood of Christ. All Christians who are saved by the blood and imputed with the righteousness of Christ are sacred vessels - saints - made by God for God. Admittedly, this truth will take some time to inculcate as we have been conditioned in the opposite direction.

Further on this point: Read the following excerpt from Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3-4. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love." God the Holy Spirit, Author of the Word of God, says that God has chosen us, placed a calling on us, has set us apart from the world to become a person made new by the Holy Spirit (more of that in verses 13-14) The word "saint", which is also translated in some versions as "holy ones," appears several times in both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. It is derived from the Latin version of the word holy as applied to such a person (agnus), translated from the Greek word hagios, which means to be set aside or separated apart from ordinary use to be made sacred or created for a sacred purpose. A calling from God to become a Christ follower, a person who is "in Christ", is a holy calling. It is an invitation into the family of God. You and I who have been called by God to such a holy purpose, are saints made by God.

And there is more to be made aware of in the opening verses of chapter one:

The passage reveals something even more amazing: "He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world." Before the foundation of the world. That is, before the "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", God had already determined who would be called. This is referred to as the "doctrine of election" and if you were a regular Bible study attendee you would have heard Mr. James refer to this doctrine a number of times. It is definitely one of those hard sayings in the Bible, but the essence is that God is the One Who Saves, God is the One Who Calls us to be in Christ. This is a recurring theme in chapters 1 and 2 of Ephesians, and in my messages, will likewise be repeated.
     Some of you who continue to read this message may be unsettled by what you read, as you have been raised and taught either by those who raised you, or by a minister, or by a religious rite or ritual the very opposite.

We do not, we cannot become a Christian any other way, no matter what anyone says or professes - only God alone can do this. He doesn't need help from us to make that decision. We can't inherit it from mommy and daddy, or from grandma or grandpa, or any other "ancestor". Nor does sainthood - the call to be in Christ - "rub off" on us when we are around a Christ follower; yes, we can be influenced by their example, by their sharing of the Gospel message, but it is ultimately God who chooses to stir the heart of the hearer. We cannot earn it by being "good" which is beyond impossible because we have an inherited sin nature from Adam that is anti-God. We cannot earn it through good-deed-doing; no church or religious person or religious ritual can make us Christian or saved; such activities may be able to point us to God, but they cannot usurp the power of God to save an individual. It is God alone who makes that choice - and it is God alone who has set the time and circumstance of the manifestation of that choice.

Thus, when you really sit and meditate on that tenet, that truth, can you feel the ramifications of what God has done for you and in you, if indeed you are saved, that He pierced all of eternity to choose us out of love? 

Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll be honest with you: I often well up with tears and a heart so full of gratitude that it overflows whenever I am hit with that reality!! He chose me - me, a nobody, a "blip on the screen of eternity". I don't deserve even a passing thought by Him. Why can I honestly say that? Because: He is a God so Holy that there are no adjectives created by man to adequately describe Him. And I (along with everyone else) am a sinner that has no inherent right to even step into a space of holiness, or even on the edge of God's shadow. (Kind of like Moses and the burning bush1/: God told Moses to remove his sandals, the identity of his walk or character, because what he was entering was holy space. If Moses had instead arrogantly stepped into that holy space with the uncleansed sinful character he had, we wouldn't even know about him, for he would have been consumed by the fire he was investigating, never to be used in the holy work of liberating the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from slavery in Egypt. He would have been a "blip" that immediately disappeared, never to return. But, praise God that He had already ordained Moses for this calling, so that we are here today because he obeyed by the grace of God. Just as God called Moses and planted a faith in him that obeyed the call to approach the bush, God calls us out of the bondage and penalty of sin by endowing us with the faith to respond in obedience so that we can respond by acknowledging His holiness and "take off our sandals" to be used by God.)  

As the hymn says, "we are not worthy of all His blessings." yet God in His amazing grace and mercy chose us to be in Christ since before the foundation of the world. This knowledge and awareness of what God has done has to be the most awesome, most serious, solemn and at the same time, the most amazing and joyous thing that ever happened to us. The All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Powerful God who lives in the Eternal Present - a time frame we cannot even begin to wrap our brains around - has chosen us to become an heir with Christ - the same Christ Jesus who left heaven, came to earth, lived a life of righteousness, then died as a sacrifice for sin. *More about that later.*

Friends, please do not take this truth lightly. If you know that you are called by God, that you were chosen from before the foundation of the world -- as opposed to mere attraction or feel good vibes of a service, as a social interaction with family or friends, or as a duty to a lifestyle so that you are perceived as a good person by crossing a church threshold -- then please, please grab hold of this awareness, even the miracle of who you and I are and how we became to be in Christ, let it seep deeply, let it be digested into our souls and fill us with all wonderment and awe, fill us with overflowing gratitude, fill us with indescribable joy and peace, and anchor our trust in Him in all things. Mark this page in your Bibles so that you can return to it often, repeat it often, pray it often. May it shape our faith, nurture our love for and in Him, knowing that through Him we have not only eternal life in us in the person of the Holy Spirit, but that we have been gifted the promise of eternal life in the realm where we will see our Savior face to face. Knowing that by His choice of us and the imputed holiness - a holiness that cannot be naturally derived or developed by us, but rather be transferred to us by God - through the Spirit of Christ, we are being sanctified (another word derived from the Greek word hagios), transformed into the image of Christ until we reach the full measure and be "translated" to live in the heavenly places already designated for us. 

Friends, let us believe so strongly and feel the promise in our hearts and souls so deeply so that we will be able to see our lives and humanity through a mind set on God. May we consider all our sufferings (for they can be many), all our woes, our troubles, our grief, our pains - while very and sometimes brutally real and sometimes scarring - as a "slight, momentary affliction [that] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure," i.e., they are "slight" when compared to the eternal life with Christ in the holy realm and kingdom of God that we will enjoy beyond our earthly journey. What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus as He is! As the Gospel song says echoing scripture, "Don't wait 'til the battle is over: shout now!" Hallelujah!

Next time, what it means to be "holy and blameless", a "faithful saint", and what it means to be "blessed".

1/ See Exodus 3:1-22 for full text of Moses' calling.