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Somehow or rather, I feel that this issue about church being a business is legitimate but at the same time, it can dilute some of the churches who has succeeded in bringing in the true message of the Gospel but they are running the church like a business. Some of the churches we see in Singapore are City Harvest, and New Creation.
Even the traditional churches are run like an organisation but some are experiencing dwindling members, constantly financially challenged. I assume that the email wrote by Brother Tom is to address this group of churches. But the huge stroke of the brush is painted over churches that are successful in managing their resources and so it is unfair.
Note that the difference in success between a successful vibrant church and a dying one is not the problem how the church is run but lies in the message that the churches are preaching. It boils down to the issues of what is the true meaning of the Gospel message and if the church itself is believing the right beliefs about Christ, God, the redemptive work on the cross and the inheritance we get from God because of Christ work on the cross.
This argument must be handled carefully because some churches do run well 'like' a business and some, God forbid, run 'as' a business. So we must be careful to judge wisely with God's wisdom.
Churches that are good stewards will make full use of the facilities, money, talents and whatever that is in their hands to maximise its potentials. And good stewards of the gifts, money, talents will be praised by God himself as this can be seen by Jesus parable Matt 25:14-30.
Consider the statement from the previous email " they will abandon their buildings, give up their salaries, give up their titles, give up their control systems, stop trying to fund its business, and encourage it to be what it was meant to be" [Side question: What do you mean 'what it was meant to be'? So what is the condition that you want the present church to be like?]
a) Building - Yes the church building may become a stumbling block in terms of putting too much importance as in organising fund raising activities for it. However, the Jews have their synagogue and God has no problem with that so why the big fuss of the church building? The building has no problems at all, it is the way that the building was looked upon. We must also know that our bodies are the temples of God because of Christ who dwells in each and everyone of us who believes in Him. But the building has its uses, it helps in the building of the ministry to help others, for people to meet, for people to worship as a congregation etc etc.
b) Salaries - Even Jesus uses parable of the workers in the vineyard to teach us that our work will be paid (Matt 20:1-16). And our sacrifices to God will be paid in heaven as well as on the earth. But if the argument is that we should help the body of Christ with no intention of being paid, that is correct as well BUT still Jesus will reward you in heaven and on earth. The crux of the matter here is the motivation behind the work, and each should be rewarded for the work for Christ, that includes using salaries as well.
So did the priests of God's temple get paid with salaries? How did they get paid?
Look at Numbers 18 and we know that tithes to God are to feed the priests of the temples. And the equivalent of the work of the priests will be our pastors in church so our tithes and offerings are primarily for their benefit and secondary to the church itself.
Now there are arguments against tithes for the current church as the law of tithing should not be followed strictly since Jesus has fulfilled all the law on the cross. I disagree.
The first tithe, as we look in the book of Genesis 14:1-22, comes from Abraham to Melchizedek (a picture of God), that happens before the Law of moses, therefore it preceeds the Law of Moses and should have continued after the fulfillment of the Law by Christ. The very act of tithing is included in the Law shows its importance. If it is not, then Moses could easily say that since the covenant of the Law is at hand, then the act of tithing should not be included as well.
But no it did not happen then, it should not have happened with the new convenant. It is a 'law' that transcends time, even at the time of Adam and Eve. God says in Gen 2:16-17 that Adam can eat from any fruit except from that one tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (Again....knowledge of Good and Evil isn't that also the knowledge of the law?). All the trees Adam can touch he cannot touch that one tree that belongs to God, isn't that the same as the meaning of giving a tithe?
Now the giving of the tithe, benefit not just the pastor, but also frees us from the clutches for the love of money (try giving the full 10% of the gross income, the FIRST time you tithe with the full knowledge what the amount can buy) and also free God to bless us richly (read Malachi) when we honor Him first.
So tithing, in the modern era, involved mostly money because we do not barter trade anymore but the essence of the theology of tithing, to honor God what is His and has given to us, is still true today so denying it because of the excuse that Christ has fulfilled the law is the same as giving Himself a slap across the face.
Think about it: Christ redeemed us from "law" of tithing so that we need not honor Him anymore through giving? Sounds ridiculous isn't it? If that is so, then there is no point for any of us to donate money to church or helping other people through sacrifice since Christ has solved that on the cross.
Sometimes denying the theology of tithing also may exposes the heart that loves mammon more than the Lord.
In this sense, God gave "salary" to the priests through tithes given by worshippers and members of the church to honor Him. If that is so, then the concept of salary should not be foreign in the realm of God and His kingdom.
c) Funding its "business" - I do not know what this means but I assume that brother Tom is suggesting that some churches are formed so that businesses can be run. I do not deny that there maybe some 'ministries' that misuses its activities for God's work for such a purpose of profitability for self gratification.
But do churches that have properties to rent out like renting out their church building for seminars and wedding to fund activities and relief efforts are to be condemned? Is having a place to call one's own to have services in, a poor financial judgement in the long run? No. I think it is unfair that we put honorable churches with integrity that knows how to manage the money we gave to them through tithes and offerings under such demeaning spotlight.
I agree with the following "We gather to love Jesus, be loved by Jesus, care for the needy, and then take what we receive in our simple gatherings back into the world where they desperately need to see the Real Jesus, the Jesus of the marketplace, the Jesus of real not phony spiritual life, the Jesus of love, care, and kindness to all, not a religious Jesus cooped up inside 4 walls of a thing called Church. It's time to set Jesus loose from the strictures of a too narrowly defined concept of Church. It is time to release Jesus from the prison of the four walls, into the vastness of a world that needs Him."
May I suggest that you read Lee Strobels' new book "God's Outrageous Claims". In it you will see that whatever you see lacking in our spiritual life today, most of it is caused because of how we wrongly perceive ourselves as Christians, how we wrongly see the situation around us, how we rely on feelings more than the true told by Jesus and what we did not claim as Christians in Jesus Christ.
Therefore the issue now is not just because of our wrong idea of what a church itself and how it is run, but what we really know ourselves as Christians. So attacking Churches that seems to run like a business is myopic and did not see the whole picture. Worse of all, it did not honor God for giving the churches the ability to run their churches well (which resembles business but not a business in essence).
"When the Church ceases being a business then the world will see the real Church. Until then our mixture only confuses, angers, saddens, and frustrates the world. They want to see we have the real thing, not some failed attempt to imitate them. God help us!!!!"
So how can we let people see that we have the REAL thing? Yes there are brothers and sisters that sacrifice themselves wholeheartedly that they touch the souls of the people they serves (Lee Strobel's new book do highlight such brothers and sisters) but there are times when what we preach is not what we enjoy or what we do. We preach PEACE but do we have peace? (And is the meaning of the english Peace the same as the word Shalom which is hebrew word for Peace?
Answer: No. Shalom means much much more and that is what Jesus wants to give us..the hebrew shalom...not the english definition of peace. Let's have another time for this subject)
Like i said, running the church using the business way may be the one of the ways to manage God's gifts to us and the result being the blessing of the church community itself and the community that the church serves. Good stewards of the gifts will bless the people such as opening up blood transfusion centers, free clinics, disaster relief, arming evangelists for mission work etc etc.
The problem lies in what and how the message has been passed down to the congregation. Did it reflect Jesus and God's grace? Did the church condemn their members? Did the church provide support the community and its members?
Before I go, I just realise that there is an increasing number of Christians that harks to the Church of the Acts. Yes, we want the power of the first church in Jerusalem. They got the power not because of the era they are in, they got the power because they know who they are in Christ and what they have as Christ followers.
Powerful churches do exist now as miracles are happening around the world. Some of these successful churches show their true spirituality by becoming successful in the flesh as well and honor God with these successes. Whatever the case, we are here to be salt and light of the earth and to do that, we need to organise and use of talents that God gaves and do everything with the power of God.
Go into Jesus' Shalom!
Even the traditional churches are run like an organisation but some are experiencing dwindling members, constantly financially challenged. I assume that the email wrote by Brother Tom is to address this group of churches. But the huge stroke of the brush is painted over churches that are successful in managing their resources and so it is unfair.
Note that the difference in success between a successful vibrant church and a dying one is not the problem how the church is run but lies in the message that the churches are preaching. It boils down to the issues of what is the true meaning of the Gospel message and if the church itself is believing the right beliefs about Christ, God, the redemptive work on the cross and the inheritance we get from God because of Christ work on the cross.
This argument must be handled carefully because some churches do run well 'like' a business and some, God forbid, run 'as' a business. So we must be careful to judge wisely with God's wisdom.
Churches that are good stewards will make full use of the facilities, money, talents and whatever that is in their hands to maximise its potentials. And good stewards of the gifts, money, talents will be praised by God himself as this can be seen by Jesus parable Matt 25:14-30.
Consider the statement from the previous email " they will abandon their buildings, give up their salaries, give up their titles, give up their control systems, stop trying to fund its business, and encourage it to be what it was meant to be" [Side question: What do you mean 'what it was meant to be'? So what is the condition that you want the present church to be like?]
a) Building - Yes the church building may become a stumbling block in terms of putting too much importance as in organising fund raising activities for it. However, the Jews have their synagogue and God has no problem with that so why the big fuss of the church building? The building has no problems at all, it is the way that the building was looked upon. We must also know that our bodies are the temples of God because of Christ who dwells in each and everyone of us who believes in Him. But the building has its uses, it helps in the building of the ministry to help others, for people to meet, for people to worship as a congregation etc etc.
b) Salaries - Even Jesus uses parable of the workers in the vineyard to teach us that our work will be paid (Matt 20:1-16). And our sacrifices to God will be paid in heaven as well as on the earth. But if the argument is that we should help the body of Christ with no intention of being paid, that is correct as well BUT still Jesus will reward you in heaven and on earth. The crux of the matter here is the motivation behind the work, and each should be rewarded for the work for Christ, that includes using salaries as well.
So did the priests of God's temple get paid with salaries? How did they get paid?
Look at Numbers 18 and we know that tithes to God are to feed the priests of the temples. And the equivalent of the work of the priests will be our pastors in church so our tithes and offerings are primarily for their benefit and secondary to the church itself.
Now there are arguments against tithes for the current church as the law of tithing should not be followed strictly since Jesus has fulfilled all the law on the cross. I disagree.
The first tithe, as we look in the book of Genesis 14:1-22, comes from Abraham to Melchizedek (a picture of God), that happens before the Law of moses, therefore it preceeds the Law of Moses and should have continued after the fulfillment of the Law by Christ. The very act of tithing is included in the Law shows its importance. If it is not, then Moses could easily say that since the covenant of the Law is at hand, then the act of tithing should not be included as well.
But no it did not happen then, it should not have happened with the new convenant. It is a 'law' that transcends time, even at the time of Adam and Eve. God says in Gen 2:16-17 that Adam can eat from any fruit except from that one tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (Again....knowledge of Good and Evil isn't that also the knowledge of the law?). All the trees Adam can touch he cannot touch that one tree that belongs to God, isn't that the same as the meaning of giving a tithe?
Now the giving of the tithe, benefit not just the pastor, but also frees us from the clutches for the love of money (try giving the full 10% of the gross income, the FIRST time you tithe with the full knowledge what the amount can buy) and also free God to bless us richly (read Malachi) when we honor Him first.
So tithing, in the modern era, involved mostly money because we do not barter trade anymore but the essence of the theology of tithing, to honor God what is His and has given to us, is still true today so denying it because of the excuse that Christ has fulfilled the law is the same as giving Himself a slap across the face.
Think about it: Christ redeemed us from "law" of tithing so that we need not honor Him anymore through giving? Sounds ridiculous isn't it? If that is so, then there is no point for any of us to donate money to church or helping other people through sacrifice since Christ has solved that on the cross.
Sometimes denying the theology of tithing also may exposes the heart that loves mammon more than the Lord.
In this sense, God gave "salary" to the priests through tithes given by worshippers and members of the church to honor Him. If that is so, then the concept of salary should not be foreign in the realm of God and His kingdom.
c) Funding its "business" - I do not know what this means but I assume that brother Tom is suggesting that some churches are formed so that businesses can be run. I do not deny that there maybe some 'ministries' that misuses its activities for God's work for such a purpose of profitability for self gratification.
But do churches that have properties to rent out like renting out their church building for seminars and wedding to fund activities and relief efforts are to be condemned? Is having a place to call one's own to have services in, a poor financial judgement in the long run? No. I think it is unfair that we put honorable churches with integrity that knows how to manage the money we gave to them through tithes and offerings under such demeaning spotlight.
I agree with the following "We gather to love Jesus, be loved by Jesus, care for the needy, and then take what we receive in our simple gatherings back into the world where they desperately need to see the Real Jesus, the Jesus of the marketplace, the Jesus of real not phony spiritual life, the Jesus of love, care, and kindness to all, not a religious Jesus cooped up inside 4 walls of a thing called Church. It's time to set Jesus loose from the strictures of a too narrowly defined concept of Church. It is time to release Jesus from the prison of the four walls, into the vastness of a world that needs Him."
May I suggest that you read Lee Strobels' new book "God's Outrageous Claims". In it you will see that whatever you see lacking in our spiritual life today, most of it is caused because of how we wrongly perceive ourselves as Christians, how we wrongly see the situation around us, how we rely on feelings more than the true told by Jesus and what we did not claim as Christians in Jesus Christ.
Therefore the issue now is not just because of our wrong idea of what a church itself and how it is run, but what we really know ourselves as Christians. So attacking Churches that seems to run like a business is myopic and did not see the whole picture. Worse of all, it did not honor God for giving the churches the ability to run their churches well (which resembles business but not a business in essence).
"When the Church ceases being a business then the world will see the real Church. Until then our mixture only confuses, angers, saddens, and frustrates the world. They want to see we have the real thing, not some failed attempt to imitate them. God help us!!!!"
So how can we let people see that we have the REAL thing? Yes there are brothers and sisters that sacrifice themselves wholeheartedly that they touch the souls of the people they serves (Lee Strobel's new book do highlight such brothers and sisters) but there are times when what we preach is not what we enjoy or what we do. We preach PEACE but do we have peace? (And is the meaning of the english Peace the same as the word Shalom which is hebrew word for Peace?
Answer: No. Shalom means much much more and that is what Jesus wants to give us..the hebrew shalom...not the english definition of peace. Let's have another time for this subject)
Like i said, running the church using the business way may be the one of the ways to manage God's gifts to us and the result being the blessing of the church community itself and the community that the church serves. Good stewards of the gifts will bless the people such as opening up blood transfusion centers, free clinics, disaster relief, arming evangelists for mission work etc etc.
The problem lies in what and how the message has been passed down to the congregation. Did it reflect Jesus and God's grace? Did the church condemn their members? Did the church provide support the community and its members?
Before I go, I just realise that there is an increasing number of Christians that harks to the Church of the Acts. Yes, we want the power of the first church in Jerusalem. They got the power not because of the era they are in, they got the power because they know who they are in Christ and what they have as Christ followers.
Powerful churches do exist now as miracles are happening around the world. Some of these successful churches show their true spirituality by becoming successful in the flesh as well and honor God with these successes. Whatever the case, we are here to be salt and light of the earth and to do that, we need to organise and use of talents that God gaves and do everything with the power of God.
Go into Jesus' Shalom!
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