One of the great things about true Christianity that is focused on the person of Jesus Christ is that He can't be pegged. This means we disagree over all sorts of things but often accept that the different opinions are worth the discussion. Every now and then however there is an issue that is plain wrong and should not be tolerated. In a previous post I spoke of the 'Really Stupid' conference and group with their nonsense statement that if you are not growing you are not like the early church..........well an even worse statement has been made at a conference.
Basically it was stated that we are to give the corners of our fields to the Senior Pastor and then God will bless us. The corners of the fields is of course $$$$. It's based on an Old Testament practice where farmers at harvest time left the corners of their fields for the poor to harvest..... it was a way of helping the poor. The current mumbo jumbo is taking it from the poor, giving to the wealthy and all so we get stuff......THIS IS STEALING FROM THE POOR AND THEREFORE FROM GOD.....ITS WRONG.
Why do we allow it? A number if reasons but there are three I want to mention.
1. We aspire to be like the senior pastor...we want the goodies!
2. We are Biblically ignorant and therefore fall prey to every whim of man
3. When we know its wrong we are too scared to speak out because we are afraid the powerful leaders who will be upset.
So how do we deal with these?
1. Face our own desires and aspirations and stop excusing the ones that do not reflect Jesus.
2. get Biblically literate...read the Bible and don't get everything for the songs we sing and stuff preached.....basically if the preacher is the main beneficiary of the preaching be very cautious.
3. I don't know....still thinking about this one.
This entry was posted by Angry and Shallow, on
Thursday, July 26, 2007.
You can leave your response.
10:26 am
I reckon you wanted to put "harden up" as the answer to the third isse....
sounds good to me ;)
BK
11:06 am
BK,
I'm not sure what "harden up" means . . . Are you suggesting we ignore the problem? Do we tell the OT prohpets to "harden up" when they called out the religious establishemtn for erroneous practices? Do we tell Jesus to "harden up" for speaking out against the powerful of his day?
Too many dodgy pastors are preaching crap that is simply not based on a sound reading of the text.
"Corners of the field"?
If the church was redistributing all its resources to the poor, then I think this analogy might be suitable, but to argue the tithe or an expansion offering from that Judaic custom is verging on the deceptive. . .
However, Mr Darnell, I think a letter to the conference, rather than a public rant is the most appropriate way of dealing with this specific case (as you are dealing with specifics and not a "general trend") If the conference organisers do not respond, then you would be justitified in calling them out in public. If they do respond then I think the response should be made public, especially if it offers a sound defence of the actions. This would then be best complimented by an act of humility on your behalf. . .
3:12 pm
P-Style,
I was saying "harden up" is maybe the answer for those UNABLE to speak out against wrongdoings for fear of the those above them... that's what Darryl's third point about what stops us speaking out: fear.
Sometimes we probably just need a kick in the pants & face up to any untruths (or crap as you so eloquently put it ;P)
I wholeheartedly agree that it should definitely be done with respect, selflessness & humility like you metioned.
3:28 pm
BK,
OK I see, my apologies. . . I thought the suggestion was that Daryl harden up .. . . he he.
6:15 pm
I think that one of the struggles of the everyday Christian is one of interpretation. The bible, in many ways, is a difficult text to understand without some cultural indicators to assist us. When a person begins to read the bible, they may stumble over something that doesn't really make a lot of sense in our culture, and they place it in the "too hard" basket. Now, I am not saying that this is a valid reason for NEVER wrestling with the biblical text, I just wonder if it may be a reason behind people's reliance on the "preacher"/"minister"/"professional" for insight.
PS Thanks too Daryl for your input at the Surrender Conf on the weekend. My wife said she had a great chat to you on the Sunday afternoon before lunch, so thanks!
12:34 pm
Thanks for the feedback. I agree with the harden up comment and that it has to be done with humbleness and humility etc.....but....this usually ends up meaning being soft and the minute someone gets hurt we stop. I think we have to redeem terms like huility and humble etc so they can be used for good and change rather than ineffective nice statements. Jesus was humble and showed humility and yet sometimes called the oppressive leaders (church leaders) sons of satan and a brood of vipers. He got stuck into them and really pissed them off and I'm sure some said they were hurt! When church leaders lead people astray and benefit they must be confronted...scary thought!
5:11 pm
I am young. And angry. And shallow too.
And I am pissed off about lots of things in the church. Some of it, I don't think is really reasonable on my behalf. More of it, I haven't made the effort to talk to many of the people I'm annoyed at. It's very very easy to just blame stuff on 'the elders', but like Mark Sayers said at Surrender this year, "to do that is like a form of prejudice. like racism."
But I am still firmly a believer that just because they are our ministers and leaders, does not mean they are always right. I love when I'm in a leadership role, and somebody challenges me, because it means I have to think about the direction I'm leading in, and whether it's the right one.
I think one of the reasons, to youth like myself, that the leaders might appear to be right or 'higher', is because they know the Bible better than us. I struggle to read my Bible properly, and so your number 2 point really resonates with me.
Rambling now, so I'm stopping.
Enjoy your blog. Peace.
Ben