Signs that your church is too money focused - InDeathorLife.org

How do you know if your church is too focused on money?

J.C. Thibodaux

August 28, 2007 Still trying to find a good home church after our move to Indiana. We visited a Foursquare church in a nearby town this weekend, hoping that we'd found one -- no such luck. Everything seemed okay at first, the song service was nice, the people were friendly, but that was the calm before the storm. You see, this church subscribed heavily to the Word-Faith doctrine (the name-it-claim-it type belief), and started into some things that made it pretty clear that their primary focus was money and material blessing, some of which I'll highlight here:

Signs that your church is focused too much on worldly goods:

#1 The 'pre-tithe' sermon - Nothing sets off a good church service better than hearing how much you're supposed to be giving but aren't. Forget that whole 'trust God to guide them in giving' or 'cheerful giver' thing, we've got tithe quotas to fill. If they're already giving all they are supposed to, remind them that they could give more, making sure to throw in vague promises of exponentially greater blessings from God in return. On this particular Sunday, the pre-tithe sermon was about the widow's mites, which is useful in case anyone is holding back pocket change.

#2 A weekly confession that centers on money - If you are in a somewhat creedal church, I have no problem with phrases such as, "I believe in one God revealed in three divine persons..." or "I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins," but it might be a good time to examine your motives when your weekly confession contains stuff like:

Money, thou art loosed over me
I WILL NEVER BE BROKE another day in my life
I AM the lender not the borrower
I AM above and not beneath
I HAVE BEEN REDEEMED from the curse of poverty

(Taken from an actual 'daily life declaration' of a church in South Carolina)

Our confession is not to our money, nor is material gain our goal in serving God. God does bless His children, but to make His blessing the focus of our weekly devotion is wrong. For while the Psalms do say,

I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)

James reminds us,

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? (James 2:5)

God provides for us, but His blessings don't always come in dollar amounts.

#3 Prophecies about nothing but blessings and wealth - Before they even got to the sermon, the church we visited had not one but at least two prophecies about the people who give getting promoted and blessed with more and more wealth. It was pretty much in the grain of the tithing mini-sermon with a 'Thus saith the Lord' attached, and the second prophecy warning against scoffers doubting the blessing. While I do believe very firmly in God's blessing, I somehow doubt that the showering of material wealth and success on the saints is His main message to the church.

#4 Speaking as if building the kingdom means acquiring more wealth for it - One severely distorted doctrine of the Word-Faith movement is that a primary goal of the church is to gain the world's wealth for God. That may sound ridiculous (probably because it is), but if you read what the likes of Kenneth Copeland write, they teach that God no longer has control of the world since the fall, and as believers we need to put our faith into words and claim the wealth of this world for God's kingdom, all the while enjoying the benefits of being the 'earthly representatives' thereof.... Utter nonsense. God doesn't need your money, He wants your life. His kingdom is not of this world, His city is not on this earth, His house isn't built of wood or stone, His wealth doesn't have a dollar amount, and His treasure is not made of gold or precious stones.

Giving a portion of what we acquire to God is a sincere way to honor Him, not merely some spiritual sounding means of getting more. Even if your heart is somehow in the right place, practices like those listed above will distract people from the true gospel message, turn off visitors both believing and unbelieving, and give people the impression that your church is nothing more than a money-making scheme. Yes, God does love cheerful givers, and it's a whole lot easier to be cheerful about it when you don't have someone trying to lay a guilt trip on you or delivering a cheap sales pitch that would drive an insurance salesman to try to commit seppuku with his own brochures. Such is unbecoming of the Lord's house.

"If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, [even] the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Timothy 6:3-6)

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