Wal-Mart Churchianity--We Preach For Money

by Van Robison

Comparison shopping for churches can be a life long ordeal, because the brands to choose from are innumerable. Walking down the aisles of Wal-Mart Churchianity can cost you a great deal of money if you buy into their sermons and their church teachings. The world of churches is a world of vast diversity, and virtually every leader of every church lives in a world of make-believe--a bubble. Church leaders are mostly all self important and love to make others think that the life of Christians revolves around them. They want commitment, because their income depends on it and many will say that "church hopping" is a no no. They love to lay a guilt trip on anyone they can't control.

Pastors and church leaders seem to read, study and preach from a different Bible. Perhaps their Bible is really "The Pastor's Bible", because the way they often twist scriptures is remarkable. Virtually all the countless churches on earth were initiated by one man or one woman, at least I would presume so. And it is astonishing how many followers all those different churches have been able to gather unto themselves. I suppose that some churches were initiated by a group who went "pastor shopping", and so they founded their particular discount church brand. Anyone can start a "church" and give it any label they want, and even be the "senior pastor"--self appointed. The yellow pages in any major city reveals an astonishing array of churches that anyone could visit. Most of us would have no clue what many of those man-made church organizations are like, except by choosing to attend there for awhile. I know for sure that after attending many different churches over a lifetime, there is not one single church leader that I personally want to follow. I much prefer Jesus Christ. Some "pastors" get mad over that and have expressed that to me, but it really doesn't matter because they are not Christ.

Some groups are more colorful than others. Some love the robes, the candles, the incense and the sort of mystery in their rituals. Others are radically different and virtually all think they are conveying God by their customs, rituals, traditions, worship and spiritual merchandising. Many instill fear and guilt in their members if they step out of line with the teachings of the elders. Some even go to such lengths as to impose the loss of salvation, if anyone should question the "authority" of their church leadership. Cult groups have a notorious reputation, but it has become incredibly widespread even for multitudes of "mainstream" church believers to step outside of institutional church boundaries.

My wife and I attended a well known, major "revival" in which many odd things happened, such as the selling of thousands of video tapes and other paraphernalia. I am reminded of when Jesus Christ drove the money changers out of the temple, but then today, the church buildings are not "temples", because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. At this "revival" they also had very colorful, very large, and beautiful banners which they hung from poles, and to which people would gather around to pray. The banners were works of art and probably hand made by various church ladies, who put their heart and soul into those objects. The banners were in fact magnificent, but I question why you need banners as a crutch for prayer when you have the Holy Spirit in you? And so, many are the customs and traditions of religious folks. That revival took in millions of dollars over a period of several years, in which it kept running. Much like "camp meetings", organizational meetings are often great money makers.

Jesus Christ never commissioned His personal disciples to teach His followers to preach the Gospel for money, or to build buildings, even though the bread and butter of churchianity is cash$$$. One has to wonder how preachers have gone so astray from the teachings of Jesus Christ, that they feel no shame in using the name of Jesus Christ for all their business churches, which they have instituted. But of course, the paid hirelings would have to look elsewhere if the church shoppers didn't shop for their spiritual fruit in the steeple houses. Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God for cash is a rather odd, but common practice, especially since Jesus Christ took up no collections to die on the cross. Jesus willingly gave of His life--freely, but it seems modern day preachers have turned the Gospel into a money making business enterprise. The unspoken motto of preachers today is "WE PREACH FOR MONEY" and we even accept all major credit cards.