Lately, I have been thinking about the atonement and how profoundly our preferred atonement metaphor colors the practice of our faith. There are moments in which I wonder whether the financial needs of a typical church organization make us more receptive to atonement metaphors that involve payment and indebtedness. Jesus Paid it All, all to him I owe. Bingo, Cha-ching!! Fortunately Jesus has made it easy to make your payments of time, talent, and especially treasure to the payment clearinghouse known as the local church.
I have been part of a church plant before, and one thing that I really liked about that experience was the idea that we were starting with a blank slate and where other churches had messed up, we could do it right from day one. Early on, we said things like, “God doesn’t want your money.” Later on as reality took hold, we didn’t say that anymore. God still didn’t want their money, but the church sure did.
I believe that the financial realities faced by most religious organizations lead to the temptation to monetize the atonement; to find a way to set up a quid pro quo lighting the way to salvation in return for a person’s help in meeting institutional needs. Scratch the church’s back now and God will thank you on the judgment day. God is for us, who would be dumb enough to be against us.
While atheists and cynics would conclude that the church is therefore a scam, I don’t go that far. I think that most local churches genuinely love God and love people and they just have to bend the principles a little in order to keep the love-lights burning. I think that there is a point in every church’s history where they decide to operate more like a non-profit organization supported by a handful of donors than as a fellowship of believers that has little or no financial obligation.
The questions that I now pose:
- Can a fellowship of believers accept the burdens of institution without being consumed by them?
my answer thusfar: Yes, but the path is narrow and only a few find it. - Can a local church satisfy its institutional requirements without adulterating the doctrine of atonement in the process?
my answer thusfar: I don’t know, and that worries me
Seeker Billy said, "I believe the financial realitites faced by most relitious organizations lead to the temptation to monetize teh atonement....who would be dumb engough to be against us?"
ReplyDeleteYou have made some valid points in this non-commented on article nearly a year old. This is your friend of many years resonding.
I am reminded about a man named Luther. He dared and now we protestants exist openly. Could it be we have fallen into the same trap from which Luther helped God free us? I keep seeing the financial report of the local church (not only the one I attend but also the one you serve in) and realize our Senior Pastors are "doing quite well, thank you very much!" When is the last time you ever heard of a Senior Pastor taking a cut in salary for any reason, least of all because the church was receiving less money than is needed to support the pastoral staff? I even had a faithful member say, when discussing the dismissal of all the associate pastors in one congregation, "That is just the way it is."
I am not saying every Senior Pastor needs to cut his/her salary in half. I am only suggesting the possibility our congregations need to re-read Ephesians 4:11-16. My feet are stuck in the cement of being an Associate Pastor (for my whole life). I am now coming to a new understanding about our ecclesiastic understanding. Maybe we need to look at what is happening in the "Horn of Africa." This is where God is working right now. Maybe we need to turn our lemons back into lemonaide.
Love,
Roy