Answering a Call - Minister or Salesman?

Ever come across a shyster disguised as clergy?  They're pretty easy to spot.  Like a used car salesman, they act like they get a percentage on the side for each sale they bring in.  It doesn't take them long to realize they should have their own dealership.  They can tell within the first few minutes if you're worth their effort, if you aren't, they move onto the next potentially weak minded shopper searching for a "deal."  Like any good salesman, consciously or not, these salesmen believe there is a believer born every day and it's their calling to reel them, and their hard earned savings, into the fold.  Then there are the televangelists.  

Televangelists are the "As Seen on TV" spokespeople for their product.  It doesn't matter whether you need it because, before they're finished, you're going to want it.  I'm actually amazed more of them don't have Aussie accents loudly hawking with the obligatory, "If you call in your recommended tithe of just $50, or more, within the next 20 minutes, we'll throw in a second path to salvation absolutely FREE!  Just pay separate shipping and handling for the embossed, wallet sized blessing... on real paper card stock touched by Reverend Jim himself!  But, wait... order two for yourself and two for that special someone you'd love to spend an eternity with, and we'll sent you an eight by ten, autographed, color glossy of Reverend Jim blessing the faithful!"  Christians flock to this bullshit like women at a BOGO sale while Reverend Jim mugs for the camera, adjusts his gold chains, checks his Rolex, and polishes his $2000 shoes on back of his $5000 suit pant legs, all the while lusting after his beautiful protégé, not his wife, waiting outside in the limo or onboard their private jet.  

Reverend Jim's message is sound, albeit spewing from the hypocritical pie hole of a devout sinner in self-denial.  The good thing is, you won't go to the same hell as Rev Jimbo.  That's because you listened to his tripe, believed in the parts dealing with God's good Word, and donated.  There are special places in hell for his ilk.  If you donated because you sincerely believed in the message of the Lord and the money was going to do some good for humanity, and that God's countenance would shine down upon thee for your display of faith, you're probably alright.  You need to work on who you choose as a shepherd, but you're probably alright, though a whole bunch misguided.  Does this mean all televangelists are suspect?  Suspect, yes.  Guilty, maybe not.  But, they are on television, handling millions of dollars with no accounting for the cash handed over at the event center, and someone has to be paying the tab for the visible extravagance.  And how about those poor and hungry?  Well, don't the preachers only promise the money will help to continue their good work?  They just want to continue doing it in the manner to which they have become accustomed - extravagant.  Just saying.  

"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, and somehow just can't handle money!"

-- George Carlin, comedian

Most of us are searching for something, be it faith, religion, spirituality, something to believe in, something bigger than ourselves... like, God.  I don't think any of us are looking for damnation because we question a particular religious belief, sect, or denomination, unless we happen to be masochists.  We aren't looking to be sold a bill of goods, and we aren't looking to buy the first car we're shown no matter how much the salesman says we need it, unless we happen to be that gullible.  Most of us aren't sure what we're looking for, but we're all pretty sure we'll know it when we see it.  It might not be the prettiest car on the lot, and it may require some work, but in the long run it will get us where we're headed; honest, reliable, inexpensive, transportation to salvation.

We have to keep in mind that salvation really isn't as difficult as many would have us believe.  Will it require some work?  Well, that depends on how screwed up we already are.  Once you get your kit sorted out, the path ahead is pretty easy.  God didn't make it difficult, we did.  The message is clear, and free.  We allow a lot of interference to garble the message.  We think we have to pay to hear the message, understand it, or pave our way.  Don't just hear the message; focus on it and listen, and try to separate the fat from the meat.  The fat makes it tasty, but the meat is what maintains us.

“Some, in an effort to protect and preserve the gospel message, have become like the guards in that museum, fueled by fear that it could be damaged or stolen if they are not vigilant in their watch. They have mistaken the good news for an ancient artifact that needs to be protected. But that is not its nature. This kingdom is a lot more like a tree. God is looking for gardeners, not guards. A guard is trained in a defensive stance of fear and suspicion. A gardener is motivated by love and creativity.”

--Shane Hipps, pastor, author, speaker

Clergy can only deliver their interpretation of a message.  We need to listen to each interpretation, read the message ourselves, and determine our own faith.  Our own faith is what God is interested in.  We can't get to where we're going on the word of the salesman.  We have to be good stewards of our own fate, and have a strong conviction that our own faith, not our minister's, will see us through to our ultimate goal.  I'm not crazy about rappers, but Killer Mike tries to make a point here:

"God really exists, I tell you like this: 

It resides inside. 

And anybody tell you different,

Just selling you religion,

Tryin' to keep your ass in line."

-- Killer Mike, hip-hop artist

I think that, even in times before Christ, Jewish Rabbis lived a life of luxury and control from their temples.  Christ came along and threatened this control.  Christ said to give your wealth to the poor and follow Him.  Those who heard a higher calling followed the teacher.  Sometime, early on, Christianity formed a church, built cathedrals, formed a bible, built a Vatican, and within the span of a single lifetime began to forget the basics Christ taught.  Christian history isn't repeating itself; it's just continuing the 2000 year march back to the time before Christ.  What would Jesus think?  Maybe we need to cleanse the temple, again?  Or, maybe clergy just needs to remember why they came when called, and ensure the reasons were humble.

“Most televangelists, popular Christian preacher icons, and heads of those corporations that we call megachurches share an unreflective modern view of Jesus--that he translates easily and almost automatically into a modern idiom. The fact is, however, that Jesus was not a person of the twenty-first century who spoke the language of contemporary Christian America (or England or Germany or anywhere else). Jesus was inescapably and ineluctably a Jew living in first-century Palestine. He was not like us, and if we make him like us we transform the historical Jesus into a creature that we have invented for ourselves and for our own purposes. 

Jesus would not recognize himself in the preaching of most of his followers today. He knew nothing of our world. He was not a capitalist. He did not believe in free enterprise. He did not support the acquisition of wealth or the good things in life. He did not believe in massive education. He had never heard of democracy. He had nothing to do with going to church on Sunday. He knew nothing of social security, food stamps, welfare, American exceptionalism, unemployment numbers, or immigration. He had no views on tax reform, health care (apart from wanting to heal leprosy), or the welfare state. So far as we know, he expressed no opinion on the ethical issues that plague us today: abortion and reproductive rights, gay marriage, euthanasia, or bombing Iraq. His world was not ours, his concerns were not ours, and--most striking of all--his beliefs were not ours.

Jesus was a first-century Jew, and when we try to make him into a twenty-first century American we distort everything he was and everything he stood for.”

-- Bart D. Ehrman, PhD, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor , author

Faith is not a business.  Religion is not a paycheck.  You don't need to drive up to the White House in a limousine; I'd be impressed to see a minister visit the president riding up to the gate on an ass, and wearing the simple robes of a monk.  Clergy are supposed to be what they are because they answered the call of a higher authority.  Like doctors and teachers, they started out with a humble desire to serve humanity, not their BMW, the union, or the Vatican coffers, yet doctors, teachers, and clergy seem to forget the loftier goals and pure satisfaction of serving their fellow man at the behest of their Deity.

“Just because Christianity claims Jesus as its own does not mean that Jesus claims Christianity as his own. Christ does not bind himself to a religion, any more than wind binds itself to a sail.”

-- Shane Hipps, pastor, author, speaker

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.