The popular American religious author Philip Yancey once told a story about one of his friends who does charity work among homeless people in Chicago.
His friend told him that one woman he was helping was a cocaine addict who was so desperate that she would prostitute her two-year-old daughter to men to earn money for her drug addiction. The woman was homeless, had bad health, and had no one to turn to for help. Yancey’s friend was overwhelmed and shocked by her pathetic and piteous condition.
Being a pastor, Yancey’s friend asked the woman why she didn’t seek help from a church.
The pastor said that he would never forget the look of absolute ingenuous horror in her expression as she exclaimed scornfully, “Church! Why would I ever go there? I am already feeling bad enough, they would just make me feel worse!”
The woman’s contemptuous reaction to the pastor’s suggestion that she could seek help from the church may seem unwarranted and unjustified by many church goers, particularly those living a comfortable upmarket lifestyle, but the sad unfortunate truth is that the church is often thought of being insensitive, insusceptible and immune to what is happening in the world, even by many of its own members, especially the poorer ones.
The church is often perceived as being so wrapped up within itself, with its leadership concerned only with mega building projects, organizing overseas holidays masquerading as “mission trips”, usually with the pastor and his family going for free, and often pandering to some of its members’ baser instincts of greed for materialism by preaching a gospel of prosperity.
The church, and its pastor and leaders, in other words, have no compassion on, or time for a world that is suffering and perishing. The poor and underprivileged, even in their midst, are ignored and disregarded or even looked upon with disdain. Rules are bent to accept the rich as members and leaders although they may not meet the requirements of the church constitution. These rich people are given preferential and favoured treatment, notwithstanding their questionable morality and unethical practices in their business, so long as they give big donation to the church and big fat lovc gifts to the pastor.
According to Philip Yancey, there are many people in need outside the church who would rather turn anywhere for help then to the church.
Why are people, including many sidelined and neglected poor church members, having such a negative perception of the church? What is wrong with the church?
The answer, I believe, is perhaps that the church and its pastor and leaders have strayed from their spiritual faith and sidetracked into the modern-day materialism of large budgets, fancy church complexes with swimming pools, and impressive acoustic worship auditorium with great entertainment environment.
Many modern mega churches are no more the kind of church where people in dire situation can come and find help and comfort, a place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives. Instead, many of those who go to church today go for the entertainment in the music, songs and drama, and for the motivational talks camouflaged as sermons, and smirched with fanciful stories of outlandish experiences, mostly fabricated or exaggerated. If the pastor makes the congregation laughs, he is a good preacher!
It is no doubt that many local churches are increasingly becoming irrelevant to those who truly need help. This is simply because they have evolved into a sort of corporate commercialized institutions, where the pastor behaves and dresses like a CEO, working in a posh office, driving a luxury car, and exercising supreme authority over his exclusive church empire, the equivalent of the Little Napoleons in the civil service. It was reported in The Star recently that one such pastor sacked 400 church members for questioning his accountability in the financial management of the church.
The abuse of religious authority in such churches is generally covered up even by those who know it is wrong and unacceptable, simply because of the deceptive teaching and misconceived idea that it is wrong to question “God’s anointed” which many pastors claim to be. This spiritual blackmail is used by many recalcitrant and hypocritical pastors to seize control over the intellectually deficient, emotionally weak, and gullible church members to maintain and preserve their status and power in their churches.
I have done some extensive study and research over the last few years on many churches, and one significant thing I discovered is that most of the churches under the grip of the wolves in shepherd’s clothing have pastors who have made church work a career or profession, and they mostly start church work straight from secondary schools. These pastors have no secular professional qualification or job experience, and are totally at a loss if they have to work in the marketplace outside the church.
The stable and decent churches are usually pastored by those who have given up promising and well-paying professions and jobs to serve God. These people could easily have become successful and rich in the corporate world, but chose to give up the good life to serve God and people. We have many of these truly godly people in our midst, like NECF chairman Pastor Eu Hong Seng, Methodist Church Bishop Dr Hwa Yung, DUMC senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho, Malaysia Bible Seminary principal Dr Jason Lim, etc.
Thank God, there are still many faithful and honest persons serving the churches but, increasingly, there are also many who are using the church to make a fast buck, deceiving those theologically illiterate and gullible. Some of these wolves in shepherd’s clothing are calling themselves anointed apostles and prophets, and organizing and holding all sorts of conferences and seminars almost every weekends, with big fat fees of course, to deceive those attending their conferences and seminars to give, give, and give, while these false apostles and false prophets laugh all the way to the bank.
So, what is an ideal church?
Let me narrate a story that Philip Yancey told about a leper colony in India. A visitor was being shown around the leper colony when he saw a group of people laughing at a prank played by two young men, one riding on the other's back, pretending to be a horse and a rider. They were having loads of fun, and the crowd was certainly amused by their jocosity. But what amazed the visitor was that he saw that the man who carried his friend was blind, and the man on his back was lame. The one who could not see used his feet; the one who could not walk used his eyes. Together they helped each other, and they found great joy in doing it.
This, I believe, in essence is what a church should be -- each member using his or her strength to make up for another's weakness.
The Apostle Paul told the Galatian church to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the purpose for which it was established. And in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul describes the church as a body of which every part is important, with its own special function. An African proverb says that when a thorn pierces the foot, the whole body must bend over to pull it out. This kind of interdependence is a basic characteristic of the church.
This is what the modern church should be, not having mega complexes with swimming pools, not auditorium that looks like a disco, not prosperity teaching.
When a person goes to a church, he or she should be able to feel he or she is wanted, is a part of a loving and caring group. It is the place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives.
[NOTE: This Weekend Reflection column deals with issues concerning religion, ethics and universal values. If you have anything you want Thomas to write on, you can e-mail him at tomlee48@gmail.com]
( The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of MySinchew ) MySinchew 2010-08-20
His friend told him that one woman he was helping was a cocaine addict who was so desperate that she would prostitute her two-year-old daughter to men to earn money for her drug addiction. The woman was homeless, had bad health, and had no one to turn to for help. Yancey’s friend was overwhelmed and shocked by her pathetic and piteous condition.
Being a pastor, Yancey’s friend asked the woman why she didn’t seek help from a church.
The pastor said that he would never forget the look of absolute ingenuous horror in her expression as she exclaimed scornfully, “Church! Why would I ever go there? I am already feeling bad enough, they would just make me feel worse!”
The woman’s contemptuous reaction to the pastor’s suggestion that she could seek help from the church may seem unwarranted and unjustified by many church goers, particularly those living a comfortable upmarket lifestyle, but the sad unfortunate truth is that the church is often thought of being insensitive, insusceptible and immune to what is happening in the world, even by many of its own members, especially the poorer ones.
The church is often perceived as being so wrapped up within itself, with its leadership concerned only with mega building projects, organizing overseas holidays masquerading as “mission trips”, usually with the pastor and his family going for free, and often pandering to some of its members’ baser instincts of greed for materialism by preaching a gospel of prosperity.
The church, and its pastor and leaders, in other words, have no compassion on, or time for a world that is suffering and perishing. The poor and underprivileged, even in their midst, are ignored and disregarded or even looked upon with disdain. Rules are bent to accept the rich as members and leaders although they may not meet the requirements of the church constitution. These rich people are given preferential and favoured treatment, notwithstanding their questionable morality and unethical practices in their business, so long as they give big donation to the church and big fat lovc gifts to the pastor.
According to Philip Yancey, there are many people in need outside the church who would rather turn anywhere for help then to the church.
Why are people, including many sidelined and neglected poor church members, having such a negative perception of the church? What is wrong with the church?
The answer, I believe, is perhaps that the church and its pastor and leaders have strayed from their spiritual faith and sidetracked into the modern-day materialism of large budgets, fancy church complexes with swimming pools, and impressive acoustic worship auditorium with great entertainment environment.
Many modern mega churches are no more the kind of church where people in dire situation can come and find help and comfort, a place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives. Instead, many of those who go to church today go for the entertainment in the music, songs and drama, and for the motivational talks camouflaged as sermons, and smirched with fanciful stories of outlandish experiences, mostly fabricated or exaggerated. If the pastor makes the congregation laughs, he is a good preacher!
It is no doubt that many local churches are increasingly becoming irrelevant to those who truly need help. This is simply because they have evolved into a sort of corporate commercialized institutions, where the pastor behaves and dresses like a CEO, working in a posh office, driving a luxury car, and exercising supreme authority over his exclusive church empire, the equivalent of the Little Napoleons in the civil service. It was reported in The Star recently that one such pastor sacked 400 church members for questioning his accountability in the financial management of the church.
The abuse of religious authority in such churches is generally covered up even by those who know it is wrong and unacceptable, simply because of the deceptive teaching and misconceived idea that it is wrong to question “God’s anointed” which many pastors claim to be. This spiritual blackmail is used by many recalcitrant and hypocritical pastors to seize control over the intellectually deficient, emotionally weak, and gullible church members to maintain and preserve their status and power in their churches.
I have done some extensive study and research over the last few years on many churches, and one significant thing I discovered is that most of the churches under the grip of the wolves in shepherd’s clothing have pastors who have made church work a career or profession, and they mostly start church work straight from secondary schools. These pastors have no secular professional qualification or job experience, and are totally at a loss if they have to work in the marketplace outside the church.
The stable and decent churches are usually pastored by those who have given up promising and well-paying professions and jobs to serve God. These people could easily have become successful and rich in the corporate world, but chose to give up the good life to serve God and people. We have many of these truly godly people in our midst, like NECF chairman Pastor Eu Hong Seng, Methodist Church Bishop Dr Hwa Yung, DUMC senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho, Malaysia Bible Seminary principal Dr Jason Lim, etc.
Thank God, there are still many faithful and honest persons serving the churches but, increasingly, there are also many who are using the church to make a fast buck, deceiving those theologically illiterate and gullible. Some of these wolves in shepherd’s clothing are calling themselves anointed apostles and prophets, and organizing and holding all sorts of conferences and seminars almost every weekends, with big fat fees of course, to deceive those attending their conferences and seminars to give, give, and give, while these false apostles and false prophets laugh all the way to the bank.
So, what is an ideal church?
Let me narrate a story that Philip Yancey told about a leper colony in India. A visitor was being shown around the leper colony when he saw a group of people laughing at a prank played by two young men, one riding on the other's back, pretending to be a horse and a rider. They were having loads of fun, and the crowd was certainly amused by their jocosity. But what amazed the visitor was that he saw that the man who carried his friend was blind, and the man on his back was lame. The one who could not see used his feet; the one who could not walk used his eyes. Together they helped each other, and they found great joy in doing it.
This, I believe, in essence is what a church should be -- each member using his or her strength to make up for another's weakness.
The Apostle Paul told the Galatian church to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the purpose for which it was established. And in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul describes the church as a body of which every part is important, with its own special function. An African proverb says that when a thorn pierces the foot, the whole body must bend over to pull it out. This kind of interdependence is a basic characteristic of the church.
This is what the modern church should be, not having mega complexes with swimming pools, not auditorium that looks like a disco, not prosperity teaching.
When a person goes to a church, he or she should be able to feel he or she is wanted, is a part of a loving and caring group. It is the place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives.
[NOTE: This Weekend Reflection column deals with issues concerning religion, ethics and universal values. If you have anything you want Thomas to write on, you can e-mail him at tomlee48@gmail.com]
( The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of MySinchew ) MySinchew 2010-08-20
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