Christian Living

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Prosperity is controversial in the Church today. There is a school of thought that does not want to have anything to do with it on the understanding that it is misleading to think that God wants everyone to be rich. Others think Christ was made poor to make us rich, and hence prosperity is for everyone. What do you think?

Whatever you think, there is no doubt that sudden wealthy has the capacity of turning ones heart and swelling the head unless we are well grounded and humbled by God.
Often people start thinking of building empires instead of the kingdom of God. It could cause us to start thinking we rightly deserve the sudden wealth and even more. Greed could set in where we start devising ingenious schemes to multiply and maximise the wealth whilst fleecing the sheep instead of feeding the sheep. ‘World wars’ have broken out between the congregation and pastors in a bid to control the gravy train. Scriptures have also been used to justify greed and avarice and in the process the dirty linen of the Church has been washed in the public.
This is why I was taken by surprise and delighted, reading a recent interview with Rick Warren by Paul Bradshaw.
In that interview, Pastor Warren, who is now a millionaire from his best seller, “Purpose Driven Life” said, following his success, he decided to return the salary his church had paid him over 24 years. How magnanimous!
“.. I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with
this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two
different passages that helped me decide what to do,
II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would
not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major
purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped
taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we
call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders,
assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the
next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in
the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it
all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God
for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for
possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by
pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I
going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of
my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done
today, I want to know You more and love You better.
God didn't put me on earth just to fulfil a to-do
list. He's more interested in what I am than what I
do. That's why we're called human beings, not human
doings.

This is a wonderful example and I hope many Pastors will learn from his example.

But does it mean Pastors should be serving God for free? God is no man’s debtor. He calls and He feeds.
God wants the Pastor to be fed from pot and wealth he has helped to create. Rick’s popularity and wealth came from his book which in turn made his Church popular. He could rightly insist that he was entitled to the salary but decided to kill a sacred cow as he was led to do. This will undoubtedly increase his popularity and place some Pastors, especially those who are fleecing the sheep, under tremendous pressure.
It is important that Pastors are led by the Holy Spirit and put the Church before self. It is indeed liberating when you are financially independent of a congregation you are serving. God can bring that about through a best seller of other means, but the question is: Will we be bold enough to take that independence?




Greatness And Good Success.


Greatness and good success.
Serving others and not yourself.
Not goods success,
But godly success.
Not me first and others last
but others first, and me last.

Greatness is excellent service.
How many I touch,
not how many touch me
how many I serve ,
not how many serve me.

Not shirking menial tasks
Not disdaining the mundane
But upward and downward service
Serving whenever and wherever
In shape or out of shape
In primary or secondary ministry
It's availability more than ability.
Serving even if not convenient,
Letting go to let God
Giving up the driver's seat.

Going for significance
Not prominence
Overthrowing the unholy trinity
Me, myself and I
Doing every task with equal zeal;
Doing little deeds as great deeds
It's like Wesley:
Doing the good I can,
By all the means I can,
In all the ways I can,
In all the places I can,
At all the times I can,
To all the people I can,
As long as I ever can.
Not getting all you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
From all the people you can
As long as you ever can
And sitting on the can.


It's using what you have
to do the best you can.
It's faithfulness, commitment
Trustworthiness, dependability
Low profile, not low self-esteem
It's putting on the apron of humility
To serve the Master any where
Not eye service-
Seeking man's approval or applause.


©Fenny West

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