One of the biggest dangers a ministry can face is to start treating a church or temple too much like a business. Sure, there are bills to be paid, and yes, one has to maintain the support of a congregation in order to remain pastor, rabbi or whatever title the leader of such a congregation holds.
But there is peril in treating a church body like an exercise in investor relations. Developing that kinds of attitude can lead to the kind of hypocrisy that Yeshua condemned during his time on earth, approaches that curry favor with the wealthy at the expense of less affluent congregants.
As my rabbi has been pointing out in recent sermons, it can also lead to false teaching. The most common example of this in modern congregations is the health and prosperity Gospel, the concept that one’s bank account balance is directly related to the extent of favor one finds in Adonai. Put more simply, this heresy is summed up like so: “The richer you are, the more G-d loves you.”
As my rabbi would say, that’s ba-lone-y! Yeshua’s teachings are exactly the opposite; that in the world to come, it is the rich who shall be cast down and the meek who shall “inherit the earth.” One would think a simple reading of the beattitudes would quench this false teaching, and yet it is rampant in the world today, especially in America. The health gospel is often linked to it, which mis-teaches that sickness only comes when one is out of favor with Adonai, and health indicates God’s favor, yet I know of cancer patients, heart patients and many others who are closer to the heartbeat of haShem than most four-star athletes who’ve never caught so much as a cold.
Yet Rabbi Yeshua warned of this, as did Rabbi Shaul. Too many in ministry have given up following the leading of the spirit and have become more interested in teaching only that which lets them keep their position in ministry. There are too many ears that want only to be tickled, not challenged; and too many pastors and rabbis who are only too willing to accommodate.
In the end, these preachers may be pleasing their congregants for a time; but they are not pleasing their Employer.
