[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Filings: What sayest thou?

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by The Night Writer:
Filings: What sayest thou?
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1172038848.shtml


   A friend of mine offers this commentary to my [1]recent post about
   Pastor Mac Hammond, Living Word Christian Center and CREW (Citizens
   for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington):

     Are you saying the end justifies the means? That because Mac and
     the church have done good things we should look the other way? That
     it's not anyone's business if they're lining their pockets by
     fleecing willing congregants who think every dollar gets them
     closer to the Kingdom of Heaven? In the Strib article, Hammond
     says, "It's impossible to bless someone else or be a blessing if
     you have nothing to bless them with." So better to have a jet than
     a schoolbus. Better to have a Lexus than a 1998 Taurus. Better to
     have a $500,000 retreat than some housekeeping cabins. It's like
     Steve Martin in "The Jerk" . . . this is all I need. These condos
     in Florida, this Porsche, my kids on the payroll and so on. You
     seem to shrug and let him off the hook by saying if he is up to no
     good, he'll be judged. If he is indeed running some kind of
     pseudo-religious Ponzi scheme, shouldn't his actions be exposed to
     the light of day sooner than later, even if you disagree with the
     media outlet that's holding the lantern?

   Actually, what I was saying was that the timing and sudden interest
   the Strib took in Living Word and Mac Hammond's message (which he has
   been preaching since 1980, and from the pulpit of his huge building
   since 1998) was more about the newspaper being offended by his
   politics than his doctrine, but that may just be a biased assumption
   on my part. Perhaps I should wait for more evidence than just a
   circumstantial connection between the stories the newspaper ran, the
   complaint filed by CREW, and Pastor Hammond's public endorsement of a
   candidate much reviled by the Strib's editorial board and left-leaning
   watchdog groups.
   Perhaps, from my own experience I am too judgmental and suspicious of
   those watching out for us, of whom author Mark Helprin once wrote,
   "The dog who protects sheep quickly learns how to direct them, and it
   becomes a habit. The people have been trained by their watchmen to
   jump, and to trample what the watchmen want trampled."* Hence, I can
   look at the situation and think, "Something smells fishy."
   Similarly, there may be those who will readily assume a pastor or a
   church is fleecing a "conned"-gregation into thinking it can buy its
   way into Heaven because the reported facts look suspicious, even if
   all that has been presented is a careful marshaling of facts and
   innuendo while the newspaper carefully avoids making any direct
   accusation of wrong-doing. Why wouldn't someone reading the story
   think, regarding the church, that "Something smells fishy?"
   So, obviously, there can be differences of opinion based on
   perspective. I will, however, address the underlying question in the
   comment above as well as the actual question asked at the end (while
   also indirectly responding to other comments on the original post).
   I don't claim to be a great Biblical scholar, but I do have more than
   a passing acquaintance with the so-called "Prosperity Gospel"
   attributed to Pastor Hammond (also known, less charitably, by critics
   as "name it and claim it"). I won't issue a judgment on Hammond
   because, as I said before, I don't know what he is actually preaching.
   I do know, however, from scripture and -- most significantly to me --
   my own experience that material as well as spiritual blessings have
   overtaken my family and I because we give liberally (admittedly, about
   the only thing we do "liberally"). We have good incomes, a nice house,
   nice things, and we tithe off of everything we receive, and give a
   similar amount in alms and other offerings, and are still able to put
   aside money for the future. Other people may have bigger incomes,
   nicer houses, more things, etc. without being givers, but we have seen
   amazing (some might say miraculous) connections between what we've
   given and the things we've received. When we give thanks for our meals
   we often include 2 Corinthians 9:8, "God is able to give us everything
   we need to live life in abundance and to give into every good work."
   Unlike the world, we're not just receiving from those who we've given
   to or vice-versa.
   Some might say we live too well. We could, I suppose, get by with a
   smaller home, even older cars and without that new HDTV and home
   theater system, and give the money to the poor (or pay even higher
   taxes). Yet in a smaller house we never would have been able to take
   in the people we've taken in over the years, or hold the home church
   meetings on Friday nights; our vehicles are used to get us and others
   to places we need to be in order to be a blessing; and I'm going to
   bring the boys from the Fundamentals in Film class into my basement to
   watch this week's movie (ok, that last part may be because I want to
   see them jump when the artillery hits more than because I want to
   bless them).
   Or we could have kept for ourselves all that we've given and,
   theoretically, have even more stuff. It may be counter-intuitive, but
   I don't think so. Proverbs 11:24 says, "One man gives freely, yet
   gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."
   Giving and receiving and giving again is how we live. It's not the
   be-all and end-all of our "creed" but it is something we've tried to
   help others to apply in their lives. As Mac Hammond said, "It's
   impossible to bless someone else or be a blessing if you have nothing
   to bless them with." There are certainly times when warm thoughts,
   open arms and fervent prayers can be a tremendous blessing, but it's
   also valuable to send someone off with a hot meal or a new coat on
   behalf of our Father who loves us and would not "give us a stone when
   we ask for bread."
   So, count me among those who think it is an important part of the
   Christian life to be a cheerful giver (see 2 Corinthians 9:7), and as
   someone who has seen it bear fruit in my life. Does Mac Hammond have
   more fruit in his life than me? Apparently. Does he deserve it? That's
   between him and God and his congregation, and my opinion doesn't enter
   into their relationship and, in fact, could hurt my own relationship
   with God. I have no idea what percentage of the money that comes in to
   Living Word goes to Mac Hammond and no interest or say in what he
   choses to spend it on because there is no accountability between the
   two of us. It would seem, however, that those who do have a mutual
   accountability with him are well satisfied with the arrangement.
   It is certainly obvious what the church is doing with the bulk of the
   money. If you go to Living Word's [2]Outreach page there is an
   impressive list of ministries and programs to people of all social
   classes, and all around the world. Missions, schools, a thrift store,
   a rehab clinic, a Christian night club (where youth can be edified as
   well as entertained instead of being left to seductions of the
   culture), and much more, plus a large staff to minister and administer
   these things as well as to the the people who come into the church
   itself. There's always the risk that Hammond and the church love money
   -- or it could be that they love what the money can do.
   Of course, newspapers, businesses and governments all love what money
   can do as well, and they ask for it all the time. Each of us,
   individually, also has a powerful appreciation for what money can do
   for us. Cultivating a proper attitude toward money and seeing it as
   our servant instead of our master is a challenge and stirs up strong
   emotions and reveals strongholds in our lives. I remember several
   years ago that a man left our church saying, "All they're interested
   in is your money." A little while later he was found to have been
   embezzling money from his business. Interesting what he thought he was
   hearing, isn't it?
   I know that it is common for certain ministries to ask for money by
   referring to the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:8, "some seeds
   fell on fertile (good) soil and produced a crop that was thirty,
   sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted." These
   ministries will say that they are "good soil" and worth supporting. I
   typically don't give to these because Matthew 13:23 says that the
   "good soil" is our hearts that receive the word, not the ministry that
   receives the money. Further, if my heart is good, then even if I give
   to the wrong place I can still reap a benefit well out of proportion
   to what I've sown.
   No doubt, as with any church, there are legitimate reasons for people
   not to like Mac Hammond and Living Word. They may be put off by the
   large size and prefer something more personal. They may find the
   teaching too different from what they are accustomed to, or too
   challenging to their own comfort zone. They may consider it completely
   heretical. They might turn out to be right, but I can be nonchalant
   about it and let Mac "off the hook" simply because I'm not the one
   with the hook in the first place. As Matthew 13:24 goes on to say:

     Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a
     farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as
     everyone slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat.
     When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
     The farmer's servants came and told him, `Sir, the field where you
     planted that good seed is full of weeds!'
     "`An enemy has done it!' the farmer exclaimed. `Shall we pull out
     the weeds?' they asked.
     "He replied, `No, you'll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow
     together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort
     out the weeds and burn them and to put the wheat in the barn.'"

   God's word is the seed and brings the wheat into our lives, though
   there might be enemies and weeds in and around it. When the time
   comes, the light from the fire that burns those weeds will overwhelm
   whatever feeble lantern might be trying to illuminate those weeds --
   and I'm pretty sure I don't want to be holding that lantern when it
   happens.
   From the chapter entitled "The Machine Age" in Winter's Tale.

References

   1. http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1171578704.shtml
   2. http://www.lwcc.org/OUTREACH/index.cfm