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E-Newsletter Archive
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What is God
doing in Liberty?
What is it
going to take to turn this around?
May 23, 2006
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in this issue
-- A
Businessman's Apology to the Clergy
Dear Doug,
I love Liberty.
I've been around here a long time and I want to see it prosper. I
want to see it come together and really be a true community. I want
the Christians in Liberty to really be One Body under Christ. I want
there to be no one in Liberty going hungry or sleeping in a car. And
there are lots of them right now. Trust me, you may not see them, but
Hillcrest Ministries figures there are 1,000 homeless people in Clay
County at any given moment.
We have plenty of
resources to meet any need. We have empty beds in homes (and RV's)
all over town. We have plenty of people that could help. We have
plenty of space to store donated household items in barns and
businesses and garages and basements. But evidently, at the moment we
don't have nearly enough people willing to sacrifice to see it happen.
I know there are
projects like the Freedom House under way, but there are 10 to 15
times the needs out there as our current capacity. The Northland
Assistance Center says that Clay and Platte Counties have the highest
unemployment rates in the state. I don't know how that's possible,
but if it's true, things are just going to get more and more
desperate for some Liberty residents. What are we going to do about
it? How bad does it have to get? The charities aren't getting it
done. Maybe it's time for the businesses to help. We're the ones with
the assets and space and the know-how to efficiently deliver goods
and services.
Read Isaiah 58.
God says that if you spend yourself on behalf of the poor and needy,
He'll back you up and restore your land. We could really use that
about now. Maybe you think everything is just fine, but I'm pretty
sure things are dark and getting darker.
What is it going
to take? Maybe we should stop calling ourselves Christians if we're
not going to actually ACT like Jesus. Just a thought.
Doug
A Businessman's
Apology to the Clergy
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Brethren,
I've said a lot of
things about the problems with the “church” system that
we've built. That it was off- track and not what Jesus wanted. That
the 37,000+ denominations that we have now can't possibly be the
“One Body” that Jesus begged for in the Garden of
Gethsemane just before He went to the cross for us. That we're not
really feeding the hungry and caring for the poor in any effective
way as a percentage of our total budgets. That we're preaching soft
and fluffy and affirming instead of repentance and revival and
restoration. And it's possible that everyone has been left with the
impression that it's the fault of the clergy.
Well, I'm sorry
for that. It's the fault of the business leaders. No doubt about it.
We did this.
Certainly there
are religious leaders that have gummed up the works really well, but
everybody knows it's not THEIR money that powers this Ponzi scheme.
Surely there have been splits in denominations over theological
issues, but at least as much and probably more are the splits over
resources and assets and control of the money. Practically every
decision-making board is stacked with business people. We have forced
our practices and attitudes and strategies on the clergy more often
than they have influenced us.
Can there be any
doubt that the Christian churches in America are more like businesses
than the Christian businesses are like churches? You can clearly see
who has had more influence if you just step back and look at who the
system resembles most. Who could argue that the churches have become
corporations with a board of directors and a CEO and turned their
focus to efficiency and demographic targeting and marketing and
outside consultants and revenue generation? We have leaned on our own
understanding and directed our own paths. And, sadly, since you –
the clergy – didn't originally learn this in seminary (although
you probably do now!), we have to come to the conclusion that we (the
business people) forced this on you – whether we intended to or not.
We patted you on
the back on Sunday when the budget was balanced and encouraged you to
keep preaching soft and fluffy. When we were pleased with you we took
you to play golf with us and ride in our new car. We frowned at you
when you preached about extravagant giving to the poor or opening our
doors to those who have nothing – because they're a drain and
don't pay their own way and just put more pressure on us. When you
insisted it was from the Lord and wouldn't back down, we reminded you
that we paid for the new building and we would take our money and go
somewhere else. Or we just fired you.
But the end result
was that we've raised up a generation of clergy that mostly tickle
our ears and conform to the world. And I'm really sorry for my part
in that. I know it's not all your fault. We're consumers and we paid
to have it this way. Anybody that didn't want to play along, we
financially starved out of the system. All you have to do is follow
the money. No pastor in America paid for the million dollar
chandelier in his sanctuary or the two million dollar Jumbotron or
the new gym or whatever. It was the business people that did it.
We're the ones that understand efficiency and output and Return On
Investment. We're the ones that should have been asking, “How
much treasure in heaven do we get per dollar we're spending on this
project?” That one question might have straightened this out.
Widow/orphan or new chandelier? Hmmmm.
In the book of
Acts, the Christians occasionally sold a piece of land and shared
with each other as they had a need. But there's no indication that
anybody ever sold their businesses. So what would a New Testament
Business really look like? I bet it would be a place you could come
and pray. I bet it would close on the Sabbath. I bet it would feed
the hungry and care for the poor. I bet it would be a living
sacrifice to God and that He would direct all of its paths. I bet it
would not conform to the way the “world” would do business
at all! I would like my business (and my church) to look like that.
I'm pretty sure that's the way it was supposed to be all along.
Anyway, again, I'm
really sorry for what I did to you and to God's work. And I'm sorry
for all the people that got left behind or marginalized or pushed out
because I thought the strategies for building things that I had
learned from the “world” would benefit the
“church”. Please forgive me and help me to change. I'll try
to push you toward Christ from now on and not toward the world.
Please help me change. Please help my business change.
For the sake of
the hurting sheep, please don't listen to me anymore when I blather
about worldly stuff. Just preach the hard things you're dying to let
out and let the chips fall where they may. God will back you up, even
if He has to crush the business people to do it. Don't be scared. You
can do this. I really do love you. I'm sorry.
Doug Perry, President
BuiltToLastHome.com
1134 W. Kansas
Ave., Liberty, MO 64068 (816) 792- 8619
www.TheChurchOfLiberty.com
help@thechurchofliberty.com
TheChurchOfLiberty.com
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email: help@thechurchofliberty.com
phone:
web: http://www.TheChurchOfLiberty.com
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