Charlatans (Pt. 4)
Saviors to Avoid on Your Journey with Jesus.
You don’t want a biblical “woe” pointed in your direction. Jesus is so loving in his proclamation of blessing for the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. But he also had stern warnings for professional Christians and those thinking of following them.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” -Jesus1
A prominent pastor invited me to a special gathering in his home. I was flattered. Only a select number attending the conference were invited. I assumed it was an opportunity to build deeper relationships with other pastors whose ministries showed promise in challenging situations. That evening I walked to his address and, after being approved by the guard in the lobby of the building, was ushered to an elevator that took me directly to his penthouse. As the doors opened I was met by a waiter who offered me Scotch or Whiskey. I don’t like either so I asked for a glass of water. I had arrived early so I took my water and strolled onto the balcony overlooking the ocean. It was an incredible view.
Soon the call came to gather in the spacious and well-decorated living room. At the center was a church consultant who was the “soup de jour.” He told us of his success in helping a congregation turn its fortunes around. Not only this but he knew that he could save our churches as well.
I once accepted a free steak dinner only to find myself sitting through a time-share sales pitch. I had the same experience in this meeting. His success was in a different city, in a different state, and in a different situation than any of our churches. But context didn’t seem to matter. He had leveraged his one-off experience into a one-size-fits-all template for his lucrative church consulting business. The special invitation I had received was a “bait and switch” to drum up more business.
I was frustrated and bored. The other pastors seemed content to sip their Scotch and Whiskey, listening with rapt attention. I quit listening and my inner child came out to play. One pastor I knew put his drink down and I saw my chance. I swapped out his Scotch for my water. Then I waited to see what would happen. He picked up the identical glass and took a sip. Immediately a confused look came over his face. Smiling, I took my glass from his hand and replaced it with his drink. He gave me a shaming look before turning back to the well-crafted sales pitch.
The climax of the presentation began with the consultant’s price tag: hundreds of thousands of dollars, well beyond what any of the pastors could justify. But he had a way to help us to afford him. He was willing to work, not just with one congregation, but with groups of churches at the same time. He would train the leaders of the group of churches. If everyone committed, he assured us, our churches would be saved. No one thought to ask about a money-back guarantee.
When the church is in decline there are more Christian professionals than well-off congregations who can afford them. Many underemployed and unemployed pastors retrain themselves for another occupation. But some become consultants offering struggling congregations and their pastors the opportunity to pay them to tell of their past successes, to share just enough of their brilliant ideas to get them to buy their books and listen to their podcasts. Their offers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They rebrand themselves whenever necessary. But they are rarely held accountable for results.
And so we see the church continuing to decline after decades of consultants, coaches, and conferences.
Beware of “saviors” in your journey with Jesus. We already have one. The point of Christianity is a adventure, not with this guru or that author, but with Jesus himself.
Journal Prompt:
What does it mean to call Jesus your savior?
Is anyone trying to usurp Jesus’ role?
Who is humbly helping you move forward in your spiritual journey?