Covid-19 and the shrinking Church.

Covid-19 is much dreaded. It has changed the way churches run their services as we know it.

One churchgoer said: “The world is on pause mode. Things we take for granted, like flying, or even where to have a family meal, have changed. We ponder over what God is saying during this time. This is a message resonating in church circles.” (Zach Wong, 64).

In a way, we can’t do church the way we have been doing church. As churches “try to maintain a balance between social responsibility and faithfulness” (aka Bishop Terry Kee), most, if not all, religious and secular gatherings are mandated to limit gatherings to no more than 250.

If you must know, that number is 100 more than what is the ideal number for social gathering, which, according to Robin Dunbar, a University of Oxford anthropologist and psychologist, is 150. 

Robin said that “any more and...relationships cannot be sufficiently nurtured.” He added, “Sure, one can have countless social media “friends” these days, but those do not equate to real connections.””

So, I guess as church services go online or on livestream with a limited gathering of families, cell group members or ministry participants, we can start to establish real connection with our neighbours just as Jesus did with his twelve disciples?

Because if you think about it, it is how deep you go in investing in a life that will ensure how enduring the transformation in that life will become when the storms hit.

If you recall the parable of the sower, the seeds that fell along the pathway or rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, became food for birds, or got scorched by the sun at midday.

Eventually without depth and root, they wither away. Or worst, they become so comfortable with the status quo, they forfeit the opportunity to grow above the status quo. As such, their sacrifices are no more than arriving in church on time and leaving it most time, unseen.

Seen in this light, pastor Norman Ng of 3:16 church with an attendance of less than 250, has a point when he said that the current  mandated number of 250 is like a “return to roots”.

“We believe this is to be a spiritually significant moment where the Church can return to its historical roots of gathering in smaller groups as the early Church did,” he said.

“By providing safe spaces where people can have more authentic interactions, we get more opportunities to encourage one another and to care for the vulnerable.”

At this juncture, the sentiments above remind me of what a pastor said a few years ago. Pastor Francis Chan left the church he founded,  namely, Cornerstone Church in California, which grew from 30 to 4000 within 15 years.

He shared that the burning question in his heart at that time was this, “Am I the problem?” That started a deep soul-searching journey when he and his pregnant wife took a Sabbatical from church to explore the urgent needs of the lost and deprived in Asia. 

Further, in his book, Letters to the Church, Chan wrote that he often asked church leaders what their congregants expect on a Sunday. Below was their response.

“Typical replies include: “A really good service, strong age-specific ministries, a certain style/ volume/length of singing, a well communicated sermon…parking… coffee.”

“(Chan) then asks the same leaders to list biblical commands about church. This time, the responses are: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12), “Look after widows and orphans in their distress” (James 1:27) and “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).” “What would upset your people more?” Chan asks. “If you didn’t provide the things from the first list, or if you didn’t obey the biblical commandments on the second list?”

Taking a similar approach, I feel strongly that every pastor owes it to their congregation to ask the same question pastor Chan had asked, that is: -

1) “Am I the problem?” and

2) “What would upset your people more? If you didn’t provide the things from the first list, or if you didn’t obey the biblical commandments on the second list?”

Ultimately, the fruits of our labour in faith is never about what I would metaphorically describe as “quantitative easing” - to borrow a finance or economic stimulus term, which means “the introduction of new money into the money supply by a central bank.”

In similar vein, we ought to be cautious in pursuing numbers by injecting newer programs and attractive packages to bring in the crowd. Mind you, it has always been about the great commission of investing in lives, one soul at a time, and not about the great attraction of filling up the seats in the building, by storing up wealth to sustain it.

Alas, admit it or not, the number game distracts, dilutes and divides eventually because size demands attention, and attention demands structure, and structure demands money, and money demands a system of collection, and that system of collection demands even more numbers, and such obsessive cycle goes on and on, risking the relegation of the genuine transforming work of Calvary a secondary consideration because the administrative leviathan we have unwittingly nurtured in our backyard demands constant attention, regular feeding and blind perpetuation at all costs.

Sadly, as the church grows in this way, the sacrifices of a farmer-shepherd gradually becomes the building of a grain factory, the setting up of supply chain island-wide and the raking in of the financial harvest, while the planting of a soul gets subcontracted out to the impersonal hands of spiritual professionals with its excitable programs to boot.

As such, the silver-lining during this uncertain time provoked by Covid-19 is one where we ought to reflect deeply on the ends we hope to achieve with unchecked growth that ironically backfires rather than sets hearts aflame. This is therefore not a message against megachurches per se, but one for their consideration on the timeless purpose the Rock of Ages has established for us when the first cornerstone was laid towards the building of the Body of Christ from ground zero up.

Indeed, the church that returns to its roots in the modern context is one that not only comforts the afflicted, cares for the orphans and widows, loves and disciples one another, but one that also afflicts the comfortable so that instead of embracing the status quo, we reach out and make a difference in a life, one soul at a time, by planting the seed with depth in mind, however long it takes, so that when the storms come, each soul has a strong anchor or foundation to stand on  individually and communally.

By then, it is not the quantitative easing that attracts, which can only last for the short term, but it is about centering on qualitative transforming, upon which the church is built and is designed to last for all times.

Caishen and the prosperity preachers.

Alec Chia, 47, is the quintessential "god of fortune" or better known during this festive season as "Caishen".

He was a shoo-in for that role when he was as young as 15 years old. He played Caishen in a school play and even filled that role alongside Moses Lim during a CNY countdown show in 1995.

In order to fulfill his dream to be a full-time Caishen, he quit his job in a crystal shop and took up freelancing as a fengshui master. This allowed him to have more time to pursue the Caishen role. 

Then, his big break came when he performed at River Hongbao in 2003. His profile was launched as the one and only Caishen. It was there that he got many engagements. It reports that "business has been booming since."

Mind you, Alec has done his bid for charity too. In 2004, he travelled to Sri Lanka for nearly a month with Maha Karuna Buddhist Society "as part of post-tsunamis efforts, where he distributed drinks, water and candy to the children."

Lesson? Just three.

What if I say that there is a parallel here in our modern churches nowadays? We have our own god of fortune too.

Mm...will I be stoned by fervent believers for such irreverent remarks? 

Anyway, please hold that stone first and allow me to make my three points before you cast it my way. Here comes my first point...

1) It reports that Alec "now owns five custom-made costumes made with fabric from China, Thailand, Nepal and even Tibet. His headdress and robes are adorned with jade, crystals and other precious metals. The costumes cost more than a thousand dollars each and can weigh up to 6kg."

The parallel here is appearance. You can't miss it. The god of fortune ("Caishen") equivalent in our churches is the prosperity pastors who enthrone the god of prosperity. 

Every Sunday, they are all dolled up to present this exciting side of the gospel, and the crowd sits comfortably lapping it all up. 

You can witness the smiles, amen and hallelujah as the word of blessings, longevity and riches pour forth from the mouth of these prosperity preachers. 

Not just their fine suits, bedazzling hairdos, made-up faces, and an awesome professional band with pyrotechnics, big screens and lightings as their backdrop, they are also high net worth individuals with private cars, private jets and private mansion to boot. 

While Caishen dorns a headdress and robe with hanging jade and other precious metals, these prosperity preachers rule the stage with charisma, captivating messages, and a beaming smile to tell all and sundry that their God just can't wait to pour prosperity onto their lap, press down, shaken together and running over. 

In fact, a rewarding God of all material goodness is a distinguishing mark of their faith and belief. 

2) Alec admitted that some patrons were initially scared and uncomfortable with his imposing outfit. 

They say that "when they see me, like see ghost."

He recounted that one woman even pointed a cross at him. But he tried to reassure her, saying: "Don't worry, I am something like Santa Claus but the Chinese version."

I guess by the standard of the prosperity gospel that has become a staple of the faith in our religious landscape, the Caishen equivalent for some churches may just be Santa Claus - that is, a god that gives unsparingly, loves without discipline, rewards exceedingly, promises without limits, dispenses with repentance, declares us righteous past, present and future, regardless, and emboldens us to open our mouth to claim whatever our hearts desire. 

It is thus quite ironic to flash the cross at Alec because nowadays, as Chuck Colson puts it below, the modern churches have found a way to merge the message of the Cross with the message of prosperity (quite seamlessly).

These are Colson's words for your reflection:

"The church has been brought into the same value system as the world; faith, success, materialism and celebrity. We watch the leading churches and the leading Christian for our cue. We want to emulate the best known preachers with the biggest sanctuaries and the grandest edifices. 

Preoccupation with these values has perverted the churches message." 

Finally...

3) Alec said that "besides dressing his part, the secret to being a good Caishen is having flair". He added: "You must believe that you are Caishen. You are giving hope to the people, and you must believe in yourself before you can get people to believe you."

The Bible says that without vision (or hope), the people perish. There is no denying that we need hope, and we need it more than ever. 

In today's distorting environment, where objective truths take a backseat to subjective ones, and cultural values are adapted to suit our religious palette, our hope now seems to rest on the more pragmatic aspects of our faith. 

With bills to pay, grades to achieve, reputation to protect, options that are endless to choose from, and prosperity in our mind, our hope is on the convenience of believing.

Forget about the journey, we are striving to get to our destination as fast as it is religiously permissible. 

Whatever is convenient and whatever gets us there is whatever that is reverence and sacred. 

As such, anything that promises us a leapfrog to our material goal and security directly satisfies the deep longing of our hearts.

This is where the modern churches come in. 

They have everything in the offering. Their god is an all-embracing one. Their faith fast-forwards the journey of bearing the cross to the end part where we automatically become the resurrection of the righteous. And there is nothing more convenient than to expect a loving God to bless us beyond our wildest dreams.

Let me end with an article entitled "The Tyranny of Convenience" by Prof Tim Wu.

He wrote: "Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive feature of human experience. Convenience is all destination and no journey. But climbing a mountain is different from taking the tram to the top, even if you end up at the same place. We are becoming people who care mainly or only about outcomes. We are at risk of making most of our life experiences a series of trolley rides."

And talking about trolley rides, I am reminded that Santa Claus has his slay ride all prep up for us to take us to where we want to go, to whatever destination our heart so desires. Cheerz.

What prosperity preachers can learn from Billy Graham.

J Lee Grady, the contributing editor of Charisma magazine, recently wrote an article about the late Billy Graham. 

It enjoyed wild circulation online because of its clear, simple and effective content. It's about leadership, about the church, and I dare say about the world.

Billy Graham's ministry was premised on a prayer in 1948 (amongst many pivoting petitions), in a tiny motel in Modesto, California - according to Grady.

On that day, he gathered key leaders to pray and "the results of that meeting were profoundly prophetic."

Grady wrote that "the men outlined what would become "the Modesto Manifesto"—a list of core ministry values that became the guiding principles of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The BGEA was founded two years later, in 1950, just one year after media coverage of Graham's eight-week gospel campaign in Los Angeles made him a household word."

One attendee, Cliff Barrows, jotted down the key points in the meeting, and in the article, Grady spelt them out as follows: -

"Honesty: "It was resolved that all communications to media and to the church would not be inflated or exaggerated. The size of crowds and the number of inquirers would not be embellished for the sake of making BGEA look better."

Integrity: "It was resolved that financial matters would be submitted to a board of directors for review and facilitation of expenditures. Every local crusade would maintain a policy of 'open books' and publish a record of where and how monies were spent."

Purity: "It was resolved that members of the team would pay close attention to avoiding temptation—never being alone with another woman, remaining accountable to one another, etc. A practice of keeping wives informed of their activities on the road and helping them feel a part of any and all crusades they undertook would be encouraged."

Humility: "It was resolved that members of the team were never to speak badly of another Christian minister, regardless of his denominational affiliation or differing theological views and practices. The mission of evangelism includes strengthening the body of Christ as well as building it!""

Here comes my commentary...

To be honest, I would be naive (or gullible) to think even for a moment that we have found the holy grail of evangelistic success based on those guiding principles.

What are words good for if not backed by a lifetime of deeds?

Now tell me, which megachurch ministry doesn't have those basic principles, or at the least, implied them in their mission statement or manifesto?

In fact, the challenge is this - if you happen to read any of their mission statement, and if none of them carry all or most of those guiding principles, explicitly or otherwise, then it's not a church my friend, it is a religious Mafioso; where the executive head draws all men (and women) unto himself and no one else.

As such, I have no delusion about words on paper. They are no doubt a good and stable railing (hand guard) to hold when you are trekking the terrain of moral darkness.

But we know it is not so much the railing that makes the enduring difference. It is the hand that holds on to it against all temptations to stray that truly counts and will eventually overcome.

For completing the race or fighting the good fight is like wrestling a gorilla. You don't stop when you are tired, jaded, disillusioned, disappointed, embarrassed, rejected or hurt.

You stop only when you have KO'ed the gorilla for good. And that takes a lifetime to accomplish because good character is not built up in a day; it is sharpened through the decades. 

So, let's go back to the Modesto Manifesto, in particular, honesty and integrity.

Has the modern megachurch leader lived up to them?

While the CHC saga is an easy target here (because they have were been convicted beyond a reasonable doubt) and that horse has been admittedly flogged to pieces by the media due to the incomprehensible vehemence of the convicted leadership, I think there is an equal, if not more insidious, deception of church leadership we often overlook because it is mostly not criminal in nature.

This deception takes after the Latin phrase - "suppressio veri, suggestio falsi,” which translates to this – “the suppression of the truth is equivalent to the suggestion of what is false”. 

Here is what I mean...

When it comes to money, some megachurches thrive on the collection. This collection like floodgates is mostly centered on one drive: Expectation. It is an expectation of personal prosperity, that is, give and it will be given unto you, a good measure, press down, shaken together...I'm sure you are familiar with the scriptural tagline.

It is therefore mainly a form of derivative faith where the promise of blessings becomes a hallmark of believing and this transfixed believing brings about an unwaveringly anticipation of the elevation of one's material status in name, fame and riches. 

These megachurches' leaders are gifted in the language of modern culture.  

One business lecturer, who studied from a secular angle the marketing strategies of megachurches, came up with this observation:-

"Market-friendly ideologies associated with individualism and self-empowerment are often blended with selective Christian theologies to emphasize positive living and blessings, while deflecting overtly negative Christian doctrines such as suffering, judgment, sacrifice, hell or death from sin. Their church services are scripted and "produced" with deliberate use of contemporary music, sound and lighting."" (Jeaney Yip). 

Although it seems unfair to look at it from that strictly business angle, because there are more to it than that, that is, the transforming power of the gospel, I can't as a Christian with decades of megachurch background, disregard completely her assessment. There is still some truth to it if you keep an open mind about it.

So, the unfortunate reality is, in that "scripted" and "produced" context, the tendency is to dish out scriptural promises one after another and see the money comes pouring in. In other words, they sow words that tend to make striking the prosperity lottery an everyday occurrence for the desperate hopeful. 

Alas, the difference between the national lottery and some megachurch collection is that in the former, you never know who will strike the big one at every announcement. The odds are stacked against everyone.

But for the megachurches, you know the one who holds the winning numbers (so to speak) is always the leadership, which holds total rein over the money heap. Hence, you can say that the one who brings good news brings even better news for himself 

(My god, the redundancy rate for the idle funds are beyond comprehension as they keep pouring in beyond what any wise counsel in church knows what to do with them).

Here is how it went so biblically for one megachurch many years back.

In one of the collection drives to raise funds for its church's half of S$976m retail and entertainment complex, Joseph Prince bedazzled the 22,272 attendees with this embellished gospel tagline: -

"As they come forth Lord to sow, release upon them Father the power to get, to create, to receive wealth in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." (I call this the "or-your-money-back" petition).

He also added: "Prosperity is right. Amen. We prosper to prosper others. We prosper to prosper God's kingdom, so come believing."

Well, I can't say that prosperity is wrong. Blessings are real from God. They are part of His promises. Admittedly, Joseph Prince has got a point there.

But the glittering carrot that Joseph Prince hangs over the expecting crowd is not the gospel that spoke the whole truth about prosperity. I guess the occasion (raising funds) requires one to frontload everything about prosperity and leave that which is a financial wet blanket out of the way right? Maybe….maybe not.

Mind you, the Rich Young Ruler walked away from Jesus not because he cannot serve God with his wealth. It is because he can't imagine himself serving God without his wealth. God alone is thus not sufficient for him.

That is what makes it disconcerting when a megachurch preacher resorts to what is quite indistinguishable from cutting a deal with his congregation by challenging them to give generously so that God would give them back manifold. The biblical cheerful giver is now spurred on by the profit motive.

(Honestly, wouldn't it be more honest to just tell them as it is, that is, convey the need in earnest, without swinging the golden carrot over the congregant's head as if God is all ready with his pen in one hand to issue out blank cheques? Truly, here, you can witness for yourself the difference between how a mainstream church asks for funds and how a megachurch does it. The latter's tactics is without a doubt unparalleled in ostentatiousness, self-confidence and charismatic exuberance).

Alas, this makes prosperity more of a trap to a lot of believers than a springboard to maturity in the faith.

In fact, if you harken to the words of the renowned theologian, Stanley Hauerwas, you ought to give pause for more reflection about the numbing effect of the prosperity gospel.

This is what he said:-

"Why (the churches in the West) are dying seems very simple. It is hard to be a disciple and be rich. Surely, we may think it cannot be that simple, but Jesus certainly seems to think that it is that simple. The lure of wealth and the cares of the world produced by wealth quite simply darken and choke our imaginations. As a result, the church falls prey to the deepest enemy of the gospel - serf mentality. The gospel becomes a formula for "giving our lives meaning" without judgment.""

The gospel therefore becomes a means to an end in this money-heaping exercise. While Jesus rejected the kingdom of this world, riches and all, knowing full well its corrupting influences, the cultural edifice of wealth today tempts every church leader to accept with open arms the kingdom of this world.

Sadly, some gave in - even unknowingly - because they can't imagine themselves serving God without their accumulated wealth. God, stripped of the wealth and reputation, is just one egg short of a dozen?

What's worse is that in giving in quite unknowingly, the preacher brings with him the gathering masses to this catatonic state of blissful unawareness.

So, when the whole truth is suppressed under the guise of a blank-cheque prosperity, it inevitably exposes the lies one is trying in vain to cover up behind the glittering pulpit. 

All this applies with equal force, if not urgency, to Billy Graham's other guiding principles like purity and humility in the Modesto Manifesto. The principles on paper are no doubt foundational cornerstone for living and leading an overcoming Christ-like life.

But cornerstone or not, the builders build the house by their hands and not by their mouth. The words on paper only come alive if the life follows them through, every word in the order it appears, up to the end of the line and life. In other words, it is the conscious, committed and covenantal effort that see to it that the house is eventually built from ground up that matters most.

It is only when the builder takes short cuts, walks the broad glittering way, compromises on the whole truth, and enriches himself with under-table gifts that his foundation crumbles the moment it is put to the test. 

This is where pastors fall, cross the line, tempt fate, and start to believe in their own invulnerability.

Let me end with the concluding words of J Lee Grady:-

"So much of what we call ministry today has been compromised by ego, marketing and man-made agendas. Some of our own "Spirit-filled" preachers are happy to sell a healing or a financial miracle for $29.95. Others claim spiritual superiority because they have the largest following on social media or because so many lined up to attend their packed conferences.

We have exchanged honesty, integrity, purity and humility for hype, fake anointing, manipulated photos, inflated attendance reports, sensuality and boastful swagger. God forgive us.

Billy Graham raised the bar for all ministers. I pray we will never forget his legacy." Amen. Cheerz.