The price is right
Bil Cornelius wants you to come on down. Demonstrating a remarkable flair for promotion, the Texas megachurch pastor got wide media coverage for his attention-grabbing pre-Easter campaign. "You are the next winner of 'The Ultimate Giveaway!' That's right...With over $2 million in prizes and giveaways, this Easter, everyone will win something at Bay Area Fellowship!"
And give away they did. Bay Area Fellowship set attendance records on Easter and gave away 16 new cars, 300 bicycles, flat screen TVs, furniture, laptop computers, Fender guitars and some 15,000 gift bags worth $300 each.
Cornelius explains that he's trying to reach the kind of people who are only thinking about material things. And this gives the church "a chance to talk to them about God and heaven." People's generosity has been astounding and the church is having a lot of fun with this, he says. "We're excited to bring a tangible side to the intangible truth that can basically give them heaven. Really, it's a giant illustration to point to the ultimate gift, which is the gift of heaven."
And apparently it works. The church reports that "following the phenomenal Easter turnout, this weekend BAF set yet another non-holiday record. Over 8,700 people attended throughout our seven campuses! Praise the Lord because He was moving this weekend!"
It's easy to lampoon the extravagance of the Bay Area benevolence—a Texas-size example of consumerism in overdrive. It clearly caters to people's baser instincts and offers a thin veneer of Christian blessing to deep-seated selfishness.
And one can do more than quibble with a theology that places heaven as the ultimate goal of the Christian life. The ultimate giveaway is not heaven. It was Jesus Christ, who suffered and died and was sacrificed so that others might live. But Christian living is more than just surviving this world in order to be content in the next. God's project is the rescue and re-creation of this world—the entire cosmos. Heaven is nearer than we think.
Good point
But the pastor is also onto something. The physical and the spiritual are not two categories necessarily in conflict with each other, as many more spiritually devout people are inclined to suggest. And, he's right. The best things in life are free.
So before we get too caustic or dismissive, we do well to pause and remember that Jesus also delighted the masses. In the heyday of His public ministry, people flocked to be near Him because they expected to receive something. And Jesus often obliged; He was not loathe to heal diseases or restore sight and mobility. He produced an abundance of food when it was needed in a place where it was not otherwise available to His listeners. He turned water into wine for wedding revelers. And Jesus did not disdain the extravagant gifts of those who worshiped Him, the costly perfume that was poured out on his feet. No—neither extravagance nor material define the core problem.
Learning to distinguish between physical needs and material desire is probably a helpful way to proceed on a more costly—and ultimately more rewarding—pathway of discipleship. Transforming conspicuous consumption to conscientious consumption is a more formidable challenge for Christian teachers in the Western world. But the fundamental issues always revert to the direction of the human heart. Idolatry is worshiping that which is not God as if it were. Is it God or stuff that matters most?
Ironically, the Son of God was not entirely averse to making deals. When a promising young leader approached Jesus for advice about living well in the afterlife, the Teacher first tested the inquirer's beliefs and found them to be sound. He then asked about obedience, and learned that the young man was exemplary. But something was still missing, and Jesus identified it with a simple—but difficult—requirement. The gift of heaven, in this case, was unavailable unless the man was willing to give away all his consumer goods and follow Christ.
Tough lesson, not a come-on-down appeal at all. "But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich" (Luke 18:23). That incident—that powerful story—has inspired countless people throughout the ages to set wealth aside and seek God first in all things. But it certainly will not serve to fill the pews.
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
