Welcome to the new world of church government and fund raising. It’s called e-bay ecclesiology. It’s simple, really. Every church Decision, every sermon topic, every hospital visitation, every staffing decision, every Sunday morning song list, every outreach event, every Sunday School lesson, every serving position; everything that goes on in the life of the church is up for sale. It’s all listed on e-bay and the highest bidder wins the decision.

You say you want to be more involved in the life of the church? Fire up a Pay-pal account and get busy outbidding your fellow church members. Didn’t like last week’s sermon? Then dig into your savings and spend a little more on next week’s message. Upset because you didn’t sing your favorite song in church on Sunday? Perhaps your financial priorities are out of line and you should reallocate some emergency funds to be used in those last minute bidding wars.

Think about it: All the decisions are made by the highest bidder and all the church’s financial woes are solved. You will never have to listen to another sermon on tithing again! After all, who is going to place a bid on a sermon that makes them feel uncomfortable? Nope, from now on you can count on a happy feel-good message every week! Bottom line: you are in direct control of everything that happens in your church because you get to vote on everything with your Credit Card!

Alright… Baaaaad Idea. Yet it’s closer to reality than most care to admit. Consumerism is alive and well in just about every American church. I’ve actually had a church board member tell me, “The people who give their money to the church should get what they want out of the church!”

There is much more to this story. Look for e-bay ecclesiology part 2 in a future post.