But this week, I learned that some Christians have another name for God. Well, maybe not a name per se, but definitely a perception of God that is VERY different than my own. Let me share with you a quote that I heard this week from an American pastor who was also a speaker at the church conference in Uganda, where I was this past week:
"Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is sitting down. He is not working. And He will sit there until He returns. And it is the same for you. You do not need to work. You need to sit there and wait for Him. It's like you are in a restaurant. The waiter sits you down. Then he sits other people down. Then he comes back for your order and you put it in. He then goes to get the orders of the other customers. After some time, you can see that the orders are being brought to those who came after you and you wonder where your order is! But just wait. God is going to bring you your order!"
God as a waiter. A God who takes orders. A God whose job is to serve us.
This is NOT the God I serve.
The theme for this conference was "Possess the Land." It was a theme that I admitted made me a bit nervous, especially with the history of colonization, tribalism, and civil war. But I was able to teach it by adding the phrase, "Possessing the Land for the Kingdom of God." I taught about how we are the hands and feet of Christ, and how we are to work as agents of reconciliation in our relationships to God, each other, and to creation and work. My goal, given to me by the leaders of the denomination, was to help people recognize the ability of every member to contribute to the flourishing of Uganda, their families, and the church, by using their time, treasure, and talent (what is in their hand) for the glory of God, seven days a week.
The US team that came to speak had a very different goal. Actually, it was a contradictory message, which was frustrating for me and confusing for the audience.
The speaker quoted above said, "Taking possession of the land is more about receiving than working. Just receive it. I need you to worship and just receive your inheritance. You don't have to work for your inheritance. My son does not need to work for his inheritance - he will receive it. The prodigal son did not work for his inheritance - he just received it. You need to do the same."
The prosperity gospel in full. Just have enough faith, sew a financial seed, and you will get your miracle. It made me sick to hear hour after hour of this. I had heard prosperity gospel messages before and have read books on this as well. But to hear it live for this many hours was a first for me. As the week went on, I moved from feeling sick to feeling angry.
In my mind, the prosperity gospel is similar to selling lottery tickets to the poor. They pay something (which is nicely phrased as "sowing a seed" in the hopes of getting a big cash out.
I tried to recraft every hour I was given to speak to come against this message. The one line that often gets people clapping in many churches that are not focused on the prosperity gospel is, "The spirit of poverty cast out by prayer alone will return again." When I said it last week, there was no applause, just silence with a look of confusion on some faces.
Brothers and sisters, this message has been exported from the US to the rest of the world, and it continues to this day. It needs to be combatted. People are wasting their lives, believing that they must spend their time in church praying for a miracle, afraid of working because they also are being taught that wealth will lead to losing their salvation.
We need to be in prayer about this and we also need to share the message that God is King (as opposed to servant) wherever we can. Many doors are opening for this message and we are trying to build capacity in new trainers as quickly as we can. Please join us! (Click here for more details.)
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