Hello Scot and everyone.
I think the WFC may change our hearts in ways that we consider our human relationships more highly than the mighty dollar. Whether these human relationships evolve towards the grace of God, we can pray for. But the fundamental that has been shut out for too long is people reacting with people. Not in Facebook and the like, but face-to-face.
Love in Jesus to all.

I’m always troubled by the commoditizing of the Gospel, because to me it indicates a profound lack of trust in the Holy Spirit doing the Holy Spirit’s job.

Hoo-rah! Bring it!
Well said. “Cranked” isn’t the word I would use to describe how I feel about the Gospel-As-Commodity (or Gospel-As-Shrinkwrapped-Or-Downloadable-Software) attitude. What I feel and how I would express it isn’t fit to print and the Lord wouldn’t be impressed.
Besides, we’d have to talk about it later.
Blessings to the Bride of Christ! May she be as radiant as her Lord and unashamed of Him.

The sentiment bothers me as well, not because of hawking and salesmanship, but because it seems to emphasize statistics and numbers not community and change.
There was a discussion on this blog a while back (perhaps a couple of years even) about developing friendships for evangelism, holding parties for evangelism and so forth…
One of the strong sentiments that surprised me at the time was the distaste that many had for evangelism in context because it devalued people as people and devalued relationships. Everything became an opportunity for conversion – and if there is an ulterior motive it is not really friendship.
I do think that we should respond in these times, and that opportunities may exist – but all should be motivated out of love for neighbor, genuine love. Genuine love includes preaching the gospel and enacting the gospel.
Interesting.

Using the financial crisis this way has bothered me too. In addition to what Michelle says, which I agree with, there are other reasons for me: In particular, it plays into related stereotypes — (1) evangelicals take advantage of people when they are down and out, and (2) people are interested in God primarily because of what He can do for them. As with all stereotypes, these are not always true . . . but sometimes they are.
I think the financial crisis is a time for Christians to examine themselves to see if they have bought into the consumer culture that caused our country to run up debts we can’t afford. And to love our neighbors in tanglible ways, without an agenda.

I dislike this because it seems to be exploiting people’s weakness and vulnerability to promote the gospel. It seems opportunistic, but also, it buys into the golden calves: that somehow the symptoms of the underlying disease that created this mess are more important than the disease itself. Were we really OK when we were papering over our spiritual issues with prosperity?

In a way the economic climate represents a MISSED opportunity. We in the church should have been living simply, in community, and in generosity BEFORE the downturn. How do we have the right now to say, “We told you so. Materialism will leave you empty and broken.” As if we were the ones who sought first the Kingdom of God. If we now would lead in repentance maybe we could redeem the situation, but I don’t think this is the kind of “opportunity” that is being referred to. It sounds more like trying to sway people when they are psychologically vulnerable. This will prove to be insubstantial, much as the “hunger for the spiritual” in the 9/11 aftermath proved to be.

Saying “these times are an unprecedented opportunity for the gospel” is ridiculous. In fact, I would say the opposite: that the unprecedented opportunity for the gospel was when America’s economy could do something serious about world poverty. But in the last 8 years the money was spent on something totally different…

RJS, I agree with your comments, and also feel that I would agree with them being applied to the discussion of higher education and evangelism: “Everything became an opportunity for conversion – and if there is an ulterior motive it is not really friendship.” I think there are a lot of missed opportunities. And I think we have a lot of know it alls who do not know how to be a true friend to someone–plus nothing.

Dunder-Mifflin-ish — LOL!!!
I hear what you’re saying, but in my own home church, I think the approach has been very appropriate. It’s simply been this: these are scary times for many people, and many people “out there” as well as many of us here in the church have been hurt by the financial crisis. How should we consider what God might be doing in each of our lives during this time? Have some of us been too reliant on money? And how can we demonstrate the love of Christ? Are there people in need we can help?

Michelle,
Great to see you here–and I am with you.

I can certainly get “cranked” about a ‘gospel’ that makes the gospel into a legal loophole and little more. But I’m glad that I’ve not personally seen that kind of effort jump up in response to the recession. Like others above, I have seen folks say something like “This is a great opportunity for all of us to reconsider our whole way of life,” which I totally agree with. To me, that type of thinking is the essence of the repentance Jesus called for.
On the plus side, I don’t think this crisis is as much an opportunity for a “gotta go to heaven when you die” gospel as it is for a gospel that presents an alternative Way to live that is truly functional and fruitful with God, ourselves, others and the creation. For those of us who think that the sweet spot of the gospel is towards the latter, that idolatry of money, entertainment and the independent self are the real opponents of Christ’s lordship in the West, this crisis does present an opportunity to reject those idols and align ourselves, for the first time or more deeply, with the leadership of God, and offer the same to others.

Good thoughts! It kind of reminds me of right after 9/11 when there was an “awakening” in the church. Was it a remarkable time of folks discovering that their lives were meant to be lived in pursuit of Jesus? Not generally, but people were mad and freaked out and they went to church. What were the long-term effects of this “golden opportunity?” I’m sure there were a few lives changed but as a nation, we by no means increased our tendency to look like Jesus. When the ultimate goal is getting folks to say the sinners prayer or fill pews, the gospel gets forgotten.

this is a great post.
There’s no time that vulnerable people should be taken advantage of. Let’s face it, there are plenty of vulnerable people out there right now.
The bride should be doing now what she should have always been doing -loving the world the way the Bridegroom loves it.

A related note: I’m not a fan of presenting the transactional gospel as ‘the gospel’ outside of its goverment-of / apprenticeship-to Jesus context (no news there). Having said that on more than a few threads here, I feel I should also say clearly that evangelism is important–really, really important. I think it’s fine for those of us who see problems with presenting a legal loophole focused gospel to say so, so long as we do so with the intent–and practice–of building up a better, more robust evangelism and not just tearing down the old one. Evangelism can be hard and risky, no matter the variety or focus, and we’re all tempted to do it less, especially when we have doubts about how to do it. I don’t want to see less of it happening; I want to see it happening differently than I grew up hearing and more. And it’s probably worth saying (especially to myself and folks like me who think our evangelism and our gospel ought to be concerned with how this life is lived) that the current economic crisis is a great and likely limited opportunity for a “repent and believe” invitation that is focused on how we do life.
Our collective confidence in the idol of the dollar and the consumptive way of life is shaken (both within and outside of the Church). Repentance is easier for many right now than it was two years ago. This is good! But how will anyone repent of their way of life unless they hear about different Way? And how will anyone hear if no one is sent to tell them? I think we do have a unique opportunity right now. Some people are ready for a different way of life that weren’t before this crisis.

I understand the point the author makes, and I agree that the gospel transcends many of the methods and possibly motives (which only God can truly know)that some use to promote it; however, some of those who say these things likely do not mean to reduce Christian faith to a commodity that is especially moveable now, just as coats are in the winter. Some are not as adept at expressing themselves or as sensitive to nuance as others are; hence, hawking the faith may not be their intention at all. Reaching out to people who may be more receptive to a helping hand because for the first time they realize that they need one isn’t a dubious approach. I offer my students extra help after school, and while only a few accept the offer at first, quite a few decide to take it when the time for grade reports draws near. Is it not possible for them to learn, even at that late date, what they would not have otherwise? For me, the current situation has been a blessing. One of my sons who participates in mission work has told me that people who live in harsh circumstances know that this world is not the be-all and end-all that those of us who are insulated by our privileges and distractions sometimes believe it to be. Now, I know exactly what he meant. I am by no means destitute. Truthfully, the economic crisis hasn’t affected me much yet, but I am concerned about the future.Current conditions have taught me that if I am depending on anything or anybody else to sustain me in this world, whether it is a possession, professional accomplishment, a fellow human who may disappoint or die, a political party or philosophy, I am going to be set adrift sooner or later. I don’t know if decisions of faith made under duress are always genuine or lasting, but I do know that I have begun to focus on my relationship with God much more intently while I lose interest in the things of this world. Perhaps others may be forming a clearer view of the world too and may be ready to move to a deeper faith or embrace faith for the first time. In that sense, the current crisis could be a catalyst for growth in the Christian community that does not operate from a cynical or commercial position.

just today I was studying for the class I lead at my church on “Mere Christianity”. Included in the chapters is Lewis’ definition of Charity and how much to give: “if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, .etc . . is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.” As I read this I thought about the affluent members of my class and wondered how they will respond to this in light of the current economy. Will they blame others? or will they see their role? I think the economic crisis is a good trigger for lots of “how should we be living” discussions–especially within the Kingdom.