The American Church: A House of Prayer or A Den of Thieves?
Date
2016-11-17
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Abstract
Have churches become so focused on getting wealthier that they have forgotten their calling of taking care of the poor, despised, and marginalized? Churches across America are marked with expensive interior décor, over-sized buildings, and expensive administrative salaries. They seem to be prospering as many individuals are struggling with poverty living pay check to pay check. This project evaluates how the average American church fulfills the command of using money to build the Kingdom of God. According to Scripture, churches should be giving more to their hurting communities than they are spending money on modernizing the church. The project will also look at how churches advertise their church and Christ to their communities in such a way that encourages attendance, resulting in more money, and not discipleship. The early church set a Christ-like example by living lives that were saturated with charity and missions, but these have taken a backseat to the financially focused American church. In order to fill pews with disciples, it must find its identity in the compassionate, mission-centered Christ once again.
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Church, Consumerism, Religious marketing, Wealth