2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
This is what ministry, real ministry looks like: plain, simple, God-centered. I grew up during the time of the Jesus movement of the sixties and seventies. One of the secondary outgrowths of that time is Jesus-people-paraphernalia. You know, you probably have some plaques around the house with a Scripture, or a piece of jewelry in the shape of a fish. The funny thing about the paraphernalia is that you don’t have to have the substance of what they symbolize in order to display them. You can go to a yard sale and purchase them. They have become empty objects of the underground economy, devoid of their original purchaser’s experience. They were produced originally to symbolize a life-changing experience, a visual reminder of radical change. Then they turned into a profit making business. Now they are often purchased like dime-store trinkets, a lucky rabbit’s foot, the purchaser filled with hope that they will do some good. I honor ministries that offer their sermons for free on the internet. I am wary of those that look as though they were the latest QVC channel program. I am not saying that ministries can’t charge for ministry products, but I am saying it is easy to move from ministry to Madison Avenue Marketing. The content of the Message we have to offer the world is free to us. Offering it at a price to others is … sin. There, I said it. If a body of believers can’t offer ministry to others free, then perhaps God has not authored that ministry. Perhaps it should be dropped. I know it is easy for me to write these things since I am not on hundreds of TV stations around the world with huge production costs and compensation packages. But that does not invalidate the message. We must make sure that we have the substance and that we don’t market empty substitutes.
The Arnold Journey 