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Okay then, let’s continue with The D.A. Chronicles…

I know what I want
I know what I need
I want a miracle
I know what I need
I know what I want, I know what I need, give me
(A new car!)

I’m one of the king’s kids (He wants a blessing)
I’m one of the king’s kids (He wants a blessing)
I do deserve the best (Keep on confessing)
The very, very, very, very Best
I’m one of the king’s kids
I deserve the best, I want
(A new car!)
- Terry Taylor, “New Car!”

From Doppelganger, the 2nd in Daniel Amos’ The Alarma! Chronicles series of albums, New Car! addresses one of the more irritating aspects of American Pop Christianity, this concept that we are entitled, by virtue of our salvation, to a superlative life on this Earth. We’re the King’s Kids. Our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. God’s not broke. And so it goes…

How about this one:

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:57,58

So, is this negative confession? Jesus also said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” See? There you have it, abundance! Of course, to anyone who’s studied John, you can easily see how Jesus was constantly talking about the spiritual in contrast to the Jews’ focus on the physical.

This “gimme” Christianity is essentially bad Pentecostal theology (which is a somewhat redundant phrase) combined with American materialism, consumerism and individualism. This attitude is not unique to America, by any means; the British Imperialism of the 19th Century comes to mind. Regardless of origins, it’s a problem.

This sense of Christian entitlement is prevalent in our current church system; we have a whole class of “professional” Christians, who believe that by the sheer nature of their title, they deserve to be supported by the church. This, by the way, is not Biblical; that is, if you read the New Testament without filters. Many times I have been quoted the “double honor” verse in support of paid, professional Christians. Considering that I have often worked 20 hours a week or more as an unpaid “lay” Christian, my response is, “so what’s 2 times zero?”

“A worker is worthy of his wage.” Well, cool! Considering that most churches couldn’t exist without dozens of volunteers, many of them making way less than the pastoral staff, let’s do something about that!

I am not being facetious. I am also not reacting out of a “sour grapes” mentality. While I was on the board of one church (and also putting in many, many hours a week in various roles), I actually drafted a policy which prevented me from getting paid. I know a former well-known pastor, who was for a time the head of a very large denomination, who after stepping down from that position told me that he could no longer Biblically support being a paid pastor, and had to look for “alternative” employment. I am not alone in my thinking.

This sense of entitlement has also worked its way into the missions organizations, to the point where anyone who decides to go on a missions “vacation” expects others to pay their way. If you are like me, you may get several of these requests for support a year. Now, I think many of these excursions are totally valid; however, the mentality that says, “I’m going to tour a mission field so you should give me money” is, I think, defective. Consider Paul’s attitude, who chose not to be a burden to the church.

(Now, I have diverted slightly from a pure discussion of the Christian entitlement mentality, but I’ll deal with that next time. I figure, let’s start at the top and work down.)

What I am not saying

Before I end this post, let me offer this: I am not saying that it is wrong to pay a pastor, a missionary, or some other “ministry” position. It is the philosophy behind it that I am challenging.

I have a lot more to say, so tune in for next time where I discuss how these systems actually abuse those they intend to support.

Okay, so this isn’t the promised “Daniel Amos Chronicles” post either. But, this is more pressing (and takes less thought).

Demetri Martin is fast becoming our favorite comedian; the hundred or so clips of him that you can find on You Tube are hilarious. Now, he’s doing an internet serial (that is, a series of “webisodes”) at clearification.com. It takes a minute or 2 to load, but it’s worth the wait. You can listen to the virtual Demetri ramble awhile, or just click on “Episodes” and choose the 1st on the list, A Rare Condition. Again, it will take a while to load, but it’s worth it. And, it’s only about 5 minutes long.

I was going to post something else today, another installment of The Daniel Amos Chronicles, but happened to see this piece from Rabbi Marc Gellman, Worry. Don’t Be Happy, and just had to post this instead.

This is the 2nd time I’ve linked to a Gellman article; I am not necessarily a Gellman “fan” and don’t read him “religiously.” However, I do often appreciate his perspective; there seems to be something about Jewish philosophy - obviously based on God as revealed in the O.T. - that Christians lack, at least American Christians. We seem to have misplaced our roots along the way, more or less adopting our various western philosophies and then applying a Christian overlay. But, I’m no expert on Jewish philosophy, so perhaps similar problems exist - in any event, I do appreciate this perspective on occasion.

So, I’ll sign off with this snippet from the Rabbi:

Happiness for our culture is pleasure, and pleasure is selfish. Happiness for Judaism is goodness, and goodness is transcending.