A
business sells a product and makes a profit. A ministry
serves a function that cannot be done at a profit. One
of the keys to detecting a business being disguised
as a ministry is to see how the funds are generated.
If this group uses "buzz words" to gain an
entry, beware. The following are some of the buzz words.
"I would like to come by and share our ministry."
This is a common phrase of buzz words. If the business
offers a legitimate product or service, then it ought
to stand on its own merit. It should not require a
spiritual endorsement to get in the door.
"Pastor,
we have something that will help your people."
When a group orients its sales pitch to pastors, be
on guard. If it’s a product for pastors or a
program for the local church, then pastors are the
group to call on. But if it’s a product, diet
plan, insurance, wills/trusts, or gold mines, and
it is directed toward pastors, then be aware that
the group is trying to ride in on his credibility.
Unfortunately, since many pastors are not well paid,
they also fall into the finder’s-fee trap. Often
the group will offer the pastor a fee for anyone he
recommends who buys the products. There are many pastors
who have lost their personal credibility by recommending
a company to their people.
"You
can help other Christians." Without a doubt this
is the real clincher in fleecing the flock. If a company
can convince its salespeople that the end result of
their efforts is to help others, then the methods
can be justified. It’s the old "the end
justifies the means" syndrome. In other words,
you’re not really hurting them by receiving
them; after all, it’s for their own good.
Matthew 21:12 describes the event when Christ ran the
moneychangers out of the temple. Why did He do that
when obviously they were meeting a need of the people
who were coming to the temple to worship? The law gave
the Jews the right to sell an animal designated for
sacrifice if they had a long journey, then use the money
to buy another animal for sacrifice. The moneychangers
served this need and most of the people seemed satisfied.
So why did He get so upset when both sides benefited?
Because Christ knew that the motive of the moneychangers
was to "fleece the flock." Why do you suppose
this event was reported in the Scriptures? One reason
may well be that Jesus wanted His disciples to understand
exactly how He felt about fleecing the flock.
Conclusion
If we, as Christians, are to do business with each other,
we must follow fundamental biblical principles to avoid
the fleecing trap.
The
first principle: Don’t develop a sales program
exclusively for the "church." Obviously, Christian
teaching materials would be created for a Christian
market, but other products are not. Most programs aimed
almost exclusively at the Christian market are really
secular products with some Christian terms sprinkled
in. "In their greed they will exploit you with
false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle,
and their destruction is not asleep" (2 Peter 2:3).
The
second principle: Don’t practice deception. If
you have a product to sell that you honestly believe
will benefit other Christians, let it be known, but
don’t promote it as a ministry or as a spiritual
happening. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. In
other words, let people know what the company is and
what the product is. If there is a referral or finder’s
fee paid to another person for a lead, let that be known
too. If you’re afraid of losing a sale because
of total honesty, then the program is dishonest.
