The Apostolic Welfare Culture

As long as the church structures its existence on a business model, there will be this "tension", because most people recognise there is a "tension" between "job and family". The job wants you to do for them, PERIOD. They weasel, whine, threaten, promise and bribe you to do more for less. Many jobs expect you to sacrifice family time for them. It's just the nature of "employment", not necessarily a bad thing. Every employee worth his.her salt understands this, and acts accordingly - one has to learn when to say "No" to the boss. No to excess overtime, No to too much working on the weekends, etc.

But, as long as the church models itself on the business model, with the pastor as CEO/boss man and the saints as human resource material to be directed into accomplishing the CEO's "vision", there will be this "tension" between church and family.

The church will make demands on the time and money and talent of the individual to the expense of the family.

And this ought not to be.

The average run of the mill church today is NOT "family friendly".

Oh, and creating a plethora of "programs for every family member" is NOT the solution.

Churches need to return to what they originally were - A FAMILY. The family of God. God's HOUSEHOLD, not a business or charity organisation dedicated to fulfilling some one man's "visions". God's household is an extended household, composed not merely of "individuals" but of FAMILIES.

As soon as we discover the Biblical truth of "household salvation" we will have come a long way toward solving this unnecessary dichotomy between "church and family".

(Note: "Household salvation" as I use the term is NOT the idea that babies should be baptised, but rather it is the truth that God is in the business of saving and redeeming ENTIRE HOUSEHOLDS. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy household." Many if not most of the early churches described in the Scripture were HOUSEHOLD churches, meaning entire households were converted, forming the nucleus of the local church, growing as new households are added to the body.

We have to get back to a FAMILY-oriented model of the church rather than the business-oriented model.)