Pentecostal leader takes aim at prosperity doctrine http://megachurchwatch.org/?p=3

Jim Reiher's book, The Eye of the Needle: Discipleship and Wealth, is an important book because of what it says, how it says it and, in particular who is saying it. As a profile Pentecostal leader, Jim Reiher's critique of prosperity doctrine carries special weight. It is a must read.

Context

The theological context surrounding prosperity doctrine is a live issue within the church. In a newspaper article a few years ago, Rev Tim Costello challenged what he described as the 'prosperity doctrine' within Hillsong preaching:

The quickest way to degrade the gospel is to link it with money and the pursuit of money. It is the total opposite of what Jesus preached. These people have learnt nothing from the mistakes made by the American televangelists.

At the time the the respone was big, with many churches waiting to see what would happen. The outcome of the dispute was that Brian Houston withdrew the offending book from publication, You Need More Money: Discovering God's Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life. Tim Costello, for his part, affirmed the work of Hillsong in general. Since then, the conflict surrounding prosperity doctine has withdrawn to a few low level rumbles.

The issue is theologically latent, however, not dead. Major churches won't touch the prosperity doctrine in any sustained way for a number of reasons. Firstly, many of the larger denominations have borrowed techniques from the churches that preach prosperity doctrine. Baptist and Churches of Christ denominations, for example, have entered into the networks of church growth, the organisational equivalent of prosperity doctrine. Big churches also don't want to appear to have 'church growth envy' or sour grapes. It's not in the interests of big churches to criticise prosperity doctrine.

The political context of prosperity doctrine is also a live issue in the broader political culture. With the rise of the 'aspirational voter' at the 2004 election, politicians are keen to ensure that they react positively to those who would seek to climb what Mark Latham called the "ladder of opportunity.?? These two worlds of secular prosperity ideology and religious prosperity doctrine came together at the 2004 Federal Election in the seat of Greenway. Formerly a safe ALP seat, it went to the Liberal candidate Louise Marcus, a long time Hillong member and former staffer. It's not in the interest of any major church to criticise prosperity doctrine.

Jim Reiher's book is significant because of its boldness to speak into this highly-charged theological and political arena. His message is upsetting, with some megachurch members wondering why people are attacking the church. It is not a book that will make him popular. But then again, neither will his candidature for the Australian Greens in the 2001 and 2004 federal elections, and current candidate as Greens upper house candidate in the Eastern Region in this year's state election.

Jim's critique of prosperity doctrine within The Eye of the Needle is unlikely to win him any electoral support. But then again, biblical prophets like Jeremiah, Amos, and Jesus for that matter, were unlikely to win the marginal seats of their time, so to speak. That's the luxury that prophets enjoy; they don't have organisations with interests they need to represent. My guess is that Jim will be remembered for standing in that biblical tradition.

With many churches hampered by deep insecurities arising from their declining numbers, Jim's book is significant because he is one of the few voices willing to make a sustian a biblical critique of prosperity doctrine. And as a Senior Lecturer at Tabor Bible College in Melbourne, he has impeccable credentials as a born-again, committed, Bible believing Christian. In other words, this is not an attack coming from the secular left.

Content

The book itself is a measured refutation of prosperity teachers - those who encourage Christians to acquire wealth as a way of furthering the Kingdom of God. Closely associated with this emphasis is the idea that God will give financial rewards (or blessings) to those who live a faithful Christian life. A central reference to Jim's writing is Hillsong Senior Pastor Brian Houston's book, You Need More Money: Discovering God's Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life. For those who have not had the chance to read Houston's book, which has since gone out of print, here is a sample:

If you and I can change our thinking and develop a healthy attitude towards money, I believe we can ll walk in the blessing and prosperity that God intends for us. We will never have a problem with money again. (Houston, 3)

Jim's response points out the danger of such a position:

[To] imply that a completely prosperous person walking in the fullness of God has blessings in all areas including material riches is actually a very unkind and soul-destroying teaching. If a person does not "have it all??, then the implication is that that person is not walking in the fullness of God. There is something wrong with them if they lack in any material way. This is psychologically damaging to people and it has caused some to depart from the Christian faith. They feel condemned and they feel like failures in their faith. (Reiher, 99)

Jim Reiher is a Pentecostal, and it comes through in his style. His chapter titles are catchy and echo the culture he is critiquing ("Pick a proverb, any proverb?? and "How to misuse the Bible is sever easy ways??) . Jim's background as a preacher also comes through with the book feeling at times like a Pentecostal sermon designed to put forward the correct position and inspire an emotional response from the reader. It is kind of like an altar call in reverse, to call people away from an heretical prosperity doctrine.

The book is a work of practical theology. Reiher takes a series of Bible passages commonly used by prosperity teachers and argues why such uses don't accord with the passages read in proper context. He also makes a large point about the use of Old Testament passages which have subsequently been superceeded by the New Testament covenant. Perhaps the most innovative part of Reiher's exegetical work is where he rewrites key passages according to what prosperity teaches wished they had said. This is practical theology which will undoubtedly help many Christians in prosperity churches to think through some of what is being said to them.

One weakness with Reiher's book is that he doesn't take his words about context far enough. One of Brian Houston's key parables is the 'Parable of the Talents' (or in Luke's Gospel, the Parable of the Pounds). Prosperity teachers have sharpened traditional church readings of this story to align with a capitalistic ethos of financial investment. We should invest our 'talents' to further the Kingdom of God; and in doing so we will be rewarded with further talents. It's easy to see the natural fit between this story and prosperity teaching. Reiher generally affirms the sentiment of this reading, though argues that prosperity teachers take it too far.

A new consensus is emerging, however, that when read in its social context the meaning of the Parable of the Talents is exactly opposite to its traditional readings in church. A wide range of theologians from William Herzog in South America, to Ched Myers in North America to Merril Kitchen, the head of the Churches of Christ Theological College in Melbourne, argue that the parable is about exploitation and abuse. Indeed Merril Kitchen did her Masters Thesis on Luke's version of this story, summarises the historical traditions for the alternative reading:

[T]he acquisition of goods at the expense of others is an ethic, perceived by Luke, which has not only infiltrated and perverted Judaism, but which is also beginning to be destructive to the well-being of his fledgling Christian community. Consequently the Lucan Jesus, who stands on the side of the poor, imprisoned and oppressed, explicitly demands a discipleship which shares, if not renounces, possessions. And it is this understanding of the Lucan Jesus which disturbs the reader when encountering the Parable of the Pounds. How can Jesus, in the final analysis, adopt the behaviour of the exploiter and the executioner? (Thesis, p.183)

Despite this minor shortcoming, Jim's book is a must-read for Bible-believing Christians. Coming out of a radical discipleship tradition (Urban Neighbourhood of Hope), Reiher gives some important starting points for traditional churchgoers to think through the issues of prosperity teaching. It also provides an accessible starting point for those belonging to megachurches to question their church without feeling like they're abandoning the faith.

SOURCES

* Jim Reiher, The Eye of the Needle: Discipleship and Wealth. Melbourne: Urban Neighbours of Hope, 2005. * Brian Houston, You Need More Money: Discovering God's Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life. Smithfield: Alken Press, 1999. * The Lord's Profits in The Good Weekend, Jan 30, 2003.