He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Mark 11:15-16

Many of us experience church through the language of economics: funding, budget, promotion, engagement, growth.  If we produce a quality church experience, we’ll attract more attendees, right? That’s a good business model. But the family of God isn’t a business.

In fact, the only record of Jesus being physically destructive occurred when He visited the temple and saw that a place of worship had become a marketplace. Many of our churches and thinking today are corrupted by the idea of being successful…profiting, if you will, whether in actual currency or human currency. The more members, the more successful a church is, we assume.

But the body of Christ isn’t a product dreamed up to satisfy the consumer. If we market the gospel rather than proclaim it, we corrupt its message. The good news of our salvation is free. It’s free inside of church, and it’s free on the streets. No one should charge for what God has given as a gift. It’s true that an unadulterated gospel will absolutely draw many people together, but that’s by the power of the Holy Spirit, not the production value of a church service.

Does your church ask for money to build itself up rather than to give away? Is the video equipment top-of-the-line, the donuts fresh, and the espresso machine humming, but there are hungry people in your city? Those priorities are a corruption of the purpose of the temple. We should be deeply concerned about whether Jesus would flip our church money-changing tables.

 

Resource reading: Mark 11:15-18