Selling Jesus

With this short conversation between Tim and his pastor, we want to set the foundation for further discussions of generosity and biblical thinking about money and ministry. And that foundation is that we worship a stunningly lavish God who did not even spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, and freely gives us all things. sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church

Read the written version of this article here. Truth was already being sold way back in the 8th century BC in the time of the prophet Micah, and what he wrote has implications for today’s monetizing of ministry. So, I invite you to join me in taking out the microscope and meditating on Micah 3:11. "Could it be possible that the richest, most materialistic societies in all of human history (Western nations) might have a tendency to do what is right in their own eyes regarding money and ministry?" Song fragment: Ballad in Plain Red by Derek Webb sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church

Conley Owens is a pastor at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church and a software engineer.  This is his story of discovering the Bible’s view of ministry fundraising. "I don’t know who may be listening to this or watching this.  Maybe you are a pastor who has been selling ministry material for a long time.  Maybe you are a new Christian who has never even been involved in ministry.  Regardless, I hope you will join us here on this channel in our pursuit of both personal reformation and global reformation, as we call the church to offer the gospel and biblical teaching the way Jesus did: freely." —Conley Owens sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church

Through many twists and turns, Jon comes to the conviction that God is actually the owner of his Word, and that the commercialization and legal restriction of it is contrary to the gospel, the spirit of Christ, and Scripture itself. Visit his website ⁠copy.church to learn more. sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church

In this episode I'd like to tell the story of how I got to where I am today in my conviction about freely giving ministry—the belief that ministry should be supported, not sold, and that spiritual resources should be published as public domain. My journey hasn't been straightforward. Indeed, it's been somewhat complex and multifaceted and messy. I share these experiences to reassure anyone who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain in their journey towards understanding these concepts. It's normal to feel disoriented when first considering these alternatives, especially if you've been immersed in a single way of thinking for a long time without ever being exposed to other options. sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church

Our purpose here is to highlight and exalt the radical generosity of God’s heart, confront the commercialization of Christianity, and promote the biblical teaching that ministry should be supported but never sold. We want to explore the history of how we've gotten to the point where it's the respectable default to monetize ministry, and take a deep dive into the Scripture’s teaching on the subject. We believe our evangelical cultural moment has a serious blind spot in this area, and we hope to be a voice of reform. Overall, we seek to take seriously what Jesus commanded in Matthew 10:8: “Freely you have received; freely give.” It’s important for you to know that at the core of all of this we want to take the time to revel in the beauty of God’s generous heart! The very fabric of Scripture sings with the glory of a God so radically generous that he freely gave us life, a universe of splendor, rain and sunshine, the laughter of children, the sweetness of his word, and even his only Son. All without charging us a subscription fee. We want God’s example to be our north star. He is our joy and treasure. Put simply, we want to help people understand the difference between selling ministry, which Scripture condemns, and supporting ministry which Scripture commends. Please consider learning more at the links below: sellingjesus.org | thedoreanprinciple.org | copy.church