{"id":483,"date":"2007-01-12T10:54:50","date_gmt":"2007-01-12T14:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nakedpastor.com\/archives\/483"},"modified":"2007-01-12T10:54:50","modified_gmt":"2007-01-12T14:54:50","slug":"if-satan-is-on-the-throne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/2007\/01\/if-satan-is-on-the-throne\/","title":{"rendered":"If Satan is on the Throne!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Years ago, on a flight out to California, I read a magazine that had been left in my seat. It was The Financial Post<\/strong> (1997). The article that caught my attention was \u201cActs of Faith<\/em>\u201c. It was a story about Father Quinn working for justice down in South America. I can\u2019t remember where now. It was an incredible find because it provided some counsel that would sustain me in the very difficult years that were to follow. The article says,<\/p>\n

Father Quinn has accepted government funding in his time, but he has always refused to compromise his principals for any sum of money.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The courage of the man, not only resisting temptations to compromise his message and work for financial support, but also working against incredible opposition that at times was cruel and brutal, struck me deeply. I think similar temptations face us every day. In the ministry, I am completely aware of the power of money to determine what we do or don\u2019t do. One of the first things that comes to my mind, I must admit, when I am faced with a difficult situation in the church, is, \u201cWhat effect will this have on our income?<\/em>\u201d I admit it. I\u2019ve long since decided to go forward with what I believe I must without allowing the increase or decrease of income interrupt it.<\/p>\n

I learned it first, and hard, about 10 years ago when I made a decision that ultimately caused my church to split right down the middle. We saw our income as a church drop over 50% because, unfortunately, many of those who left were some of the most generous givers. Those who split off were even advised by other pastors to withhold their offerings to put pressure on the leadership team to comply with their demands. We refused to buckle under their pressure, and we\u2019ve not only survived, but I think we are healthier for it. Since then, for the most part, I\u2019ve not allowed economics to be a factor in pursuing our vision. It\u2019s also caused me to realize that my vision of what the church can be cannot depend on the success of it\u2019s environment. If my church is only healthy if its finances are good, then there\u2019s a problem. If the church\u2019s health depends on government handouts, social acceptability, or external support, then it\u2019s not at its healthiest. Quinn was quoted in the article as saying,<\/p>\n

We always work in such a way that if the devil got the throne, we\u2019d be okay.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, if their work only succeeded with the tolerance or even cooperation and support of the government or the society, then inevitably it would become a tool of the government and society for it\u2019s own self-interests. I\u2019ve tried to operate with the same attitude: even if Satan was in control of the finances, social acceptance, culture, buildings, religion, the world\u2013 everything\u2013 we\u2019d be okay. We\u2019re not there yet, but we\u2019re getting there.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, on a flight out to California, I read a magazine that had been left in my seat. It was The Financial Post (1997). The article that caught my attention was \u201cActs of Faith\u201c. It was a story about Father Quinn working for justice down in South America. I can\u2019t remember where now. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,219,220,15,16,151],"class_list":["post-483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thought","tag-church","tag-churchsplit","tag-finances","tag-naked","tag-pastor","tag-satan"],"yoast_head":"\nIf Satan is on the Throne!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Years ago, on a flight out to California, I read a magazine that had been left in my seat. It was The Financial Post (1997). 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