\nWant a good, 46-word overview of church his-tory? Here’s one from former\nU.S. Senate chaplain Richard Halverson:<\/p>\n\n
\n“The church began as a fellowship of men and women centered on Jesus Christ.\nIt went to Greece and became a philosophy. It went to Rome and became an\ninstitution. It went to Europe and became a culture. It came to America and\nbecame an enterprise.”<\/p>\n\n
\nWhen you derive your paycheck from Christian enterprise, as pastors and\nLeadership <\/em>editors do, are you “marketing Christ”? The late Dr.\nHalverson’s perspective helps bring clarity.<\/p>\n\n \nEvery age makes its unique contribution—and wrestles with its prevailing\ntemptations. The church of the third and fourth centuries majored on\nphilosophical issues (the godhead is composed of exactly how many persons,\nnatures, and wills?), which resulted in doctrinal precision and creeds that\nremain helpful today. But it also resulted in well-meaning Christians being\nbanished because they used imprecise terms to describe the mysteries of Christ’s\ndivine and human aspects. I hope those at Nicea and Chalcedon were aware\nof the dangers of “philosophizing Christ.”<\/p>\n\n \nIf philosophy filled the air Christians breathed then, today we’re living\nin a climate of enterprise. Anyone who provides Christian books, music, videos,\nstudy Bibles, colleges, counseling services, and, yes, magazines for church\nleaders, knows the atmospheric conditions. So does anyone who preaches this\nweek to people who may choose to go to another church (or to no church at\nall) next week.<\/p>\n\n \nWe monitor our “audience,” keenly aware that we must win them, usually by\nbeing winsome.<\/p>\n\n \nSome Christian thinkers bemoan this “market mentality” as a danger to the\ngospel. But what are the alternatives?<\/p>\n\n \nHistory knows at least two: monopoly (having a state church) and military\n(conquering and converting “infidels” by force). Neither particularly fosters\nspiritual vitality and integrity. I’ll take my chances in the free-market\nworld.<\/p>\n\n \nTo minister with integrity in this world of “enterprise” in which God has\nplaced us, we must seize the opportunities and flee the temptations. Having\nbeen in Christian publishing for almost 20 years, let me confess the worst\ntemptation.<\/p>\n\n