Churches must cease being a charity unto themselves. They should exist not for the benefit of their machinery but for God's mission to the World and to the needs of others. Christians likewise should immediately end all monetization of the Gospel. I'm referring to books, music, counseling, and religious paraphernalia. If a saint has a message for the world or church or individual from the Lord, it should be freely given without charge.

Please forgive me if I'm a bit off topic, but this reminds me of just how far the church has gone astray from Christ as its center. I have had two occasions this year to attend an institutional church. Both of them were while visiting siblings. One church was large - perhaps with a few thousand in attendance. The other small with maybe 100+ in the pews. While they were of different denominations, they operated remarkably similar. In neither case was I a participant in the service, though not by choice. Instead, I was a spectator. It started with singing music that, if I were well polished with much practice, I might have been able to follow. This time of "worship" was followed by a lecture on a random topic chosen by the pastor for that day. When I left both services, I felt empty. Nowhere did I find anything that resembled worship. It was pretty much a feel-good exercise in navel-gazing.

I would attribute much of what we see in churches today as the result of excessive influence by cultural forces. The church reflects many of the same values of the society in which we live. So why shouldn't we be surprised when sales and marketing is now the norm rather than the exception. Forget the fact that Christ is preeminent in all things (Col 1:15-20). I have a mortgage to pay!