Was the gospel meant to be commercialized and used as vehicle by which people broaden their brands and expand their names instead of the name of God? The answer is a resounding NO!!! Jesus modeled the paradigm of ministry in the spirit of humility on many occasions in the Bible. For example, in John 6:15, when the people attempted to distract his true mission and make him an earthly king with a little "k", the Bible states that immediately He withdrew himself and got into a place of solitary presence with God. In like manner, Jesus also brings correction to the true nature of ecclesiastical operationalization of the house of God and turns over the tables of those that bought and sold in the temple, making merchandise of a sacred place meant to be used as a divine portal of prayer for ALL nations upon the face of the earth (Mark 11:17).
I can't help but to see the church going astray with all of the flyers, advertisement, television shows, books, costumes, and showbiz exterior that show the glamourous face of ministers with their long titles, airbrushed dispositions, and scripts to draw people to the show. While I am not an antagonist of marketing, there has to be a Holy way of doing things that only glorifies God and not flesh. Call me old fashion, but Jesus never had to entertain anybody to be effectual in His ministry. In fact, His gifts made room for themselves and His fame went about all of region because He demonstrated the power of healing and deliverance through compassion, genuineness, anointing, substance, and love. Let us get back to the essence of ministry as indicative of the anointing place upon our lives and do away with the projection of self in the face of vanity of which has only resulted in a depletion of the manifestation of God in many of our ecclesiastical functionalities.
L.T. Smith Sr.
Senior Pastor
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