What Do You Crave? What Does God Crave? (James 4:1-10) Series

Today's passage, James 4:1-10, was a real struggle for me at first. These verses, read as a whole, read as a response to a specific problem within the church, really don't make sense within the context of Western, white, evangelical Christianity. The way we tend to view the church, and "do" church, doesn't create the type of problems James addresses.

After a few days of wrestling with the passage, and reading about how other white, Western Christians have wrestled with it, it hit me (I think I got Help) that my starting point was the problem.

So let me start today by telling you a little bit about a very different type of church I had the privilege of worshipping at one Sunday. Winner's Chapel, located in Brooklyn Park, MN, is a very African church. Not a "black" church. An "African" church. From what I could tell, it's mostly first generation legal immigrants from African countries-- I think maybe mostly Nigeria.

Honestly, it was an amazing experience. My wife and I spent most of the worship time fighting tears, and crying, just from the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit.

One of the distinctive features of Winner's Chapel, is that the church understands that God wants his people to be prosperous. John, in 3 John 2, writes, "Dear friend, I pray that in all things that you would prosper and be healthy." And so Winner's Chapel, understanding that this is God's desire, also desires this for its members. They want everyone to be prosperous in every way, and be healthy.

Now, prosperity doesn't necessarily mean that every single Christian there will be rich. I think the idea is probably more like in Acts, where the goal is that there be "plenty." Or, at a minimum at least, "no lack" (Acts 4:34). But the bottom line is that Winner's Chapel cares about people's souls, and health, and prosperity. This church wants their congregation to be doing well in all ways.

Now, Winner's Chapel also understands that not everyone is prospering. Some people, in any given week, are sick. Some people, in any given week, are struggling spiritually. And some are struggling financially.

Now, what do you do for brothers and sisters in Christ, when they are struggling financially? Winner's Chapel understands that you can't just tell people, "Go in peace. Stay warm and well-fed."

One biblical option would be to lend people money. Another, would be to give alms. But what these hard-working, motivated immigrants need, most of the time, really, is not either of these things. What they need is an opportunity. They need businesses to overlook the color of their skin, and their thick accents-- since English is probably their third or fourth language-- and give them a chance to prove themselves.

So imagine a church made up of motivated legal immigrants, who want to do better for themselves, and for their children. Some of them are working jobs they are far overqualified for, because that's what was available. Some of them had started up their own businesses. I assume some of them were doing well; others, like a lot of new start-ups, probably had struggles at times.

So Winner's Chapel, looking at the church, and understanding the struggles that come with being first generation immigrants, basically asked two questions of themselves:

Is there anything we can do, to help give people an opportunity?

Is there anything we can do, to help entrepreneurs succeed and be prosperous in all ways?

What Winner's Chapel decided to do was let people set up booths at the church picnic, where they could advertise their business, and where people could try to get better jobs.

At the time, when this was being announced, I felt really squirmy about it. This isn't something that's done in white, Western, evangelical churches. My gut instinct would be to say that whether I prosper or not financially has nothing to do with this church, or with any of you.

But Winner's Chapel took an entirely different approach. And I just didn't know what to think about it-- which is why a random church announcement, at a random church, from over two years ago just stuck in my head.

What I decided, this week, is that Winner's Chapel's approach strikes a really nice balance. No one is being pitched or sold something in church, on Sunday morning. No one is asking you if you need landscaping done, or a new roof, or if you want to try Herbalife to lose a few pounds. No one is asking you if you want try trade in your dead-end job for a career at such and such a business.

But at the church picnic, if you walk up to the business tables, you might get pitched on those things. The church picnic becomes a place where people are given opportunities to prosper in all things, even as their souls prosper.