No Business Like Church Business

Our faith has now been reduced to a business model. A Nigerian entrepreneur has appeared on Dragon’s Den, a reality television programme in which budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash. The young man who went by the name of Pastor Jonah, was seeking £250,000 to start a new pentecostal church. He promised the would-be investors a whooping return of 500% in three years!

The producers can be quoted as saying: “He was very confident and very smartly dressed in an Armani suit. He was charismatic and extremely knowledgeable of the Bible, and he appeared to have really done his research.”

Apparently, Pastor Jonah’s opening line was, “Brothers and sister, the Lord has brought me here today to tell you that there is no business like church business.”

The entrepreneur also known as Pastor Jonah defends his business case by presenting data gathered from churches in Nigeria where he intends to setup his own church or should I say shop! In a tense moment when he is being grilled by Theo Paphitis, he asks the Dragons a rhetorical question, “How many of you own private jets?”

A member of the production crew was quoted as saying: “you don’t want to miss this one”. I guess we will have to wait to find out the outcome of Pastor Jonah’s pitch when it finally airs.

There is no business like church business? Wow! I doubt this is what Jesus had in mind when He allowed Himself to be brutalised and then hung on a cross. Since when did Christianity become all about returns and profits. Our faith has been reduced to a business idea. Don’t buy into it! Jesus died for something much more priceless. He died to redeem your soul and He paid the price with His blood and not £250,000.