5. All pastors are called to be in business. Because Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) many pastors think they are called to be entrepreneurs and wheeler-dealers in the marketplace (real estate, the stock market, venture capital, etc.) and many of them have had disastrous results and lost their shirts! It is one thing for a pastor to be bi-vocational because their church cannot afford a full salary. It is another thing for a pastor to think they are called to create much wealth by starting their own business because they think Scripture makes it normative.

The context regarding Paul is this: Since he was receiving many accusations because people were trying to insinuate that he was an inferior apostle, Paul preached the Gospel without receiving an offering from the Corinthian church to silence his critics (read 2 Cor. 11:7-15; 1 Cor. 9:18) even though he had the full right to make a living from the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:9-14). Also, he came to an area that was filled with clergy corruption because the temple priests in Corinth peddled religion and sex for money. So Paul did his best to distance himself from any semblance of clergy greed and vice (1 Cor. 4:12).

In light of this, I believe that only some pastors are called to have their own lucrative business; not every pastor has the grace to multitask between marketplace and ecclesial business and be successful. Only some are hyphenated ministers with calls to both the business and ecclesial realms.

6. Prosperity is the right of all those in Christ. It is high time we in the Body of Christ go from a "rights-centered" gospel, which has its historical roots in the American fight for independence and Jeffersonian preaching, to a "stewardship-centered" Gospel, in which we view our gifts, calling, and resources as a responsibility to serve and bless others, not something handed to us because we have the "right" to it as a Christian.

Matthew 25 shows the great balance in this because it talks both about the command to properly invest our talents for an appreciation of assets that results in multiplication, and then illustrates that the reason for the talents is so that we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, visit the prisoners, and be hospitable to the strangers and aliens (Matt. 25:14-46). This and other passages clearly show that the primary purpose of wealth is a matter of stewardship to serve humanity, not a matter of our "right" because we are Christians.

7. Wealth creation is the key to breaking the spirit of poverty. Creating more money has never been the main key to breaking poverty. According to Gen. 1:27-28, the church must produce strong and stable marriages and biblically trained children, which is the first key to replenishing the Earth, subduing our enemies, and having dominion (great influence).

True prosperity is never only about money. Wealth creation is merely one of the by-products for people who walk in their assignment with integrity, humility, focus, and diligence, all of which should be modeled at home by parents before a person reaches adulthood.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

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