The Infomercial Church

Recently we upgraded our satellite TV package.  This was made necessary by a variety of factors not the least of which was bringing BBC America into our home in advance of the 50th Anniversary Dr. Who special (there were other factors but we shall not digress).

What I am here to observe is this: I did not think it possible that there could be even more television shopping channels than the ones already on the system.  Easily a third (or more) of our stations are dedicated to phone-in shopping.

It is a deplorable trend on such stations--and infomercials in general--that the preposterous use of language has become common.  More specifically, I am reflecting on all of the "free" products that cost money.

We have all heard it-- "And if you act now we will send you a second widget absolutely free--just pay shipping and handling"  These fees vary but I have seen S&H fees up to 19.95.

This is not free.  This is an item that costs 19.95.

Now we might dismiss all of this as being on the sort of showmanship made popular by the traveling snake oil salesmen.  Let the buyer beware.  Etc.

And yet these seemingly silly things come at a cost.  Like a tiny fountain pen in the laundry, the stain of this insidious language soon stains the whole of the landscape.

Most specifically I am thinking of the Church--Protestant churches mainly.  The Roman Church has always been pretty up front about the fees associate with salvation.  Most recently a discount on fees was offered by Pope Francis for following him on Twitter.  The Roman Church has never fudged around.  Salvation is not possible outside of the Church and if you want it you have to WORK for it.  Mass isn't optional people!  We are keeping track of the works!  You need to be lighting candles and offering prayers and DOING YOUR PART!  THIS AIN'T FREE YOU KNOW!

Ah, but it is... say the Reformers.  Listen to Paul, Luther intoned.  By grace we are saved through faith.  The Reformation, taking issue with a number of things, including indulgences, wanted to take back the Gospel from the industry of Rome and return to the simple notion of grace and faith.  It was Calvin's understanding that whatever "good works" we might do are done--not in fear of hell or the absence of heaven--but in gratitude for what Christ as already achieved on the cross.  No hidden fees.  Just grace.  Faith.  Gratitude.

But the centuries have eroded these ideals (if, in fact, they were ever truly present).  Today churches claiming the DNA of 16th century protests have crept back into the realm of the infomercial.  Grace is free, they say, just pay shipping.  Handling.  Processing.  These fees take the form of judgment upon the lifestyles, orientations, social standing, economic standing, and marital standing of many.  Many of these fees are "hidden" fees in that they are never explicitly mentioned but, after having spent some time in such churches as an "outsider", one begins to understand that all the fees have not been paid.

In their book "If Grace is True", Philp Gulley and James Mulholland write:

Salvation comes with believing God loves you unconditionally.  It is abandoning the misconception that you are rejected because of your bad behavior or accepted because of your goodness.  Only when we repent of this self-absorption and focus on God's love can love alter us.  Then and only then can God transform hearts darkened by sin and soften hearts hardened by self-righteousness. (pg. 151)

Or, as Paul Tillich wrote some sixty years prior:

Sometimes a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: "You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know.  Do not aks for the name now; perhaps you will find it later.  Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much.  Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything.  Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.  If that happens to us, we experience grace. (The Shaking of the Foundations: pg 162)

Grace is not "sold on the market as cheap jack's ware" (Bonhoeffer).  What's free is free.  And grace is free and it is freedom.  No hidden fees, no shipping and processing.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  No exclusions apply.  It is available in all areas. 

And as we have invoked Bonhoeffer in the last paragraph, we will acknowledge, with Bonhoeffer, that grace that is free is still grace that is costly.  But not in the manner in which many churches today peddle it.  The Church, if it is to be the Church of Christ, should not be where you order and pay for free grace.  It should be the place to celebrate it, share it, and live it.