Christian Pimps
Posted by appolus on July 17, 2009
“Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to
Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an
enterprise.” -Sam Pascoe.
“CHRISTIAN PIMPS” – a HARD WORD
-by Coach Dave Daubenmire.
QUOTE- “Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to
Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an
enterprise.” -Sam Pascoe.
“An enterprise. That’s a business.” …. “A business? But isn’t it supposed
to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was
going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued,
“But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” – As told by
David Ryser.
I’ve been fighting for a long time the prompting of my inner man to take on
this subject. Although I have chewed around the edges like I used to do as a
child when I would break off the crust from a hot, home-made apple pie in
attempt to appease my hunger without my mother finding out, I never really
stuck my thumb into the middle of the pie.
I have been a sellout. A pimp, if you will. Not on purpose. It is easy to
justify our lack of courage when confronted with difficult issues. I try to
faithfully deliver the mail as the Lord hands it to me, but I have been
negligent by eating the crust out of fear of spoiling the pie.
You see, I have pulled my punches. I have softened the blow. I have spanked
with a newspaper when they deserved a belt. I have sold out on the Truth. I
have not called a spade a spade. I have nibbled at the crust when I should
have been hammering the pie. I have taken the be-nice approach and have
listened to the “touch not God’s anointed”
mentality. I have prostituted the Truth. For that I am sorry.
Oh, my intentions were good. I had hoped that as I exposed the “unfruitful
works of darkness” that the churches would eventually awaken and begin to
push back against the enemy. After ten years of trying to awaken “The
Church” to the problem I have finally mustered the courage to say what I
have known all along. “The Church” IS the problem. It has become a pimp,
selling the works of “the body” for personal satisfaction. Most of the
pulpits are filled by “hirelings” (more on that in a future commentary), men
and women who stand in the pulpit without a calling, without an anointing,
and without courage. They are man pleasers, living off of “the Body” as they
sell it out for their own whims and pleasures. Greedy Dogs, Isaiah called
them. Blind watchmen.loving to sleep.leading the flock astray.
Not all of the churches. If you are a pastor and have read this far then I
am probably not talking about you. I have met many courageous men who boldly
live out the command to “lead them out.” You know who you are. You are the
ones who have been criticized, belittled, and called names by the “pimp in
the pulpit” at the big church downtown.
You see, to him, the church is a business.an enterprise.a social club
totally dependant on butts and bucks. It is a place to make business
contacts, network with others in the community, and soothe one’s conscience
through weekly attendance and philanthropy.
It is no different from a whore house where a woman’s body is sold for the
pleasure of another. Love-less intercourse is prostitution.
Most church goers love the service that Jesus provides (membership has its
privileges) but don’t really know the Jesus who provides it.
I’ll be honest. I’ve been afraid to say some of these things for fear of
alienating even more pastors. I was afraid that my harshness might alienate
those “frozen chosen” pastors and eliminate opportunities to “minister” to
their congregations. That’s where I have pimped-out my call. The pastors are
not the answer, they are the problem.
Instead of cleaning out Congress perhaps we should start by cleaning out the
pulpit. Judgment begins first in the house of God.
America is a reflection of the churches and the churches are a reflection of
the pulpits. It is time to “throw the bums out”.even if they do hide behind
the “touch not my anointed.” When a football team is under-performing who
gets the boot? Yep, the coach.
Allow me to be frank as I cut to the chase. Pick up your family and get out
of the mausoleum you are attending and find a place that serves the Lord. I
couldn’t care less how many generations your family has been a member, how
many pews your family has donated, and how many of your friends attend.
Sitting on your butt every Sunday is not serving the Lord, it is the Lord
serving you. The feel-good Gospel is a fraud. Jesus taught self-sacrifice
not self-fulfillment. “Greater love has no man than thisthan he would lay
down his life for his friends..” Love demands sacrifice.
What have you sacrificed for your faith? You are engaging in Spiritual
welfare.living off of the efforts of others.
Start fighting back by no longer giving them your money. Don’t allow them to
hit you over the head with the “bring all of the tithes into the storehouse”
hammer without asking yourself some very important questions. What is a
storehouse and what is its purpose?
What does the Scripture mean by “meat in my house” and who is the meat for?
Are there families in your “church” who are losing their homes? Is that not
who the “meat in the house” was stored up for or were the storehouse funds
used for a new parking lot?
Is the purpose of the tithe (by the way, my wife and I believe in
tithing) to pay senior pastors, associate pastors, youth ministers, worship
leaders, and secretaries to do “ministry?” Can’t you “tithe”
different places? Did the New Testament church teach the concept of
“professional” Christians or were the elders of the church also tent-makers?
Does “meat in my house” mean bigger buildings, paved parking lots, and
padded pews? Is your “church” experiencing a budget crunch right now because
they have eaten the meat that should have been placed in the storehouse? I
know, “let them eat blacktop.”
Is storehouse money supposed to be spent on the already converted or on
seeking and saving that which is lost? What percent of your church’s budget
go to “missions”.as if that is a separate job.in comparison to utilities,
paper, salaries, and operating expenses?
Don’t stop giving, just change where you give. Find a ministry that is using
the money to reach out to the community and send your tithe there. Remember,
it is the “Lord’s house” into which your finances are to be offered..not
some social club to which your tithe is nothing more than monthly dues. It
is time you asked yourself if the Spirit still dwells in your church.
My wife and I have spent the last few weeks reading the book of Acts in our
morning devotionals. You should do the same. They spread the Gospel around
the world at great personal peril and sacrifice. The self-serving
American-Church is a pathetic step-child to Christianity’s founding fathers.
Most churches love money, chase money, compromise over money.
A pastor in New York was just fired from his $600,000 salary! The national
average for pastors is $84,426! No wonder they won’t speak against sin! Why
not include those wealthy homosexuals in the congregation!
People have asked me to start a church. I tell them that they are nuts.
Truth empties churches, it doesn’t fill them. My friend Flip Benham says
guys like me would be the Dr. Kervorkian of church growth. What man of God
would want to wipe noses when he could fight evil? No thanks. At least on
the streets I can recognize the enemy.
“And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning
John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the
wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?
Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.” Yep, the pimps
are the ones wearing the nice clothes. Funny isn’t it? The pimps in the
pulpits accuse street preachers of being undignified.
What did Jesus say about the ultimate street preacher John the Baptist?
“Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not
risen a greater than John the Baptist.”
Take the time to read what Jesus had to say to the religious pimps of His
day!
We’re heading next week to do ministry work on the streets of Las
Vegas…That’s right, we are Christian street-walkers…
You probably won’t find me speaking in any churches anytime soon..
C 2009 Dave Daubenmire – All Rights Reserved.
cindyinsd said
Wow! Don’t pull your punches, Frank. 😉 (Or should I say, Coach Dave) I think part of the problem is the pastors. Not just how they’re behaving, but that they’re doing a job that simply does not exist anywhere in the New Testament.
Our fellowship is having a difficult time getting used to the idea that when we get together, we’re supposed to bring a spiritual “dish” as well as a contribution of physical food. No one would dream of coming without at least a couple of bags of chips and some soda pop to share, but we’ve become so accustomed to the spiritual food being provided by the pastor and music minister that we often fail to see that as a priority. This is the crippling, enabling role of the modern “pastor.” And that’s assuming he/she is a “good” pastor who takes the job seriously.
In the modern church, the contributions of the priests (the members of the body) are not welcome (aside from operating the sound system and vacuuming the halls). Just try interrupting the pastor’s sermon with a word that God is giving you regarding something he’s saying. See how well that works for you. You may get away with it once or twice if it’s a very small church, but soon you’ll be having a quiet “one on one” with him, listening to an explanation of the virtues of sitting quietly.
Well done, Coach Dave; well done, Frank–and thanks for sharing this.
Love, Cindy
appolus said
HI Cindy, it really was coach Dave who wrote that 🙂 I would echo his sentiments entirely. Geroge Whitfield said over 200 years ago that almost all of the clergy knew nothing of the new birth. He was banned from most pulpits in the Western world, yet he was used by God in great awakening revivals. I think there are many coach Daves around the world beginning to wake up and just call it how they see it. The end is definately in sight for the established church, the remnant are on the move, slowly but surely……….Frank
Joe said
Try Catholicism, so a perfect offering can be made from east to west in honour of his name.
appolus said
Hey Joe, I was born and raised a Catholic 🙂 I met Jesus when I was 26 and He changed everything. Religion is religion, and there is nothing more religious than the Catholic church. People today are looking for what is genuine, and there is a remnant people out there, a genuinly born-again people…………Frank
Ha Tikvah said
The biggest problem is the fact that sadly so many so-called Christians today aren’t Christians at all – they’ve been sold a lie and bought into it, without ever being taught that they need to read the Word for themselves to see if what they’ve been told is true. And their ultimate lack of discernment may prove deadly (spiritually) which would be devastating. Then there are those who do read the Word but through tainted lenses, and so instead of seeing the Truth within it, prefer to persuade it to agree with their errant worldview or pick and choose which bits sound ok and dump the rest.
May God have mercy on His Church through these difficult days of rampant apostasy and rein in those who’re fast disappearing over the cliff of deception and idolatry.
Blessings, TKR 🙂
appolus said
Amen brother…………Frank