Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz

It seems like I have seen a lot of Mac Hammond lately. Not intentionally, but it seems like every time I turn around he is there.

For those of you that might not know (I didn't until not that long ago) Mac Hammond leads a megachurch in Brooklyn Park (outside the twin cities) called Living Word Christian Center.

Mac Hammond seems like a sad case to me. If you ignore the at best fishy, at worst illegal financial transactions, the blatant politicing from the pulpit, endorsing political candidate from the pulpit and the "name it, claim it" gospel, the thing that really makes Mac Hammond seem like a sad character is he believes that without wealth the gospel cannot spread.

"It takes wealth, folks, to establish God's covenant on this Earth. You and I will never get so spiritual that we don't need money to get more influential in the world we're in."
Pastor Mac Hammond

It is amazing the people who were able to change the world without Florida vacation homes and Porches. There was Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi and, oh yeah, Jesus.

I think maybe the worse thing to happen to Christianity is it's success with political power. When you work from a position of wealth and power you really don't need God's help. A lot of people in the name of a lot of things besides God can get listened to with wealth and power.

But without those things, then God can really shine and show His strength.

"But his answer was, 'My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.' I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weakness, in order to feel Christ's power over me. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

So fly your private jet to your vacation home in Florida wearing your designer suits to meet with your political friends, but please don't pretended that it is actually needed by God to spread His message.