My Church and the Carillon

So I've been wanting to start this blog for a long time. I actually created it in May. But today, during a staff meeting at my church, I got so angry and filled with arguments that I knew it was time. Plus I've been reading "Sati" by Christopher Pike and have been wanting to post quotes from it. I have been inspired...so here it is. Chapter 1: My Church and the Carillon

For those of you who don't know, a carillon is an electronic keyboard system that plays bells. You can hear them at many churches Sunday mornings, and sometimes even at certains times every day (i.e. noon). My church has never had one. We used to have a real bell in a real bell tower. But since our building burned down, we've gone without it. And ever since there has been talk of purchasing a carillon for the building. Mind you we have no money, we are in the red, and we're looking for more money to increase our ministry. But people have been fighting and pushing for this carillon thing. So okay, Sunday, the proposal was passed to get one. However, the money will not come from the church, it will come from the pockets of people who wanted the carillon to begin with. What convinced the congregation to vote for it was what the leader of this carillon mob group said, "This won't cost the church anything." Sounds good right? No harm in that, right? Well I think "WRONG!" If people spend their money of this carillon thing, I feel they will be less inclined to spend MORE money on things like supporting the ministry of the church through pledges/donations/etc. But even more so, I look at it this way. All these people who have all this money, are wasting it on a carillon instead of : helping people in need, caring for the ailing, teaching our congregation, our youth and our community about God, supporting the millions of starving people in Africa and every other third world country, etc etc.

yeah so instead (this could be the pro-carillon argument I suppose), we spend $9,000 (i overheard this figure in a meeting) on some electronic bells because other churches in the community have one (meaning downtown beloit is already filled with electronic bell music... oh sorry this is supposed to be pro-carillon... but seriously, is the carillon supporting the ministry? Does it help us as a church work together to do God's work and help those in need. NO!....) But we are supporting the Carillon making company which is keeping people with jobs which I guess supports our economy. But pro-carillonists are really only saying, "Now we have what everyone else has! Yay" Kind of like a 4 year old who sees his peers with the new $200 Power Ranger Turbo Multi Engine Truck/Monster combo and whines/complains to his mom that he wants one cuz everyone else has one, and even though the mom is a single mother working three jobs to support her family, she buys it for him anyway. And you know what will happen to that $200 toy? It may be played with for a few days, weeks, maybe even up to a month. But then it will break, be ignored, not used to its full capacity or potential, not even all the special features that cost so much will be used or discovered, and eventually it will be sold in a garage sale for 50 cents. ahhhhhh it reeks of selfishness. I thought I could expect more from a church. Now I know how Jesus feels. He is probably shaking his head at us. Cuz I know I am.

(...see Luke 12:13-21. The Parable of the Rich Fool)
13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."