[Is it suitable for Christians to engage in direct selling in the church? 】
One of the pastor’s responses
Interview/Liao Meihui
In a telephone interview, Pastor Xu Zongshi said that he was very happy to receive a greeting call from a teacher’s wife from another state whom he had not seen for several years and whom he was not very familiar with. Unexpectedly, not long after the conversation, the other party started to promote direct selling products, which made the warm feeling suddenly drop from warm to cold. Pastor Xu believes that direct sales in churches can easily lead to the following problems:
1. No matter what you do, the most important thing is motivation. Brothers and sisters in the church mostly treat each other with sincere love. If a Christian is too deeply involved in the direct selling industry, it is easy for people to doubt his true motive for helping others. Because profits are involved, he will inevitably be suspected of being a loser.
2. Direct sellers often go to great lengths to introduce products, and some brothers and sisters don’t know how to politely refuse even if they don’t need it. Both parties know this, which compromises the pure friendship.
3. Direct selling companies like to look for places with a wide network of people, but using the church’s interpersonal relationships to engage in direct sales and treating the church as a shopping mall will inevitably pollute the church. As far as Pastor Xu knows, most churches do not allow it.
4. There are more or less people in the church who are engaged in sales, such as selling cars, real estate, insurance, etc. If the company they work for is on the right track and has a good reputation, and the brothers and sisters are in need, then they can still provide substantial help. However, the direct selling industry often "creates" personal needs and actively develops potential "downlines", which is obviously contrary to the church's values of simple love.
The most valuable thing in the church is the relationship between people. It would be so sad to use this relationship to do business! Pastor Xu deeply hopes that the church will not become a place for buying and selling. We must be careful about what the Lord Jesus said:"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) Of course, if a member is engaged in direct sales and recommends someone to use a product because of their needs in the church, it is purely a personal business relationship. , should be acceptable; once church or group relationships are used to promote products in large quantities, the church should strictly prohibit it.
Interviewee profile
Pastor Xu Zongshi of "New Jersey Evangelization Center" received his PhD in microbiology from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Later, he responded to God’s call and entered Trinity Theological Seminary to obtain a Master of Divinity. He has been pastoring for 26 years. Currently, he is the senior pastor of the Harvest International Center; HIC is a multi-ethnic church that focuses on the next generation of English ministry. He and his wife, Chen Meijin, have two sons. The eldest son is married and has two grandchildren.