Have you ever substituted prayer and spiritual depth for programs and religious activity. Simply keeping the people we're charged to lead to the Most High busy, is the job of a prostitute pastor.

Sacrificing self, calling, and private devotion for the golden calf of
religiosity that amounts to idolatrous (worship of things or people other
than God) and adulterous (cheating on our true love) activities. All in
exchange for money. (stop giving them what they want and you'll find
yourself looking for a new place of employment).

Most pastor prostitutes make the choice to sell themselves. Many were hired to get the job done, quite simply because they could. They put together resumes about how they will "make things happen". They are interviewed about how many activities they will have, what they will look like and how many people will attend. I've been there. I've sold myself. Hey.. It's exciting, there's a certain thrill. If I make enough things happen, satisfy enough folks, soon you're perceived to be a great pastor. But I wasn't a great pastor. I was a great programmer. I was a great speaker. I always had the right answer for people's problems.  Soon enough I was thinking, "I'll be like God".....not that I noticed my completely flawed theology, or my utterly ridiculous stance.. But I had fallen into what many pastors fall into.. First innocently speaking and leading people toward God...then deep down thinking I might be like God.

At some point living in this "one country under God" we have become "one
country under god" (ie.me). We are the consumer church. The Bride is no longer seeking the groom... it is now seeking self glorification veiled in vigorous religious activity for the self-improvement of it's multitudes. ..."self
improvement is masturbation"-tyler durden... while pastors across this
"great country" are getting themselves off to programs they have created "to the glory of god", others develop a sort of "program envy" wishing that
their program was as big and aspiring as First willowback, saddlecreek or over there on mars hill. Though we may not have started this "towering idol" of consumerism we all fall into it and I would venture to say... none of us
truly has any idea how deep we are in.   

My friends suggest we are all in deeper than we think. We perpetuate all this self-indulgence consumer crap in most of what we do. We ask "what makes our church unique to this city?" as our Ikea-congregations are trying to figure out which local "building-based group of people who call themselves Christians" best represents me as a person, we are well on our way to helping folks categorize themselves away into superficial oblivion. ...I drive a $50,000 Range Rover because I like the idea of being perceived as an outdoorsman, heaven forbid, I drive a mini-van... I own a $375 North Face Gortex though I only ski once or twice a year, it promotes the idea that I'm an outdoorsman... though I never camp... that's what I think of myself.... I go to ________ Church because it will make me a better businessman, and my kids the homecoming queen and football captain. Jesus is a great enhancement into my almost complete life. 

Pastors forsake Christ and following him, for lots of people being busy in the church, and a whole lot of rules and slogans like "church should be fun" or "Jesus is cool"...try telling a Christian in Sudan either of these completely bogus lines of sh*t. I'm tired of youth pastors prostituting themselves to parents for a "fine religious education". Most of them are young enough to sense they're selling out. I'm tired of arrogant evangelical pastors seeking to
have people with perfect theology, teaching propositional truths based on
poor hermeneutics or sheer laziness. Demons have good theology and the
"morning star" knows the scripture better than any student enrolled in the
newest bible bowl competition. But many ministers still get a "theological
woody" at the Platonic idea that education changes behavior. But why would anyone not do what the people of the congregation want. I mean after all we are here to serve them.. would you like fries with that sir?
"am i buggin you.... don't mean to bug ya" - bono

Mark Riddle is a pastor from Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Co-founder of Liquid Thinking, Inc. He is the husband of Pam and the father of "2 kids." He writes: "here is a fun little piece I wrote recently, if you find it interesting let me know."