Taking Over

I heard from a friend about a “hostile take-over” in which one church in the USA was merging with another church in the same area.  This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about church mergers in the area I’m from.  And it’s not the first time I’ve heard the words “hostile take-over” used to describe some of these mergers, although I wish it were.  I’m sure there a two sides to the coin.  I’m sad for the people I know who’s lives will be majorly affected by this.  And sadly, I’m not surprised.  If we as believers want our churches to operate like businesses, then when they do, it won’t be a surprise.  We know the truth, that in spite of having Jesus in our lives, we’re still prone to sin as followers of Christ.  The systems and structures that we put in place will be as fallable in Christian circles as they are in the secular world.  In a world where corporations are hiring ethics officers, churches that work as corporate entities will have many of the same struggles with ethics.