The Next Big Thing, Church

By Markos N. Kaminis - Life Topics:

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In these extraordinary times of economic trial, there's one Main Street space that boasts full occupancy. While retailers like Macy’s (NYSE: M) close stores and send check-out counter girls packing; as manufacturers like GM (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) slash costs and in GM’s case beg taxpayers for a hand-out; and as AIG (NYSE: AIG) smothers hope for the survival of the spirit of human compassion, one hot spot is packing them in and lifting spirits at the same time. Churches are full or filling... God may ironically be "The Next Big Thing!"

Yes, it's true. Haven't you noticed your friends aren't available for Sunday brunch lately? That secret society you suspect they all joined and left you out of may well be your local institution of worship. While most keep the extent of their faith under their collar these days, I think you would be surprised to see how many folks are filling the pews. The same people who pass you in the street in the kind of hurry that seems surely due to some important lunch meeting, may in fact be on their way to noontime mass.

How do I know? Well, The Greek's been known to explore the offices of religions of all sorts (almost all anyway). I'm telling you, people of all types still believe in a higher power, no matter what the latest nonsensical poll tells you. I see wealthy successful men bowing to their Lord before they pass into the faceless ranks of the faithful, where all are equal. These seats are filling up faster than the Yankees new ballpark, though they're free of charge in the house that the Lord built. The new house that Ruth built is another story...

The cathedrals are packed with CEOs (there apparently are a few good-hearted selfless ones left), Congressmen (not just conservatives either), supermodels (especially the spiritual-currency-savvy ones), actors, singers (but not false idols) and celebrities of all sorts, and just about every type of person you can think of.

The place is so busy though, that the sick and poverty stricken too often feel out of place in the one spot that is actually meant to be most welcoming to them, and so they wait outside while the rest of us find God. Wouldn't it be nice if somebody gathered those sick and poor folks and brought them inside the hallowed walls? Why leave the poor out in the cold waiting for a dollar, when so much warmth and wealth is just beyond the threshold of that spiritual hall.

Thank God that the commercial world cannot corrupt true faith, though it admittedly has its hands dirty in some doomed organizations of heretics, liars and snakes. I ask for wisdom from the ranks of you as I stretch beyond a point that might make you uncomfortable for a moment. I beg you not to judge your God based on the weaknesses of men. Don't you realize that the bad guy downstairs seeks to do in those men, who lead and guide, with even more fervor than he does the rest of us? Can't he take more souls away from the light by defiling God's messengers? Call it a weapon of mass destruction if you like, because it certainly does destroy masses.

While good priests are helpful (and plentiful), your presence in church or your faith should not hinge on the piousness of your priest or the perfection you wish he possessed. These are men, believe it or not, and they are fallible just like you and me. Your priest is merely your guide, counselor, teacher and medium. You're in charge of your own soul in the end, just as any priest will tell you.

So why are people reaching for God then? Well, isn't it obvious? I was lucky to enjoy the presence of famed economist and Professor Charles Calomiris recently, and he spelled it all out in one simple word, "crisis." He said, in "Big Fat Greek Wedding" like fashion, "crisis" is from the Greek word, "krisis." It means: A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point. He said, a crisis is a decision time, when we sift, separate and judge… Well that's going on right now isn't it? Haven't Bernanke and Paulson's critics said that we have chosen which banks survive (J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and which banks fail (National City - whose assets are now owned by PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC))?

Calomiris called the Bible a "crisis chronicle." He said it was packed with political, personal and societal crises, and he used the biblical stories of Job and Ruth as relative examples of the economic and spiritual trials many of us are facing now. In the near future, I hope to publish the renowned professor's speech in full here on these pages, so stay tuned. It was a profound address by a brilliant man.

So as we all face our own personal crisis, we seem to instinctively turn to God. Maybe crisis, then, is God's way of waking people up or giving us a chance to reconsider our ways. Some people blame God for their individual crisis, but it may be that crisis is God's tool, gifted to us for the purpose of our salvation. It seems to me a lot of real good results from hard times and crises, and this time around is no different. We've taken a good look at ourselves as a nation, and we don't like what we see. That leads us toward restoration of both economy and soul.


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