Contrary to what you may think, Calvinism is not the most explosive issue in the American church. Neither is it the drinking of alcohol, the acceptance of homosexual clergy, the Emergent church, or building funds. All of these issues pale in comparison to what I believe is the most explosive and controversial issue in the American church, namely the use of American wealth. For of all the issues that face the American church, the improper use of American wealth is the most ubiquitous, for it is an issue that transcends all doctrinal lines, plagues every denomination, and will anger the soul of ninety-nine percent of those to whom you address it.
And as such, it is the least addressed of all the issues that plague the American church. For few are convicted of the improper use of American wealth (since we have been about explaining it away in our religion for decades), and even fewer are willing to suffer the lashes that come with its address. Yet, now is time, as the apostle Paul writes, to “awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:14b,15).