What is the "social" Gospel?

Is there such a thing as a Social Gospel or have we as the church simply fallen for the okey doke? I wonder, why is it that there is more being taught about how to get rich in the church, rather than dealing with things that God obviously finds important. It amazes me how we in this country and yet name the name of Jesus Christ have allowed ourselves to be co-opted, by the culture of materialism. Now first let me say this and qualify this post.
I am not against the wealthy
I believe that God does bless people with wealth for a reason
It is more important to God what you do with what you have, rather than getting you to a place of wealth.

One thing that I have noted in researching this so called social gospel there are more imprints of those with political asprirations than theological thought. I am amazed at how the church has allowed herself to become so mired in political life. It is both sad and shocking to see how we have left our first love, and become engaged in political thought that really is not real thought anyway. Have we become so thoughtless that we are allowing ourselves to be ruled by one or two issues? We have been taken in by the lies of men who do nothing but promise much but deliver little.

What about the poor, what about the homeless, the widow, the alien, the orphan? What happened to these? Why are we more interested in our own prosperity, and care little for the groups that I mentioned, the groups who by the way God says that He will personally rise to defend?

Why is it that we spend more time talking about what we are against, and very little time talking about what we are for? Is that the example we have from Jesus? Would Jesus pander to politicians who pander to us for votes, and yet their own lives are in total disarray? One has to spend little time going through the lives of those who depend on our votes to see that while they say a lot, what the perform is seriously lacking.

Why is it acceptable that men who call themselves pastors and bishops and apostles, and prophets, and teachers, are able to drive in cars that would put most men to shame, meanwhile their members can hardly put bus fare together to catch the bus to church. How is it that these same men are able to live in multi million dollar houses, and yet some of their members are on the street, or one missed paycheck from being on the street? Is this how it was meant to be? Is this the church that so much was paid for?

The early church wiped out poverty…. YES I SAID IT WIPED IT OUT. Want proof check out Acts 4:32-35

32Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything which he possessed was [exclusively] his own, but everything they had was in common and for the use of all.
33And with great strength and ability and power the apostles delivered their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace (loving-kindness and favor and goodwill) rested richly upon them all. 34 Nor was there a destitute or needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses proceeded to sell them, and one by one they brought (gave back) the amount received from the sales

35And laid it at the feet of the apostles (special messengers). Then distribution was made according as anyone had need. (emphasis mine)

over and over again the church celebrated the life of Christ, not by allowing one man’s greed to make him use God’s people to make sport of them, but by making sure all the needs of the whole were taken care of. Are we so fearful of what that would mean? Are we so wrapped up in the materialism that this world brings about that we are not willing to help those around us, both inside and outside our four walls.

17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the terrible God, Who is not partial and takes no bribe.
18He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger or temporary resident and gives him food and clothing
19Therefore love the stranger and sojourner, for you were strangers and sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Have the politics of the day so diluted our mission in this world that we are able to close our eyes to the big picture. We listen everyday to news reports of how many people are now living in poverty, how many people leave their country and enter into ours be by legal or illegal means. We hear stories of single parent homes, and children who live without fathers. (Whatever happened to Deut 10:18-19. Its amazing how people are willing to run to Leviticus for one thing, and ignore other passages that speak of what is required of us. Selective memory anyone) We hear the risk involved in situations like that, What do we do?

We have failed just about every group I just mentioned most of us being sidetracked by so called men of God who have long ago left their true mission and taken on a mission to amass either power or money. Men who call themselves teachers, but in many respects play the fool.

When will we wake up? There is a world that needs us, to be as Jesus was. He spoke harshly to the religious world because of their hypocrisy. To those who came to Him broken and battered, sin sick and shamed, He showed mercy. He was a friend. Would that we could show the world what Christ really looks like, how He really is. How His love is everlasting, how His mercy is extended to all. What saddens me most of all is that many will read this, and will take it the wrong way, and that is cool. If you have questions you are welcome to send me messages, I do not get bent out of shape over questions. Ask away. The time is coming and even now is, where we must all make a choice between what is right and what is easy. It is easy to ascribe political notions to spiritual matters. That is easy. To do nothing while the world around us dies, that is easy.

We have pastors who do not act as pastors but rather are more concerned about political power than they are about the world that exists outside their churches, or for some their compounds. Should not our pastors and those who have leadership of the church be more concerned with the aspects of the poor than politics? Should not the plight of the homeless spur them forward to work harder at building programs that protect them and see them indoors, rather than attempting to use political power to close doors to those who have little or no power of their own? To the pastors that read this, when are you going to realize that you are not professionals? When is it going to dawn on you that your calling is not negotiable, is not to be pimped or prostituted out to gain favor with politicians? When are you going to wake up and start really doing your jobs? Not all of you are guilty but there are so many of you who are that really makes it difficult to see who is actually serving their communities and who is merely serving themselves.

Its funny how we have given names to things like “social” gospel. In the first century, they did not apply such labels, but it just goes to show how we have allowed politics and the platforms of one party in particular to infiltrate the church. Why is it social? Why are so many in leadership threatened by it? These are obvious questions that demand answers. Why is it suddenly looked upon as inappropriate to help the homeless, to assist the widow, to actually care about and for the alien? We are supposedly a “christian” nation, and as such should we not care about them? Since when do the laws of men trump the standard that God sets up? Just some questions to make you think a little. Have fun its gonna be a long summer.