Selling Fire and Death Insurance

I was approached by Bob Coats, an insurance salesman a short time after I started as a new teacher when my salary was very low. Bob knew I needed a second job and offered to teach m how to sell insurance for him.  He explained there were some new life insurance plans coming out which were very creative. One of the most startling policies to me was called Ordinary Whole Life. It had a Savings Benefit as well as a Death Benefit.

I can clearly remember Bob sitting in an old stuffed chair in my parent's living room explaining how buying an Ordinary Whole Life policy would actually pay my money back at retirement. I was flabbergasted, and tempted to ask him to leave the house. I found his explanation almost totally unbelievable.

Everybody knew that life insurance was  to protect your heirs when your life was over. It did not pay for retirement or vacations or houses but it gave the family cash if I died! It was a Death Benefit not a Life Benefit. Let me relate another reason or two that I found the presentation was so unbelievable.

First, I was surrounded by people that never even mentioned retirement, let alone saving for retirement. People worked until they died. The average life span was not very long so we did not consider life after work. 

Second, our religion was all about preparing us for death. Very little was ever said about living and growing in following Jesus. Every sermon, Bible study, and play was devoted to preparing for DEATH!

Third, in America, we follow the practices of the early circuit riders. They came into town, preached to sinners about "Heaven to gain and hell to shun" baptized their new converts and rode off into the sunset. My church experience was similar. Sermons and teaching was all about being saved and staring a new life but almost nothing about life after the new birth.

Insurance promoted preparation only for dying and so did our church. And probably for good reasons. Life was hard and short but heaven promised abundance and joy. I wonder if it was our theology that pushed us more than a life itself. The early church had a vigorous emphasis on equipping and discipleship and their life span was very short.

Does your church have a vigorous emphasis on growth and healing or just of repentance from rebellion and getting saved? What is the theology that supports growth and healing after salvation? Without a theology of growth, healing, and living a new life church becomes little more than a birthing station.

Go to our web page for materials for growth and healing. 
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