One of the things about technology today is the freedom that it gives us to get the message of the Cross out there into the hands of people on the street.

MP3 audio is able to be consumed by virtually every personal computer and most mobile phones and certainly all the various digital media players on the market today.  A single message recorded in text or MP3 can be distributed and shared by almost the entire western world and a reasonable proportion of the rest of the earths population (language barriers aside).

In addition, CD players are almost ubiquitous, and the ability to create new mediums is now cheap and easy compared to the past.

Not only this, but we live in an age where we have some very experienced and very powerful teachers and preachers and some incredible Christian thinkers.

In a world where western Christians have so much potential and content, you'd think that we'd have nothing holding us back - but we do.

It seems that the key thing holding believing Christians back is apathy, which is induced by modern journalism fueled by secular (at best - socialist more realistically) agendas. 

One of the side affects of this secular mind-set is that everything must be done for a dollar.  You cannot just give stuff away - you must charge for it.

I've just finished listening to an audio file by a thinking believer who is in a unique position to understand some of the affairs of the modern world - and what he says is bone jarringly chilling, and something that politicians, Christians and the average Joe on the street should know.  But when I visit the web site that hosts this content, I find that it is material that is copyright protected and distributed for a fee.

This is preposterous. Its like being warned that your neighbors house will be burned down tomorrow and rather than warning him to flee for his life or stay somewhere else, you go and tell him "I have something important to tell you - your life depends on it, but you have to pay me for it".

If the message is critical (and isn't any good Bible based teaching?), why do we charge for it? 

Isn't there enough barriers to people getting into the word of God?  Do we need to introduce another one (money)?

I've asked big, well known and well respected ministries about this in the past and have had answers like - "we have more than 100 people working here - we have to support them".  Maybe you do have lots of people in your ministry - but are they there for money or for Christ?  Is your ministry there for money or for Christ?  Have you set your ministry up for ultimate failure by paying staff a salary from earnings rather than depending on Christ to supply all your needs?  Ultimately these ministries will fail to reach the mass they could because they have limited the accessibility of the ministry to those with money - rather than limiting it to whosoever will.

Do those who preach the word not believe that God owns the world and that all the resources of the universe are at His disposal and he can direct them where he wills?  Do we not trust the Lord of the universe - whom we say and even preach that we trust?

I cannot see how any ministry can justify charging for the word of God or the teaching of the Word.  In fact, I'll go as far to say that this approach (charging for ministry material) is the equivalent of peddling the word of God (2 Cor 2:17).  Jesus gave the disciples a principle to work by when he sent them out. He told them "You have received without paying; give without pay."  In case you mistake this to mean that organizations should be non-profit - he continued "Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food" (Matt 10:8-10).  The instruction was clearly to minister without imposing costs.

There has to be a better way that truly honors the Lord and aids (rather than hinders) the dissemination of the Word of God.

UPDATE: One thing I should point out is that I'm deliberately distinguishing between those calling themselves ministries and those calling themselves companies.  Companies charge - thats what they do - ministries shouldn't.