I've talked to believers who are alarmed at the condition of the Church today. Various ones have various concerns, but there are a lot of concerned Christians. Some are deeply troubled about the direction of worship. It seems to be more about entertainment and performance than it is about God. There seems to be a thrust to engage us emotionally without ever working on the mind. And no one seems to be asking, "What does God think about all of this?" It's almost as if He's the Mikey of the old Life cereal ad: "Give it to Mikey; he'll eat anything." And lots of devoted believers are deeply concerned about that.
Others are distraught over the loss of the Word in church. Too many pastors in too many seminaries are being taught to minimize the Bible stuff and go for the "relevant" stuff. You can actually go to churches today in which you never need to open your Bible at all. If there is a verse used, it is brief and likely shown up there on the screen for you, so don't worry about bringing a Bible. Expository preaching is the systematic exposition of the Word. These types of preachers will unpack passages for you in detail, explain all it has to say, feed you the meat, and lead you to a deeper understanding. This kind of preaching is in serious jeopardy in the Church today. Most like topical preaching and will either ignore the Word or sprinkle in a few verses that make their point on the topic of the day. And there are lots of devoted believers who are deeply concerned about all of that.
The whole "seeker-sensitive" thing is perhaps a topic of its own. Many Christians are aghast at its prevalence. I mean, doesn't the Bible say, "There is none who seeks for God" (Rom 3:11)? And the primary function of the Church is not to make converts, but to build believers in maturity (Eph 4:11-14). So why are churches slipping into this mindset that tends toward business models, marketing schemes, and competition with the world? In so doing, they often strip off the problem of sin, for instance, because, well, seekers don't like that topic. Worship needs to be more "up-beat" because, well, seekers are used to the world's music. Minimize preaching and maximize those things that get their attention because that's what will get seekers in the door. Well, it seems all wrong to a lot of believers and they are deeply concerned about the direction of the Church.
Some have expressed foreboding. "Can the Church survive?" "Are we looking at the end of the Church?" "If things don't turn around, the Church won't last much longer ... and things aren't turning around." There are echoes of George Barna who told us that if Christianity didn't reinvent itself in the 21st century, it would go away. Of course, most of these people are opposed to Barna's views, but they share the same concern. If things go on as they are, Christianity is going to disappear.
All of this fear and worry comes from a misguided view. The root idea is that we are the ones that build, manage, and maintain the Church. Let me clear this up. Like the deists who see God as spinning off the universe and then letting it go, too many of us see Christ as spinning off the Church and then leaving it in our hands. It just isn't so. It was Jesus who said, "I will build My church" (Matt 16:18). Notice two things in that statement. First is ownership: "My church." It doesn't even belong to us. He bought it; He paid for it. It's His. Second is initiative: "I will build". We are, certainly, His means, but we are not the end. He uses believers to accomplish His will, but He's not stuck if we fail. He's just not that incompetent or powerless. And there is more to the statement. He completes the sentence with this: "... and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Understand the concept of gates. They are to keep out invaders. They are not offensive weapons. Jesus is saying that He will be able to invade death itself to build His church, and nothing can stop Him. The Jews believed that various demonic beings guarded the gates of death (Hades), and Jesus was telling them that nothing can stop Him.
I can agree with a lot of those who are concerned about the direction many churches are taking these days. I believe them to be unwise, misguided, and even unbiblical. I am quite certain that going against God to build God's church is a fool's errand. But I want to reassure all of you who dearly love the Lord and His people that the Church is not in any danger. It's not up to you and me to build it or maintain it. We might participate in Christ's work, but it is Christ's work and we don't build His church ... He does. Stand firm, but rest easy. His arms are not too short (Num 11:23).
6 comments:
Stan,
One thing I have been thinking a lot about is if all the extra-biblical information available to every individual is being handled wisely. My only point here is that with all the apologetics information out there the temptation must be greater for believers to spend all their time reading and studying how to argue a defense for why God exists, but never pick up the Word and find out personally who God is.
I say this because it is something I struggle with. I have read through every book in the Bible and do daily reading and study with Commentaries, Concordance, Biblical Dictionary, etc. on the one hand, and still try to get through about 6 or 8 good extra-biblical source books on various topics in a years time.
I guess i'm just thinking the message should be balance. There is so much good information available today, if we the body of believers are going to be able to defend the faith we need daily study and to use our time wisely. I'm not sure how much that is being pressed on young Christians today.
Your thoughts?
I often find comfort in remembering that God will always keep His remnant. Even when we feel we are the last true believers, there is always a remnant. And God keeps that remnant, not us.
It is much easier to know about God than it is to know God. Most people find it easier to dance around that relationship -- even believers. Very few of us ask, like Moses, "Show me Your glory!" So we're generally much better at concepts and doctrine than in personal relationship.
And I am quite sure that too many believers today take too much too lightly and spend far too little time getting to know God. While we may suffer from a preference for knowledge over relationship, the truth is that both are necessary for a good relationship. And well-meaning believers today aim at "relationship" without knowledge, a fool's errand.
David, Amen!! I'm trusting God to do that because I'm certainly not able.
Stan,
So then you also would say balance is key? I guess time management is the real focal point for today's believer. And that's probably where my frustration comes in, time. We are innundated with so many things to do in a days time, with information coming from all angles it's hard to spend any length of quality time on things.
I've found the Bible's teaching on meditation (the real Biblical kind of meditation a great help here) to be a great comfort. Reading the Word and then thinking over some of the entailments all through the day. Also audiobooks and iPod technology is great for listening to great teaching.
I guess I just wonder if in the days of men like Aquinas, Spurgeon, Calvin, Henry and many others if the lack of commitments to all sorts of other "stuff" allowed them a deeper relationship, or if they also found it difficult to focus as well. Never seen anything from those guys on time management issues.
David, the remnant was most clearly seen in times of tribulation, so perhaps it won't be long until that group that God is preserving will be more apparent. I pray my family will be counted in that number.
Balance is key. And all those guys you mention in the past had one fundamental difference from you and I: No TV. I mean that in two senses. First, we 21st century Christians in America have a real time-management problem largely because we sacrifice so much of what would be "free time" on the altar of the television (or whatever other entertainment you care to list). Second, the pervasive influence of television on our society has so altered our reality that a lot of our perceptions regarding what is normal use of time, what is important in life, and what is right are skewed without us even recognizing it. That is one of the key reasons that Paul tells us of the importance of renewing our minds. The pollution of our world runs deep.
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