Yesterday I wrote about the varying shades of belief about Jesus and His ways that exist inside the church. In forty years of ministry, first as a simple evangelist (all I cared about was seeing people get saved), and then as a pastor (knowing that more people could get saved if there were more saved people focused on seeing people get saved)… In that time I have learned that people never change until they are ready, until they are convinced, until they make the decisions from “inside.” That means we keep speaking the truth in love, speaking it passionately, speaking it despite the lack of outward results (there are always enough outward signs of effectiveness to keep us hopeful and motivated)… it means that we acknowledge that people have the last say and that they are going to do what they “want,” that we can only set the changed life out there for people to see, and that only God can work at the level of what they truly “want.” Right now, the American church is in crisis. There are people writing articles every day on what to do, what not to do, the warning signs of this and that, the seventy- two reasons people are leaving the church, the seventy-three things the church must do to survive, the things it is doing that are killing it, the compromises we must accept to be edgy/relevant – the list goes on. It all stems from the varying shades of belief about Jesus and His ways that exist inside the church itself. We can’t seem to get away from it. Maybe that’s why we were encouraged to acknowledge the one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all… but it’s not working well. Everybody is saying “yes, one” but by it they mean the “one” they’re in. And while we argue the nuances of words and definitions – the world is playing in the rain and few people are getting saved. The church is in crisis because our minds have been mixed up with so many “distractions,” whipped up with generous helpings of “concurring opinions” and swallowed down with palate pleased gusto! It’s really a wonder that the syncretized, smorgasbord, stylized faith of the American church works at all. Thank God that it works at all! Thank God that it will keep on working, albeit, limping forward on “weak knees.” This isn’t a tirade. It’s an observation of life in a church mixed with mysticism, eastern arts practices, secularism, new age appliques, all compromises for “cultural relevance.” Our relevance will only be found, rediscovered, by launching out as followers of God; dear children, walking in love… the same laying-it-all-down type of love Christ had for us (think about what He gave up to come secure your salvation), offering up our “shades” and “wants” and “distractions,” our very lives, as a sweet smelling sacrifice to God… so that we can get back on the track of getting people saved who will stay focused on getting people saved. There are no great plans of God for us that don’t include His mission to the world. There is no blessed life that does not include speaking the truth in love, speaking it passionately, speaking it despite the lack of outward results… (His words will germinate in hard rock in their time because they are seeds with life inside!) Today, someone will need to hear what you have to say… if you will not be distracted. Pull up next to God. Do what He says. Do what He does.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 13:55:48 +0000
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