The Modern Church
We praise what we adore. We praise our wives and children – or business or the heights that others have achieved. (Usually done in envy). You can really tell about where a person is in relationship to God based upon what He says about his God. I recently went to a Sunday school class where the teacher spent most of his time – and that with adoration – about how he got some famous baseball pitcher to sign some balls for him. Then when it came time to start the lesson about God (Which he read out of a pre-printed material given out by the church) that it was done with much less enthusiasm. His perception of God is far less than the perception of this famous Baseball player who signed some stupid balls. We as God’s children are most often so caught up in the things of this world that we loose sight of what we have in the Lord. Jesus said that He has come to give life – and that more abundantly – but we don’t pursue it. We pursue sports – Sex – Pleasure – Money – the list goes on and on.
No wonder depression in this world is such a problem. This is really and indictment on the modern church. The modern church is so interested in getting Butts in the pews (Mostly driven by church debt) that they have brought into the church, methodology that appeals to the lost and have abdicated their main purpose, which is the teaching of DEEP THEOLOGY! Deep theology rightly taught and done with passion results in the children of God (not the tares) rejoicing in praise and wonder of who it is that they serve.
Evangelism in a church like that will not be a problem because the children of God will shine the light to the lost world that they live in. The church is not a place for the lost to come and feel better about themselves thru pat little sermons about self-esteem and the love of God – but for the Children of God to come and learn about the wonder of who God is. John MacArthur said, “strong words produce soft hearts – soft words produce hard hearts.” He goes on to say that if a pastor is so influenced by the world system and modern church methodology (the fear of offending the Lost and fake Christians thus driving them out of the church thru proper church disciple – Matt 18) that it will result in not preaching strongly against sin. Many of the hearts of the congregation will be very very hard – loving their sin while getting their church “Duty” in for the week. I know someone who is in an ongoing affair with a women for 2 plus years. He is not divorced form his wife. And attend a local Baptist church with his “lover” and plays in the church band! WHAT IS THE SHEPARD OF THIS CHURCH DOING WITH THE WORD OF GOD THAT THIS GUY COULD FEEL SO COMFORTABLE ABOUT BEING IN THIS CHURCH! Somehow – somewhere – the modern church has got it all wrong. We need to get right with God and get back to the deep wonderful – terrifying truth of who God is.
Church is going on everywhere, all of the time, not just in red brick buildings on Sunday mornings with but one small slice of time in which to explore the principals and character of God. And especially not with a baseball frenzied sinner in charge! But because of its limitations, Sunday school has always seemed to me to be rather like touching an elephant in the dark. The most direct route to experiencing God is to ask for grace to give, to share, to console another, to bandage a hurting wound, to lift a fallen human spirit, to mend a quarrell, to search out a forgotten friend, to dismiss a suspicion and replace it with trust, to encourage someone who has lost faith, to let someone who feels helpless do a favor for me, to keep a promise, to bury an old grudge, to reduce my demands on others, to express gratitude or to fight for a principle.
I think you are a good fighter Tim, a defender of God’s principals in a fallen and hurting world. Go tell the baseball guy you love him, then tell him again.