.....I believe the primary problem in the church today is that she is upside-down. That which God says is important has been placed at the bottom of the list of importance. God values personal holiness and righteousness. The church values hard workers and regular supporters. No, the two are not mutually exclusive, but personal holiness and righteousness is not a focal point in the church. That to which the church clings is exactly what God says should be avoided. We are much like the children of Israel of old.
.....The church has been upside-down for so long she appears normal to most. Those who take the time to look seriously at who we are in the church and take a look at scripture have to admit, at the very least, that things are out of kilter.
.....The church has been caught up with being friendly with the world and has forgotten her role of being a light to the darkness. The by-word in America today is tolerance. "Diversity is good." "No one person has a corner on what is right or wrong." "Since all viewpoints are relevant we must be accepting of everyone." "Don't be judgmental." Actually this is nothing new in the church. For decades now the attempt has been to make the church more "seeker sensitive", more "relevant", more compatible with the desires of society so as not to offend any. Being "seeker sensitive" has grown into a movement and is now so predominate that those not being "sensitive" in this way are considered out of step with reality. Although degrees of "sensitivity" have varied from one extreme to another, the focus of church has shifted from the work of God to the work of man. Indeed, so much of what is done in the name of God anymore doesn't come from the mind of God but from the mind of man who has accepted the upside-down condition of the church as being the norm.
Evangelism has become the main focus for many congregations and denominations. We are living in a day and age when reaching the world for Christ is more and more within our grasp. Television, video, the world wide web, the proliferation of Christian literature, music and drama are all tools by which to "get the Word out". However, even though these powerful tools are at our disposal, people are not coming to Christ.
.....According to a recent survey, 50% of the churches in America didn't win one person to the Lord last year. Not one. Two well known evangelical leaders, in separate interviews, proclaimed that any church that isn't winning people to Christ should close their doors. One said they should then divvy up the proceeds among its members because it is a social club. This is upside-down thinking.
.....To begin with, mass media is not the salvation of mankind. If God wanted to reach the world through "mass evangelism" He could have projected Christ's life in the sky for all to see, with technicolor and surround sound. His is not a "feel good" message for all. Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Matthew 7:13-14 Regardless of our best efforts few will enter the narrow gate.
.....Jesus said to Peter, ". . . I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." Matthew 16:18 And in John 12:32 He said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Jesus has accepted the responsibility to draw all to Himself and to build His church.
.....Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. I am saying that evangelism must be God-directed, not program-directed. Evangelism must come as the natural by-product of a discipled life, a life emulating that of Christ. Jesus called us to make disciples. Yes, that includes evangelizing all nations. But the church today wants to evangelize the world and has left discipling by the wayside. That is upside-down thinking.
Leadership within the church has been so skewed as to be nearly indistinguishable from that of Corporate-America. Leadership selection too often follows corporate lines. Look for the aggressive person, man or woman; give them proper training; establish achievable goals and expectations; let them lose on the world. Sadly, this too is upside-down.
.....Who did Jesus pick as apostles? He choose fishermen, a tax gatherer, generally people who were not "movers and shakers" in the community. And what was Jesus' example of leadership for us?
". . . the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. " Matthew 20:28 And how did He tell His disciples they were to lead? "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Bene-factors.' But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant." Luke 22:25-26 Do those you are leading clearly identify you as a servant? Don't look at any one else just now, look at yourself. Can those whom God has given you to lead: spouse, children, employees, small group, Sunday school class, do they identify you as a servant? Are your leadership skills the skills of a servant, or an American corporate leader?
.....It is not surprising that after Jesus told us about the gate being narrow that He gave us this warning: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits . . . ." Matthew 7:15-16 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21 Oh! It is a hard thing to say there may be ravenous wolves among us posing as leaders. But it is true. Their fruit proves they are wolves. The light of the church is going out. They are not servant leaders, they do not do the will of the Father and their life does not emulate that of Jesus Christ. Their fruit is sour as best, spoiled at worst.
What expectation do we have of the world? Those from the "seeker sensitive" crowd would say, "If we are friendly to the world they will come to know Christ through our friendliness." This too is upside-down. I'm all for friendly. But that isn't the message of Christ. The message of Christ is
- We have all sinned
- We must confess our sin
- We must repent
- We must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord
- We must be transformed to a Christ-like life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now all that isn't real unfriendly unless you are selfish, self-centered, and pride-bloated.
.....What did Jesus say we can expect from the world? "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me." Matthew 5:11 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." Matthew 10:22 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name." Matthew 24:9 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved." Mark 13:13 "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets." Luke 6:22-23 "For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." John 3:20 "The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil." John 7:7 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19
.....It is clear Jesus didn't expect us to be well accepted by the world. I hear a lot of cry for revival as though the world is going to join our bandwagon and all is going to be hunky-dory. The truth of the matter is, those in the darkness hate the light. The brighter we shine for Jesus the greater will be the persecution.
So here is the choice:
.....We can go on in our upside-down churches, pretending that things are going to be okay, while the darkness engulfs us,
or
.....We can repent of our sin, commit to a life of sacrifice and service to our King and watch Him turn things around.
.....Which will it be for you?
Please be mindful that my comments here are general and are not aimed at you, your congregation or denomination. However, the proof is in the pudding. If these observations were not generally true the condition of The Church would be a lot different.
