It is an undeniable truth that young children will pick what is not good for them over what is good for them much of the time. Disney or dentist? Peas or pie? Spelling or swimming? It is not too hard to predict their choices if these were the options!
It is a good thing God has provided parents to help make sure children get what they need. It would be quite a bad thing if children could pick and/or change their parents at will, especially if there were other parents in the neighborhood who believed all that mattered was giving the children what they want. They may say they are acting in love and point to their large number of children as proof their way is best. However, any good parent would see the truth and know that this is not love at all and it will do the child great harm in the end.
Such is the current state of church in America. I don't believe new ways of doing things are necessarily bad. I think we need to be always open to how we might best achieve the purposes for which the church was instituted. It is at this level that I take issue with so many new and some old churches that have departed from the basic call for the church and replaced it with a goal of increasing numbers by doing whatever works.
I don't want to oversimplify the work of the church, but surely some of the commands in the great commission in Matt. 28:18-20 are worthy of our highest priority - "make disciples", "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"! If teaching the word and calling folks to obey are the foundational/primary work of the church, then all attraction methods must be aimed at getting folks to the place where that mission will be accomplished.
Now, I would be glad to make the trip to the dentist as comfortable as possible, cook the peas with some seasoning and we can go swimming after school, but it does not take looking very deeply into the teachings of many numerically "successful" churches that say they are Bible teaching to see they are really just entertaining people with coffee, happening music and preaching psychology/health/wealth/stories without ever making the church a place to learn and apply the whole of the scriptures.
As a pastor who cares about the children of God - I hate this situation! We live in a day when to teach and apply the scriptures clearly to the life of the church is to be met, even by those who say they believe the Bible, with something like - "that can't be right, the big church down the street does....". Shame on them if they are growing by giving pie and withholding peas!
I can understand the temptation to want to feel successful and have a big church, but I pray this trend would come to a quick end and that God would call and provide strength to many men who would stay the course and do church as intended - even when most people will see it as an oddity! We must pray for each other!
To the church leader who uses entertainment to lead sheep away from the word - for the sake of having more sheep, I warn you to repent as you are doing exactly what Jesus warned about in Matt. 18:6-7. To the one who leads one of His children astray Jesus says - “it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea”
I can imagine that this topic is a potential source of frustration for you, pastor. If church structure there at Mt. Herman is in sync with your teachings, then Christ is Head, and His Word’s the vital bread. How discouraging then must it be to see “churches” that are seemingly based on everything BUT the above mentioned necessities outgain in members, better facilities, popularity, etc. I wish that I could offer gleeful expectations of a reversal of trend, but I don’t believe it will be so. The true church of Jesus will always be in the minority until He returns. Matt. 7: 13-14 seem to validate this. If these two verses, and also Romans 9:6 (which says they are not all Israel, which are of Israel) are true, then we must accept the possibility that many if not most of professing Christians are simply lost. That would explain why the popular church is the fun church, full of visual eye candy, events, and pot luck dinners. And the Church that stresses Christ, His Word, discipleship, teaching, and doctrine is boring. The second type needs to get with the times man, join the new millennium! The plight of the American church is so off track that were Mt. Herman to explode in membership suddenly, my first action would be to find out if the faithful Message being held out there had been severely compromised, or abandoned altogether. If not, then my second action would be to praise God for His miraculous doings in that region. And I am in no way being sarcastic. However, I praise Christ for His workings in Mt. Herman. It gives me affirmation that Rom. 9:27-28 are TRUE. And beloved of God, know that the True Gospel is spreading forth from those four walls, and it is being heard and believed. It’s late, but let me offer encouragement from Holy Scripture. I commend for your study Galatians 6:6-10, Hebrews 10:23-25, 2Thessalonians 3:3-5, and lastly -1Thessalonians 5:24. I so love that last verse, it identifies our only means to victory. While He uses many tools in accomplishing it, they every one are His. tj
ReplyDeleteThanks TJ - I see I am not the only one up late. I am seeing that a major problem is trying to disciple people who never said they wanted to be discipled. "Make disciples and teach them to obey everything..." is the charge, but if they don't want to be taught are they disciples? I can only hope that this is a case of true believers that have been severely misled about what it is to be a Christian, but I refuse to settle into that reality or rest in any assurance that they are truly saved.
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it sad that listening to teaching on Christ is reduced to “peas”? But I would have to agree, that is how most people see it. What could be more exciting than learning the ways of the One who has giving us everything. Serving and praising my King is far from boring. I think at some point, you would have to ask if those who were into the “pie” are truly even seeking a relationship with Christ. Just to let you know, if MHCC was to ever turn into a popcorn and movies format, you would be looking for a new sound guy. I love where sound teaching is taking me and I know that I might never “arrive”, but I do know that I can truthfully say that I do find learning about my Lord as anything but boring!
ReplyDeleteTo you who feel empty after your “pies” and “sodas” seek a real relationship with the One who says:
Of food in John 4:34
…“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”…
Of drink He says in John 4:13:
“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
Like the woman at the well let us say… “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty…”
Well said Dave. It takes a loving (parent) to provide the spelling lessons, trips to the dentist and peas/vegetables to children as they like the good feeling/tasting stuff more. I don't think a born again follower of Jesus can ever be satisfied by the non-fruitful things many churches offer, but it is sad that you could go to many churches without ever finding the biblical nourishment we really need!
ReplyDeleteMy wife was just mentioning to me Sunday after Church at MH how blessed we have been through the James study, I agreed and shared with her how thankful I am that the Lord led us to a no-nonsense Bible teaching church, and a pastor that cares for the flock, enough to tell them the truth, and not be a respecter of persons or a people pleaser.
ReplyDeleteBe blessed pastor Keith, I know we are.