I freely admit this column or maybe the right word for today, tirade, was probably engineered by a book I read recently called, This Little Church Stayed Home by M. Gilley. In this book(one I recommend you read) he calls for the church to start staying “home” with what scripture says Christianity and the church is all about.
Well, as “luck” would have it, I got to thinking and that’s always a dangerous beginning for me in any venture, didn’t Christ say, ” I will build my church”? He also said, that even hell would not prevent the building of it either. The question, is this, just how He is doing it? He’s certainly not waving a “magic wand” or doing it through divine fiat pronouncments from on high. This much is pretty clear, I think, for all of us to see. So, how is He building this strong, powerful church? Through the preaching of the gospel of His disciples. Yup, ones like me. One who was once not on His side AT ALL, but, now is one who really can’t keep his mouth quiet for long without bringing the discussion around to the necessity of being converted to Jesus Christ. This is pretty simple, not too glamorous,but, because He empowers it, it works. By the way, are you a Christian? Are you saved by the blood of the Lamb? Do you know you need to be saved because until you are you are an enemy of God? The good news is, that can change in a heartbeat, acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only Savior of men and receive His work as the only payment God will accept as satisfying His wrath against sin. You see, it isn’t rocket science, it’s merely the gospel truth, Christ came into the world to save sinners.
Call me simple, call me stupid, but, for centuries the gospel worked for Peter, Paul, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, John Piper, Alistair Begg; and the list could go on for eons. Why is it then, the church seems to think it needs to improve the “product?” Why is it churches today across this land of ours cling to every fad that comes along and finds itself bankrupt financially and spiritually every time in the end? Didn’t Jesus say, “If someone says I over here, or that He’s in the wilderness or some othe place, not to go there”? I think so; and yet the church is so eager to leave the gospel for some type of “new appoach” to win the world. It’s the gospel that has the power unto salvation, not some passing methodology. Does the church want purpose? How about lining up with Christ in His- preach the gospel. If you want to “emerge”, how about emerging on the world with actual conviction that Christ’s gospel is actually true! Want to be “missional”? How about simply talking to your neighbor about Christ? Ask how they are doing, ask lovingly, be genuinely concerned about them. A little love goes a long way. Be a neighbor.
The church has always thought they could build the church for Christ. The tried it through the building of monasteries and “communities”, now it thinks it can build it by giving everybody what they want or thinks makes “good church”. The church has taken the words-Be Revelant!and have run scared with it. Who said the church was irrevelant to society? Did God say that? Who told us, the church, we needed to be “user friendly” or “seeker sensitive”? The world? The outsiders? You mean the ones who nailed Christ to the cross because He didn’t give them what they wanted? You mean the ones who left Him because what He said was too hard to swallow? The ones who don’t like the message of- “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no gets to the Father except through Me. You means those guys?! They are the ones screaming at the church, saying, the church is irrevelant because it dares to simply repeat what Christ said?
<>Personally, I think the church of America and Canada, wants to build the church because it’s afraid and ashamed of the one Christ is building. No easy believeism, no wealth and health gospel, the only purpose that matters to Him is His. He stands on His absolute word and it’s not debatable. In His church, men follow Him, not their dreams. In His church the preachers actually preach the gospel, not stories, call people to repentance, not intellectual acknowledgement and tell people they serve Christ because they have been drafted into His service- there are no volunteers in His army. The church Christ is building is not by the consultants but His way.
<>I think history proves this out- Whenever the church tries to be “liked by the world”, it isn’t long before it’s taken over by the world. So, how about letting Christ build His church.
