Do you know what the
fastest growing religion in the world is? Islam. Do you know that the number of converts from
Christianity to Islam is growing at an alarming rate? I have to wonder why so
many today are abandoning the teaching and truth of the Gospel and converting
to Islam. There's really only one conclusion- the Church is ineffective in its
teaching and practicing of the gospel.
Bottom line- as Christians we are not doing our job.
I'm sure we could
argue over the numerous reasons The Church is ineffective today but there are
two main reasons that stand out to me:
The
dictionary defines complacency this way- "a feeling of being satisfied
with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better;
self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by an unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies." Oh
that we might heed that warning. As a
whole, the church today has become complacent. For some reason, we've decided
that fighting for the truth really isn't worth the effort anymore. We have sat
back in our comfortable lives and watched as the moral compass of our country
has crumbled to pieces. We have become so complacent in our actions that we
don't even see the dangers and deficiencies that are right around the corner.
(Or we see them and we're choosing to look the other way)
We
have accepted the idea that change is bad and clung tightly to the motto
"that's the way we've always done it" and refused to step up and do
anything else. Now, don't get me wrong- there are some things that CANNOT
change and that we must ALWAYS stand on, the truth of God's Word being one of
those things, but there are other areas where our lack of desire to make a
change has caused serious problems not only for The Church but for a lost and
dying world.
Somewhere
along the line, we bought into the lie of the American Dream. We bought into
this idea that we could have it all. We could buy our happiness with the latest
electronic device and that we really didn't need a relationship with God to
live a "good life." In a country where we face very little
persecution for our faith, we have allowed complacency to take the reins of our
lives and we've traded the commands of God's word for material happiness and
earthly glory. We bought into this idea that we can do it all for ourselves and
that we don't need God to do it for us. We've become content and complacent and
we've put other things in front of our pursuit of a deeper relationship with
the Father and making his name known.
A
vast majority of us in the church look no different from the unsaved person we
pass on the street. Pursuing a relationship with the Father takes time, effort,
and energy to make the changes he often requires of us and at this point most
of us are content not to make the changes. Living a "take up your cross
daily" life is messy and hard and we've decided at some point that it's
really not worth the effort or time.
The
sad fact of the matter is this- no one is ever going to know the love of Christ
if we don't share it with them. We can't ever effectively share the truth of
the gospel and the picture of a changed life because we aren’t living it. There are people all over this world willing
to die for their god or their cause, all
the while as Christians we're perfectly
content with Sunday/Wednesday faith walks. No wonder so many are converting to
Islam.
Be
aware- complacency will not be a valid excuse for our lack of pursuit and
spreading of The Gospel come judgment day.
2. Church Drama
Those
two words might be the most absurd words ever uttered in the English language.
What a shame. It seems to me that the people who are supposed to be teaching
the love of Christ to a lost and dying world have missed the entire message of
love, grace, and forgiveness when it comes to their brothers and sisters in the
pew beside them. We have missed our entire call to reach the lost because we're spending too much time fighting with eachother.
Let
me make this clear before I go on- there are several people that I know and
love that have been the victim of serious church drama and hurt when they
honestly did nothing wrong. Those situations make me angry and they break my
heart. I pray for healing for those hurts and that God would provide stronger
relationships that glorify him in their lives.
But
the church drama I'm talking about here most often occurs when we choose to put
ourselves before our brothers and sisters, when we choose to forget the cross
of Christ, and when we decide we know better than everyone else. It's the kind
of drama that often starts over the color of the carpet, the Wednesday night
meal, what songs to sing...you know, all those really important things that we
like to fight over, and grows into something more.
It’s
the kind of drama that may start out as petty to some but when left unchecked
grows into a blaze that soon engulfs everyone involved. It’s the kind of drama
where relationships are ruined, trust is broken, and hearts are hurt. And all
the while Satan is laughing because the truth is, we make his job pretty easy
sometimes. He doesn't have to do much to render the church ineffective. We're
doing that to ourselves.
When
I sit down and think about the stories
I've heard about church drama, its alarming really. We have forgotten
the command to love our neighbor as ourselves and we've become people that take
enjoyment in the hurt and pain we've caused others. The very people who profess
to be new creations, changed by the blood of Christ, living each day to glorify
the Father and to look more and more like him, have apparently completely
forgotten what the savior looks like.
I
realize that we are all human, and even in the church we will mess up and make
mistakes. We won't always get along and there will be times when we disagree on
the way things should be done. But the moment we turn and begin attacking that
brother/sister beside us is the moment we loose our effectiveness in reaching
the lost for Christ. Because lets be honest, if
all the world sees is members of The Church attacking and hurting one
another, why would they ever want to be apart of it.
It's
funny as I write this I've realized that a lot of church drama that
happens occurs because of complacency.
We've sat back in our pew on Sunday mornings and become content with the way
things are always done and turned a blind eye to the things that should be
changed. Eventually those "things" come out and often drama erupts
over differing opinions on the issue. I wonder how different church drama would
be if we could take complacency completely out of the mix.
Here's
my two tid-bits of advice on the topic
of church drama- First off- If love and
grace do not radiate through us in EVERY situation, despite our own personal
feelings or hurt, if it is not evident
in our actions towards those that have wronged us and those we really don’t
like, we have missed the entire point of The Cross. That love and grace has to
be available for the Christian and non Christian. We cannot pick and choose who
we give it to. We cannot offer it to the unbeliever and leave our
brother/sister wounded and hurting. That does NOT glorify the Lord.
Second
of all- If we have a problem with the way something is done or the way it's
going in the church instead of causing a fight over it, we need to get involved. How about getting plugged in and lending a helping hand. We cannot just sit around and
continue to complain about the way things are done. The best way to know the
heart of a project/ministry/person is to invest time there. I'd urge each of us
to be very careful when judging those already very involved in the
project/ministry/person if they voice a
problem or concern we don't necessarily see. Remember- the best way to
know the heart of something is to be involved in it. I'd bet that if concerns
are rising there may be a reason and it may be the pirit leading. We must be
careful making judgments or assumptions on those already involved, we must be
careful not to stir up drama in a situation we really know nothing about,
especially if people are trying to bring about truth and change. Remember, You can't see past the whitewashed doors
until you're standing in the building.
It's time that we
wake up Church. It's time that we get out of our complacency seats and put down
our swords that we use to attack those on the pew beside us. It's time that we
stand up and be The Church. It's time that we live lives that are different and
set apart. It's time that we pursue a relationship with the Father and that we
do everything we can to make his name known. It's time that we go to our
brother and sister with a caring hand to lift them up instead of kicking them
when they're down. It's time we remembered who our Father is and who we're
called to reflect. Where is the love Christian? Where is the person who lets their brother/sister off the hook? It's time we stop making Satan's job so easy for him. It's
time that we stop making ourselves so ineffective.
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