March 16, 2015
If you seem to recognize the title of this
commentary, it just so happens to be one of the song titles on "Casting
Crown's" new CD ... "Thrive" .... I don't know what it is with
song lyrics lately, but they seem to be 'pushing my buttons' in many different
ways. ... What I'm about to share with you was triggered by this song's message
.. a message that I believe may be the key missing piece of the puzzle in many
of America's churches today ..... to the point ...
Anybody with even half a brain can see that
America is in serious trouble. .. There are many reasons causing this to
happen, but the one I want to focus on right now is the condition of our
country's Christians ... In earlier
times people were, for the most part, good with the basic teachings of the
entire Bible. .. Yes, some of it is difficult to conform to in our
'independent' way of life .. but ..
that's just how it was. ... In today's
culture, with the rampage of increased knowledge and our busy lives constantly
causing us to run 'to & fro,' not all of it seems to work anymore. (see
Daniel 12:4) .. Simply, the basic mentality now is that if we are evolving, why
shouldn't the Word of God?
Let's for a moment explore just a few of
these emerging evangelical Christian 'styles' ...
*The 'Couch Potato' Christian ... These are ones who call themselves
Christians and occasionally attend church, but NEVER share their faith, or even
let anyone know that they are a 'Christian' .... they are the 'lukewarm, going
through the motions' crowd ...
*The 'Cafeteria Christian' - These are the folks who search to find a
church whose teachings fall well into their current lifestyles .. one that does
not in any way conflict with how they choose to live ... one that leaves out
certain parts of scripture because it conflicts with today's culture as well as
their own personal beliefs ...
There are many more, but the sake of time
and our attention spans, I'll cut to the last one ...
*The 'Literal, Convictional
Christian' - These are the ones who do their absolute best to hold to
the teachings of ALL the Bible, and also refuse to be silent about it, regardless
of the consequences ... (People like me) ...
OK, so now moving into the collective
gatherings of all these different slants, what do we find? ... To start, not much is going to change the
'couch potato' short of true conversion (a conversation for another time). ...
So now we are down to two basic camps ... the 'hip and trendy' emergent church,
or the traditional, 'old fashioned' church
.... This, of course, isn't true in all cases, but, for the most part,
it is. ....
So now, a quick overview ... the hip &
trendy church is loaded with all the newest savvy technology & primarily
secular music, the hip & cool leaders, latte shops, foyers filled with
'booths of booty' for sale .... you name it, they got it. ... These are also
the gatherings who ignore the controversial subjects raging in today's society
.. subjects like homosexuality, freedom of choice, the reality of hell, etc ..
and because of all this, we see the younger generations flocking to these
'places of entertainment,' attempting to fill their spiritual poverty with anything
that can 'secure' their eternal destiny. ... But here's the sad truth .... all
this feel-good, get rich, selling-out doctrine is one of the primary reasons
for our national moral decay, and is only guaranteeing a certain one-way ticket
to hell! ... (sounds awfully judgmental, Red)
Now let's journey to the other end of the
spectrum ... the 'traditional church' ... the ones that are doing their best to
stay true to the original gospel and overall teachings of the entire Bible.
... While this is what needs to be done,
these church gatherings have become labeled as 'intolerant &
uncompassionate,' not having any love for those who fall outside their basic
biblical model. ... Sadly, in many ways these traditional churches are guilty
of many of these perceptions. ... They have become extremely judgmental,
unloving, inward, and entirely unwilling to 'adjust' to many of the ways of
today's society. ... As a result, most all young people are fleeing this
environment in search of something more fitted to their perceived world.
OK .... So here's the point. ... There has
to be a 'middle ground' for this vast and gaping chasm in today's American
church ... and here it is! ... Let's go back to the title of this piece ...
"Love You With the Truth" ... I am not for one minute suggesting we
should EVER alter the Gospel to be considered relevant, but also we cannot
become so judgmental as to pushing away the ones who need to hear the words of
truth the most! ... Didn't Jesus go to the sinners because He knew they were
the ones who needed Him the most? ...
Bottom line? ... We need to be relevant in
today's society ... we need to 'adapt' to the ways of society without 'selling
out' ... We need to show love in order to appear 'accepting' to the wayward
ones ... We need to love them all with the truth .... Jesus said in Matthew
5:14 that "we are the light of the world' ... We can only show this if we
display outward love, not if we become inward & 'closed-off' to the rest of
the world .... We can take the truth from both worlds and win more souls for our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! ... Hallelujah !!!!!!
Until next time,
Red