Posted on 01/21/2015 5:44:55 AM PST by Gamecock
I’m sitting in a donut shop. I’ve been here many times and nobody has ever complained about this place, saying, “This donut shop is too donutty.” It’s a donut shop; so you expect it to be donutty.
No one ever said that a sporting event was too sporty, a library too booky, a concert too musicy, an airport too planey, a home too homey, a college too schooly, or a hospital too hospitally.
Yet, I hear all the time, “That church was too churchy.”
But what else should it be? Why the double-standard?
Why do we condemn the church for being about Jesus, your soul, God, spirituality, conviction of sin, heaven, hell, salvation, righteousness, and judgment?
We surely don’t complain that a donut shop offers Boston Crème, cinnamon buns, apple fritters, cream sticks, jelly filled, glazed, and blueberry cake.
Because some churches are listening to this sort of cultural critique, it’s gotten ridiculous. Since some churches actually believe that they should not be churchy, they try to hide their spiritual donuts, if you know what I mean. Participants can attend, be fairly comfortable and entertained, without being confronted with too many spiritual matters. Then, right at the end, a little “Jesus” is slipped in.
But that’s like going to a hospital, only to have the doctors and nurses pal around with you, never addressing your physical condition; but right at the end, when you’re about to go to your car, some nurse’s aid slips a little medicine in your pocket—with an apology!
All this time you needed surgery and an IV, but they were afraid of offending you. They were afraid to tell you how sick you were. They didn’t want to appear intolerant because they were the only ones in town with the cure.
The church does nobody any favors when it refuses to be churchy. The church needs to be churchy and it must stop apologizing for doing so.
I will never convince you of the goodness of something so long as I hide it from you. If I want you to grasp the beauty of Bach’s cello suite No. 1, then I must play it for you. (In fact, listen here!)
Church, do not hide your scriptures, your sacraments, your worship, your preaching, your service, your call to repentance, your lament, your urgency, or your joy in Jesus.
“But what if non-Christians don’t like us?” I hear. If someone doesn’t like us, then that’s no reason to change who you are. Now, if you’re a jerk, then, by all means, stop being a jerk. But, don’t stop being the church. Those who don’t like us must not dictate who we are. That’s like allowing a blind man to lead a seeing man through the gauntlet.
If the church really can see, then she must lead the way. She is to dictate the culture, not the reverse. She is to tell media what’s cool, not the opposite. The church is to set the trends, refusing to be a flea on the back of a dog, who merely sucks life from another organism.
Have you endured the cruelty of this world? Have you seen evil face to face? Are you aware of how dark life can get? Have you held a man in his brokenness? Wiped the flood of tears from a tormented woman? Looked into the hopeless eyes of a child? Stop messing around and get to Jesus as fast as possible. Jesus is our only hope. Jesus is the cure, the feast, the joy, the solution, the meaning, the purpose, the hope, the life, and the way.
To display Jesus is to be the church.
So stand firm. Be churchy. Be Jesusy. Be the light of the world.
Yeah well ... that preacher preaches too much ... I ain’t goin’
The modern visible “church” has a serious problem:
Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Yup. And the above article points out a large portion of the problem.
Yep. They love and fear men far more than they love and fear God. That won’t work out very well for them in the hereafter:
Luk 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Are you listening, Rob Bell?
Excellent article; thank you for posting this.
I agree good article-and “tanks. IMO the primary purposes for”church” is to obey Christ in going and telling the good news. Secondary to that is to edify/build up the boy of believers—so long as these two are fulfilled With Christ at the head -as in any marriage—let us proceed.
good article. IMO the primary purpose of the “church” is to proclaim Christ.
“For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
Solomon was right.
Believers, like their Master, are people “of sorrows”, people who know “too much”—about sin, righteousness and judgment. We get a clearer and clearer understanding of this fallen world and our own fallenness and it is PAINFUL.
Unbelievers may think we are cold and unloving but we really are hurting inside due to our increased wisdom and knowledge. We know the wrath of GOD is coming and we truly do want those around us to be saved, longing as it were to gather them together as chicks...but they were not willing.
From this pain the Church is offered escape by our enemy. Disaster! Not redemptive, not convicting, not satisfying! There ain’t enough smoke, mirrors, and stickytape in the whole world to camouflage the return of Him who has eyes of blazing fire!
Wiser words have never been posted on FR.
Lol, I got it from Solomon yesterday when I was in Ecclesiastes.
Good article!
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