Post 14, Part 2-Relevant, or Business As Usual-The Church Today

 

          What might our church services be like if we really believed that when we gather in His Name, Jesus is actually in our midst, and acted accordingly?  Dana Acker

 While even I would admit that not all tradition is bad/wrong and I would acknowledge there are times when I desire to attend an Episcopal Church for its liturgy, do I want church as usual, or do I want to see God move in a “Scandalously Better” way? John Calsin

“Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry.” General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army

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Continued from last week where Dana responds to my question of church relevance today.

 Dana Writes

      IF there is to be any kind of Christian spiritual renewal in our day, we are going to have to want it the way a starving man wants food.  When I worked at the Bowery Mission, I do not recall any of the street men complaining that our catch-as-catch-can soup of the day wasn’t lobster bisque.  Starving people do not turn up their noses at mustard because it’s French’s, and not Grey Poupon.

     When the church wants to quit playing church, and wants Jesus more than Starbucks, or weight rooms, or swimming pools, or free Wi-Fi, or more people than denomination X, Y, or Z has, or a bigger building, perhaps we’ll have another renewal. Typically churches undergoing persecution are more dynamic and revivalistic.

     If the wrong party gets in control this election (not that they are not all a brood of vipers on both sides of the aisle, but one side is more militantly anti-Christianity) (this was written before the Trump win in the recent election) then we may begin to experience real hard times.  If Islam gains a foothold in this country, as some are now working feverishly to accomplish, and they should gain a voting majority—look out! Many people at various times have said that they’d like to have been in the 1^st century church.  Really?  What was it that made them want that? The imprisonment? The being fed to lions? The being burned at the stake or used as torches for Caesar’s garden parties?  Well, if things keep going as they have been maybe they’ll get their wish, or the closest thing to it.

     When steeples with crosses atop churches start coming down because they are offensive to the majority’s sensibilities, and pastors begin going to jail, and one cannot make a living if he or she confesses Christ as Lord over the sub-deity du jour, then we’ll witness first-hand the proverbial separation of the men from the boys, so to speak. Not trying to be sexist by that analogy, as I’m sure hungry lions in coliseums liked females for snacks just as good as their male counterparts.

     Persecution might, sadly, be the best thing that could happen to the church in America, seeing that we find ourselves not all that hungry for God. Might it actually be easier to find God while occupying a prison cell as opposed to a pew? I think that is a relevant question we should ask of ourselves.  Maybe we, the church, need to become aware of the fact that we really are standing shoulder to shoulder, arms locked with our brethren, and looking inward.  Maybe we need to turn around and be looking outward for a change (I think that’s called repentance.)  Maybe we need to invite, compel even the tattooed, the metal pierced, and neon-pink haired modern version of the dirty, drug addled hippy into our churches and invite them to sit beside us.  Maybe we need to give them a big hug and tell them we love them just like they are, and that we were just like them once, and Jesus condescended to become one of us, and that He died for us, and that He loves us and wants us all at the family table at the marriage supper of the Lamb—freaky tattoos, faces full of stainless steel and all.  I mean, come on, if there was a room full of tattooed, pierced kids with their hands in the air, praising God for all that they were worth, wouldn’t you think God would get glory from that? 

      Jesus wasn’t in His day, and still isn’t, too proud to hang out with sinners.  Thank the Lord. And we need to throw our church pride and denominational pride out the window and go hang out with the sinners too.  They don’t need lattes or gyms, or high speed internet; they need to be shown the love of Jesus by those of us who have been shown the love of Jesus when we weren’t too pretty to look at once upon a time.  Reckon the Lord might bless that?

     There’s another thing too which I believe is harming the church, and that is it is too much like the world in another way.  As we as a society have turned and bowed our knee to the other major religion in the country, science, we’ve forgotten that our first love was a supernatural one.

     Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-science.  When I had my hernia surgery several years ago, I was profoundly grateful for science’s influence on modern medicine.  A few years earlier, they would have sliced me open like they were gutting a deer, shored up my intestinal retaining wall, and I would have been laid up for weeks recovering.  Instead they drilled three small holes in my abdomen and went in with miniature tools, guided by a doctor with what he described as a “joy stick,” similar to that which one uses to play a video game.  And that’s not the only improvement in life that science has given us.  So I’m not anti-science, but let’s face it we (as a society in this country and world) hold it in esteem almost as high, if not equal or even superior to God.

     As a result, we approach everything in life (including Christianity) in a cold, sterile, empirical fashion.  To believe in an all-powerful God who you can’t see, an afterlife, miracles (not as a result of science) or worse, the reality of angels and demons is viewed as Neanderthal at best, bordering on lunacy at worse. 

     Sin has been replaced by “problems” or “issues,” or terms like “socially maladaptive behavior.”  The world’s cure for these ills is more education, better environment, acceptance, and tolerance.  Oh yes, silly me, I forgot, halting global warming should be included in that list as well—and there are churches touting those solutions (even if “Christianized”) as well.  After all we cannot use terms like sin anymore, because it might make someone feel bad about themselves. And while that is the way of the world, it has wormed its way into the thinking and preaching of the church in America today.  We mimic what we see all around us.

     This past Christmas (something else we’re not supposed to say) a friend of mine gave me a copy of Dr. Michael Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible.”  http://drmsh.com/  Dr. Heiser advocates our reading the Bible in the context of the time it was written, the place where it was written, and the people to whom it was written, instead of the through the contexts or “filters” of our denominational or theological traditions and distinctives.

     In other words, we need to study in such a way so that the things that 1^st Century and before Jews had going through their heads, are going through ours as well, when we approach the Scriptures, and read what the text actually says. We’re hands down guilty of always trying to determine or interpret what the Bible says through our Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Brethren, Calvinist, Arminian, Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib, Premillennial, Postmillennial, Amillennial, or what have you “filters.” To read the Bible in its original context cannot help but to remind us of just how supernatural our Christian faith actually is.  We, as a church, have forgotten that, or worse, ignored that because we don’t want to be seen as out of step with modern cultural mores.

     That is not to say that our church traditions or theological beliefs are wrong. Not at all!  In my own life, through times of stress, sorrow or the storms of life, God, through my theological beliefs was a rock, and anchor to hold me firm, keep me afloat, and give me a framework with which I could make sense out of said events.  But in re-reading the Bible after being exposed to Dr. Heiser’s view on things, I am seeing that we, the church have, in dramatic ways, cut ourselves loose from our supernatural moorings. 

     Again, I’m not inferring that we divorce ourselves from logical and reasonable attempts to defend the faith, but at the same time we must realize and embrace the fact that we serve a supernatural God, who works His will in supernatural ways and through His supernatural [and natural] servants.  Conversely, we are beset and buffeted by fallen, evil, supernatural beings and forces out to hinder and even destroy our walk and mission. Satan and his minions cannot harm God, but in light of that, we’re the next best target. But in today’s society and even in today’s church that’s considered crazy talk.  We cannot hope to attract people to our “keeping up with the times” modern churches if we believe in angels and devils, can we?  People will think we’re daft.

      Are we ashamed of the fact our God is not like us?  Perhaps the better question would be why aren’t we ashamed that we are not more like Him?  How mundane would the exodus from Egypt have been if God hadn’t parted the Red Sea?  What if instead of the miraculous, God’s people formed a committee, argued about what kind of bridge would be the best for crossing, and then split from each other because they couldn’t agree on what color to paint it. 

     What might our church services be like if we really believed that when we gather in His Name, Jesus is actually in our midst, and acted accordingly?  What if we quit tucking our tails between our hind legs and running off yelping, and instead bared our teeth at the evil in society, believing that “…the gates of hell will not prevail against [us, the church.”]   What if we got out of our comfort zones and cast our boats on the sea of human sin and depravity, and hauled aboard those drowning in its muck? 

     Alistair Begg, in a sermon contrasting the army of Israel standing immobile in the face and taunts of Goliath with David’s indignation at the giant’s insulting the Name of God, says that Israel’s army’s problem was that they “didn’t believe their religion.”  Might it be high time the Christian church of today repents of not believing our religion?

 Dana

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 John Writes: The above spurred additional responses.

 

Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 5:58 PM

Dana

            I started a part-time job this week. More later on that. When I got home today, instead of starting dinner I've been reading your response. But I've got to get dinner started because Carol will be home soon; however, your response has triggered a question.

             Have we answered the question of why the church isn’t relevant today with overt how-to steps, or are the changes necessary too obtuse?

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Dana Responded

 Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 8:10 AM

John,

             I think the problem is we rely too heavily on the "how to" steps.  We are conditioned into thinking you can fix anything in X amount of steps.  If you go into a Christian book shop you can probably find several "how to" books on how to fix the church, your walk with God, your marriage, your finances, global warming, alien abductions.....  These books have been around for quite a while and yet the problems get worse. 

            Now the books aren't all bad, but the premise that a spiritual problem can be fixed in X amount of steps is missing the point.  Our problems lie in our (individual and corporate--the church) relationship with God.  We do not take Christ's appearance in the Gospel of Mark seriously. 

Mark 1:14-15 states: 

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (ESV)

             1)  We do not live and order our lives as if we really believe (and accept) that Jesus is the King.  King means absolute authority in every detail of life.  Sorry, it just ain't happening either in the world, and increasingly so in the church.  We all want Jesus to be Savior, but Lord too...? 

            We Americans especially do not like the idea of a King.  In fact we built this nation on the premise of fighting a war to rid ourselves of a king.  Our whole American upbringing is so based on individual liberty that we have an aversion to anyone being King over us.  And to the degree we do not willingly bow our knee to Jesus the KING, we'll have lots of time in hell to figure out whether or not that was such a good idea. 

             2)  Where's the repentance either individually or corporately? (and by corporately I include the nation as a whole, the government, and most importantly, the church, <1 Peter 4:17>)

            3)  As I said earlier, we, like Israel of Saul and David's time, do not believe our religion.

            We are in almost total violation of Mark 1:14-15

            There are no political or physical solutions to a spiritual problem.

            So there's my "how to" fix things in 3 points, although I can't take credit for the 3 points--I'm just a parrot.

Dana

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John Adds:

Oct. 23, 2016

 Dana

            This morning at Coastal Christian Church in Ocean City, NJ, the pastor and speaker, Matt Stokes, started a series on the book of James. Stokes was talking about why he believes his church is growing as it is. He said, “Salvation happens here.” Then he listed three reasons to which he attributed the growth:  they share the grace of God; God’s Word is preached; and it is the heart of the members to bring others to church.

             He said it is Coastal’s purpose to apply God’s Word to everyday life (i.e. relevance).

             And he talked about all the miracles that had taken place there in the 13 years he’s been the pastor. Not because he was the pastor, but because they believed God and were acting on His Word.

             If you remember, Ocean City is a resort town. Summer, when the population can swell to as much as ten times the year round population, is over. Even September is past when people without children come to enjoy the still warm ocean, easy shopping, and almost empty beaches. But the sanctuary for the second service was almost full. As we drove around town near the church looking for a parking place, even most of the parking places were taken. Other than the grocery store with its own parking lot, not much was open so all those cars weren’t in town shopping. While this statement could be argued, I believe, there was no other reason for the parking places to be taken on a late fall Sunday morning other than people were going to Coastal Christian because it is relevant. Several weeks ago, they even held a baptism late on Sunday afternoon on the beach, baptizing over 60 people in the wavy ocean. And there were maybe a total of 250 to 300 people on the beach for it. Relevance.

             I could go on, but we need to bring this to an end (leaving the door open, however, for further discussion). I don’t want to be judgmental, but over the past almost 17 years, Carol and I have attended at least 23 churches (This in itself is worthy of a future post because we are not church hoppers; although some readers may throw that up at me.), a couple of them for more than several years. What I’m now going to say is strictly from my Pentecostal point of view, based on my experiences and on my feelings. But while all those churches were Christian churches, and while the Bible was preached or taught in every case, and while in almost every case, the members were good people (keeping in mind Jesus comment in Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.” NIV) God’s tangible, and at times an almost palpable presence was missing. In the words that I have shared with others who understand, God did not show up.

             While context could be argued, I think the below is appropriate for our discussion on Church relevance today. In The Message Bible, Ps 53:2, 3, 6a

God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He’s looking for someone not stupid—one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman. He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded sheep....Is there anyone around to save Israel? (or, the Church?)

            Some years ago, I saw a documentary on church. One of the cuts was from a then well known church leader referring to his drug usage days. God was calling him out of the drug culture and he went to some church. His comment about that experience was, “I gave up drugs for this.?!”

 
          “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          

 

 

 

 

 

Post 14, Part 1-Relevant, or Business As Usual-The Church Today

 

            Unfortunately the American, corporate, organized, denominationalized Church, has, in my opinion, all but outlived its usefulness (relevance) in today’s world.  And I’m not picking on one particular denomination, I include them all. Dana Acker 

            But that raises another dilemma. If much of what Viola and Barna write is the truth, what should I do?  I don’t know. Because, Church as I know it is all that I know. But I do know that I can’t stand business as usual.  I believe as Steve Boyer said in his message about the church being Scandalously Better that God can’t stand business as usual either. John Calsin

             Some years ago, I saw a documentary on church. One of the cuts was from a then well known church leader referring to his drug usage days. God was calling him out of the drug culture and he went to a church. His comment about that experience was, “I gave up drugs for this.?!” (About an unknown church leader)

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10/16/2016, 9:27 PM

Hey Dana

            I found what follows in the file dated August 2010. I’m editing it from the original and am addressing it to you. I initially wrote it to someone else but the word        r e l e v a n c e   seems to keep popping up. Do you ever wonder if the Church is relevant for today?  Not God. Not His word. But the Church. For example, how about that article I just sent you on why young people leave the church? http://www.churchleaders.com/children/childrens-ministry-articles/166129-marc-solas-10-surprising-reasons-our-kids-leave-church.html

             I am reading Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of our Church Practices, by Frank Viola and George Barna, and published by Tyndale. This book has a Publisher’s Preface (or “black box warning”) about it being a challenge to cherished church traditions.  

http://www.paganchristianity.org/ (especially look at the Answers to Objections tab)

It took me over 7 months to begin this book due to the title. When I try to talk to people about it, as soon as I mention the title they usually get turned off,  but I don’t know of a more appropriate title. If you read this book, you’ll find it does not undercut or negate a single Biblical doctrine of the church. The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed aren’t touched. It just challenges the reader to revisit his/her traditions. There is nothing “new” in this book as far as extra Biblical revelation. There are no Jim Joneses or Harold Campings hiding behind any of the pages. 

Did I ever tell you that I grew up in the liturgical church? I was an Episcopalian until I got saved at the age of 30 in an Assembly of God church. (Yes, it can be legitimately argued that even they have their own traditions and a form of liturgy J Just don’t tell them.)  And while I am not against liturgy (Carol and I used to go to the Christmas Eve service at the Episcopal Church in Paoli, PA and one of the most stirring services I ever attended was in the Washington National Cathedral when the Lutherans took over to celebrate the 460^th anniversary of their denomination. Talk about pomp. It was dynamic.) as the book Pagan Christianity? so convincingly points out, liturgy and tradition can take the Christian away from how God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit would have the Church worship and interact. 

            Another reason this is a good book is because, I believe, it constantly challenges me to look at and many times question what I know as the Church, both liturgical and Spirit led. Tyndale confronts the reader to “thoughtfully consider the source of our churches’ traditions and then ask how these practices square with Scripture and the practices of the first-century church.” That is what I am constantly being driven to do.  Tyndale goes on, “Many in the church hold to tradition, even if it is not grounded in Scripture, and these same people wonder why the church (today) seems to be losing its relevance and impact in the contemporary world.” 

I wonder if that is what the Holy Spirit was trying to say through Steve Boyer in his August 1^st (2010) sermon “Scandalously Better” from Acts 11:1-18. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+11%3A1-18&version=NKJV   At some point in your past, you may have even preached against church as usual or wrestled with God, asking Him why the Church is losing its power or place (relevance) in our lives.  Or perhaps you’ve asked yourself why the church seems to have no real impact on our contemporary world and why, statistically, so many young people leave the Church when they graduate from high school or after they’ve attended college a few years.  

While some might argue, in time (Pro 22:6) those disillusioned, or perhaps even cynical, children, long departed the church, may come back after a life wasted to the service of God is better than nothing, I argue,  the world and God can ill afford this squander of labors for the harvest field.

In spite of being a Pentecostal, where I have seen freedom of the Holy Spirit not found in many other churches, even I am challenged to look at what I know as the Church, and question what I am familiar with. But that raises another dilemma. If much of what Viola and Barna write is the truth, what should I do?  I don’t know. Because, Church as I know it is all that I know. But I do know that I can’t stand business as usual.  I believe as Steve Boyer spoke about the church being Scandalously Better that God wants that too. (This link is to Boyer's sermon http://www.cefcelverson.org/audio-sermons/244?rq=boyer ) And some of that may come from the challenges Viola and Barna raise in Pagan Christianity? 

            I often ask myself, “How is this relevant?” How will this help me today with the problems and needs of my life, or others? When I teach Sunday School, I do something that often upsets more than one person in the class. It is not unusual for me to take the Bible I’ll be holding in my hands and literally toss it across the room. For some who think that the physical book is holy, they’ve been known to get up and walk out and not come back. But then, with the class in a kind of shock, I ask the question, “If that book isn’t also good for Monday or Tuesday or Thursday or Saturday, what good is it?” 

Therein lies what I believe is one of the main challenges that Viola and Barna put before the reader. Is what the Church doing really Biblical, or is it traditional, or worse?  While even I would admit that not all tradition is bad/wrong and I would acknowledge there are times when I desire to attend an Episcopal Church for its liturgy, do I want church as usual, or do I want to see God move in a “Scandalously Better” way? 

May He help you to see His Word with new eyes and an open heart as you read it in the future. And may He help you to take His Word of hope and salvation to the lost anywhere, everywhere.  Amen

Yours for the Harvest

 John

PS Any positive word on Trish yet? How are you coming with the harvest? Once you get the grapes in, then what? 

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Dana’s Reply

 

10/20/2016, 2:45 PM

Hi John,

     Thank you for the letter and article link (on young people leaving the church).  There is much food for thought there.  In replying, I know I’ll probably, no, strike that, definitely ruffle some feathers.  As I contemplate my response, visions of the old black and white, Boris Karloff “Frankenstein” movie fill my head with images of people coming with pitchforks and torches and no good intentions towards my wellbeing.  The problem is that the people who would be coming for me would be “good church people” believing that they are doing the Lord’s work by skewering me and roasting me on a spit in preparation for my well-deserved eternal destiny.

      My intention is not to offend, but hopefully to wake some up and alert them to the dangers that the Church, at least in this country faces.  As for me, I want to love the Church, and if you hold that the Church is a group of redeemed sinners who know and love Jesus, want to serve Him, and grow in grace and truth, then I do love the Church. Whole heartedly…madly even.

     

      But unfortunately the American, corporate, organized, denominational Church, has, in my opinion, all but outlived its usefulness (relevance) in today’s world.  And I’m not picking on one particular denomination, I include them all. 

      

       Our society is in the mess that it is in because the organized church has allowed it to be so.  While trying to grow in numbers our focus turned inward, and we asked, “What can we offer in our church that the world offers in order to bring in more and more people?” Coffee shops? Gymnasiums? How about a Christian saloon? (see http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/christian-trends/why-more-churches-should-think-about-serving-alcohol.html )  

     We saw the rise of the mega-churches, and churches that boasted thousands on their rolls.  In Bible College, I was quite emphatically told that “…it would be better to have a church of 1000 members with 100 of them saved, than to have a church of 100 members and have only 10 saved.”  Numbers again. 

     The emphasis of the organized church seemed set on being the biggest and best, as if that somehow was a measure of spirituality…because if your church is huge, then it must mean that God is in it.  Right?

     Well, the church (many of them) got big, but so did the pornography industry.  Drug addiction, prostitution, wanton political corruption, child abuse, teen pregnancy, and divorce grew as well.  Found anything particularly wholesome on network television these days?  In my youth, I remember old black and white TV shows where the husbands and wives slept in separate beds, so as to not put on the “appearance of evil.”  Not anymore.  Evil is alive and well and on the march.  Where was the church when all this was happening?  Well-meaning church programs may have added numbers to the roll books and dollars to the offering plates, but on an influential level, societally and culturally speaking, were abject failures.

     OK, but what about the smaller churches that didn’t get to a million members and take in millions of dollars?  What about them?  Well, I’m not accusing every church meeting in the USA of dropping the ball, (I know for a fact that there are some good ones out there,) but still the influence has just not been all that influential.

     We wonder why the church is so much on the wane.  We wonder why it doesn’t attract new people or keep the ones it already has.  We wonder why the kids leave and do not come back.  Then we wring our hands and worry about it for a minute or two, then it’s time for our favorite program, or there’s someone we have to get back to on Facebook. Perhaps that is why we are so weak and ineffectual.   Where’s General Booth when you need him? 

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John Comments

               http://www.azquotes.com/author/1671-William_Booth  If today’s church leaders would speak as Booth, and C. T. Studd, did and mean it—see the quotes in the link—I wouldn’t be surprised that most in their congregations wouldn’t believe their ears. For example, Booth said, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” or “Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry.” Or as C.T. Studd said, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Studd )

 

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Dana Continues

    In no way am I a church historian, but I’ve lived long enough to have seen a few things, ecclesiastically speaking.  Mainstream denominational Christianity seemed to have suffered a lull in the late 1950’s and 1960’s as a whole.  Once I heard someone call mainstream churches of the period, “…mausoleums where the dead in Christ gather every Sunday.”  As one of America’s troubled youth back in the 60’s, I remember the pastor of the church my parents ( and therefore I) attended, coming through our youth group meeting, and being asked by one of the kids, “What is the Holy Spirit?” 

     The minister stopped and thought for a minute, and then said, “Well the Holy Spirit is sort of this…uh, emanation from God.” Then he turned and exited hastily.  Woohoo! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! Armed with this knowledge at 13 years of age, I was ready to become a missionary to Borneo. Sadly outside of the Lord’s prayer, the 23^rd Psalm, and this new revelation about the Holy Spirit, I was as Biblically illiterate as some heathen in the Amazon Jungle.

     Then came the Charismatic Renewal!  Granted, a lot of craziness ensued, but the main take-away message was that Jesus was alive, and that one could have a real relationship with Him.  People were being miraculously healed, and reports of signs and wonders were far from uncommon. People were not only carrying, but actually reading their Bibles. Pipe organs were being replaced by guitars and tambourines.  Guys like Chuck Smith reached across the boundary lines and brought in all those dirty, drug addled hippies, and told them that Jesus loved them regardless of the fact that they wore beads and sandals to church.  All of a sudden the church was something more than just three hymns, a sermon, an offering, and a “See you next week.” To quote Joseph Conrad, “The horror.  The horror.”

     Oh yes, there was a lot of blow back from the denominational churches.  Heaven forbid that Catholics were finding Jesus too, and becoming charismatics.  And I mentioned hippies, didn’t I?  I mean didn’t Jesus have more class than that?  Kind of reminds me of the feeling I often get when reading the Gospels.  Jesus actually ate with sinners and tax collectors, and the “good church people” of the day, the Pharisees and Sadducees, stood aghast!  My spiritual gift is cynicism if you cannot already tell.

     Once I heard Alistair Begg describe two types of churches. In both types the members lock arms, and stand shoulder to shoulder in a big circle.  In one group the members in the circle are facing in towards the center. In the other circle, they were facing out.  Many of our churches have been facing in for far too long.  They will welcome you into their ranks as long as you are exactly like them.

     For all its sometimes zaniness and faulty orthodoxy, the Charismatic Renewal, was an honest cry on behalf of spiritually bored, spiritually malnourished Christians, and searching, disillusioned youth, to the Holy Spirit to make Jesus real to them. Before my Mom and Dad got into the whole charismatic thing, I remember my Dad telling me that one day as he was driving, pondering some troubling aspects of church life as he experienced it, he  prayed, “Lord, there has to be more to Christianity than this.” And you know what? God sent the Holy Spirit in a mighty way to my Mom and him, and to spiritually hungry people all over this land was the resounding answer.   

     Now being a dry, old, Reformed, doctrinal guy, I’m not advocating the classic Charismatic or Pentecostal experience for everyone, in that that experience is the only way to experience Christ, or have a vibrant Christian life.  I’m not opposing it either.  I do not think it’s the “experience” we should be seeking, and unfortunately it often times is.  No, we have to want Jesus more than we want to breathe, or to eat…or to text or tweet….  There goes my spiritual gift exercising itself again. 

     Think of it, if we lovingly and passionately (recklessly even?) sought Christ to that extent, then however the Holy Spirit wanted to manifest the living Christ to His people would be the absolute right way.  We just have to get out of the way and stop trying to put limits on just how He is supposed to go about it.  Many of us want revival, but in the way we want it.  And if God doesn’t want to do it our way, and according to our dictates or traditions, well, who needs that?  We’re so busy lamenting the fact that no one sings, “Give Me That Old Time Religion” anymore, that we’re oblivious to the idea that maybe God wants to do something new.

      (Continued next week)