Category Archives: Church

Megathemes in the church in 2010

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Last month, Barna Group Research published a list of megathemes in American Christianity in 2010. If you haven’t seen them, let me summarize them here:

  1. The church is losing theological literacy. This includes knowledge of the Bible and knowledge of general Christian (and non-Christian) theology.
  2. Churches are focusing their attention inward, not outward. Wish I could say that that is a surprise, but I think that’s been a “megatrend” for a long, long time. Even the “seeker friendly” churches quickly become “member friendly” churches.
  3. People are less interested in spiritual principles and more interested in practical solutions. I’d guess that’s more true in America than other places because that describes a general trend in our culture. Pragmatism is king.
  4. Interest in community action is on the rise. I’ll admit that I like this and hate it at the same time. I’m glad it’s happening, I just wish we wouldn’t neglect other things along the way.
  5. Postmodernism’s “tolerance” is beginning to become a popular theme within the church. Fear of being seen as judgmental leads us to not want to condemn anything. Waning trust in absolute truth leaves Christians willing to accept anything in the name of keeping the peace.
  6. The church has little to no influence on people’s lives and the culture around us. I heard of one pastor in Houston who worked for decades at a large church. He commented late in life that his greatest frustration was the lack of change in the community around his church. The church grew, but it’s influence didn’t.

From my vantage point, I think this research is spot on. I’d like to hear your thoughts and reflections.

Caged hunting dogs

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I was talking with a coworker yesterday, recalling an illustration by Joseph Aldrich, author of Lifestyle Evangelism. He said that many in the church are like caged hunting dogs. With no birds to hunt, they turn on one another, biting and fighting. When set loose to do that for which they were trained, they work together to accomplish their goal.

When the church turns inward, we can fight over whether that was a gnat or a mosquito that we strained out of our water. When we turn our focus outward, we can find the unity described in the Word.

I’ve found that illustration to be very helpful to me over the years.

Unity, Not Uniformity

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A while back I wrote about the diversity in the church in the first century. I was reading Acts 21 yesterday and was struck again by this story. There’s an idea out there that the early church was fairly Jewish in nature, but that it outgrew that characteristic.

Passages like Acts 21 show that idea to be untrue. Here we are years after Pentecost, years after the “Jerusalem council” of Acts 15, yet James describes the Jerusalem church by saying, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.” (Acts 21:20) Then he says to Paul: “Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.” (Acts 21:24)

James not only thinks that many in Jerusalem are living according to the Law, but he feels that Paul is doing so as well. And Paul never corrects him. Instead, Paul agrees to participate in a Jewish vow to show his dedication to the Law.

In the past, I asked one brother on this blog what freedom Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:1 [“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)] That brother said it was Judaism. That makes no sense, given that the Galatians weren’t Jews before they became Christians. And this incident in Acts 21 happened years after the letter to the Galatians was written.

There’s no doubt about it. The early church was much more tolerant of diversity than the modern church often is. It’s an area we need to grow in.

Why I Love The Church

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[A couple of months ago, Chris Gallagher asked me to write an article for his blog. He was doing a special series on “Why I Love The Church,” inviting different writers to express their thoughts on that subject. I wasn’t in the rotation, but if there were a hole in the schedule, he’d put my article in. So this article was written to be part of a series, trying to look at the topic in a different way than the others. Here’s what I wrote.]

I love the church in her ideal state:

  • The unblemished, purified Bride of Christ, waiting to meet her Bridegroom
  • The new Jerusalem, descending from heaven as God’s dwelling in the midst of His people
  • The body of Christ, growing up into the very image of the One who bought her with His blood
  • The earthly manifestation of the Kingdom of God

I love the church in her flawed reality:

  • The congregation whose off-key singing makes a strong argument for instrumental music
  • The brothers who check off the five acts of worship on their scoresheet each week
  • The new Christian who discovers that word he’s always used isn’t as appropriate as he thought it was
  • The free spirits who launch into anything and everything without considering the ramifications

I love the church at her very best:

  • People opening their homes to strangers because they share the same Savior
  • Christians giving sacrificially so that others may learn about Jesus
  • Widows and teenagers and bank presidents dressing up as biblical characters to entertain and teach at Vacation Bible School
  • Believers gathering to praise and worship God even though that very thing could land them in jail

I love the church at her absolute worst:

  • Members fighting over personal issues, masking them behind alleged doctrinal differences
  • Christians falling into the very same sins that plague the people around them
  • Leaders giving into the human temptations of power and position, lording their authority over those around them
  • Longtime churchgoers who continue to feed on spiritual baby food, whining and crying when they don’t get their way

I love the church in the world today:

  • The family of God, loving one another as children of the same Father
  • Strangers and aliens, pilgriming together to the Promised Land on the other side of Jordan
  • Royal priests, heavenly ambassadors, holding out the Word of God to an unbelieving humanity
  • Faithful witnesses, enduring ridicule and shame for the sake of the Name

I love the church in all her manifestations, in all her glory and all her failings, because all of those things represent who I am as a Christian. I am a sinner, and I am forgiven. I am flawed, and I am perfection waiting to happen. I am human, and I am supernatural, a holy temple of God.

I am the church. My place in the Kingdom of God is an inseparable part of who I am. When I criticize her, I am really criticizing me, for her flaws are merely a reflection of the human condition of which she is made. When I praise her, I am praising my God, for her goodness is only a reflection of His.

I love the church. As it has been. As it is. As it someday will be.

Field Guide to Church Fauna: The Fault-Finding Mole

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The Fault-Finding Mole (criticali surfingus) is a close cousin to the Finger-Wagging Naysayer. This underground creature pops out unexpectedly to show everyone concerned the error of their ways.

In other ecosystems, these creatures are called “trolls”; their presence on the Internet is legendary. They surf from site to site, spreading negativity and criticism. On the Internet, as in real life, it is always easier to tear down than to build up, easier to criticize than create.

The Fault-Finding Mole craves attention. The road to domesticating them is avoiding any encouragement of their negative behavior, while affirming positive behavior. Their need for attention must be met in a positive way, while their censorious behavior must be exposed to the life-changing power of God.