Church can get so confusing sometimes. So many perspectives, so many denominations. So many programs. So many opinions. So much confusion.
As a simple lay guy, it all makes me want to vomit. Jesus prayed that the people following in His footsteps would be unified. What He wanted to set up on earth – i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven - man has turned into church.
Having said that, I do believe some churches are doing it the right way. These aren’t the biggest churches, they aren’t the most popular, they are often criticised, and basically so much crap is piled onto them by people doing “religion†instead of church. A great example of this kind of church and its leader is Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll.
But surely God would leave us a litmus test of some sorts to help navigate us through the mayhem. And He does. I love what Jesus revealed to a “freaked out†John on the Isle of Patmos – otherwise known as Revelation.
Here is the resurrected and glorified Christ having a conversation with His beloved apostle John about the condition of His church. So many books have been written on this discourse and, as the lay guy, I, to be certain, have not read them. But that’s ok so if you did a pole on many of the apostles and early church fathers, I bet they didn’t either.
But what I do glean from this conversation is that Jesus is outlining strengths and issues each church is going through. What I also have learnt is that many consider that this list of 7 churches is a chronological order of the history of the church since Christ was “beamed†back into heaven. Yeah go ahead and comment on that last sentence. Stir me.
It seems as if a lot of people who spend stacks of time on these issues like to say that our age is in the “Lukewarm Church†age. If it is or isn’t, I really have no idea. It seems as if every generation thinks it’s in the last days. The Thessalonians thought so and thought it was a great idea to not go to work. “Jesus is coming back so I don’t need to work,†they concluded – only to get hammered by Paul for their attitude.
At the same time I read a book in 1999 titled, “The Last Days Are Here Again,†where it outlined how every generation thought they were in the last days – especially those in 999 and 1999. LOL – we as humans are a freaked out bunch.
Having said this, the description of the lukewarm church sounds familiar to our generation in a bizarre way. Look closely at the descriptive tone Jesus uses in each discourse to the churches. And then look at Laodicea.
“These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God.â€
In our age, truth is relative. If it’s cool with you, then that’s your “truthâ€. I have my truth, you have yours. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.†This kind of thinking is raging in our modern postmodern culture. Jesus’ words hammers this mindset declaring He is the “Faithful and True witness.â€
It seems as if Jesus was speaking to our generation. If we are at the start of this mindset life cycle, rising, peaking or declining, I have no idea. But we are here and Jesus’ words strike close to our heart.
Another raging debate is the origin of life debate. Evolution and Darwinism have shown God the “exit door†in the minds of the masses these days. And what bugs me the most is that what’s fuelled the debate is whacked out “Christians†without a shred of scientific knowledge voicing an opinion which is dead set against the knowledge of science.
Before you exit this page, let me explain. I hate it when Christians use cliché comments to explain science. “The earth is 6000 years old†and “God created everything in six literal days,†are two of the most obvious examples. These comments are wrong and, by saying this, I am not trying to marry science with theology and harmonise the two to live happily ever after and have many babies and all that jazz.
Truth is, modern science kills evolution beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even secular scientists are coming to this conclusion. Areas such as Molecular Biology, Quantum Physics and Information Science are actually proving that there is an Intelligence in the order of things.
But the new area of understanding is made to look “whacky†cause the fundamentalists are joining the Intelligent Design band wagon and wagging their fingers at the scientific community and saying, “see we told you that God created everything.†I believe God did. But to engage the scientific community in such ways discredits the awesome work many are doing in this area.
This all leads to the overall public approval of evolution and that we are all here due to some cosmic freaked out, pure coincidental occurrence. And this is what we are taught and what our children are taught. And yet Jesus hammers this mindset by declaring, “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God.â€
I love the way Jesus cuts to the point of the issue. “Hey mankind! Why bother debating Origin of Life? Don’t you get it? I am the beginning of the creation of God.†So in two ways now, this discourse is pointing to our time.
What intrigues me, and at the same time scares the daylights out of me about this discourse, is that Jesus is rebuking a church which thinks it’s doing great, but in reality sucks with a capitol “Sâ€. So much so, that it makes even Jesus want to vomit. I’ve had gastro before where I ended up in hospital with a drip. It’s an ugly experience.
To think that we may be in a time where the way we do church, gives Jesus gastro, totally floors me. And the nail in the coffin in all this is that we think we are actually doing ok. We’re so spiritual and rich and need nothing that we fail to understand that we are injecting a bug into the stomach of Jesus.
For what it’s worth, here is my take….
In today’s church, you find two extremes. Fundamentalists are proud, self righteous and think they have it all worked out. They need nothing in their minds and they are so perfect because they read the KJV Bible and abstain from alcohol.
They also look down on all the “sinners†out there cause they are all going to hell. Furthermore, anyone who does church different to them are also going to hell.
In the same way, liberals like many in the “Emergent†movement make even me want to vomit. And I’m just the lay guy. To mix in all the religious experiences of a fallen world and say that it’s important to be relevant and value the experiences of these people, is the most important consideration.
Then repackage and take bits and pieces from all religions to form a community of fallen people connecting through some sort of religious malfunctioning wardrobe ……SUCKS. These people have sold out on the truth of Jesus and form a brand of religion where relativism rules and Jesus’ claims of being “The Way†seem like yesterdays news.
Both extremes suck – and that’s only coming from the Evangelical side of the boxing ring. Throw in the cults like the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and then the “Organised Religion†of Catholicism (organised religion seems so oxymoronish to me) and you begin to wonder if Jesus’ prayer of unity was ever answered by the Father.
Sure, some of the most important aspects of Christian Doctrine are agreed upon (apart from the LDS, JW and some “emergents†– cause they are so cool), but a lay, unchurched, sceptical, post-modern, rebelling and fallen human being looks at us and concludes we are a little strange.
In my humble, lay and totally possibly wrong opinion, there is a way of doing church which I find quite exciting. It’s the “emerging missional†movement. Here the Bible is held in high regard. That is, it’s the ultimate authority. No errors, no contradictions. Completely fundamental in terms of doctrine. A great example of this type of church is Mars Hill Church led by its teaching Pastor, Mark Driscoll.
In terms of culture however, these guys are liberal. Liberal in the sense in that people are encouraged to connect to the culture – to incarnate into it - the same way Jesus was incarnated into the reality of mankind. In doing so, He remained sinless and drew people to Him.
In the same way, these emerging missional types connect with the culture cause they value it highly. They understand that culture is what determines mindsets and they present the Gospel in a relevant way.
My only concern is that they don’t value “cultureâ€. Jesus says to not love the world cause it’s at great odds with the Mind of God. Instead understand that they need to get dirty in the culture of man to connect with people and then lead them out of such a mindset. Not “do God†and stay in that culture. And become all Laodicean.
Furthermore, Jesus tells people to abide in Him and the Father will do works through them. My only concern with Emerging Missional is that people, in being missionaries, abide in the culture more then abide in Christ and get entrapped. Just like an undercover cop dealing with narcotics gets hooked on drugs in the process.
Again, Driscoll addresses this issue and Pastors his church in a way that protects them against this pitfall. He always talks about Jesus and the Gospel in a way I find totally compelling. And one is left totally pumped to be a faithful witness to Jesus as they dive into culture. This approach to this lay guy seems far more sophisticated, relevant and Godly then many of the denominations I have experienced.
In conclusion, I don’t wish to put Driscoll on a pedestal. He is a like minded lay guy faithful to his calling by God. Even he admits he is way over his head in what he does. He has made, and will make mistakes in the future. He is human and his detractors will always have heaps to throw at him.
But he can take heart knowing that he is in good company. Jesus was hated by the religious leaders cause He spoke in a way foreign to them but real to the masses. In a similar way Driscoll fires up a lot of people.
At the end of the day, it’s God redeeming people back to Him through the work of Jesus and He has left us a huge responsibility in this role. Let’s not mess this up with our fallen minds ego’s or agenda’s.
The harvest awaits.
Church, Jesus, Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Fundamentalism, Emerging Church, Emergent, Missional, Culture
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